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2024.05.14 21:05 hopeylad Theory: Stranger Things is actually a D&D campaign imagined by the boys
Hey all! I've been thinking a lot about Stranger Things, and I've developed a theory that I think could explain some of the show's stranger (pun intended) elements.
What if the entire show is actually a Dungeons & Dragons campaign being imagined by the boys? This would explain why characters always seem to split up into groups of four, why they're so quick to accept the names given to monsters by the kids, and even why the Upside Down seems frozen in time (it’s when they started playing so they commemorate it by always having something stuck on that date). Each chapter or episode title is what they name there weekly meet up.
Plus, this theory would allow for some really interesting parallels between the characters and classic D&D classes. For example, Eleven could be a mage/wizard, Hopper could be a fightebarbarian, Steve could be a bard/rogue, and the "Red Shirt" character could be a stand-in for any number of supporting characters who meet an untimely end.
What do you all think? Does this theory hold water, or am I reading too much into things?
submitted by hopeylad to StrangerThings [link] [comments]
What if the entire show is actually a Dungeons & Dragons campaign being imagined by the boys? This would explain why characters always seem to split up into groups of four, why they're so quick to accept the names given to monsters by the kids, and even why the Upside Down seems frozen in time (it’s when they started playing so they commemorate it by always having something stuck on that date). Each chapter or episode title is what they name there weekly meet up.
Plus, this theory would allow for some really interesting parallels between the characters and classic D&D classes. For example, Eleven could be a mage/wizard, Hopper could be a fightebarbarian, Steve could be a bard/rogue, and the "Red Shirt" character could be a stand-in for any number of supporting characters who meet an untimely end.
What do you all think? Does this theory hold water, or am I reading too much into things?
2024.05.14 19:00 Big-Guidance8151 Everything that rises must be analyzed
Disclaimer:
This post has heavy spoilers to the story of the version 2.2 and maybe to something else. Good luck to read all of this. I yap for Ena and maybe repeat myself little too much. Mentioned characters:
Sunday
Robin
Aventurine
Dreammaster
Bronya
Seele
Cocolia
Mentioned Aeons:
Ena
Xipe
Hooh
Long
Oroboros
Qlipoth
Mentioned organisations:
Beyond the Sky Choir
Astral Express
Family
In loving memory: Ena the Order “The one who transcends the many”
In loving memory of Tazzyrronth the Propagation “The Sand king”
In loving memory of the Great Tatalov “The Garbage King”
So, the original intent behind this post was to create a lot of puns about Order and Sunday (for example something like Golden Order Radagon Sunday, “I will have order” with Sunday and a falling train instead, Sunday working in a delivery and saying that someone’s order was cancelled).
But then I started remembering all parts of Penacony storyline that have fascinated me. And one particular part master stroked me. When Sunday used his “tell the truth or die in 24 hours voice magic” he used not the power of Order, but Harmony – the Path he supposedly deliberately left behind and betrayed.
How can I be so sure, that he didn’t use the power of Order, making it look like the power of Harmony? Well, nor Dr. Ratio, nor Aventurine, nor Welt, nor (most importantly) Robin didn’t notice any sign that the Order was used and that the power on display did in fact belong to Harmony. And mind you, all of them are quite clever, experienced and hard to deceive. And in Aventurine’s conversation with Acheron in the Horizon of existence, Acheron (who as Self-Annihilator isn’t affected by the illusions of Order and can see through them) referred to the brand, used on Aventurine as the “brand of Harmony”. And the last proof is that when Sunday uses this power, he makes a call (or if you are a pun enjoyer like me, “an order”) to Xipe, referring to THEM as “Triple-faced soul”.
So, this was a really long and a roundabout way to prove that even with his supposed devotion to Order, Sunday still remains the Pathstrider of Harmony (and the laws of the HSR universe dictate, that you become a Pathstrider by following a philosophy of a particular Path). While being a Pathstrider of two Paths is not called impossible in the game, and Harmony and Order mostly overlap, there are some key differences between them. It means, that Sunday to some extant still believes in a philosophy of Harmony and is not a complete devotee of Order, how some people could have believed.
So, the goal of this post is to delve on the philosophy of Ena and Harmony through Sunday’s story, words, thoughts and actions. And to make some obnoxious theories, but that’s later.
So, let’s begin!
Ⅰ
In his childhood, Sunday alongside Robin, was called by the Dreammaster “two best interpreters of the Great One”. That means, that as a child, Sunday was extremely close to the philosophy of Harmony.
Let’s remember what Harmony embodies as a philosophy:
“Then, they say, O you who have reached the end, enter into the paradise that envelops all! Join this great choir and feast, listen to the beating of billions upon billions of hearts, holding you in THEIR embrace...”
“To battle the brutality of the laws of the universe, intelligent lifeforms must discard their cowardly selfishness and the differences between individuals, fusing into one singular melody — to have the strong help the weak, and to protect life with death.”
That is what Harmony preaches and Sunday was a follower of this ideology. Harmony preaches selfless people not only helping and uplifting each other to build “the paradise” (a prominent theme in Sunday’s thoughts) bit also welcoming every other willing person. Harmony philosophy is about acceptance, forgiveness, cooperation, that no person is beyond redemption, that in every person has inside of them the force that genuinely cares for others and strives for good. Harmony preaches something like this: “Because if it is possible for every person to become a member of Family’s shared paradise, then we should at lest try to welcome them in it.” That’s why Harmonic Strings (Emanators of Xipe) are not people and are actually manifestations materialized as the responses to the Hive Mind’s demands. It is a seemingly naïve and romantic ideal for the sometimes and indifferent brutal universe of HSR that requires great kindness, compassion, understanding, belief in other people, ability to see the better in other people and uplift them. And Sunday-follower of Order reflects on that:
"When I appeared as a child, my speech, mindset, and soul reflected immaturity and innocence."
"As I grew into adulthood, I left behind my childlike side."
Sunday (as shown in the quest) was a person of great understanding, compassion, and love for other living beings, full of desire to protect them (bird, Robin, other people). He was able to embrace even the worst people if they would show even the slightest glimpse of desire to redeem themselves and change for the better, like people who allegedly sold their own children. It is notable that he both acts as a follower of Harmony and an enforcer of Order conspiracy because of these very character traits. The motivation is the same, just the choice how to act based on this motivation is different between him and Robin because of different experiences.
As the ardent believer of Harmony, the seed of doubt in his mind was planted ironically by the very followers of the Harmony -the Family. And the disillusionment about Harmony also began, when his belief in other people was tested. When asking Xipe to clear his doubts, Sunday asks three questions:
“Who can judge the strong when their power hides their crimes?”
“Who can vouch for the weak when they will pay any price to survive?”
“If "the strong defending the weak" is truly the foundation of paradise, then who is responsible for the suffering and anguish in this wretched world?”
The questions display that the preached Harmony doesn’t work as intended. The extremely hard ideal to follow was exactly too demanding for numerous people who couldn’t stand up to the responsibility that came with upholding it. Also, as displayed both in the main quest of Penacony and in numerous events and side quests, flaws and imperfections of Family(note: of the Family on Penacony) are numerous. We have an entire “Ode to Fool” in the Grand Theatre about internal bloodthirsty war between the Family, where two of the seven families of Penacony ceased to exist. When even Family: those who preach the Odes of Harmony don’t act as they preach, are not harmonious, don’t show compassion and forgiveness, it is extremely hard to still believe in its teachings. And from that, the belief in people starts to slowly crumble as the very belief in a possibility of a paradise preached by the Xipe, is tested.
That is what turns him to Order. The feeling that while the paradise of Harmony is theoretically possible, how much suffering must people experience before it actually arrives. And when will it arrive? And IF it will arrive? These doubts in human inherent desire to change for the better leads to the idea: “And what if they don’t change? Then why take the risks? Why not to create something that guarantees their safety, happiness and protection?” His desire for Order is still born from his love for humanity.
Ⅱ
And while the shift in beliefs did in fact happen, it wasn’t completed and some beliefs in Harmony remain, alongside doubts about the philosophy of Order.
To prove that, let’s remember the Grand Theatre part of the quest (“Everything that Rises Must Converge”).
Before that Dreammaster has a particularly interesting conversation with Sunday. Sunday not only changes their plan, taking Robin’s place in the plan and then he asks Dreammaster why Penacony was the chosen planet to bring “paradise” of the Order. If he was completely convinced, why would he pose these questions?
Sunday several times brings the part of 107,336 souls of the Oak Family in his monologues. Why? Because he uses them to give self-validation to his beliefs. It comes not only from his desire to grant “paradise” to everyone (and this guys as stated dreamed about the paradise of Order), but also from his self-perceived responsibility as the Head of the Oak Family to stand up to wishes and desires of his subordinates, to protect them, and as the man with greatest position among them, to fulfil the hardest task. Because if people he is in charge of follow and support his views, not only it gives him more belief in his set of beliefs(ha), but also gives him even greater responsibility to prove that their faith in him, in Order is not misplaced.
In first two acts he displays before us shortcomings of the Harmony, trying to display himself as the ardent believer of the Order:
In the first act “Ode to Prisoner” he says that the freedom was not really achieved in Penacony’s great Independence War, posing a doubt that the ideal of Harmony even existed in Penacony since the very beginning.
In the second act “Ode to Fool” the theme of not so harmonic Harmony remains. Sunday talks about internal civil war between the Family, that eradicated two of the seven families on Penacony. How “harmonic” it is!
But in the last and most important act “Ode to Order” has a surprisingly different theme, hidden in it.
It is supposedly talking about the future of Penacony, but there is something more if you listen to its content once again:
General: “Without a ruler who would protect the weak and fight back against the tyrants?”
Chansellor: “We must assist each other in protecting the weak, just as we must assist each other in opposing the tyrannical.”
This dialogue argues that the very measures Sunday preaches, are not required for the coexistence and unification are also an option. Case of how differently Order and Harmony solve one problem.
Jester: “Without a ruler, who will make the stars follow their paths, the tides rise and fall, and allow life to grow?”
C: “These things did as they will long before the ruler appeared, just as they will continue to do with rulers gone.”
Where the Order requires an all-mighty divine king, controlling the world (like God-Emperor of Mankind from Warhammer), Harmony simply says that actually such beings are not needed.
Minister: “However, now that we have bid farewell to our ruler. Who shall take their place?”
C: “We no longer require a ruler, for we were originally all rulers who stand above all things.”
Once again, order preaches about the ruler on the top of everything, the one who has all of the rights and makes all of decisions. But harmony doesn’t work that way. Harmony preaches that if every person has equal rights to enter its paradise, then they are essentially equal. Where Order differentiates people and treats them differently according to THEIR criteria, harmony does not as THEY are all-embracing.
The choice of the position of Chansellor as the one giving answers is deliberate. It is another innuendo on differences between Harmony and Order. In Order king takes the power and pushes everyone under his control. Chancellor, as the representation of Harmony in this argument, is a position not a person. He is subject to change, unlike king. Unlike king, Chancellor is chosen among the people, by the people. He serves as one man being the voice of many people, for they have chosen him as a Chancellor because their ideals are the same and thus, they have entrusted him to fulfil their ideals in reality in their stead.
Some people were not satisfied that the arguments were not posed against Sunday by the Astral Express. Well, this entire act serves as a counter to his arguments, showing the point of view of Harmony arguing against the necessity of ideals of Order. Most importantly, they don’t disprove hid arguments completely, but rather pose a possible alternative take on things.
The Clockwork doesn’t work on puppets because they are “satisfied”. But what gives satisfaction: Order or Harmony? In my opinion, Harmony. Remember: in THEIR paradise there is “peace bestowed, sorrows and strife released.”
The “king” in the text obviously refers to Ena the Order, and the last talk from the “Future” in the act is about “final rites” to the king, that there is no need to seek THEIR existence, nor remember THEM. It illustrates the final confusion of Sunday: if Ena didn’t fight back while being consumed, if the philosophy of Harmony prevailed in the confrontation among the Paths, why try to restore the Order?
And after that particular act he chose to reveal to us the finale of Ena’s story. That THEY were banished to oblivion by the united will of the people who defied Order. And THEIR death was praised alongside praises for the appearance of Harmony – the ideal that prevailed on Penacony in the end.
And that is what actually 3 is actually about. Puppets(Members of the Beyond the Sky Choir) ask what they and everyone else should do after the “king(Ena)” disappeared.
They feel no safety and out of their comfort zone when the one that controlled everything about their lives suddenly disappeared. And Chancellor’s answers are the representation of the ideology of Harmony, that you don’t need to be controlled to strive in life, for that there is more to universe and that the “king” is not actually required for betterment of society, that society can harmonize and evolve on their own, that the unity of people can replace the “king”. Ironically, “the Ode to Order” doesn’t glorify Order but rather disproves it from being the one and only universal truth.
In this act Sunday actually reveals, intended or not, that he doesn’t disprove Harmony’s ideal, that he subconsciously feels that it can stand on par with the ideal of Order.
Then, Sunday poses between us three questions, each one has different answers depending on your set of believes: order or Harmony. Notice, that Sunday doesn’t give his own answers to the questions.
“Is darkness equal to daylight?”
This question is very metaphorical. Radiance and light, eradicating darkness and giving protection to those under the light are a repeated theme in the ideology of the Order (“I shall ascend to the heavens, becoming the scorching sun. Bathed in my light, my people shall flourish, while all evil shall be eradicated” / “Those who live in the shadows do not bear the right to tread the illuminated stage.” / “I now permit you to gaze into the sun [hardest line in the game btw]”) But radiance is also a term sometimes used to describe Xipe. The greatest difference lies in the fact that what Order will not tolerate (“darkness”), harmony will be able to co-exist with and eventually embrace. So for Order they are different, but for Harmony not at all.
“Are sinners equal to the righteous?”
Order punishes the unjust and uplifts the righteous. For it, they are not equal. But for Harmony they are, mostly because before Xipe the very concept of sinners doesn’t exist. Harmony is all-embracing, for everyone can change for the better and be redeemed.
It is a discourse in philosophy: first question was about whether are you able to tolerate something that goes against you. While Harmony can, Order cannot (Sunday can as literally shown in the quest so he leans more to Harmony in that part). Second question was about whether people can change for the better and be redeemed. Order doesn’t believe in it, Harmony does.
“If you are born weak, which god should you turn for solace?”
It is another question to choose between philosophies because Sunday struggles to choose himself. If you are weak and you bow before someone(“king”) for the protection then this is a choice befitting Order, but if you choose to cooperate with others, uplift one another and “listen beating of billions of hearts holding you on their embrace” then this is the choice of Harmony.
Notice, that Sunday doesn’t consider us as enemies at all. As he says: “I genuinely wish to avoid a violent clash with my esteemed guests from afar.” When Astral Express team asks Sunday why did he invite us to the duel, he responds: “Because our shared goals give equal weight to the beliefs we strive for.” He regards everything happening more like a debate of two equally valid philosophies. Even in the fight with him (second one) he still invites us to join his chorus of Order. And he says “our final talk is concluded” only when he turns into his Embryo of Philosophy form, when literally everyone who could has risen against him. And then he reveals his true emotions:
“If your ‘paradise’ can save more people, sever my path with your hands”
He knows he is not infallible, that his plan can be wrong, that there is a possibility of making better choices, better decisions. And he asks us to prove, that Harmony after all is a stronger concept then that of Order. And his quote before that really makes everything extremely ironic:
“If we had never experienced solitude, how could we embark on different paths?”
Once again, this solitude refers to the times when he still completely followed Harmony. Yet he was the only person on the entire Penacony because of his great compassion, who actually followed what Xipe preached. Yet, in this he was alone. How can you be in Harmony with anyone, if you are alone. The irony is in the fact, that if Robin didn’t leave Penacony, of if he met another genuine believer, he wouldn’t have turn to Order and he would remain under Xipe. With many similarities of Order and Harmony: the epitome of Order is loneliness, being a sole ruler of everything, the epitome of Harmony is a unity of numerous people.
“And thus, my talk about Sunday has concluded. Next part is about Ena.”
Ⅲ
While his monologue about history of Ena can also be interpreted as parts above, it is much more interesting to discuss it when talking about Ena THEMSELVES.
“Let us commence with the dawning of the world… After the Dusk Wars, darkness veiled the sky, and chaos consumed the earth. Ena the Order emerged, destined to restore all existence. That marked the first day.”
The Dusk Wars are one of the most ancient (if not the most) periods of history we know about. Ena emerging at that time, makes THEM one of the oldest Aeons alongside Long, Hooh, Qlipoth and Oroboros.
” THEY gathered nebulae and forged them into picks, thus creating a grand lyre with black and white keys. Strike the white keys, and the sun rose. Strike the black keys moon and the rose. And so the cycle of day and night arose. That marked the second day. “
“THEY transmuted streams of stars into inked nibs, creating symbols to be pronounced and counted. THEY molded stardust into flowing rivers, assigning the righteous upstream and the unjust downstream. Thus, all things were marked and the world learned to discern between good and evil. That marked the third and fourth days. “
“THEY used the planetary rings to establish the law, forging a code of conduct among the masses. A grand lyre with black and white symbols of articulation and numerical notation took the form of musical notes. The downward-flowing river became a melody, and the cannon of law dictated the form. Thus, all mortals found their unique place within this symphony. That marked the fifth and sixth days. “
Ena, as we know was a control freak, at much bigger scale and extent, then Sunday could have ever hoped to become. We know that «Ena's harmonic songs seems to align within a three-dimensional framework, akin to an emperor maintaining hierarchical order among all creatures» Not only people, but the movement of celestial bodies were under THEIR control. THEY wanted to and almost controlled everything in the known cosmos. So, THEY were the only person responsible for everything. And when THEY were consumed, the manager of everything disappeared and the scales of order and discord lost their balance. That is why Hooh intervened and took THEIR responsibilities.
“THEY imbued world with meaning, perfecting all things in the heavens and earth. Then, THEY rested from the labors of creation. Yet, all beings cried to Ena – ‘Under the banner of the Order, you have defined all things in the Cosmos… but this made us realize that we are but puppets in your hands!’ – Thus, on that day, all beings united and cast the Aeon into the abyss of oblivion. That marked the seventh day. “
And this is the most interesting part. We know that Ena was consumed by Xipe, so why does Sunday refer to THEIR death as an action, made by humans?
As we know, Xipe “hails from multiple harmonious celestial words”, “a plural Aeon” and “THEY are the amalgamation of thousands of entities”. Thus, I pose that Xipe ascension was not a process of accension of a one person who somehow become an Aeon, but rather that several beings in a moment of unity (of “harmony”) were ascending as one. Next bit is purely theoretical:
But who could provide such unity before the existence of Harmony? Only the Beyond the Sky Choir – followers of Ena could understand the true extent of Ena’s control over everything and unify to create a change. Thus, mortals ascended into Aeon, befitting their shared beliefs, and from the Beyond the Sky Choir, Xipe arose with a new symphony of Harmony.
ⅠⅤ
Also, some other interesting bits from 2.2. storyline:
The most overlooked part of 2.2 quest for me is that part before boss battle when Sunday says that he doesn’t intend to either resurrect Ena or become a new Aeon of Order. While the actual possibility of such actions remains “enigmatic, we can now speculate that it could be possible to take control of a masterless Path or revive its master. I speculate that when we finally reach strongest Emanators level of poweallies/etc. the enemies we will be facing before actual Aeons will be unique beings like that: fallen Aeons in the process of resurrection or people in the process of becoming a new Aeon of a Path without one.
Another interesting bit of lore about Ena is that while she was “consumed” by Xipe, her Path still lingers in the cosmos masterless. While it was known about Paths of other fallen Aeons it is interesting that even assimilation by a broader concept Aeon isn’t enough to completely eradicate the Path from the face of the cosmos.
Some other connections that I noticed about Sunday while rewatching 2.2 quest were surprising even for me. Name a planet where the ruler intentionally left their subordinates in ignorance about the truth about the events for the sole reason of protecting them? It’s Belobog with Bronya and Seele (I could talk about similarities and differences of Bronya and Sunday but that would make already long post even longer). And this is why Ena was able to persuade Qlipoth. Because Qlipoth shares with THEM that general theme of protection. Because their Paths partly overlap. Because Preservation is about keeping everything dangerous behind the walls (in this case dangerous information about Cocolia), and everything inside the walls is safe, protected, or you could say “in Order”.
Ⅴ
P.S. I feel like in this quest there is still so much more to discuss(and I could write EVEN MORE), but this long wall of text is already too out of character from me as a humble follower of Enigmata.
submitted by Big-Guidance8151 to HonkaiStarRail [link] [comments]
This post has heavy spoilers to the story of the version 2.2 and maybe to something else. Good luck to read all of this. I yap for Ena and maybe repeat myself little too much. Mentioned characters:
Sunday
Robin
Aventurine
Dreammaster
Bronya
Seele
Cocolia
Mentioned Aeons:
Ena
Xipe
Hooh
Long
Oroboros
Qlipoth
Mentioned organisations:
Beyond the Sky Choir
Astral Express
Family
In loving memory: Ena the Order “The one who transcends the many”
In loving memory of Tazzyrronth the Propagation “The Sand king”
In loving memory of the Great Tatalov “The Garbage King”
So, the original intent behind this post was to create a lot of puns about Order and Sunday (for example something like Golden Order Radagon Sunday, “I will have order” with Sunday and a falling train instead, Sunday working in a delivery and saying that someone’s order was cancelled).
But then I started remembering all parts of Penacony storyline that have fascinated me. And one particular part master stroked me. When Sunday used his “tell the truth or die in 24 hours voice magic” he used not the power of Order, but Harmony – the Path he supposedly deliberately left behind and betrayed.
How can I be so sure, that he didn’t use the power of Order, making it look like the power of Harmony? Well, nor Dr. Ratio, nor Aventurine, nor Welt, nor (most importantly) Robin didn’t notice any sign that the Order was used and that the power on display did in fact belong to Harmony. And mind you, all of them are quite clever, experienced and hard to deceive. And in Aventurine’s conversation with Acheron in the Horizon of existence, Acheron (who as Self-Annihilator isn’t affected by the illusions of Order and can see through them) referred to the brand, used on Aventurine as the “brand of Harmony”. And the last proof is that when Sunday uses this power, he makes a call (or if you are a pun enjoyer like me, “an order”) to Xipe, referring to THEM as “Triple-faced soul”.
So, this was a really long and a roundabout way to prove that even with his supposed devotion to Order, Sunday still remains the Pathstrider of Harmony (and the laws of the HSR universe dictate, that you become a Pathstrider by following a philosophy of a particular Path). While being a Pathstrider of two Paths is not called impossible in the game, and Harmony and Order mostly overlap, there are some key differences between them. It means, that Sunday to some extant still believes in a philosophy of Harmony and is not a complete devotee of Order, how some people could have believed.
So, the goal of this post is to delve on the philosophy of Ena and Harmony through Sunday’s story, words, thoughts and actions. And to make some obnoxious theories, but that’s later.
So, let’s begin!
Ⅰ
In his childhood, Sunday alongside Robin, was called by the Dreammaster “two best interpreters of the Great One”. That means, that as a child, Sunday was extremely close to the philosophy of Harmony.
Let’s remember what Harmony embodies as a philosophy:
“Then, they say, O you who have reached the end, enter into the paradise that envelops all! Join this great choir and feast, listen to the beating of billions upon billions of hearts, holding you in THEIR embrace...”
“To battle the brutality of the laws of the universe, intelligent lifeforms must discard their cowardly selfishness and the differences between individuals, fusing into one singular melody — to have the strong help the weak, and to protect life with death.”
That is what Harmony preaches and Sunday was a follower of this ideology. Harmony preaches selfless people not only helping and uplifting each other to build “the paradise” (a prominent theme in Sunday’s thoughts) bit also welcoming every other willing person. Harmony philosophy is about acceptance, forgiveness, cooperation, that no person is beyond redemption, that in every person has inside of them the force that genuinely cares for others and strives for good. Harmony preaches something like this: “Because if it is possible for every person to become a member of Family’s shared paradise, then we should at lest try to welcome them in it.” That’s why Harmonic Strings (Emanators of Xipe) are not people and are actually manifestations materialized as the responses to the Hive Mind’s demands. It is a seemingly naïve and romantic ideal for the sometimes and indifferent brutal universe of HSR that requires great kindness, compassion, understanding, belief in other people, ability to see the better in other people and uplift them. And Sunday-follower of Order reflects on that:
"When I appeared as a child, my speech, mindset, and soul reflected immaturity and innocence."
"As I grew into adulthood, I left behind my childlike side."
Sunday (as shown in the quest) was a person of great understanding, compassion, and love for other living beings, full of desire to protect them (bird, Robin, other people). He was able to embrace even the worst people if they would show even the slightest glimpse of desire to redeem themselves and change for the better, like people who allegedly sold their own children. It is notable that he both acts as a follower of Harmony and an enforcer of Order conspiracy because of these very character traits. The motivation is the same, just the choice how to act based on this motivation is different between him and Robin because of different experiences.
As the ardent believer of Harmony, the seed of doubt in his mind was planted ironically by the very followers of the Harmony -the Family. And the disillusionment about Harmony also began, when his belief in other people was tested. When asking Xipe to clear his doubts, Sunday asks three questions:
“Who can judge the strong when their power hides their crimes?”
“Who can vouch for the weak when they will pay any price to survive?”
“If "the strong defending the weak" is truly the foundation of paradise, then who is responsible for the suffering and anguish in this wretched world?”
The questions display that the preached Harmony doesn’t work as intended. The extremely hard ideal to follow was exactly too demanding for numerous people who couldn’t stand up to the responsibility that came with upholding it. Also, as displayed both in the main quest of Penacony and in numerous events and side quests, flaws and imperfections of Family(note: of the Family on Penacony) are numerous. We have an entire “Ode to Fool” in the Grand Theatre about internal bloodthirsty war between the Family, where two of the seven families of Penacony ceased to exist. When even Family: those who preach the Odes of Harmony don’t act as they preach, are not harmonious, don’t show compassion and forgiveness, it is extremely hard to still believe in its teachings. And from that, the belief in people starts to slowly crumble as the very belief in a possibility of a paradise preached by the Xipe, is tested.
That is what turns him to Order. The feeling that while the paradise of Harmony is theoretically possible, how much suffering must people experience before it actually arrives. And when will it arrive? And IF it will arrive? These doubts in human inherent desire to change for the better leads to the idea: “And what if they don’t change? Then why take the risks? Why not to create something that guarantees their safety, happiness and protection?” His desire for Order is still born from his love for humanity.
Ⅱ
And while the shift in beliefs did in fact happen, it wasn’t completed and some beliefs in Harmony remain, alongside doubts about the philosophy of Order.
To prove that, let’s remember the Grand Theatre part of the quest (“Everything that Rises Must Converge”).
Before that Dreammaster has a particularly interesting conversation with Sunday. Sunday not only changes their plan, taking Robin’s place in the plan and then he asks Dreammaster why Penacony was the chosen planet to bring “paradise” of the Order. If he was completely convinced, why would he pose these questions?
Sunday several times brings the part of 107,336 souls of the Oak Family in his monologues. Why? Because he uses them to give self-validation to his beliefs. It comes not only from his desire to grant “paradise” to everyone (and this guys as stated dreamed about the paradise of Order), but also from his self-perceived responsibility as the Head of the Oak Family to stand up to wishes and desires of his subordinates, to protect them, and as the man with greatest position among them, to fulfil the hardest task. Because if people he is in charge of follow and support his views, not only it gives him more belief in his set of beliefs(ha), but also gives him even greater responsibility to prove that their faith in him, in Order is not misplaced.
In first two acts he displays before us shortcomings of the Harmony, trying to display himself as the ardent believer of the Order:
In the first act “Ode to Prisoner” he says that the freedom was not really achieved in Penacony’s great Independence War, posing a doubt that the ideal of Harmony even existed in Penacony since the very beginning.
In the second act “Ode to Fool” the theme of not so harmonic Harmony remains. Sunday talks about internal civil war between the Family, that eradicated two of the seven families on Penacony. How “harmonic” it is!
But in the last and most important act “Ode to Order” has a surprisingly different theme, hidden in it.
It is supposedly talking about the future of Penacony, but there is something more if you listen to its content once again:
General: “Without a ruler who would protect the weak and fight back against the tyrants?”
Chansellor: “We must assist each other in protecting the weak, just as we must assist each other in opposing the tyrannical.”
This dialogue argues that the very measures Sunday preaches, are not required for the coexistence and unification are also an option. Case of how differently Order and Harmony solve one problem.
Jester: “Without a ruler, who will make the stars follow their paths, the tides rise and fall, and allow life to grow?”
C: “These things did as they will long before the ruler appeared, just as they will continue to do with rulers gone.”
Where the Order requires an all-mighty divine king, controlling the world (like God-Emperor of Mankind from Warhammer), Harmony simply says that actually such beings are not needed.
Minister: “However, now that we have bid farewell to our ruler. Who shall take their place?”
C: “We no longer require a ruler, for we were originally all rulers who stand above all things.”
Once again, order preaches about the ruler on the top of everything, the one who has all of the rights and makes all of decisions. But harmony doesn’t work that way. Harmony preaches that if every person has equal rights to enter its paradise, then they are essentially equal. Where Order differentiates people and treats them differently according to THEIR criteria, harmony does not as THEY are all-embracing.
The choice of the position of Chansellor as the one giving answers is deliberate. It is another innuendo on differences between Harmony and Order. In Order king takes the power and pushes everyone under his control. Chancellor, as the representation of Harmony in this argument, is a position not a person. He is subject to change, unlike king. Unlike king, Chancellor is chosen among the people, by the people. He serves as one man being the voice of many people, for they have chosen him as a Chancellor because their ideals are the same and thus, they have entrusted him to fulfil their ideals in reality in their stead.
Some people were not satisfied that the arguments were not posed against Sunday by the Astral Express. Well, this entire act serves as a counter to his arguments, showing the point of view of Harmony arguing against the necessity of ideals of Order. Most importantly, they don’t disprove hid arguments completely, but rather pose a possible alternative take on things.
The Clockwork doesn’t work on puppets because they are “satisfied”. But what gives satisfaction: Order or Harmony? In my opinion, Harmony. Remember: in THEIR paradise there is “peace bestowed, sorrows and strife released.”
The “king” in the text obviously refers to Ena the Order, and the last talk from the “Future” in the act is about “final rites” to the king, that there is no need to seek THEIR existence, nor remember THEM. It illustrates the final confusion of Sunday: if Ena didn’t fight back while being consumed, if the philosophy of Harmony prevailed in the confrontation among the Paths, why try to restore the Order?
And after that particular act he chose to reveal to us the finale of Ena’s story. That THEY were banished to oblivion by the united will of the people who defied Order. And THEIR death was praised alongside praises for the appearance of Harmony – the ideal that prevailed on Penacony in the end.
And that is what actually 3 is actually about. Puppets(Members of the Beyond the Sky Choir) ask what they and everyone else should do after the “king(Ena)” disappeared.
They feel no safety and out of their comfort zone when the one that controlled everything about their lives suddenly disappeared. And Chancellor’s answers are the representation of the ideology of Harmony, that you don’t need to be controlled to strive in life, for that there is more to universe and that the “king” is not actually required for betterment of society, that society can harmonize and evolve on their own, that the unity of people can replace the “king”. Ironically, “the Ode to Order” doesn’t glorify Order but rather disproves it from being the one and only universal truth.
In this act Sunday actually reveals, intended or not, that he doesn’t disprove Harmony’s ideal, that he subconsciously feels that it can stand on par with the ideal of Order.
Then, Sunday poses between us three questions, each one has different answers depending on your set of believes: order or Harmony. Notice, that Sunday doesn’t give his own answers to the questions.
“Is darkness equal to daylight?”
This question is very metaphorical. Radiance and light, eradicating darkness and giving protection to those under the light are a repeated theme in the ideology of the Order (“I shall ascend to the heavens, becoming the scorching sun. Bathed in my light, my people shall flourish, while all evil shall be eradicated” / “Those who live in the shadows do not bear the right to tread the illuminated stage.” / “I now permit you to gaze into the sun [hardest line in the game btw]”) But radiance is also a term sometimes used to describe Xipe. The greatest difference lies in the fact that what Order will not tolerate (“darkness”), harmony will be able to co-exist with and eventually embrace. So for Order they are different, but for Harmony not at all.
“Are sinners equal to the righteous?”
Order punishes the unjust and uplifts the righteous. For it, they are not equal. But for Harmony they are, mostly because before Xipe the very concept of sinners doesn’t exist. Harmony is all-embracing, for everyone can change for the better and be redeemed.
It is a discourse in philosophy: first question was about whether are you able to tolerate something that goes against you. While Harmony can, Order cannot (Sunday can as literally shown in the quest so he leans more to Harmony in that part). Second question was about whether people can change for the better and be redeemed. Order doesn’t believe in it, Harmony does.
“If you are born weak, which god should you turn for solace?”
It is another question to choose between philosophies because Sunday struggles to choose himself. If you are weak and you bow before someone(“king”) for the protection then this is a choice befitting Order, but if you choose to cooperate with others, uplift one another and “listen beating of billions of hearts holding you on their embrace” then this is the choice of Harmony.
Notice, that Sunday doesn’t consider us as enemies at all. As he says: “I genuinely wish to avoid a violent clash with my esteemed guests from afar.” When Astral Express team asks Sunday why did he invite us to the duel, he responds: “Because our shared goals give equal weight to the beliefs we strive for.” He regards everything happening more like a debate of two equally valid philosophies. Even in the fight with him (second one) he still invites us to join his chorus of Order. And he says “our final talk is concluded” only when he turns into his Embryo of Philosophy form, when literally everyone who could has risen against him. And then he reveals his true emotions:
“If your ‘paradise’ can save more people, sever my path with your hands”
He knows he is not infallible, that his plan can be wrong, that there is a possibility of making better choices, better decisions. And he asks us to prove, that Harmony after all is a stronger concept then that of Order. And his quote before that really makes everything extremely ironic:
“If we had never experienced solitude, how could we embark on different paths?”
Once again, this solitude refers to the times when he still completely followed Harmony. Yet he was the only person on the entire Penacony because of his great compassion, who actually followed what Xipe preached. Yet, in this he was alone. How can you be in Harmony with anyone, if you are alone. The irony is in the fact, that if Robin didn’t leave Penacony, of if he met another genuine believer, he wouldn’t have turn to Order and he would remain under Xipe. With many similarities of Order and Harmony: the epitome of Order is loneliness, being a sole ruler of everything, the epitome of Harmony is a unity of numerous people.
“And thus, my talk about Sunday has concluded. Next part is about Ena.”
Ⅲ
While his monologue about history of Ena can also be interpreted as parts above, it is much more interesting to discuss it when talking about Ena THEMSELVES.
“Let us commence with the dawning of the world… After the Dusk Wars, darkness veiled the sky, and chaos consumed the earth. Ena the Order emerged, destined to restore all existence. That marked the first day.”
The Dusk Wars are one of the most ancient (if not the most) periods of history we know about. Ena emerging at that time, makes THEM one of the oldest Aeons alongside Long, Hooh, Qlipoth and Oroboros.
” THEY gathered nebulae and forged them into picks, thus creating a grand lyre with black and white keys. Strike the white keys, and the sun rose. Strike the black keys moon and the rose. And so the cycle of day and night arose. That marked the second day. “
“THEY transmuted streams of stars into inked nibs, creating symbols to be pronounced and counted. THEY molded stardust into flowing rivers, assigning the righteous upstream and the unjust downstream. Thus, all things were marked and the world learned to discern between good and evil. That marked the third and fourth days. “
“THEY used the planetary rings to establish the law, forging a code of conduct among the masses. A grand lyre with black and white symbols of articulation and numerical notation took the form of musical notes. The downward-flowing river became a melody, and the cannon of law dictated the form. Thus, all mortals found their unique place within this symphony. That marked the fifth and sixth days. “
Ena, as we know was a control freak, at much bigger scale and extent, then Sunday could have ever hoped to become. We know that «Ena's harmonic songs seems to align within a three-dimensional framework, akin to an emperor maintaining hierarchical order among all creatures» Not only people, but the movement of celestial bodies were under THEIR control. THEY wanted to and almost controlled everything in the known cosmos. So, THEY were the only person responsible for everything. And when THEY were consumed, the manager of everything disappeared and the scales of order and discord lost their balance. That is why Hooh intervened and took THEIR responsibilities.
“THEY imbued world with meaning, perfecting all things in the heavens and earth. Then, THEY rested from the labors of creation. Yet, all beings cried to Ena – ‘Under the banner of the Order, you have defined all things in the Cosmos… but this made us realize that we are but puppets in your hands!’ – Thus, on that day, all beings united and cast the Aeon into the abyss of oblivion. That marked the seventh day. “
And this is the most interesting part. We know that Ena was consumed by Xipe, so why does Sunday refer to THEIR death as an action, made by humans?
As we know, Xipe “hails from multiple harmonious celestial words”, “a plural Aeon” and “THEY are the amalgamation of thousands of entities”. Thus, I pose that Xipe ascension was not a process of accension of a one person who somehow become an Aeon, but rather that several beings in a moment of unity (of “harmony”) were ascending as one. Next bit is purely theoretical:
But who could provide such unity before the existence of Harmony? Only the Beyond the Sky Choir – followers of Ena could understand the true extent of Ena’s control over everything and unify to create a change. Thus, mortals ascended into Aeon, befitting their shared beliefs, and from the Beyond the Sky Choir, Xipe arose with a new symphony of Harmony.
ⅠⅤ
Also, some other interesting bits from 2.2. storyline:
The most overlooked part of 2.2 quest for me is that part before boss battle when Sunday says that he doesn’t intend to either resurrect Ena or become a new Aeon of Order. While the actual possibility of such actions remains “enigmatic, we can now speculate that it could be possible to take control of a masterless Path or revive its master. I speculate that when we finally reach strongest Emanators level of poweallies/etc. the enemies we will be facing before actual Aeons will be unique beings like that: fallen Aeons in the process of resurrection or people in the process of becoming a new Aeon of a Path without one.
Another interesting bit of lore about Ena is that while she was “consumed” by Xipe, her Path still lingers in the cosmos masterless. While it was known about Paths of other fallen Aeons it is interesting that even assimilation by a broader concept Aeon isn’t enough to completely eradicate the Path from the face of the cosmos.
Some other connections that I noticed about Sunday while rewatching 2.2 quest were surprising even for me. Name a planet where the ruler intentionally left their subordinates in ignorance about the truth about the events for the sole reason of protecting them? It’s Belobog with Bronya and Seele (I could talk about similarities and differences of Bronya and Sunday but that would make already long post even longer). And this is why Ena was able to persuade Qlipoth. Because Qlipoth shares with THEM that general theme of protection. Because their Paths partly overlap. Because Preservation is about keeping everything dangerous behind the walls (in this case dangerous information about Cocolia), and everything inside the walls is safe, protected, or you could say “in Order”.
Ⅴ
P.S. I feel like in this quest there is still so much more to discuss(and I could write EVEN MORE), but this long wall of text is already too out of character from me as a humble follower of Enigmata.
2024.05.14 16:36 TheBlaringBlue The Art of the Rap Battle
Eivor is a bit of a strange protagonist.
She’s basically flawless and without blame. She’s brash and bold, proud and unashamed — brave and wise far beyond her years, yet able to be soft and compassionate when not brandishing spears. She’s got a knack for leadership, a strong moral compass and an even stronger muscular system with which to enact justice.
And she’s got bars?
As someone not deeply versed in medieval European histories, imagine my shock and confusion upon discovering that Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla included rap battling.
My first experience with Flyting had me asking so many questions about what I just witnessed that I couldn’t wait to begin Googling. I figured flyting probably was historically accurate, but if that’s the case, then what else can it tells us about the medieval warrior and about Eivor’s characterization?
I set off to find out.
--
Wikipedia and howstuffworks combined gave me a robust definition of flyting.
A ritual, poetic exchange of insults practiced mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries. Examples of flyting are found throughout Scots, Ancient, Medieval and Modern Celtic, Old English, Middle English and Norse literature involving both historical and mythological figures. The exchanges would become extremely provocative, often involving accusations of cowardice or sexual perversion.
The idea behind flyting was to influence public opinion of the participants and raise both of their profiles. And each participant wanted to make himself look better than the other, even if they were friendly.
Not only that, but flyting’s also the first recorded use of shit as an insult. That right there is worth this whole essay and then some.
--
I came away from those definitions with some small Euphoria, as they reinforce what I already expected from Ubisoft — historically accurate and (arguably) immersive side activities grounded in realism.
Unfortunately, none of the flyting foes that Eivor faces in this fantasy are founded in any real-world flyters. I was particularly frustrated when I realized Fergal the Faceless and Borghild the Alewife’s Bane were fictional features, not real historical fiends of rhythm and rhyme.
Two of Eivor’s syntax competitors are “real” in some sense, however.
In Norse mythos, Odin, Thor, Loki, Freyja and more would handle their Family Matters over a flyte from time to time, dueling wits and words as competition and entertainment.
In fact, one flyte we do see in game — Odin as he flytes over the river with Thor in the Asgard Arc — is likely a reference to a real medieval Norse poem; The Hárbarðsljóð.
In it, Thor jaunts back to Asgard after a journey in Jötunheim. He comes to a junction in which he must jump a large river, and thus hunts down a ferryman to shepherd him across. The ferryman, Hárbarðr, is Odin in disguise. He then begins to diss guys.
Ahem. ‘Guys’ being Thor, obviously.
First, Odin drops a yo-mama joke:
Ratatosk is the only other ‘real’ flyting enemy in Valhalla. While Odin doesn’t flyte with Ratatosk in Norse myth to my knowledge, the flyting against the squirrel is thematically accurate, at least.
Ratatosk’s purpose is to scramble up and down Yggdrasil, scurrying spoken messages from the eagle that sits at its peaks to the snake that slithers at its base. The nature of Ratatosk’s messages is in line with the act of flyting — the mischievous rodent carries falsehoods and aggressive statements to stir up drama and distrust between bird and serpent.
Flyting took place not only in poems and folklore, but in town squares and royal court. It was a facet of medieval life and social interaction. This weaving of prose then, in this time period, seemingly was just about as much of an admired skill as the swinging of a sword. It’s no wonder our unbreakable warrior Eivor is so proficient with word.
--
Like, really proficient with word.
I mean, I know it’s me choosing the dialogue options, but sheesh, is there anything she can’t do?
Actually, Eivor’s expertise in flyting is strange to me. It feels random and unearned — out of character, even. It comes more unexpectedly than Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us.
It probably only feels out of character, however, due to our modern understanding of proficiency with words versus proficiency with might. Our current interpretation of verbal ability compared to physical ability would perceive verbal ability as the ‘softer’ of the two skillsets. Physical strength is typically interpreted as tough and more dominant. You don’t expect to see an MMA fighter composing poetry, do you? The qualities that modern thought attributes to writing and physicality don’t mesh.
But in reality — and historically accurately in Valhalla — medieval warriors weren’t just blind berserkers. They were actually artists, poets and writers.
We’ve already demonstrated how Odin and Thor — Norse myth’s most famous warriors — carried out flyting. Thus, medieval Vikings would’ve surely done the same. Beyond Vikings though, the Illiad contains instances of public, ritualized abuse. Taunting songs are present in Inuit culture while Arabic poetry contains a form of flyting called naqa’id. Further, Japanese Samurai were known to be frequent composers of haiku, while Japanese culture also gave birth to Haikai, poetry in which vulgar satire and puns were wielded.
This historical accuracy ends up eliminating the randomness of Eivor’s flyting ability. Despite her verbal finesse feeling unearned, we can surmise historically that Eivor has practiced the wielding of words plenty in her life before we take over as the player. She’s dedicated time to this.
Now that we know why she has it, we can take a closer look at what it does for her.
--
So, Eivor can rap. She can match you with her axe or she can match you with her words. She’s just about unbeatable.
Her mastery of words demonstrates on some level that she’s not all Push Ups and might is right. She’s not all bruiser and bluster, burn and berserk. She’s an appreciator of the finer things — the more abstract, mental skills that require brain power, deftness and finesse.
This duality of strength and genius rounds out Eivor into a deeper, richer, more admirable character. More than just raw muscle in pursuit of glory, Eivor’s mastery of verse demonstrates her prioritizing not just her body, but her mind.
And it goes a long way for her.
Eivor can use her prowess with prose to progress past pointless plot points throughout Valhalla’s plethora of arcs and missions. It’s just a stat check in the end, but with enough practice flyting and enough charisma gained, Eivor unlocks new dialogue options that bend the world around her to her will.
Witch hunters in Eurvicscire on the brink of terrorizing Moira can be dispersed verbally rather than brawled or killed. There’s an entire riddle-solving fetch quest in Wincestre that can be skipped completely by telling King Aelfred’s abbot fuck off (figuratively). Eivor’s sharpening of her mind protects her body, saves her time, and allows her to frictionlessly fell her endeavors.
Her articulate advances don’t just alter her into admirability, they allow her to influence people and progression. With semantics from her mouth and twists from her tongue, Eivor can have her way whenever she wishes. In a game this large, I’m only left longing that the opportunity to make use of this charisma wasn’t relegated to niches.
Regardless, if medieval England is butter, Eivor’s tongue is the hot knife that behooves her move through her subduing more smoothly.
It all just goes to show that ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ flyte is right.
submitted by TheBlaringBlue to AssassinsCreedValhala [link] [comments]
She’s basically flawless and without blame. She’s brash and bold, proud and unashamed — brave and wise far beyond her years, yet able to be soft and compassionate when not brandishing spears. She’s got a knack for leadership, a strong moral compass and an even stronger muscular system with which to enact justice.
And she’s got bars?
As someone not deeply versed in medieval European histories, imagine my shock and confusion upon discovering that Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla included rap battling.
My first experience with Flyting had me asking so many questions about what I just witnessed that I couldn’t wait to begin Googling. I figured flyting probably was historically accurate, but if that’s the case, then what else can it tells us about the medieval warrior and about Eivor’s characterization?
I set off to find out.
--
Wikipedia and howstuffworks combined gave me a robust definition of flyting.
A ritual, poetic exchange of insults practiced mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries. Examples of flyting are found throughout Scots, Ancient, Medieval and Modern Celtic, Old English, Middle English and Norse literature involving both historical and mythological figures. The exchanges would become extremely provocative, often involving accusations of cowardice or sexual perversion.
The idea behind flyting was to influence public opinion of the participants and raise both of their profiles. And each participant wanted to make himself look better than the other, even if they were friendly.
Not only that, but flyting’s also the first recorded use of shit as an insult. That right there is worth this whole essay and then some.
--
I came away from those definitions with some small Euphoria, as they reinforce what I already expected from Ubisoft — historically accurate and (arguably) immersive side activities grounded in realism.
Unfortunately, none of the flyting foes that Eivor faces in this fantasy are founded in any real-world flyters. I was particularly frustrated when I realized Fergal the Faceless and Borghild the Alewife’s Bane were fictional features, not real historical fiends of rhythm and rhyme.
Two of Eivor’s syntax competitors are “real” in some sense, however.
In Norse mythos, Odin, Thor, Loki, Freyja and more would handle their Family Matters over a flyte from time to time, dueling wits and words as competition and entertainment.
In fact, one flyte we do see in game — Odin as he flytes over the river with Thor in the Asgard Arc — is likely a reference to a real medieval Norse poem; The Hárbarðsljóð.
In it, Thor jaunts back to Asgard after a journey in Jötunheim. He comes to a junction in which he must jump a large river, and thus hunts down a ferryman to shepherd him across. The ferryman, Hárbarðr, is Odin in disguise. He then begins to diss guys.
Ahem. ‘Guys’ being Thor, obviously.
First, Odin drops a yo-mama joke:
Of thy morning feats art thou proud, but the future thou knowest not wholly; Doleful thine home-coming is: thy mother, me thinks, is dead.He keeps going, taking more shots than a First Person Shooter, this time saying Thor dresses like a girl:
Three good dwellings methinks, thou hast not; Barefoot thou standest and wearest a beggar’s dress; Not even hose dost thou have.Thor says watch your mouth before I clap back:
Ill for thee comes thy keenness of tongue, if the water I choose to wade; Louder, I ween, than a wolf thou cryest, if a blow of my hammer thou hast.Odin replies by saying Thor’s wife is fucking another dude:
Sif has a lover at home, and him shouldst thou meet; More fitting it were on him to put forth thy strength.The version we play out in game isn’t identical to the real-world poem, but carries some similarities; Thor’s threatening to cross the river to fight Odin as well as his boasting of slaying giants are present in each.
Ratatosk is the only other ‘real’ flyting enemy in Valhalla. While Odin doesn’t flyte with Ratatosk in Norse myth to my knowledge, the flyting against the squirrel is thematically accurate, at least.
Ratatosk’s purpose is to scramble up and down Yggdrasil, scurrying spoken messages from the eagle that sits at its peaks to the snake that slithers at its base. The nature of Ratatosk’s messages is in line with the act of flyting — the mischievous rodent carries falsehoods and aggressive statements to stir up drama and distrust between bird and serpent.
Flyting took place not only in poems and folklore, but in town squares and royal court. It was a facet of medieval life and social interaction. This weaving of prose then, in this time period, seemingly was just about as much of an admired skill as the swinging of a sword. It’s no wonder our unbreakable warrior Eivor is so proficient with word.
--
Like, really proficient with word.
I mean, I know it’s me choosing the dialogue options, but sheesh, is there anything she can’t do?
Actually, Eivor’s expertise in flyting is strange to me. It feels random and unearned — out of character, even. It comes more unexpectedly than Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us.
It probably only feels out of character, however, due to our modern understanding of proficiency with words versus proficiency with might. Our current interpretation of verbal ability compared to physical ability would perceive verbal ability as the ‘softer’ of the two skillsets. Physical strength is typically interpreted as tough and more dominant. You don’t expect to see an MMA fighter composing poetry, do you? The qualities that modern thought attributes to writing and physicality don’t mesh.
But in reality — and historically accurately in Valhalla — medieval warriors weren’t just blind berserkers. They were actually artists, poets and writers.
We’ve already demonstrated how Odin and Thor — Norse myth’s most famous warriors — carried out flyting. Thus, medieval Vikings would’ve surely done the same. Beyond Vikings though, the Illiad contains instances of public, ritualized abuse. Taunting songs are present in Inuit culture while Arabic poetry contains a form of flyting called naqa’id. Further, Japanese Samurai were known to be frequent composers of haiku, while Japanese culture also gave birth to Haikai, poetry in which vulgar satire and puns were wielded.
This historical accuracy ends up eliminating the randomness of Eivor’s flyting ability. Despite her verbal finesse feeling unearned, we can surmise historically that Eivor has practiced the wielding of words plenty in her life before we take over as the player. She’s dedicated time to this.
Now that we know why she has it, we can take a closer look at what it does for her.
--
So, Eivor can rap. She can match you with her axe or she can match you with her words. She’s just about unbeatable.
Her mastery of words demonstrates on some level that she’s not all Push Ups and might is right. She’s not all bruiser and bluster, burn and berserk. She’s an appreciator of the finer things — the more abstract, mental skills that require brain power, deftness and finesse.
This duality of strength and genius rounds out Eivor into a deeper, richer, more admirable character. More than just raw muscle in pursuit of glory, Eivor’s mastery of verse demonstrates her prioritizing not just her body, but her mind.
And it goes a long way for her.
Eivor can use her prowess with prose to progress past pointless plot points throughout Valhalla’s plethora of arcs and missions. It’s just a stat check in the end, but with enough practice flyting and enough charisma gained, Eivor unlocks new dialogue options that bend the world around her to her will.
Witch hunters in Eurvicscire on the brink of terrorizing Moira can be dispersed verbally rather than brawled or killed. There’s an entire riddle-solving fetch quest in Wincestre that can be skipped completely by telling King Aelfred’s abbot fuck off (figuratively). Eivor’s sharpening of her mind protects her body, saves her time, and allows her to frictionlessly fell her endeavors.
Her articulate advances don’t just alter her into admirability, they allow her to influence people and progression. With semantics from her mouth and twists from her tongue, Eivor can have her way whenever she wishes. In a game this large, I’m only left longing that the opportunity to make use of this charisma wasn’t relegated to niches.
Regardless, if medieval England is butter, Eivor’s tongue is the hot knife that behooves her move through her subduing more smoothly.
It all just goes to show that ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ flyte is right.
2024.05.14 14:34 _conwy_ [Precalculus] Determining sign diagrams of polynomial functions and their derivatives
Is there a generally agreed procedure – or at least a handful of useful techniques?
Background:
I'm learning about concavity in curves of functions, specifically identifying the turning points and inflections in such curves.
To do this I'm building sign diagrams of f(x), f'(x) (first derivative) and f''(x) (second derivative).
For example:
So far my "technique" is pretty scrappy.
First I determine zero points (by inspection, completing the square or applying the quadratic formula).
Then I just punch tiny permutations into my calculator, e.g. `1.0001^2 - 1.0001^4`, etc, randomly to see whether they're negative or positive, and scrawl down the results. Then I try to throw together a sign diagram that seems right.
I would prefer to follow a consistent method that can generally get me accurate results.
So far I've got this short list:
A) Inspecting for obvious forcing of the whole result.
E.g. in an expression like: 2x^2 - x^2, the result can only be positive, because both sides square x and the left side only doubles that value, so will always be larger than the right.
B) Factoring/grouping.
Factor the polynomial into groups of multiplications if possible, then solve the sign of each group separately, then combined them in the end.
For example:
Drawing up a table of values of x (columns) and groups of the polynomial (from the Factoring/grouping above).
For example:
This can then easily be converted to a sign diagram.
D) Applying values of powers of fractions.
I noticed it's common that a fraction raised to a power will give a radically (no pun) different result to the whole polynomial.
For example:
6x^3 - 6x will be:
I'm thinking of memorising (or at least being able to quickly build from memory) a table like the following:
E) Inverting the polynomial (or grouped parts of it) to find zero points.
For example, given: 5x^2 - 1.
I can invert 5x^2 to get sqrt(x/5) so that sqrt(1/5) gives me a zero point of the expression.
Then I can add/subtract tiny amounts to build the sign diagram around it.
E.g.
What do you think?
Am I generally right to try and find a systematic method or at least a collection of tools to solve this kind of problem?
If so, are there any good books out there that cover such methods, so I don't have to discover them on my own by trial-and-error?
Or if not, then maybe this would be a good topic for a math book or blog post that I should write on my own!
submitted by _conwy_ to learnmath [link] [comments]
I'm learning about concavity in curves of functions, specifically identifying the turning points and inflections in such curves.
To do this I'm building sign diagrams of f(x), f'(x) (first derivative) and f''(x) (second derivative).
For example:
| x | -1 | 0 | 1/2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| y' | - | - | + | + |
- By working out the signs of the 1st derivative, I can determine the turning points of the curve.
- By working out the signs of the 2nd derivative, I can determine the inflection points of the curve.
- f(x) = x^2 - x^4
- so that f'(x) = 2x - 4x^3
- and f''(x) = 2 - 12x^2
- f(x) = x^4 - 3x^2 + 6x
- so that f'(x) = 4x^3 - 6x + 6
- and f''(x) = 12x^2 - 6
First I determine zero points (by inspection, completing the square or applying the quadratic formula).
Then I just punch tiny permutations into my calculator, e.g. `1.0001^2 - 1.0001^4`, etc, randomly to see whether they're negative or positive, and scrawl down the results. Then I try to throw together a sign diagram that seems right.
I would prefer to follow a consistent method that can generally get me accurate results.
A) Inspecting for obvious forcing of the whole result.
E.g. in an expression like: 2x^2 - x^2, the result can only be positive, because both sides square x and the left side only doubles that value, so will always be larger than the right.
B) Factoring/grouping.
Factor the polynomial into groups of multiplications if possible, then solve the sign of each group separately, then combined them in the end.
For example:
- x^4 - x^3 - 5x => (x^2 - 3x)(x^2 + 2x)
- Make two sign diagrams, one for (x^2 - 3x) and one for (x^2 + 2x)
- Then combine the signs, i.e. - * - = +, - * + = +, + * + = +
Drawing up a table of values of x (columns) and groups of the polynomial (from the Factoring/grouping above).
For example:
| x | -1 | -1 + 0.001 | 0 - 0.001 | 0 | 0 + 0.001 | 1 - 0.001 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (x^2 - 3x) | 2 (+) | ≈ 3.995 (+) | ≈ 0.003 (+) | 0 | ≈ -0.002 (-) | ≈ -1.998 (-) | -2 (-) |
| (x^2 + 2x) | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
D) Applying values of powers of fractions.
I noticed it's common that a fraction raised to a power will give a radically (no pun) different result to the whole polynomial.
For example:
6x^3 - 6x will be:
- Negative for fractions; e.g. (6 * (0.5^3)) - (6*0.5) = -2.25
- Positive for whole numbers; e.g. (6 * (2^3)) - (6*2) = +36
I'm thinking of memorising (or at least being able to quickly build from memory) a table like the following:
| x | 2 | 3 | 4 | ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | 1/4 | 1/8 | ... | ... |
| 1/4 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 1/6 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
For example, given: 5x^2 - 1.
I can invert 5x^2 to get sqrt(x/5) so that sqrt(1/5) gives me a zero point of the expression.
Then I can add/subtract tiny amounts to build the sign diagram around it.
E.g.
| x | sqrt(1/5)-0.001 | sqrt(1/5) | sqrt(1/5)+0.001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 0 | + |
Am I generally right to try and find a systematic method or at least a collection of tools to solve this kind of problem?
If so, are there any good books out there that cover such methods, so I don't have to discover them on my own by trial-and-error?
Or if not, then maybe this would be a good topic for a math book or blog post that I should write on my own!
2024.05.14 12:40 Specialist_Bake6514 Vapiano P3: Italian Food Made in Germany
 | The kitchen is on fire. Welcome to the final part of the Vapiano story where the tables are turning. In the first two episodes we followed Mark Korzilius' journey from setbacks to founding Vapiano, a groundbreaking restaurant concept, highlighting its fresh ingredients, dynamic atmosphere, and data-driven operations that drove rapid success. While achieving initial profitability and garnering attention from industry giants like McDonald's, Vapiano's global expansion has led to stellar revenue growth. However, it has also resulted in the emergence of numerous side projects (or distractions), operational challenges, increased costs, significant investments, and a notable accumulation of debt. This underscores the prioritization of top-line growth over profitable growth. We will continue on this thread and see how the story ends, but I would encourage you to read part one and two for better context. Vapiano P1: Italian Food Made in Germany (substack.com). Let's dig in. submitted by Specialist_Bake6514 to unpackbusinesses [link] [comments] Before Going Public We are now in 2015 and the year is a disaster for Vapiano's PR department. Employee time stamps are being manipulated, endless overtime for employees and high turnover in managerial roles are reported; mice in the kitchen and even rotten food allegedly found. The company is confronted with allegations of exceeding working hours among trainees in an article published by Welt am Sonntag, while the same outlet accuses Vapiano of manipulating punch times. The auditing firm PwC is commissioned to investigate the allegations and finds that there is no systematic approach but rather misconduct by individual employees, a mistake that’s being corrected. Internal however, investigations into stamp times are carried out regularly now and beyond its obvious reputational impact, this sucks up valuable management time and attention. In the summer of 2015 CEO, co-founder and investor Gregor Gerlach, who has been running the group since 2011 is stepping down and Jochen Halfmann is taking over. A new Vapiano People Program with an App is being developed with the aim to better interact with customers that will incorporate innovate features such as mobile pay. The German website sees a launch of new magazine to further promote the brand and there is now a full inhouse blogger and Instagram team being installed. In October the company buys seven restaurants from original co-founder, former co-investor and ex-president previously responsible for internation expansion Kent Hahne (2x Bonn, 3x Cologne, 1x Koblenz and one in Cologne that’s under construction). This package of Vapiano restaurants is very successful and generates net sales of more than 20 million euros in 2014. Hahne opened his first Vapiano restaurant in Cologne in August 2006 and in 2015 with his company apeiron AG, Hahne operates six L'Osteria franchise restaurants, a direct Vapiano competitor, and two self-owned restaurants GinYuu. Then in November of 2015, the next public relations bomb goes off with allegations regarding the company's quality standards. The company immediately investigates the issue through internal and external specialists but finds no evidence of any quality issues. Nevertheless, knowing that the group is now being closely watched, the company’s already in place hygiene standards are being reinforced. Additional audits and inspections are performed nationally. Further, all Vapianos worldwide are being audited twice by the partners SGS Institut Fresenius and SAI Global. Auditing software is purchased to simplify the implementation of the audits and the resulting measures. Apart from the external examinations, there is a food sampling plan in place being performed continuously. Again, all of this sucks up costs, management time and attention. With all these tumultuous developments the company’s growth engine is undeterred. Revenue grows by a whopping 50 million euros to 202 million euros, an increase of 33%. Impressive. While average spent per customer increases in all countries, the number of customers per day in Germany decreases by 3.3% partially due to the negative press towards the end of the year. Five own, four JV and 19 new franchise restaurants are added that year to the group, the total number of own managed restaurants grows to 51, there are 31 JVs and 84 franchises which bringing the total to 166 Vapiano restaurants. Global restaurant sales are now above 400 million euros. But while revenue grows by an astronomical 50 million euros, operating profits, alarmingly, shrink again. Gross margins are staying perfectly healthy above 75% but operating costs keep growing disproportionately fast. The Company’s outstanding debt jumps by almost 30 million, close to 85 million euros by the end of the year. With operating profits at 9.5 million euros, alarm bells should be going off right now. In Q4 of 2015, new CEO Jochen Halfmann introduces Strategy 2020. The new strategy includes five essential points. One, profitable growth in the newly defined core markets of Germany and Austria as well as in the UK, Netherlands, France and USA. Two, operational excellence through strict “best practice” management. Three, further development and digitalization of the concept considering guest feedback. Four, greater focus on long-term employee retention and five, building a modern and sustainable IT landscape. Sound’s good on paper but let’s see how things pan out. Vapiano's investments (capital expenditures) that year are primarily directed towards new restaurant openings, renovations of existing establishments, and share acquisitions in other Vapiano restaurants from franchisees or JV partners. A significant portion of funds is allocated to the digitalization of the guest experience, including the development of a new app scheduled for market release in 2016 and the implementation of a time recording system across all group restaurants. The world's first standalone Vapiano restaurant with a delivery service that year is built in Fürth, Germany. The company keeps expanding its presence in both inner-city locations and international markets, such as Shanghai, China. To finance all of this, the group has its own operating cash flow which comes in at 18 million while capital expenditures are 26 million euros plus 14 million for acquisitions. The funding gab is filled with 26 million euros of new debt and a seven-million-euro equity raise. At that end of the year and after the equity raise Gregor Gerlach (through his AP Leipzig GmbH & Co. KG entity) holds 30.1%, Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander through their Exchange Bio GmbH hold 25.5% and the Tchibo heirs, Herz through their Mayfair Beteiligungsfonds II GmbH & Co. KG hold 44,4%. But for the first time the restaurant’s concept that was so successful to date is being questioned. Some customers are starting to mislike the operational flow of the concept itself. If you want pasta, you must queue for pasta. If you want pizza you stand in a different queue. A small side salad, yet another queue. "You spend more time carrying trays than an actress in Berlin-Mitte. The audience in the pasta limbo can only consist of people who have worked for an insurance company for a long time and, like Stockholm syndrome, they can no longer get away from the industrial canteen feeling," writes TV host Beisenherz provocatively. While overly harsh in his assessment he's not entirely wrong judging by customers venting their frustrations in forums and social media channels. It isn’t uncommon for those who ordered pizza to have already finished eating while there is little movement in the pasta queue. Long term that doesn't go down well, QSRs competitors like L’Osteria are handling this process differently, with much success. https://preview.redd.it/6cas01oked0d1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=2da6e0b4bc0e07dbee558de412feb414cd598d4a Tipping PointWhere are now in the year 2016 and things start to deteriorate visibility. Perhaps not for the leman’s eye but any business minded observer can see that there are problems under the hood. Yes, revenue grows yet another whopping 50 million to almost 250 million euros but half of that growth, comes from acquisitions of restaurants that the group didn’t already own 100%, which is now being fully consolidated within the group’s accounts. Here is a concrete example. In the past, Vapiano SE, the group’s top holding company held an indirect 50% stake in a French subgroup via the subsidiary VAP Restaurants SA, based in Luxembourg, and included this as an associated company in the Vapiano SE consolidated financial statements using the equity method. Due to the acquisition of additional shares in September of 2016, Vapiano SE's indirect share in the French subgroup increased to 75%. This means that Vapiano SE takes control of the French subgroup, which is therefore included in the group’s financial statements as part of the full consolidation. The revenue from the acquired subsidiary now recorded in the consolidated income statement amounts to 12.8 million euros. While that’s great for the top line, the loss of the fully consolidated entity equates to 0.2 million euros. Yes, you are buying revenue, but there are losses attached to them, not profits. A similar case is the Swedish entity that runs eight restaurants with revenue of 11.5 million euros but has losses of 235 thousand euros. So much for Strategy 2020 and “profitable” growth.That year the group’s operating profits are absolutely tanking, halving to 3.5 million euros. Operating profits are now a mere 1,4% of revenue. Remember original founder Mark Korzilius who talked about operating margins of 25% to 28% at the restaurant level? Yes, there are overhead costs for the organization that sits above the chain of restaurants, but operating margins that low indicates a course correction is needed. What’s telling is that in the annual report, in the management discussion section, the company starts talking about EBITDA as a proxy measure of profitability, rather than operating profit or net income. This wasn’t the case in the years before. Is this window dressing for an upcoming IPO? EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. How can you measure profitability of a restaurant chain that absolutely and unequivocally needs capital investment to maintain its restaurant operations, the very source of cash generation, by simply excluding this maintenance charge (depreciation in the income statement)? Vapiano’s own annual report talks about the fact that existing restaurants must be rejuvenated from time to time and that new interior designs have to be implemented every few years. These things wear and tear, they go out of style, kitchen equipment breaks and needs replacement. This business absolutely needs maintenance capital expenditure, why anyone talks of profits before these maintenance costs is beyond me. Fun fact: in the previous annual report EBITDA is mentioned seven times, mostly around restaurant acquisitions and financing, not however as a profit indication for the group. In the new annual report, EBITDA is mentioned 28 times. Maybe it’s just me but belated Charlie Munger liked to call EBITDA: bullsh*t earnings. When in doubt I stick with Charlie. Interestingly, EBITDA for Vapiano keeps growing while operating and net profits keep falling. Operating cashflow for the group that year is about 21 million euros, but capital expenditure is 30 million and acquisitions for subsidiaries another 20 million. To finance these expenditures another 28 million euros of debt and 16 million of equity is raised. Net debt rises above 130 million euro. The operating cashflow of the group before any capital expenditures is 21 million euros. I am not sure free cash flow would be significantly positive after maintenance capex is paid out; it’s not broken out so we can’t be sure. Granted, I am not on the ground during this time, and I am not in the board room, I am simply reading what’s in front of me, but to me this is starting to look like a distressed situation. Regardless, the following year the company goes public. IPOWhere are now in the year 2017 and its Vapiano’s first year as public company. The company’s annual report reads the following “Sales revenue, like-for-like growth (LfL) and the earnings figures EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are used as the most important financial performance indicators for controlling operational business activities.” The very same report however also says: “The majority of the group's investments regularly go towards opening new restaurant locations and modernizing existing restaurants. The latter are differentiated into regular replacement investments that occur during ongoing operations (Maintenance CAPEX) and fundamental investments in the renovation of a restaurant (Remodeling CAPEX). On average, a restaurant remodeling takes place nine years after opening.” It says it right there in their own report; every nine years a remodeling is taking place. Remodeling and updating is not cost free, so why exclude depreciation charges which reflect capital expenditures? I understand that perhaps you would want to strip out one-off opening costs, that’s fine and fair, but don’t go overboard.The number of restaurants increases by 26 (previous year: 13) to a total of 205. The increase consists of 27 new openings and one closure. Group revenue grows to an astonishing 325 million euros but here comes the shocker, operating profits turn negative to 25 million. Fine, strip out foreign exchange losses of 3 million, IPO costs of 5.8 million and new opening costs of 6.1 million and you still have 10 million euros of operational losses. All the while the debt load of almost 130 million hasn’t materially changed, so those operating losses are before a six-million-euro interest payment. 184 million euros are raised through the IPO of which 85 million go to the company. This money is earmarked for further expansion as the group has ambitions to almost double the footprint to 330 restaurants by the end of 2020. The company is currently not profitable on an operating basis, and still wants to expand aggressively? I don’t get it. The remaining 100 million euros of the IPO money raised is distributed to co-founder Gregor Gerlach and Wella heirs Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander. The family office of the former Tchibo owners Günter and Daniela Herz with a 44% stake, don’t sell a single share. After the IPO, 32% of all the company’s shares are now in free float. One year later, in 2018, things get even worse. Revenue grows to 371 million, but operating losses mount to 85 million euros, that’s before interest expenses of 9 million. Even the beloved EBITDA figure turns negative, meaning the operating business before any expansionary or even maintenance capital expenditures is loss making. All regions are experiencing significant deterioration in their earnings profiles. Like for like sales are down 1% across the board. That’s revenue, not profitability. The question naturally arises: is the Group approaching its natural saturation point here or this operational by nature? The operating cash flow is now 9 million while financing cost are close to 7 million. That leaves 2 million for maintenance capital for 74 own restaurants and 76 joint ventures ones. Describing this as financially tight, would be an understatement. Things are not looking good at this point. Yet the company still grows restaurants by 26 new sites. 64 million euros are spent on acquisitions, new openings, and maintenance costs, financed through a 20 million-euro equity raise and 72 million of new debt. The Company now has net debt outstanding of over 160 million euros. After the equity raise and by the end of the year 2018, Mayfair owns 47.4%, VAP Leipzig, Gregor Gerlach’s entity owns 18.9% and the Sander couple own 15.5% of the company. Yes, the Sanders and Gerlach may have taken 100 million euros off the table, but they still have substantial skin in the game. Plus, Mayfair hasn’t sold a single share and instead injects more money into the company through the equity round. The stock has now fallen from its IPO price of 23 euros per share to under 6 euros by the end of 2018. Something must be done here. And indeed, there is pivot in strategy and a hard push for change. At last, the management team abandons its aggressive growth plan and curtails new openings significantly. Additionally, the team wants to run a thorough analysis of weak locations to then either discontinue or sell sites. In Europe, the operating focus will be put on corporate restaurants and joint ventures in major cities to ensure the ideal size and location to match the respective demographic target group. Outside of Europe, the franchising business is being expanded and at the same time a consolidation of the existing corporate and joint venture markets is being sought. All future investments will be reviewed to achieve higher rates of returns on new openings. Investments are also being made in the renovation of older restaurants. The goal in the future is to also open smaller formats, like Mini-Vapianos (less than 400 square meters) or Freestander at prominent transportation hubs outside city centers (currently in Fürth and Toulouse) to cater to individual location requirements, and to enter new partnerships. I am not sure why management hasn’t stopped all expansion altogether, bringing the ship in order first, getting profitable, clean up, all hands-on deck before considering any further expansions whatsoever. But again, it’s easy to comment from the sidelines; maybe they saw white spaces that would be covered by competing concepts if they weren’t moving fast and aggressively enough. Although pushing internationally means competing with local players such as Jamie's Italian, Prezzo, Pizza Express, Wagamama, Nando's and many more which brings in its own dynamic. Management also aims to enhance guest satisfaction. This involves refining operational processes, reorganizing the support center, and refocusing on the core offering: providing fresh and high-quality Italian food at affordable prices for a broad audience. The group also aims to reduce waiting times, especially during lunch, while also improving the evening atmosphere. There is even what I would call an evolution, away from Vapiano’s original concept, reorientating the customer journey. The ordering flow is being changed, offering guests synchronized preparations of all dishes while eliminating wait times at the cooking stations. The open show kitchen remains, staying true to original mantra of freshness and transparency but now guests can choose their preferred method of ordering through a mobile app, using a digital order point (kiosk), or by personally placing an order with a waiter. Guests can still freely choose their table and are then informed about the complete preparation of their order through a pager or their smartphone. This is a substantial deviation from the original concept, but a needed one. The group is also exploring and implementing the expansion of take-away and home delivery services but only at suitable locations, not universally across new openings. I am not sure why home delivery is even a priority here; it adds operational complexity. It’s better to clean up shop first and get back to the basics before adding new complexities. To be fair management does try to simplify. There are 49 different permanent dishes on the menu and additional 10 seasonal ones. Customers can choose from eleven different types of pasta. There is simply too much choice, and it makes orders complicated. The company announced to slim the menu down to its most popular and typical Vapiano dishes. There’s no need for an Asian salad at an Italian restaurant. "We have to go back to the roots, i.e. classic, honest Italian cuisine" says COO Everke. Regardless, in November of 2018, the supervisory board pulls the plug on CEO Jochen Halfmann and replaces him with Cornelius Everke. Everke himself has just become COO five months ago. Since 2017 he was responsible for international expansion. From 2011 to 2017 that role was filled by Mario Bauer – put a pin in that name, he’ll play a key role in the groups fate later. Then nine months later, in the middle of 2019, Cornelius Everke quits. He essentially concludes that his skillset and experience in the areas of internation expansion is no longer needed in the foreseeable future. To put it differently: Vapiano has moved from a growth story and has become a restructuring case, and other skills are required for that job. In June of 2019 Everke says the following “(we’ve) made a bit of a mistake when it came to foreign expansion”. No sh#t. Vapiano postpones the presentation of the 2018 annual financial statements three times in the spring of 2019, citing negotiations over an urgently needed loan of 30 million euros. It’s not until the end of May that a binding loan commitment comes through from the financing banks and major shareholders. We are now in August of 2019 and the corona pandemic is just around the corner. Supervisory board chief Vanessa Hall takes over as interim-CEO and things are unravelling. Visitor numbers are declining; originally, it was planned to sell the US business but halfway through the year the buyer cannot come up with the money. But not all restaurants are performing poorly. The group's poor figures contrast starkly as an example with the experiences of the Swiss-German franchisee, who runs six restaurants. The Sodano family in Switzerland pays Vapiano a royalty of 6% of sales for the use of the brand. Enrico Sodano explains in an interview that they operate largely autonomously from the licensor. If an “accident” were to occur, he could immediately replace the Vapiano sign with Sodano, he says. The family concluded the rents and contracts with employees and suppliers independently. The Sodano family have six locations in Bern, Basel and Zurich, around one million guests every year and 350 employees. Things are going well on the ground. The delivery service they’ve built is offering them a second income stream. Expansion into Winterthur, St. Gallen and Lucerne are being planned; small locations with 150 to 250 square meters and an attached delivery service. Originally, Vapiano restaurants used to be huge but for such a large restaurant to be profitable, 800 to 1,000 guests per day are needed. That’s possible in medium-sized cities, but not in smaller towns which is why the Vapiano group now also supports smaller formats. Back to our corporate drama. The 2019 annual report would be the last report the group files. By the end 2019 the outstanding debt of the company is at an astronomical 450 million euros. Revenue has grown by another 7%, produced by four net new openings through two JVs and two franchise restaurants but operating losses come in at 317 million euros. That sound like an absolute shocker at first but depreciation and amortization charges are 345 million, so that operating cash flow is actually positive but unfortunately capital expenditures and interest payments are so large that they are eating up all of the company’s operating cash flow. Then in the beginning of 2020 Corona hits with full force and the world shuts down. As a result of the measures to prevent further spreading of the virus, the group is forced to cease all global business operations (except in Sweden). While all these shutdowns are happening, the group is the middle of negotiating with its lending banks and main shareholders. There are additional financing needs for restructuring measures, even without a pandemic happening in the background. The situation is so dire that the company starts pleading to the German government to roll out the package of financial help more quickly. Unfortunately, it’s to no end. The rapid closure of restaurants and the resulting lack of operating cash inflows in conjunction with the additional financing requirements, lead to the company’s final knockout punch. In April of 2020, the Vapiano group officially files for insolvency proceedings. The end of an era. New BeginningsBecause of the pandemic, the majority of the group's subsidiaries in Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Sweden, and China also file for insolvency or seek liquidation. The US business never gets sold in the end and is wound down. In the summer of 2020, significant group divestments occur, including the sale of 75% shares in the group's French subsidiaries, shares in franchisor companies, Australian subsidiaries, German subsidiaries, associated companies, self-managed restaurants in Germany, and insolvency-related sales in the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Sweden. The buyer of the Vapiano brand and one of these bundles of Vapiano restaurants is company named Love & Food Restaurant Holding, a consortium led by Mario C. Bauer – a name I told you to remember. Bauer was a former Vapiano board member and led the national and international expansion, opening 200 sites in 33 countries from 2011 to 2017 until he was succeeded by Cornelius Everke. Bauer didn’t feel comfortable with the IPO at the time but clearly has a lot of managerial and entrepreneurial talent.The buyer consortium is an absolute A-Team comprised of European QSR top league hitters, including the founder of the Pret A Manger chain Sinclair Beecham; Henry McGovern, the founder and Ex-CEO of the giant international restaurant and foodservice operator AmRest; the Van der Valk Family that runs hotels and Vapiano restaurants in the Netherlands, and co-founder and ex-CEO Gregor Gerlach. The acquisition value is 15 million euros and entails 30 Vapiano restaurants in Germany, albeit that’s just the purchase price which comes on top of any capital investment needed to refresh and return the sites to its former glory. Nevertheless, just as a thought experiment, if you can get each site to 2 million euros of revenue and 400,000 euros in operating profit on average, which wouldn’t be an overly aggressively assumption given the company’s history, you’ve got yourself a package that can deliver restaurant-level operating profits of 12 million euros or more. It’s not disclosed how much capex was needed to refresh the operations, just that fact that the overall investment plus purchase price was a middle double-digit million-euro figure. Stil, it probably was a decent purchase. The same consortium buys Vapiano’s French business for 25 million euros just two weeks prior. After the transaction concludes, the master franchise is given to Delf Neumann and his Gastro & Soul GmbH. Neumann is an experienced operator, and he is ambitious to revitalise the brand with new services and products. For example, instead of pizza, the restaurants will be serving pinsa - a flatbread made from sourdough, wheat and rice flour, topped similarly to a pizza. It targets a more health-oriented customer base looking for a less calory heavy option. The menu overall is expanded by including a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes. https://preview.redd.it/kpt7ea6red0d1.png?width=1242&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9930ced85ee364e9df414547cae06b47a03fc19 Today Neumann’s Gastro & Soul GmbH operates 18 Vapianos on its own account and has 29 franchise sites, amongst other brands. By the year 2021, Vapiano operates 191 restaurants in 34 countries. This is around 50 fewer sites than before the bankruptcy. The number of branches is particularly thinned out in Germany – from 80 to 55. Nevertheless, Vapiano's home country remains by far the largest market, followed by France with 35 restaurants and Austria with 15 locations. “We have shrunk ourselves to health,” says Bauer in the aftermath and there is no further shrinking planned. Quite the opposite, the smell of expansion is in the air again – pun intended. Not as aggressively as before and with a new menu and ordering process. Overall, the team around Bauer is filled with industry experts with knowledge and networks gained over decades who have a great track record, a long-term view, and the staying power to let Vapiano breath and finds its way back to success. The pressure of being a public company with all the associated quarterly, half-year and yearly disincentives have been removed. The menu is changed and extended with new types of pasta and sauces with significantly more vegetarian and vegan dishes available. Guests can order with restaurant staff, at terminals or on their phones and there are barcodes attached to the tables identify the respective seat. The food is brought to your table, all at the same time if you are in a group, no more annoyances with waiting in line. There is a plan for smaller, 350 square meter locations, with half the number of guests and significantly fewer staff and less set-up costs required to make the economics work. Locations that capitalize on remote work and increased demand for local lunch options, higher population density with shorter delivery routes and therefore cost-effective in house delivery services are targeted. And Bauer is testing the concept of ghost kitchens, which operate without a dining room or service staff, focusing solely on preparing food for delivery services, which for obvious reasons have a very different operational set up and footprint. Original founder Mark Korzilius however is not entirely convinced. He is not a fan of the pinsa for instance and he considers Vapiano's pizza as its cash cow, flagship product and believes that the core Vapiano proposition of Pizza, Pasta, Bar that has given the company its original success is being diluted. He instead admires the competitor L'Osteria, saying they’ve done a better job by focusing on Italian classics, especially the impressively large pizzas that sticks out beyond the plate is leaving every customer in awe. The guys who run L’Osteria are the same guys who have built Vapiano with him in the first place. Bauer on the other hand, like a true business leader, remains undeterred, stating that he is frequently asked whether Vapiano's restart was bold or foolish. He believes in entrepreneurship, franchising, in his experienced fellow partners and importantly the Vapiano concept. By the year 2024 you can find over 140 Vapiano branded restaurant in 27 countries across the globe, including locations far away from its birthplace like Australia, USA, Columbia, Chile, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. And why not? Italian food is, and will remain to be, incredibly popular. Vapiano offers fresh and tasty food at affordable prices in a good atmosphere. This combination of attributes should attract a lot of customers. It certainly has in the past. For more stories: WIP Thomas Weitzendoerfer Substack |
2024.05.14 11:52 Dreamweaver_duh What are some videogames you liked that came with bonus features/ videos like behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, and even TV episodes?
I dont know about you guys, but I personally like watching some of the bonus features they put on DVDs for movies, so I kind of also like seeing them in video games. Do you guys feel the same way? What are some video games that have fun little videos to watch that you liked?
For example, the PS3 versions of the Uncharted trilogy had unlockable behind-the-scenes videos that showed you how some of the levels were made, or how some of the cutscenes were directed. Unfortunately, these weren't included on the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection presumably due to disc space, and that's kind of a shame because I always thought they were kinda neat.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game also had a few featurettes, like a behind-the-scenes commentary with some of the developers of the game (Terminal Reality), as well as some of the actors like Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Harold Ramis (rest in peace). They also had a video of people refurbishing the Ecto-1 to promote the game, with Dan Aykroyd even visiting to give them his approval. They also included a trailer advertising the Blu-ray release of the original movie, and even included a small snippet of the scene where Peter Venkman gets slimed. They kept these in the Remastered versions of the game too, unlike Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection... except for the Nintendo Switch version, which presumably had to be removed to fit on the game cart.
The Dark Pictures Anthology games had short featurette videos talking with the main actor of their respective games (so Shaun Ashmore in Man of Medan, Will Poulter in Little Hope, and Ashley Tisdale in House of Ashes), and sometimes showed a little footage of what the mo-cap sessions were like. I thought it was cool seeing the blank set they had to work with, and everyone in mo-cap suits trying to pretend they're on a moving ship and such.
Some video games even had full TV episodes in them. The Mega Man Anniversary Collection on PS2 had the first episode of the Animated Series cartoon, while the Xbox version had the first episode of NT Warrior. The GameCube version, on the other hand, had the G4 Retrospective of Mega Man.
Meanwhile, the Kirby Dream Collection on the Wii had not one, not two, but three episodes of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. While the first episode is the first episode overall, the other two episodes were ones that happened in the latter half of the series, which is a little weird but at least you got three episodes.
Even better, one video game I imported from Japan is Snack World on the Nintendo Switch. While the game did get localized for a western release, the Japanese version of the game, Snack World: Trejares Gold, came with the first four episodes of the CG anime. Of course, it's in Japanese and there's no English subs, but it's still nice to have, and is well animated enough to get the gist of what's going on.
Even better than that is ASOBU TIGHTS, which is a simple match-3 puzzle game on the Nintendo Switch based on the Miru Tights anime... which is a very short but fan servicey anime. While you do have to grind for a bit, pun intended, you can unlock all like 12 episodes of the anime. Now, each episode is only a few minutes long, and don't "really" have a "plot" per se (they kind of just show girls in tights or zoom in on their feet or breasts... which is a different kind of plot), but I still thought it was still nice to have. It's definitely well animated at least.
Anyway, I wanted to know what kind of other games have these bonus features, and whether or not I'm the only one who cares for this stuff.
submitted by Dreamweaver_duh to gaming [link] [comments]
For example, the PS3 versions of the Uncharted trilogy had unlockable behind-the-scenes videos that showed you how some of the levels were made, or how some of the cutscenes were directed. Unfortunately, these weren't included on the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection presumably due to disc space, and that's kind of a shame because I always thought they were kinda neat.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game also had a few featurettes, like a behind-the-scenes commentary with some of the developers of the game (Terminal Reality), as well as some of the actors like Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Harold Ramis (rest in peace). They also had a video of people refurbishing the Ecto-1 to promote the game, with Dan Aykroyd even visiting to give them his approval. They also included a trailer advertising the Blu-ray release of the original movie, and even included a small snippet of the scene where Peter Venkman gets slimed. They kept these in the Remastered versions of the game too, unlike Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection... except for the Nintendo Switch version, which presumably had to be removed to fit on the game cart.
The Dark Pictures Anthology games had short featurette videos talking with the main actor of their respective games (so Shaun Ashmore in Man of Medan, Will Poulter in Little Hope, and Ashley Tisdale in House of Ashes), and sometimes showed a little footage of what the mo-cap sessions were like. I thought it was cool seeing the blank set they had to work with, and everyone in mo-cap suits trying to pretend they're on a moving ship and such.
Some video games even had full TV episodes in them. The Mega Man Anniversary Collection on PS2 had the first episode of the Animated Series cartoon, while the Xbox version had the first episode of NT Warrior. The GameCube version, on the other hand, had the G4 Retrospective of Mega Man.
Meanwhile, the Kirby Dream Collection on the Wii had not one, not two, but three episodes of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. While the first episode is the first episode overall, the other two episodes were ones that happened in the latter half of the series, which is a little weird but at least you got three episodes.
Even better, one video game I imported from Japan is Snack World on the Nintendo Switch. While the game did get localized for a western release, the Japanese version of the game, Snack World: Trejares Gold, came with the first four episodes of the CG anime. Of course, it's in Japanese and there's no English subs, but it's still nice to have, and is well animated enough to get the gist of what's going on.
Even better than that is ASOBU TIGHTS, which is a simple match-3 puzzle game on the Nintendo Switch based on the Miru Tights anime... which is a very short but fan servicey anime. While you do have to grind for a bit, pun intended, you can unlock all like 12 episodes of the anime. Now, each episode is only a few minutes long, and don't "really" have a "plot" per se (they kind of just show girls in tights or zoom in on their feet or breasts... which is a different kind of plot), but I still thought it was still nice to have. It's definitely well animated at least.
Anyway, I wanted to know what kind of other games have these bonus features, and whether or not I'm the only one who cares for this stuff.
2024.05.13 23:30 Dr_Roma 34/M/US - Finally Taking the Leap! Any Other 30+ Working Professionals Out There?
Here we go—I'm finally making a post!
So, after months of lurking (and a handful of half-written posts), I'm finally taking the plunge and giving this a shot. I know they say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but in my case, it begins with a single post. So, here goes nothing, right? Haha.
What am I looking for?
In a nutshell—authentic, meaningful conversation. A few days ago, a few other faculty members and I met up for an evening out to celebrate the end of finals. A few of us stayed pretty late, pontificating about life, talking about the most random topics, and basically just enjoying each other's company. I don't know about you, but in today's world (where so many of us are glued to Zoom screens and remote work), we need more of that sort of dynamic—just genuine, authentic, long-form discourse. I like to believe with the right sort of person (and the right sort of conversational skills), you can cultivate that sort of vibe in online conversation.
For example, when I think back to the past, one of my favorite memories was a lengthy conversation I had with a random stranger at a cozy little coffee shop in a small town in Upstate New York. We talked about everything from philosophy to the best type of coffee beans. That's the sort of conversation I crave!
A bit about me:
I'm hoping to find thoughtful interactions with folks who genuinely want to discuss all that life has to offer. I'm drawn to people with a natural zest and curiosity for life, who embrace a growth mindset, and who value emotional intelligence and strong communication skills. Whether we're delving into deep philosophical questions or sharing our favorite recipes, I'm looking for someone who appreciates the beauty of a well-rounded, engaging conversation.
If this sounds like you, send me a chat message! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
submitted by Dr_Roma to penpalsover30 [link] [comments]
So, after months of lurking (and a handful of half-written posts), I'm finally taking the plunge and giving this a shot. I know they say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but in my case, it begins with a single post. So, here goes nothing, right? Haha.
What am I looking for?
In a nutshell—authentic, meaningful conversation. A few days ago, a few other faculty members and I met up for an evening out to celebrate the end of finals. A few of us stayed pretty late, pontificating about life, talking about the most random topics, and basically just enjoying each other's company. I don't know about you, but in today's world (where so many of us are glued to Zoom screens and remote work), we need more of that sort of dynamic—just genuine, authentic, long-form discourse. I like to believe with the right sort of person (and the right sort of conversational skills), you can cultivate that sort of vibe in online conversation.
For example, when I think back to the past, one of my favorite memories was a lengthy conversation I had with a random stranger at a cozy little coffee shop in a small town in Upstate New York. We talked about everything from philosophy to the best type of coffee beans. That's the sort of conversation I crave!
A bit about me:
- I'm 34, male, and work in higher education.
- I finished my doctorate a few years ago (Finally! I can now add "doctor" to my name without having to prescribe anything or perform surgery, haha — although that dissertation was brutal, just sayin').
- I love the outdoors and often take local day trips to explore new trails and scenic spots.
- I have a passion for photography, always trying to capture that perfect shot (though my cat remains a stubbornly uncooperative model).
- Journaling and poetry are my ways of reflecting and expressing my thoughts, even if my poems often end up sounding like Dr. Seuss after too much coffee.
- Long hikes are my therapy. Nature has a way of putting things into perspective.
- I have a knack for making terrible puns. Consider yourself warned.
- I like to pretend I'm a trivia night enthusiast, though my knowledge of obscure 90s cartoons is more impressive than practical.
- I'm convinced that breakfast foods are acceptable at any time of the day. Pancakes for dinner, anyone?
- I’ve been known to binge-watch documentaries about anything from space exploration to ancient civilizations.
- I’m a coffee enthusiast and love experimenting with different brewing methods and beans.
- I’m secretly training for the “Olympics of Procrastination,” and I’m a gold medal contender.
- I pride myself on my ability to parallel park in one go – a skill I wish I could add to my résumé.
- My superpower is finding the perfect GIF for any situation.
I'm hoping to find thoughtful interactions with folks who genuinely want to discuss all that life has to offer. I'm drawn to people with a natural zest and curiosity for life, who embrace a growth mindset, and who value emotional intelligence and strong communication skills. Whether we're delving into deep philosophical questions or sharing our favorite recipes, I'm looking for someone who appreciates the beauty of a well-rounded, engaging conversation.
If this sounds like you, send me a chat message! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
2024.05.13 15:05 Ima_Computuh I'm just here to say thank you
As the title says, I'm here to say thank you all for being such an awesome community! I've been playing on PS for 3 years, only reaching level 390 since I never really chased levels all that much, and I picked up FO76 for the first time on PC right before the Alien event started. This is also my first time starting a new character for leveling up. I wasn't looking forward to the grind of get all my cool gear back, but it really isn't all that bad. So far, I've reached level 124 and I'm having a blast (pun absolutely intended). Starting over on PC really revitalized my love for this game and I'm looking forward to all of the new adventures I'll have here.
Here's an example of how great this community really is... this is a shoutout to the 2 megachad players that helped me launch my first nuke last night. Late last night I was working on I Am Become Death and I got alllll the way to the launch sequence by myself when I screwed it all up. I put in the WRONG launch code which ruined my nuke card and prevented me from launching. These two players that I didn't know and didn't say a word to prior came to my rescue out of nowhere at the perfect time and gave me a shiny new launch card to use. After slowly and carefully inputting the correct code I let that nuke fly baby! We had one hell of a fight against the SBQ and won it after the whole server joined in. I hope at least one of you are here to read this and know how thankful I am for the help you gave me.
Thanks again to the whole community for being so frickin' awesome! And if you see me out there feel free to say hello.
Sincerely your fellow Wanderer,
Toonafzh
P.S. Sorry for any grammar errors in advance. It's too damn early and I haven't finished my coffee yet and I'm typing this quickly minutes before I need to leave for work lollll.
submitted by Ima_Computuh to fo76 [link] [comments]
Here's an example of how great this community really is... this is a shoutout to the 2 megachad players that helped me launch my first nuke last night. Late last night I was working on I Am Become Death and I got alllll the way to the launch sequence by myself when I screwed it all up. I put in the WRONG launch code which ruined my nuke card and prevented me from launching. These two players that I didn't know and didn't say a word to prior came to my rescue out of nowhere at the perfect time and gave me a shiny new launch card to use. After slowly and carefully inputting the correct code I let that nuke fly baby! We had one hell of a fight against the SBQ and won it after the whole server joined in. I hope at least one of you are here to read this and know how thankful I am for the help you gave me.
Thanks again to the whole community for being so frickin' awesome! And if you see me out there feel free to say hello.
Sincerely your fellow Wanderer,
Toonafzh
P.S. Sorry for any grammar errors in advance. It's too damn early and I haven't finished my coffee yet and I'm typing this quickly minutes before I need to leave for work lollll.
2024.05.13 13:13 hoosierfan1968 I worked on a team that dealt with with NHI technology and left in 2018.
Hi, I'm writing this because I never got any sort of debrief or moment to decompress from a job I quit in February of 2018. I worked for an agency that dealt with issues related to non-human intelligence. Sometimes these were referred to as EBE's, or as a friend lovingly called them, "Ayyys".
I can't divulge what I did specifically, most of the information I'm going to discuss is anecdotal information I found out about from colleagues. This is because it would be easy to identify me from what my role was, as the information I can say about what I did specifically would be personally identifying. Feel free to dismiss my post as a hoax entirely, I know the right people will believe me. I'm posting this for myself, to make peace with the gravity (no pun intended) of the situation. I tried VA and independent therapy, but divulging this sort of information to a hipster trained in active listening probably wouldn't go well. Posting here is a last resort, but I hope I'm welcome to discuss what I can.
I'll first talk about my career history, what working for the agency is like, how it functions, and then my general thoughts. If my post makes it past moderation, I'll answer as many questions as I can. I'm unwilling to post an ID privately to moderators or otherwise. People who did that faced consequences. I don't think those people were reddit leakers specifically, but any act to talk about the information in any meaningful way outside of the chain of command ends badly. I'd rather be accused of making things up than risk that, because I simply don't care what people think of me. Hopefully my post will clear up why.
I'm currently a university professor (not at the university my username would lead you to believe). I was inspired to write this post when one of my students referred to me as, verbatim "a dude who has to know about aliens". If only he knew that wasn't even the start of it.
I graduated from college in the early 90s with a degree in something I'm passionate about but never used. I started my career as an assistant for a mechanical engineer at an aerospace contractor I got after working some connections I had. Entry-level contractor jobs are easier to get than you may think (well, maybe not if you've posted here). I eventually was a project manager overseeing a small team working on experimental aircraft. Over the course of my career in aviation I worked at 3 different contractors. I was on some of the teams working in autonomous flight in Nevada, among other places.
I'll share two major things I noticed that, looking back, could be related to NHI research.
It was a sort of open secret I was let in on at some point in the late 90s that if a large-scale invasion or threat to the mainland US were to materialize, the US had an "ultimate trump-card" of sorts that would render everything we were working on as completely obsolete. Jokes like "well, work smarter not harder on 'x' because if it were to come down to it, we wouldn't use that technology anyway." weren't uncommon. I assumed this was referring to nukes.
Later, I spent time doing inspections at various secret facilities due to my standing in particular agencies. If I'm identified, I will definitely lose that standing, so there's that. This was not as exciting as it sounds, it was very technical and boring. I was mostly just a glorified HVAC inspector. I visited a handful of facilities, but two of them in particular stood out as there were areas within them I wasn't allowed to access. At the first facility, the scope of my job was to inspect the entire location. One area had its own security, who, after a long discussion, basically told me to kick rocks. My boss wasn't authorized to let me through either. I wrote a scathing report about this incident in my overall assessment of the facility and my boss erased it from the document entirely. The situation at the second facility was similar. I'll admit, I was what I guess the my students call a "Karen" about it. I knew that whoever was operating these areas was working completely outside of congressional regulation, which, while it does happen in certain sectors, is really not a good look. Once I got the job I'm talking about, I was able to confirm the second facility was related to NHI research. I was never able to confirm the first was.
After a teaching stint, I was offered an interview for a position in my project management roots again near where I was living at the time. I wasn't told what I would be working on, which isn't uncommon. I was excited to get back to work because I had been working on goal-oriented drone swarms in my free time and assumed that's what the interview would be for.
The interview took place in a SCIF in someone's house. Looking back, this was most likely a house that wasn't lived in, but just used for the purpose of interviewing potential hires without giving away the location. It's also likely this was the location because this agency doesn't exist in any official capacity. Yes, it has a name, it gets sort-of-kind-of funding. Saying the name would get me killed. I wish I were exaggerating, I was told the name at the start of the interview, and I had never heard of it before. I've never even said the name out loud. Paradoxically, even though the agency "doesn't exist" if someone knew the name, it's likely a paper trail exists through publicly available documents. A lot of the information isn't classified because the agency is so secretive going through the process to classify it in the first place would reveal it to too many people.
In past interviews, particularly for the inspection job, I could refer to specific colleagues, facilities I worked at, or contractors I was in good standing with to play the usual interview game. In this interview, I was treated like a brand new hire. While I was already offended about how I was being treated, the interviewer started grilling me about my love for Star Trek (?) and said that "theatrics" wouldn't fly in the position I was being interviewed for. Looking back, I should've never accepted the job, but the allure of working on swarms was too great.
The first office I worked at was an office building that didn't stand out in any way at all. I believe our neighbors in the office park were a fashion studio and a dentist, among others. The difference was our building had 24/7 armed security. The first few days were heavy paperwork and on-boarding. One of my old bosses called me on an office phone to talk to me before I was officially on-boarded. As a management nerd, the biggest challenge of working for this "agency" is that it's a paperless office. It has its own highly sophisticated intranet with hundreds of archival documents. The implication was, that unless it absolutely had to be saved, to never, ever write anything down. I remember an early colleague telling me "a gantt chart is a great way to get fired". This was a challenge at first, remembering all of the information with no documentation is not something I'm particularly built for, especially when the information is about NHI.
Later, I worked in a facility within-a-facility just like the one I had tried to inspect. It stored a craft. Being near the craft for extended periods of time is extremely dangerous, especially if it is being experimented on with power. I didn't observe any injuries to anyone while I was there, but all sorts of long-term nasty injuries were relayed to me through rumors and warnings. The craft was shaped like a dreidel without the handle. There was a large exterior piece that went missing when it was recovered. The theory is it acted as a stabilizer, although some argue it was a crude weapon. It sat in a custom hydraulic rig that could be used to rotate it into all sorts of different positions, kind of like those aerotrim astronaut training balls where they spin you around. I wasn't on the team that got to use the rotation rig. The rig was so large and extensive I spent a few weeks thinking it was part of the craft before someone told me otherwise. Typically, the craft would held on its side in the rig for easier storage. Its weight just naturally sat it that way, although it was intended to be flown vertically.
The shape was directly informed by its purpose. Every shape is custom molded in a metallic material that would revolutionize the way we travel if we had it. In following the topic as much as I can manage to, I've seen some other people mention the material. There were some material scientists that had been working there for decades. I never got to go inside the craft. It was guarded 24/7. Boy, did I want to look.
The agency goes out of its way to hire individuals who have little interest in working in this space at all. They recruit particularly out of BYU, although you have to have a contractor or government career for around a decade to be considered for an interview. Published papers don't hurt. When I worked at the second facility the sorts of people that were there were frustrating to interact with because my initial reaction to working in the that facility was extreme excitement, and it wasn't shared. I believe this is partially responsible for the stagnation, high turnover rate, and compartmentalization. I quickly learned who to trust, and gained some enormous that helped my work. Part of why I'm being secretive about my ID is because the turnover rate results in a sort of "summer camp" work environment. It's easy to point to "classes" of people in various non-leadership positions that all were hired, fired, or quit at similar times. If I said when I started, ended, and where I worked I'd be easily identifiable because there are so few people that match my description. Leadership has been there forever. No, not literally.
The agency is divided up into several "wings", not unlike the executive, legislative and judicial branches. I'm not insinuating they're a shadow government, but the wings check and balance each other in a way a government is at least... designed to. These wings include mechanical engineering, biologic research, weapons research, computer science, tracking, what I'll call anthropology, what I'll call crash recovery because that's what colleagues who are planning to come forward will call it, and security. I'll list some information about each. There are definitely more wings that I don't know about.
What's unique is these sub-groups exist all as part of different parent government organizations and are HQ'd where their parent agencies are. For example, the tracking wing is sort-of-kind-of embedded as R&D at NORAD. This is a simplification of the actual "paperwork" involved, it's honestly complicated and I don't know much about how it works. I do know that this is how they maintain funding even when the parent agency goes completely dark for stretches of time. It's worth mentioning that these departments employ, at most, 50 people each. It's typically much lower than that. This is why we're all pushing for whistleblower protection. It's not hard to identify us because there are so few of us in the first place.
Mechanical engineering is exactly what it sounds like. It's the most extensive, the oldest, and the most compartmentalized. We have crashed craft in various states of complete. We had a recovered craft that worked almost perfectly that was shot down by ourselves. I saw this coming, and it's part of why I quit. There's a lot of information about this wing in the public sphere. Part of their job is to determine what each shape of craft is used for. This is an important job beacuse we're unsure of NHI's intentions. If we discover the designs are intended to hurt us, action will have to be taken. I don't know what that means in practice, but it's what the engineers mostly study. Consider this lecture around the 10 minute mark about the differing characteristics of an F22 versus a passenger plane. Now imagine figuring out the purpose of the passenger plane versus the F22. Since we're humans, and those are human designs, eventually a team could figure it out. It's not as easy when the designs aren't for us, or purposes we fully understand. Triangles are the most impressive design, and we don't have one. It's likely China does, leadership is mad about that. This team discovered, a long time ago, that the reason why craft appear so bright to us humans is because it's not really "light" but rather the product of the crazy amounts of power these craft require. Sort of like smoke coming out of an exhaust pipe.
Biology is something I personally suck at, even at the high school level. I can say the NHI look like the aliens from close encounters. As far as I know, we never had one alive. My source who told this was unsure if it was true or not. I didn't learn much about this wing, it's the most secretive. I do know its HQ is hidden in almost plain sight. I still feel like the guy who told me where it is had to be lying, because it was just too obvious. There are bodies stored in other locations apart from their main HQ.
Weapons research is a large wing, and is fairly new. It was absorbed by the Space Force when it the SF was created. Frustration with the SF as a whole is part of why I left shortly before it started. I don't know much about it. It has a high turnover rate and is dangerous to work in. People were injured and compensated by a large private aerospace contractor instead of the USG. Its main job is to strap a nuke to a reverse-engineered craft and just see what the hell happens.
Computer science is (or, was, it may have moved after I left) hq'd at a facility in my home state. This is rare, because most of the other wings are within a stones throw of DC, or Nevada. This is mostly based around researching the crafts navigation system. The navigation in every craft is the same. The craft use a system that originally befuddled generations of researchers, but it's essentially a 3D dijkstra algorithm. It finds points around the craft, and chooses the most efficient possible route through space time to get to that point. Some of the parameters it uses to gauge efficiency are totally unknown to us and are a serious point of contention. It's not autonomy, but rather obstacle avoidance not unlike what you would see in a self-driving car. But, the self driving car could go through air, space and water without worrying about what medium its in. Additionally, the algo accounts for the crafts place in time. I don't think this means that the craft time travel in the way we think they can, but rather go so fast that they experience dilation and can hit objects in the future, and, potentially, past at their target destination. It's possible they do this on purpose sometimes. I don't know much about the internal programming of the computer or how it actually does any of this. There are a few senior scientists that hold that information dear. One of them jokingly refers to it as "Ayyyy C", as in, C for NHI. I know that he doesn't work with a computer, only a pad of paper and pen.
Although the algo is extremely effective, Nuclear explosions and experiments somehow interfere with this navigation. Craft particularly avoid Diablo Canyon, even if we put something they really want there. They mostly avoid previous crash sites as well. More on crashes later.
Speaking of avoidance, tracking, like I mentioned, is (or was) part of NORAD. The NHI deploy craft of various shapes and sizes all the time. I don't want to claim that they have advanced cloaking techniques, but from what I heard, the tracking department basically is in an eternal game of cat-and-mouse. They don't have adequate technology to track the transmedium craft. All I would say on a record is NHI know we can track them, and know how to avoid us. They usually avoid detection by going underwater, especially in the case of particularly large (by human measurement, enormous) craft. It's interesting that historical UFO designs mimic the design of buildings and vehicles of that time period. Whether this was just humans not being able to reference what the designs look like, or a form of mimicry is anyones guess. Someone in leadership knows the answer, I don't.
It's important to note not everyone at NORAD was part of the tracking team, but the tracking team is embedded in NORAD and interfaces with them on a minute to minute basis. This leads to scenarios where NORAD will report an object, and the tracking team will silently acknowledge, but give no explanation. This lead to a catastrophic incident that happened after I left but knew about from a colleague. Supposedly, tracking is being moved to the Space Force to clear up these miscommunications. If I were working there, I would probably be working on that onboarding process. NORAD was moved to Cheyenne not only to protect from a foreign adversary, but also because the facility is uniquely equipped to track NHI craft.
The wing I called "Anthropology" is the weirdest one by far. It focuses on a few different things. They originally studied NHIs intentions and "culture" if it's possible to call it that. The reports I read from this early research changed the way I see the world.
Anthropology and Computer Science were at one point decompartmentalized to study how the NHI interact with the craft. The NHI are linked to their craft in a way that borders on biological. The actual way they interface with the components of the craft is not as sophisticated. Take this video. Although it's an immature video, the way he interfaces with a piston that moves the gas pedal is similar, albeit much simpler than the way NHI interact with their craft. They send signals using their body to systems that control the craft. It's hypothesized that they can and prefer to control craft remotely, but I'm not sure if we were really researching this.
Take note that if the driver of the jerry-rigged death trap in the video panics, the car would accelerate due to heightened brain activity. When people wonder how a superintelligent being can crash, this is part of the answer, in conjunction with the navigation system malfunctioning. I personally don't think the NHI feel "stress" as we do, but if they heightened their activity and overrode the pathfinding system instead of letting it do its job, there could be an accident.
A smaller subset of this wing focuses on how humans can interface with craft that are currently in the sky. If you see an image of a large disc above a gas station in the snow, it was someone in this department "summoning" a craft not unlike how cheap RC car controllers can interfere with each other when used at the same time. Some people are better suited to interfere with NHI craft than others. We're not sure why.
On somewhat comedic note, one colleague was harshly punished for using this research to encounter NHI craft at a party. There was an outdoor bonfire, alcohol, and questions about what she did for work. She wasn't killed or anything, just called a dumbass and told to never, ever do that again.
Some people in this department are BYU graduates who believe they are directly interfacing with what were recorded in the bible as angels. There is an even smaller subset of this wing that focused on NHI communicating with humans. All I know about them is that they did that work at some juncture, but probably have other jobs now.
Crash Recovery probably has the most people involved. It's split up among several parent orgs, but funding is funnelled away from it and into other departments when there's little activity. This is common among the entire agency, as funding and staff get balanced between the different wings based on progress or lack thereof. Most of the crash recovery staff are staff from tracking and security that are involved in Crash Recovery. It's also made up of members of all of our favorite three letter organizations. Crash Recovery's overall structure was referred to as a volunteer fire department. It's typically some people playing pool and watching movies, but when the need arises, all hands on deck from the current staff, and on-call members.
Crashes are exceedingly rare. The number of crashes goes down exponentially because they learn to avoid the cause of the crash. When they crash, they make no effort to retrieve the debris, save for one instance. I personally believe some crashes weren't "crashes" but were NHI parking a vehicle for us, because there were no bodies recovered and the craft was in perfect shape.
Security, to put it mildly, are terrifying. Imagine the very best of the SEALS, NSA and Secret Service all working together. They are short-staffed, but that staff is not only elite, but dedicated. Their numero uno rule is people that mention the agency name are killed. It's not a question, and it happened during my time. You'll hear more about them as news about the retaliation Dave comes out. I wasn't directly interviewed by him, but I know several people who were. The security team figured it out quickly and, you could say they aren't his fans. They constantly monitor all discussions about the topic, but rarely act in real life unless absoloutely necessary. They staff facilities like the second one I worked at. This team also actively engages in disinformation, gaslighting and other similar campaigns. Their goal is to keep the US's secrets about this tech, secret, because other countries are close to breakthroughs. They also conduct counter intel on what other countries know, and counter-counter intel about what they know about what we know. Not to sound crazy, but, the security team will see this at some point or another, so, a friendly hello to them. Can't touch this ;p (I sure hope!)
I have a hunch that the current public facing task forces are actually their own wing within security. A friend of mine texted me once, "Sean Kirkpatrick, you can get your ass kicked". Ha. Don't confuse these public facing task forces with the work Dave & co. are doing. Dave is the real deal.
I should mention that Leadership is kind of its own "wing". It's not on paper, but they operate above all of the other departments. Leadership is made up of managers who pay close attention to each wing, they discuss info they know, and bring up contradictions to upper managers. I don't know how far this chain goes up. I reported to someone who reported to someone. I believe it goes higher than that. I have no idea who is at the top or what their credentials are. I suspect they're in the private sector, with their bankroll disguised as R&D for government contracts. Leadership, honestly, made the right choices with the information they had, at least when I was there. Some bad people started to get in charge and change the way things worked among the middle managers and individual teams. This pissed people off and led to multiple catastrophes. As far as I know they faced no discipline.
So, that was exhaustive. Those are the wings of the agency that I knew about during my time there. It feels good to get this off my chest. I've been sort-of keeping up to date on the topics coverage in mainstream media and want to give some of my thoughts on this.
If the US comes out directly and says "We have craft, we have bodies", it means we are on the verge of a serious global conflict like we've never seen before. They will only reveal this to the public if absolutely necessary. The way the information is going to come out is through people like Dave and further probing from congress. Not all of it should be public information, but I believe the technology that is just sitting... somewhere would completely revolutionize the way we live. I don't think anything significant will happen in my lifetime. It was a frustrating job, because everything was so stagnant and had so, so much potential. We're talking about technology so advanced it could render every single current global issue obsolete. If we solved two major issues with the craft and were able to manufacture them, we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. The technology being incorporated into our technical revolution is a hoax. I heard one theory from a guy at a bar that the transistors at Bell Labs were inspired by technology at Area 51. This is a joke, the technology makes transistors look like sticks and stones.
I believe multiple species of NHI is misinformation spun up by the security team. There are mystery wings of the agency I didn't get to learn about during my time. It's possible one of these researches other species, but I doubt that.
NHI potentially experiment on us, and definitely experiment on animals. We have no idea why. The main reason you'll never see organized disclosure is because nobody can agree on what to say. We simply don't know enough. Namely, the NHIs intentions (sort-of, we have a good theory) and where they are from. The Anthropology wing believes the NHI are controlled by an intelligence that is beyond our current understanding of how life works. The biology reports conflict with this, which is why things can't be compartmentalized. If the government were to disclose info, they'd have to get the story straight. We also have no idea where they are from. "We" as in everyone I worked with. It's possible someone in high up in leadership knows. I don't think the answer is as simple as another planet or caves on earth.
The reason why specific facility locations are kept from the public is because some of them are sensitive and also not entirely NHI-researched based. It would be possible for some tiktokers and hippies to storm the first office I worked at if they were careful. Every place where the agency works is also home to other operations, which is why it's so hard to identify where they are. Lower leadership is hq'd in DC, and the upper management is split between Nevada, Australia and another foreign country. Security are everywhere and potentially even work remotely without an HQ.
I was contacted by a documentary filmaker when some of my friends were, but I turned it down due to my specific involvement and how easy it would be to track me down if I gave particularly juicy info. I believe the story will come out soon.
I no longer work in the field and teach full-time.
After a quick proofread, that's my post. I'm not tuned in to discussions other than what major outlets have to say, but I hope some of my information is interesting. It felt good to type, even if my post doesn't get accepted. I feel tempted to sign off with my first name how I always do in emails, but I have a feeling that would end badly. I'm currently on a camping trip with my family, but I'll be around to answer questions at various times. Please don't DM me anything too weird. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk, I've never done anything like this before. I'm sorry I couldn't provide information that proves who I am, I like not being paralyzed or dead. I'm sure you'll see others make the same claims in due time.
EDIT: Well, this is a lot. I checked on my post earlier this morning and didn't see anything. I'll try to respond to what I can. I'm recovering from a back injury and will be up for a while.
submitted by hoosierfan1968 to aliens [link] [comments]
I can't divulge what I did specifically, most of the information I'm going to discuss is anecdotal information I found out about from colleagues. This is because it would be easy to identify me from what my role was, as the information I can say about what I did specifically would be personally identifying. Feel free to dismiss my post as a hoax entirely, I know the right people will believe me. I'm posting this for myself, to make peace with the gravity (no pun intended) of the situation. I tried VA and independent therapy, but divulging this sort of information to a hipster trained in active listening probably wouldn't go well. Posting here is a last resort, but I hope I'm welcome to discuss what I can.
I'll first talk about my career history, what working for the agency is like, how it functions, and then my general thoughts. If my post makes it past moderation, I'll answer as many questions as I can. I'm unwilling to post an ID privately to moderators or otherwise. People who did that faced consequences. I don't think those people were reddit leakers specifically, but any act to talk about the information in any meaningful way outside of the chain of command ends badly. I'd rather be accused of making things up than risk that, because I simply don't care what people think of me. Hopefully my post will clear up why.
I'm currently a university professor (not at the university my username would lead you to believe). I was inspired to write this post when one of my students referred to me as, verbatim "a dude who has to know about aliens". If only he knew that wasn't even the start of it.
I graduated from college in the early 90s with a degree in something I'm passionate about but never used. I started my career as an assistant for a mechanical engineer at an aerospace contractor I got after working some connections I had. Entry-level contractor jobs are easier to get than you may think (well, maybe not if you've posted here). I eventually was a project manager overseeing a small team working on experimental aircraft. Over the course of my career in aviation I worked at 3 different contractors. I was on some of the teams working in autonomous flight in Nevada, among other places.
I'll share two major things I noticed that, looking back, could be related to NHI research.
It was a sort of open secret I was let in on at some point in the late 90s that if a large-scale invasion or threat to the mainland US were to materialize, the US had an "ultimate trump-card" of sorts that would render everything we were working on as completely obsolete. Jokes like "well, work smarter not harder on 'x' because if it were to come down to it, we wouldn't use that technology anyway." weren't uncommon. I assumed this was referring to nukes.
Later, I spent time doing inspections at various secret facilities due to my standing in particular agencies. If I'm identified, I will definitely lose that standing, so there's that. This was not as exciting as it sounds, it was very technical and boring. I was mostly just a glorified HVAC inspector. I visited a handful of facilities, but two of them in particular stood out as there were areas within them I wasn't allowed to access. At the first facility, the scope of my job was to inspect the entire location. One area had its own security, who, after a long discussion, basically told me to kick rocks. My boss wasn't authorized to let me through either. I wrote a scathing report about this incident in my overall assessment of the facility and my boss erased it from the document entirely. The situation at the second facility was similar. I'll admit, I was what I guess the my students call a "Karen" about it. I knew that whoever was operating these areas was working completely outside of congressional regulation, which, while it does happen in certain sectors, is really not a good look. Once I got the job I'm talking about, I was able to confirm the second facility was related to NHI research. I was never able to confirm the first was.
After a teaching stint, I was offered an interview for a position in my project management roots again near where I was living at the time. I wasn't told what I would be working on, which isn't uncommon. I was excited to get back to work because I had been working on goal-oriented drone swarms in my free time and assumed that's what the interview would be for.
The interview took place in a SCIF in someone's house. Looking back, this was most likely a house that wasn't lived in, but just used for the purpose of interviewing potential hires without giving away the location. It's also likely this was the location because this agency doesn't exist in any official capacity. Yes, it has a name, it gets sort-of-kind-of funding. Saying the name would get me killed. I wish I were exaggerating, I was told the name at the start of the interview, and I had never heard of it before. I've never even said the name out loud. Paradoxically, even though the agency "doesn't exist" if someone knew the name, it's likely a paper trail exists through publicly available documents. A lot of the information isn't classified because the agency is so secretive going through the process to classify it in the first place would reveal it to too many people.
In past interviews, particularly for the inspection job, I could refer to specific colleagues, facilities I worked at, or contractors I was in good standing with to play the usual interview game. In this interview, I was treated like a brand new hire. While I was already offended about how I was being treated, the interviewer started grilling me about my love for Star Trek (?) and said that "theatrics" wouldn't fly in the position I was being interviewed for. Looking back, I should've never accepted the job, but the allure of working on swarms was too great.
The first office I worked at was an office building that didn't stand out in any way at all. I believe our neighbors in the office park were a fashion studio and a dentist, among others. The difference was our building had 24/7 armed security. The first few days were heavy paperwork and on-boarding. One of my old bosses called me on an office phone to talk to me before I was officially on-boarded. As a management nerd, the biggest challenge of working for this "agency" is that it's a paperless office. It has its own highly sophisticated intranet with hundreds of archival documents. The implication was, that unless it absolutely had to be saved, to never, ever write anything down. I remember an early colleague telling me "a gantt chart is a great way to get fired". This was a challenge at first, remembering all of the information with no documentation is not something I'm particularly built for, especially when the information is about NHI.
Later, I worked in a facility within-a-facility just like the one I had tried to inspect. It stored a craft. Being near the craft for extended periods of time is extremely dangerous, especially if it is being experimented on with power. I didn't observe any injuries to anyone while I was there, but all sorts of long-term nasty injuries were relayed to me through rumors and warnings. The craft was shaped like a dreidel without the handle. There was a large exterior piece that went missing when it was recovered. The theory is it acted as a stabilizer, although some argue it was a crude weapon. It sat in a custom hydraulic rig that could be used to rotate it into all sorts of different positions, kind of like those aerotrim astronaut training balls where they spin you around. I wasn't on the team that got to use the rotation rig. The rig was so large and extensive I spent a few weeks thinking it was part of the craft before someone told me otherwise. Typically, the craft would held on its side in the rig for easier storage. Its weight just naturally sat it that way, although it was intended to be flown vertically.
The shape was directly informed by its purpose. Every shape is custom molded in a metallic material that would revolutionize the way we travel if we had it. In following the topic as much as I can manage to, I've seen some other people mention the material. There were some material scientists that had been working there for decades. I never got to go inside the craft. It was guarded 24/7. Boy, did I want to look.
The agency goes out of its way to hire individuals who have little interest in working in this space at all. They recruit particularly out of BYU, although you have to have a contractor or government career for around a decade to be considered for an interview. Published papers don't hurt. When I worked at the second facility the sorts of people that were there were frustrating to interact with because my initial reaction to working in the that facility was extreme excitement, and it wasn't shared. I believe this is partially responsible for the stagnation, high turnover rate, and compartmentalization. I quickly learned who to trust, and gained some enormous that helped my work. Part of why I'm being secretive about my ID is because the turnover rate results in a sort of "summer camp" work environment. It's easy to point to "classes" of people in various non-leadership positions that all were hired, fired, or quit at similar times. If I said when I started, ended, and where I worked I'd be easily identifiable because there are so few people that match my description. Leadership has been there forever. No, not literally.
The agency is divided up into several "wings", not unlike the executive, legislative and judicial branches. I'm not insinuating they're a shadow government, but the wings check and balance each other in a way a government is at least... designed to. These wings include mechanical engineering, biologic research, weapons research, computer science, tracking, what I'll call anthropology, what I'll call crash recovery because that's what colleagues who are planning to come forward will call it, and security. I'll list some information about each. There are definitely more wings that I don't know about.
What's unique is these sub-groups exist all as part of different parent government organizations and are HQ'd where their parent agencies are. For example, the tracking wing is sort-of-kind-of embedded as R&D at NORAD. This is a simplification of the actual "paperwork" involved, it's honestly complicated and I don't know much about how it works. I do know that this is how they maintain funding even when the parent agency goes completely dark for stretches of time. It's worth mentioning that these departments employ, at most, 50 people each. It's typically much lower than that. This is why we're all pushing for whistleblower protection. It's not hard to identify us because there are so few of us in the first place.
Mechanical engineering is exactly what it sounds like. It's the most extensive, the oldest, and the most compartmentalized. We have crashed craft in various states of complete. We had a recovered craft that worked almost perfectly that was shot down by ourselves. I saw this coming, and it's part of why I quit. There's a lot of information about this wing in the public sphere. Part of their job is to determine what each shape of craft is used for. This is an important job beacuse we're unsure of NHI's intentions. If we discover the designs are intended to hurt us, action will have to be taken. I don't know what that means in practice, but it's what the engineers mostly study. Consider this lecture around the 10 minute mark about the differing characteristics of an F22 versus a passenger plane. Now imagine figuring out the purpose of the passenger plane versus the F22. Since we're humans, and those are human designs, eventually a team could figure it out. It's not as easy when the designs aren't for us, or purposes we fully understand. Triangles are the most impressive design, and we don't have one. It's likely China does, leadership is mad about that. This team discovered, a long time ago, that the reason why craft appear so bright to us humans is because it's not really "light" but rather the product of the crazy amounts of power these craft require. Sort of like smoke coming out of an exhaust pipe.
Biology is something I personally suck at, even at the high school level. I can say the NHI look like the aliens from close encounters. As far as I know, we never had one alive. My source who told this was unsure if it was true or not. I didn't learn much about this wing, it's the most secretive. I do know its HQ is hidden in almost plain sight. I still feel like the guy who told me where it is had to be lying, because it was just too obvious. There are bodies stored in other locations apart from their main HQ.
Weapons research is a large wing, and is fairly new. It was absorbed by the Space Force when it the SF was created. Frustration with the SF as a whole is part of why I left shortly before it started. I don't know much about it. It has a high turnover rate and is dangerous to work in. People were injured and compensated by a large private aerospace contractor instead of the USG. Its main job is to strap a nuke to a reverse-engineered craft and just see what the hell happens.
Computer science is (or, was, it may have moved after I left) hq'd at a facility in my home state. This is rare, because most of the other wings are within a stones throw of DC, or Nevada. This is mostly based around researching the crafts navigation system. The navigation in every craft is the same. The craft use a system that originally befuddled generations of researchers, but it's essentially a 3D dijkstra algorithm. It finds points around the craft, and chooses the most efficient possible route through space time to get to that point. Some of the parameters it uses to gauge efficiency are totally unknown to us and are a serious point of contention. It's not autonomy, but rather obstacle avoidance not unlike what you would see in a self-driving car. But, the self driving car could go through air, space and water without worrying about what medium its in. Additionally, the algo accounts for the crafts place in time. I don't think this means that the craft time travel in the way we think they can, but rather go so fast that they experience dilation and can hit objects in the future, and, potentially, past at their target destination. It's possible they do this on purpose sometimes. I don't know much about the internal programming of the computer or how it actually does any of this. There are a few senior scientists that hold that information dear. One of them jokingly refers to it as "Ayyyy C", as in, C for NHI. I know that he doesn't work with a computer, only a pad of paper and pen.
Although the algo is extremely effective, Nuclear explosions and experiments somehow interfere with this navigation. Craft particularly avoid Diablo Canyon, even if we put something they really want there. They mostly avoid previous crash sites as well. More on crashes later.
Speaking of avoidance, tracking, like I mentioned, is (or was) part of NORAD. The NHI deploy craft of various shapes and sizes all the time. I don't want to claim that they have advanced cloaking techniques, but from what I heard, the tracking department basically is in an eternal game of cat-and-mouse. They don't have adequate technology to track the transmedium craft. All I would say on a record is NHI know we can track them, and know how to avoid us. They usually avoid detection by going underwater, especially in the case of particularly large (by human measurement, enormous) craft. It's interesting that historical UFO designs mimic the design of buildings and vehicles of that time period. Whether this was just humans not being able to reference what the designs look like, or a form of mimicry is anyones guess. Someone in leadership knows the answer, I don't.
It's important to note not everyone at NORAD was part of the tracking team, but the tracking team is embedded in NORAD and interfaces with them on a minute to minute basis. This leads to scenarios where NORAD will report an object, and the tracking team will silently acknowledge, but give no explanation. This lead to a catastrophic incident that happened after I left but knew about from a colleague. Supposedly, tracking is being moved to the Space Force to clear up these miscommunications. If I were working there, I would probably be working on that onboarding process. NORAD was moved to Cheyenne not only to protect from a foreign adversary, but also because the facility is uniquely equipped to track NHI craft.
The wing I called "Anthropology" is the weirdest one by far. It focuses on a few different things. They originally studied NHIs intentions and "culture" if it's possible to call it that. The reports I read from this early research changed the way I see the world.
Anthropology and Computer Science were at one point decompartmentalized to study how the NHI interact with the craft. The NHI are linked to their craft in a way that borders on biological. The actual way they interface with the components of the craft is not as sophisticated. Take this video. Although it's an immature video, the way he interfaces with a piston that moves the gas pedal is similar, albeit much simpler than the way NHI interact with their craft. They send signals using their body to systems that control the craft. It's hypothesized that they can and prefer to control craft remotely, but I'm not sure if we were really researching this.
Take note that if the driver of the jerry-rigged death trap in the video panics, the car would accelerate due to heightened brain activity. When people wonder how a superintelligent being can crash, this is part of the answer, in conjunction with the navigation system malfunctioning. I personally don't think the NHI feel "stress" as we do, but if they heightened their activity and overrode the pathfinding system instead of letting it do its job, there could be an accident.
A smaller subset of this wing focuses on how humans can interface with craft that are currently in the sky. If you see an image of a large disc above a gas station in the snow, it was someone in this department "summoning" a craft not unlike how cheap RC car controllers can interfere with each other when used at the same time. Some people are better suited to interfere with NHI craft than others. We're not sure why.
On somewhat comedic note, one colleague was harshly punished for using this research to encounter NHI craft at a party. There was an outdoor bonfire, alcohol, and questions about what she did for work. She wasn't killed or anything, just called a dumbass and told to never, ever do that again.
Some people in this department are BYU graduates who believe they are directly interfacing with what were recorded in the bible as angels. There is an even smaller subset of this wing that focused on NHI communicating with humans. All I know about them is that they did that work at some juncture, but probably have other jobs now.
Crash Recovery probably has the most people involved. It's split up among several parent orgs, but funding is funnelled away from it and into other departments when there's little activity. This is common among the entire agency, as funding and staff get balanced between the different wings based on progress or lack thereof. Most of the crash recovery staff are staff from tracking and security that are involved in Crash Recovery. It's also made up of members of all of our favorite three letter organizations. Crash Recovery's overall structure was referred to as a volunteer fire department. It's typically some people playing pool and watching movies, but when the need arises, all hands on deck from the current staff, and on-call members.
Crashes are exceedingly rare. The number of crashes goes down exponentially because they learn to avoid the cause of the crash. When they crash, they make no effort to retrieve the debris, save for one instance. I personally believe some crashes weren't "crashes" but were NHI parking a vehicle for us, because there were no bodies recovered and the craft was in perfect shape.
Security, to put it mildly, are terrifying. Imagine the very best of the SEALS, NSA and Secret Service all working together. They are short-staffed, but that staff is not only elite, but dedicated. Their numero uno rule is people that mention the agency name are killed. It's not a question, and it happened during my time. You'll hear more about them as news about the retaliation Dave comes out. I wasn't directly interviewed by him, but I know several people who were. The security team figured it out quickly and, you could say they aren't his fans. They constantly monitor all discussions about the topic, but rarely act in real life unless absoloutely necessary. They staff facilities like the second one I worked at. This team also actively engages in disinformation, gaslighting and other similar campaigns. Their goal is to keep the US's secrets about this tech, secret, because other countries are close to breakthroughs. They also conduct counter intel on what other countries know, and counter-counter intel about what they know about what we know. Not to sound crazy, but, the security team will see this at some point or another, so, a friendly hello to them. Can't touch this ;p (I sure hope!)
I have a hunch that the current public facing task forces are actually their own wing within security. A friend of mine texted me once, "Sean Kirkpatrick, you can get your ass kicked". Ha. Don't confuse these public facing task forces with the work Dave & co. are doing. Dave is the real deal.
I should mention that Leadership is kind of its own "wing". It's not on paper, but they operate above all of the other departments. Leadership is made up of managers who pay close attention to each wing, they discuss info they know, and bring up contradictions to upper managers. I don't know how far this chain goes up. I reported to someone who reported to someone. I believe it goes higher than that. I have no idea who is at the top or what their credentials are. I suspect they're in the private sector, with their bankroll disguised as R&D for government contracts. Leadership, honestly, made the right choices with the information they had, at least when I was there. Some bad people started to get in charge and change the way things worked among the middle managers and individual teams. This pissed people off and led to multiple catastrophes. As far as I know they faced no discipline.
So, that was exhaustive. Those are the wings of the agency that I knew about during my time there. It feels good to get this off my chest. I've been sort-of keeping up to date on the topics coverage in mainstream media and want to give some of my thoughts on this.
If the US comes out directly and says "We have craft, we have bodies", it means we are on the verge of a serious global conflict like we've never seen before. They will only reveal this to the public if absolutely necessary. The way the information is going to come out is through people like Dave and further probing from congress. Not all of it should be public information, but I believe the technology that is just sitting... somewhere would completely revolutionize the way we live. I don't think anything significant will happen in my lifetime. It was a frustrating job, because everything was so stagnant and had so, so much potential. We're talking about technology so advanced it could render every single current global issue obsolete. If we solved two major issues with the craft and were able to manufacture them, we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. The technology being incorporated into our technical revolution is a hoax. I heard one theory from a guy at a bar that the transistors at Bell Labs were inspired by technology at Area 51. This is a joke, the technology makes transistors look like sticks and stones.
I believe multiple species of NHI is misinformation spun up by the security team. There are mystery wings of the agency I didn't get to learn about during my time. It's possible one of these researches other species, but I doubt that.
NHI potentially experiment on us, and definitely experiment on animals. We have no idea why. The main reason you'll never see organized disclosure is because nobody can agree on what to say. We simply don't know enough. Namely, the NHIs intentions (sort-of, we have a good theory) and where they are from. The Anthropology wing believes the NHI are controlled by an intelligence that is beyond our current understanding of how life works. The biology reports conflict with this, which is why things can't be compartmentalized. If the government were to disclose info, they'd have to get the story straight. We also have no idea where they are from. "We" as in everyone I worked with. It's possible someone in high up in leadership knows. I don't think the answer is as simple as another planet or caves on earth.
The reason why specific facility locations are kept from the public is because some of them are sensitive and also not entirely NHI-researched based. It would be possible for some tiktokers and hippies to storm the first office I worked at if they were careful. Every place where the agency works is also home to other operations, which is why it's so hard to identify where they are. Lower leadership is hq'd in DC, and the upper management is split between Nevada, Australia and another foreign country. Security are everywhere and potentially even work remotely without an HQ.
I was contacted by a documentary filmaker when some of my friends were, but I turned it down due to my specific involvement and how easy it would be to track me down if I gave particularly juicy info. I believe the story will come out soon.
I no longer work in the field and teach full-time.
After a quick proofread, that's my post. I'm not tuned in to discussions other than what major outlets have to say, but I hope some of my information is interesting. It felt good to type, even if my post doesn't get accepted. I feel tempted to sign off with my first name how I always do in emails, but I have a feeling that would end badly. I'm currently on a camping trip with my family, but I'll be around to answer questions at various times. Please don't DM me anything too weird. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk, I've never done anything like this before. I'm sorry I couldn't provide information that proves who I am, I like not being paralyzed or dead. I'm sure you'll see others make the same claims in due time.
EDIT: Well, this is a lot. I checked on my post earlier this morning and didn't see anything. I'll try to respond to what I can. I'm recovering from a back injury and will be up for a while.
2024.05.13 13:02 TonyTony1287 The Walking Dead Ranking Every Episode
Oh my God was this list hard to rank 😅 I took about I would say at least 15 hours of my time into this and all of that was just to rank them at a certain level without much to say. First off we have about 8 Tiers from F,D,C,B,A,S,SS, and Premium though I barely put much into their. Remember this is just an opinion so don't take too harshly if your favorite episode isn't high on my list. For some episodes I may not say much or anything since this was too long originally.
F Tier, these are my least favorite episodes and most likely I have a vendetta against them in some way that made it hard for me to like them
Around this time I also realized that it seems my numbers on the side aren't matching so I'm fixing it from here so skip 42- 38. Idk what happened but I messed up somewhere and went to fix it but couldn't find the problem.
submitted by TonyTony1287 to TonysRandomness [link] [comments]
F Tier, these are my least favorite episodes and most likely I have a vendetta against them in some way that made it hard for me to like them
- S2 Ep 8 Nebraska- I hate Lori and I think this episode expresses it, most definitely a vendetta. I didn't exactly like the stuff with Hershel and recovering though it was okay, but lori made some questionable decisions to go off on her own to look for Rick even though she should know he's fine seriously. She wrecks a car and then barely dies from a walker, mind you she is pregnant and shouldn't do these things easily my least favorite episode.
- S10 Ep 21 Diverged- I honestly forget this episode so much since it has nothing truly interesting or important to the story
- S7 Ep 6 Swear- this episode feels slow paced and dull due to oceanside being not seen well for me and I feel like Tara put on the best performance she could for it.
- S8 Ep 2 The Damned- this episode to me was just a lot of action and in the walking dead I don't want that. We see a couple of characters die (including Francine 🪦 I absolutely loved her character and hate how she died here :[ mindless) Erics death started here, but it just wasn't impactful enough.
- S3 Ep 11 I Ain't a Judas- Andrea is a boring character in the show and I hate her in this episode. The focus should've been on the prison honestly and maybe If she killed the Governor I would've understood her more.
- S10 Ep 20 Splinter- if most of the episode was real I would've loved it, but they weren't...
- S3 Ep 5 Say the Word- Andrea just isnt much good in this episode and Rick going crazy wasn't a fun idea to me.
- S8 Ep 3 Monsters- aside from the one fight with Rick I really didn't care much for it again for the fighting and having Morales return and die felt out of place.
- S2 Ep 2 Bloodletting- the group searching for Sophia was okay for a concept, but this episode was okay and went slow paced for me until the end.
- S1 Ep 3 Tell it to the frogs- first off S1 won't be all high because I'm ranking EVERY episode, but this one felt slow in pace more as well compared to the last two. Shane was a badass though.
- S11 Ep 3 Hunted- Forgettable... Not much to say.
- S5 Ep 11 The Distance- Forgot entirely this was an episode, after rewatch still don't like it except for Aaron.
- S2 Ep 9 Trigger finger- It was a bit better than Nebraska, mostly cause of the Randel scenes.
- S7 Ep 14 The Other Side- Sasha somewhat makes a noble decision.
- S8 Ep 7 Time for After- I don't like the plans they have to deviate from Rick and him going to Jadis again feels like a horrible decision on his part.
- S9 Ep 8 Evolution- The ambience is the best part, though I hated Jesus' s death as it felt like a bad sendoff.
- S2 Ep 1 What lies Ahead- I liked the RV scene with Andrea, but what follows is dull.
- S11 Ep 4- The pope is somewhat average.
- S7 Ep 12 Say Yes- The carnival was a nice scenery for TWD, but they had too many fake outs with the walker "shooting" at them and the deer fake out.
- S9 Ep 7 Stradivarius- The Search for Eugene feels tiring to follow what's happening and I ended up watching the episodes once and never again because of it.
- S2 Ep 4 Cherokee Rose- Watching the episode is fun because of the well, though I feel like it was stupid as an idea as the group should have more common sense before doing something dumb.
- S2 Ep 3 Save The Last One- Shane was horrifying, but the rest was dull.
- S8 Ep 14 Still gotta mean something- Rick felt unnecessarly cold hearted in this episode killing off the Saviors that helped him which I didn't like, though Jared got a well deserved death.
- S4 Ep 9 After -It was okay watching Carl try to scavenge while Rick was injured and I liked the scene with his shoe being lost.
- S7 Ep 5 Go Getters- the episode itself wasn't bad yet I never really enjoyed it too much aside from Maggie being a badass and the ending was pretty good.
- S4 Ep 10 Inamtes- Inmates was a pretty well rounded episodes showing off some of the group which I liked seeing Tyreese the most.
- S8 Ep 6 The King, The Widow, and Rick- the episode was pretty lackluster for me and I didn't really appeal to seeing the garbage people much in this or everyone going to attack the saviors which was a dumb move to do. Ezekiel was probably the most fun of the episode.
- S3 Ep 16 Welcome to the Tombs- the finale for season 3 has always been horrible as it barely gives tension between the Governor and Ricks group, it just felt unfitting for a finale.
- S11 Ep 8 For blood- it was a okay Mid Season finale to say the least (sorry, 1/3 season finale). I did like some of the parts in it with Maggie which is why it sits higher than others.
- S5 Ep 7 Crossed- I thoroughly enjoyed the chase scene between the three officers and Ricks group, but that was about it.
- S4 Ep 13 Alone- I liked watching the parts of the group split up, except for Maggie, Bob, and Sasha as they felt very uneventful to me. What makes this episode better had to be the part about Daryl and Beth with the ending of the introduction to Joe's group.
- S7 Ep 10 New Best Friends- a lot of these parts I forgot about in this episode when it came to the Kingdom though after rewatching it I enjoyed those parts more than the Garbage people. I just honestly think Jadis's group is uninteresting and makes for no substance.
- S10 Ep 15 The Tower- I sometimes forget about this episode and it's premise with Beta, but I think it holds up enough for a weird one and The stuff with princess was okay.
- S9 Ep 3 Warning signs- I think the episode was okay, I just didn't like Season 9 A that much...
- S11 Ep 2 Acheron Part 2- this was close to being put into C tier since I really hated some parts about it like how they left Gage to die and still had to fight off dozens of walking regardless. The group in the first two episodes seem to switch off and on from good to bad.
- S7 Ep 4 Service- for some reason people hate this episode and I can't see why except for the fact it mainly deals with Negan at Alexandria; in my opinion it was him and a couple other characters who saved season 7 and 8 for me.
- S10 Ep 3 Ghosts- I forget the episode...
- S10 Ep 7 Open Your Eyes- I thought the episode was fine as I don't hate Siddiq and all, though I liked and hated the ending as I loved the twist of Dante and hated that Siddiq had to die so early on.
- S6 Ep 7 Heads Up- I didn't like the twist of Glenn and all, but I liked the suspicion with Carol and Morgan as well as the Ending being dramatic.
- S8 Ep 11 Dead or Alive- it's not good to know when you remember an episode due to bad things. Daryl has been making more off decisions for the character and Tara seems to be completely Reckless now making me hate her moving forward.
- S4 Ep 4 Indifference- The Scenes with Carol and Rick we're amusing with crude Humour as well as some more tense scenes in my opinion and I hated/liked when Rick told Carol she couldn't come back.
- S3 Ep 6 Hounded- honestly I would've rather put this episode a little bit higher due to Merle (probably my favorite charcater which contributes to a lot of episodes being higher) being a badass while fighting Michonne and pulling out puns as well. The reason it doesn't get higher is still due to Rick and the phone situation being uneventful.
- S11 Ep 9 No Other Way- Alden dies in this episode which I should've seen coming that sucks. The ending feels misleading a bit though everything else in the middle is pretty great.
- S11 Ep 5 Out of the Ashes- literally the only reason I put this here was due to Lance so deal with it!
- S4 Ep 11 Claimed- Rick had a pretty solid pair of scenes with the Claimers and I liked watching Glenn and Tara (Surprisingly).
- S10 Ep 13 What We Become- I thought the flashbacks/hallucinations we're pretty good, but aside from that this episode was just mediocre.
- S9 Ep 4 The Obliged- I liked watching Daryl and Rick fight each other over different views on how everything should be and the ending I thought was pretty suspenseful as well as the saviors and oceanside.
- S11 Ep 15 Trust- Lance feels exactly like the Governor in some of these episodes which is what I like about him, and from here I start to enjoy Princess maybe because Mercer is around more xd.
- S10 Ep 17 Home Sweet Home- I thought Maggie was a good enough concept for an episode with the reapers, though it didn't hit that hard watching again. It still Is most definitely better than the other 3 episodes of S10 part C but enough for A Tier.
- S1 Ep 5 Wildfire- For the episodes Jim was in I liked him and learning his backstory as well so this was a pretty fun episode.
- S4 Ep 15 Us- the stuff with Abraham and their group was pretty wholesome to me and I liked Joe for the time being in here seeing how he is pretty fair to be honest giving things where they are due and trust to Daryl.
- S6 Ep 11 Knots Untie- I somewhat feel like the episode drags due to there being too much at hilltop, but it is a new community so I can't truly argue. I remember enjoyably when Rick stopped the assassination attempt.
- S8 Ep 9 Honor- the beginning with Carl I thought was good to showcase the events that unfolded before the decimation and Carl's death hit hard.
- S5 Ep 4 Slabtown- I personally don't mind the hospital arc too much, yet it won't get all of it's episodes too high of course. I liked watching Noah and Beth converse and I thought this was a new era for the walking dead.
- 10 Ep 1 Lines we Cross- the part with the Satellite was amusing to watch as it was a big change to see and I like that about the walking dead on occasions.
- S9 Ep 6 Who are you now?- I liked learning of Luke's Group (you heard me, Luke's Group) and what they have been like learning of some of their past.
- S10 Ep 8 The World Before- I liked mostly just watching two scenes, the beginning with Dante and Gabriel and Dante. I loved the fact no one even considered a Whisperer living amongst them and how he did some much devious stuff was mind boggling and amazing to watch. When Gabriel talks about forgiveness to Dante and kills him shows me how Gabriel has changed the past seasons.
- S7 Ep 9 Rock in the Road- Rick gives off a good speech to Ezekiel and I liked seeing him and Morgan reunite again. The stuff with Gabriel wasn't too bad either.
- S3 Ep 9 The Suicide King- the Governor finally seems to be starting to let things of him slip which I love to see. I also enjoyed watching Merle with Daryl as well too.
- S11 Ep 11 Rouge element- I thought that the twist of Steph was pretty good and I don't mind the episode being a bit long and tedious for it's reveal.
- S11 Ep 23 Family- I loved the fact Lydia got bit just because it shows us that people can still get bit and survive. It shows to me that in the finale no one could be truly safe even though Luke gets bit and still dies.
- S11 Ep 17 Lockdown- Saving Sebastian was okay ig.
- S8 Ep 10 The Lost and The Plunderers- Simon's character I think was made perfectly as he is a hotheaded person who is all about power and showing that off. Killing most of the Garbage people was terrifying to watch and showed how Negan could be more merciful than others.
- S1 Ep 1 Days Gone Bye- I think for the pilot it did it's job well and showed off enough of what the show could be. Of course this doesn't mean it was all good but as pilots go it was pretty solid.
- S11 Ep 1 Acheron Part 1- The only reason I put it this high was for the interrogation scenes especially when it came down to Ezekiel. Him and Mercer are honestly a great pair and I love his ending to the show as it's fitting.
- S5 Ep 10 Them- after losing most of the group it seems like a fitting episode of despair and plays it perfectly.
- S5 Ep 12 Remember- the first shown scenes of Alexandria was pretty good and I liked the interviews scene too. We also saw a lot of new character introductions.
- S11 Ep 6 On The Inside- The ferals was a nice touch of horror that I never knew I could need. Making the people with the ferals Virgil and Connie made the most perfect sense as well.
- S6 Ep 13 Not Tomorrow Yet- this episode shows off how our group is seeming to be the bad guys starting to kill people in their sleep. I like how Glenn and Heath have their first kills and show how they are changing.
- S7 Ep 1 The day will come when you won't be- I like the title as it references Doctor Jenner, but for the episode I liked Negan and that's mostly it. Seeing two people die was horrible to me, but necessary and since I don't rank episodes for being bad due to deaths I can still rank them high.
- S6 Ep 16 Last Day on Earth- Simon has a good introduction and I like them trying to get from point A to B, but what stands out to me most is probably Abraham and Eugene with his speech about him
- S7 Ep 15 Something they need- Sasha was probably the highlight of the episode for me and I liked them and Negan's interactions. It Is a good effort to show that they aren't all monsters and I like seeing Eugene as well.
- S3 Ep 7 When the Dead come knocking- Glenn and his interrogation with Merle was amazing and I liked seeing Glenn's true will shine.
- S8 Ep 12 The Key- I don't like this episode much honestly if it wasn't for Negan and Ricks Speech as well as Simon and his deviousness.
- S8 Ep 1 Mercy- the beginning I had to move up due to some good portions of it like Rick and Negan. I also liked the ending a lot even though I watched the trailer a lot and knew of Gabriel and Negan's interactions.
- S9 Ep 1 a New Beginning- wow two series beginnings next to each other... Yeah it's weird but they weren't exactly S Tier Material. The beginning with them trying to get a horse accessory was great tension to watch and I already love Ricks Beard.
- S10 Ep 18 Find me- okay so maybe I exaggerated My feeling towards Season 10 C a bit since I like some of the episodes a bit and others worse. The reason I put this here is mostly good plot lines and that was it.
- S3 Ep 3 Walk With Me- Merle brings joy to me seeing him again and I love him from here on out. I like how the Governor seems to be innocent enough until the big reveal with the militia which is amazingly put.
- S10 Ep 9 Squeeze- I hate Squeeze... There i said it. The cave sucks honestly and Id rather not watch it again because of that, but Negan is the only saving grace for this episode and if it wasn't for him I would never watch this episode again.
- S8 Ep 13 Do Not Send Us Astray- Simon attacking the Hilltop was the most great action of this season that I never minded and it felt terrifying after Tobin's fate was sealed.
- S3 Ep 12 Clear- I had to move it from S Tier, but nevertheless a great episode. Morgan's return was done perfectly and I felt like his character did a full 180 after this. Michonne and Carl's side story was also good.
- S2 Ep 12 Better Anglels- Shane and Ricks final confrontation was amazingly executed and loved the difference from the Comics with Rick killing shane and Carl shooting his reanimated self; Shane and Randel was also good too.
- S4 Ep 12 Still- Daryl and Beth make sense to pair together and I like seeing how we get a bit more back story to his character. They feel like the most perfect example to put for a mismatched pair.
- S6 Ep Thank You- The journey with Glenn's group trying to get back was amusing to see even though the dumpster ending wasnt really the best, still horrible to see.
- S10 Ep 4 Silence the Whisperers- Negan and Lydia have a good bond and I like how Negan defends her even though I hate how no one believes Lydia that Negan protected her.
- S8 Ep 4 Some Guy- I still love watching Ezekiel and the Kingdom so I enjoy this episode and how he feels defeated the whole time. Jerry is the best bodyguard in my opinion as well as it is shown and Shivas death is heartbreaking.
- S5 Ep 8 Coda- The reason I put this soo high was due to Rick and Bob. I did like the ending a bit even though I feel like Beth's death could've been avoided.
- S3 Ep 14 Prey- originally this episode was C Tier for me, but I re-watched it and put it this high due to the Governor being a literal psycho and I love this side of him.
- S11 Ep 20 What's been Lost- Lance felt underutilized as soon as he died, I really wished they could've made a difference with his exit on the show.
- S8 Ep 8 How it's gotta be- Forgot about Natanias death.
- S11 Ep 7 Promises Broken- Negan and Maggie had a good talk together about before.
- S10 Ep 6 Bonds- Okay.. XD.
- S6 Ep 10 The Next world- I thought the stuff with Rick, Daryl, and Jesus was goofy, but great.
- S11 Ep 19 Varient- I do like the idea of evolving walkers though I feel like it was a bit late in the show.
- S3 Ep 13 Arrow on the Doorstep- the meeting was just terrific to watch as the Governor is so sinister inside it with Milton and Hershel having a good talk as well with Martinez and Daryl having a good show off time. Merle and Glenn have some good times too.
- S9 Ep 2 The Bridge- The log scene was amazing and Aaron had a good scene with the amputation.
- S7 Ep 7 Sing me a song- Negan and Carl were fun to watch as well as some more insight on the sanctuary as Daryl breaks free. Negan and Carl also Bond.
- S10 Ep 10 Stalker- Daryl VS Alpha!!!
- S11 Ep 16 Acts of God- Lance is very horrifying as to what his next move is and Leah's stuff was good.
- S3 Ep 8 Made to suffer- it was a great Mid season finale as I enjoyed the fight with the Governor and Rick as well as the ending with Merle and Daryl.
- S2 Ep 6 Secrets- Glenn has to deal with hiding multiple people's secrets and I feel like the comedy is pure gold here.
- S1 Ep 2 Guts- The rooftops scenes were great as well as the parts where they wear guys to avoid the walkers, it always felt like a sense of panic in this episode.
- S9 Ep 9 Adaptation- the introduction to Alpha was simple enough and I feel like it's a good episode.
- S11 Ep 10 New Haunts
- S11 Ep 12 The Lucky Ones- Carol finally feels a little bit like she's back to her old self in this community with Lance and their deals.
- S4 Ep 1 30 days without and Accident- probably my second favorite of the beginning episodes as it demonstrates exactly how the group has got along since the recent events. Has a good story with the shopping market and the roof caving in was awesome.
- S3 Ep 10 Home- this episode shows how Merle and Daryl are far apart which I can still keep watching Merle and be entertained as well as the fight scene at the end with the Governor being cocky as can be.
- S9 Ep 16 The Storm- snow is a new but simple thing that I like along with Negan Earning trust with Michonne.
- S10 Ep 2 We are the End of the World- Gamma saving Alpha is one of my favorite scenes of how it shows Alphas power towards the group and influence on it's people.
- S6 Ep 8 Start to Finish- The walls coming down had an interesting story as well as many like the Wolf getting loose and Diana having a badass/amazing exit.
- S9 Ep 11 Bounty- The Movie Theatre scene was pretty good as well as Alpha with and Lydia.
- S5 Ep 2 Strangers- The uneasy feeling of Gabriel is pretty good to show the groups trust and I like how the ending is played out with the reveals.
- S11 Ep 13 Warlords- The Complex is a pretty good place to see and I like seeing the evolution of Negan and Aaron.
- S9 Ep 15 The Calm Before- The highlight is the end with the pikes though it made sense for the lesser characters. I hated seeing Henry and Enid die (Not with Tara).
- S10 Ep 11 Morning Star- The start of the battle is ingenius with the tree sap fire scene and it makes for a suspenseful ending to the episode to come.
- S9 Ep 5 What come After- The episode is meant to be a sendoff for Rick so I'll rank it about everything else instead. I did enjoy some of the sequences with Hershel and I loved seeing Shane again. He really puts perspective on some episodes like Season 5 which makes me enjoy watching those episodes more as well as Shane. Ricks exit was also done is a pretty good way.
- S7 Ep 13 Bury me Here- I liked watching Morgan slowing go back into insanity which I believe is due to PTSD of some sort. The episode feels really well done and I like the ending to it with Richard Dying and Carol being told everything.
- S9 Ep 12 Guardians- Alpha is great to watch in this episode and the way she kills the two whispering who challenge them is great!
- S8 Ep 5 The Big scary U- the main focus is Negan and Gabriel which is an amazing talk between then two before settling their differences. I also like the unease at the sanctuary through betrayal.
- S11 Ep 14 The Rotten core- the whole episode is one of If not my personal favorite to watch for the complex alone being a nice setting. I enjoy every bit of this episode as well as the side deal with Sebastian and how Mercer is revealed to be a pretty nice guy.
- S5 Ep 15 Try- The whole episode feels like a decent into madness for Rick seeing everyone against him. I like how he goes into protective cop mode and try to defend the ones he lives as well as his speech at the end.
- S11 Ep 18 A New Deal- The whole episode is average, but the ending just feels amazing to rewatch.
- S2 Ep 11 Judge, Jury, Executioner- I personally like Dale a lot so I love this episode. It really shows how the group is starting to turn as they believe to do what is best for the group and not morals. Dales death is also very heartfelt to watch and showed off the walkers dangerousness.
- S10 Ep 14 Look At The Flowers- Negan and Daryl make a good pair to watch though I enjoyed watching Beta and him struggling to get back on track after Alphas death and I love him so much more for this episode.
- S5 Ep 5 Self Help- Daryl and Carol at the moments have some good episodes together so it's not surprise I'd love this episode. With Noah in the episode as well it feels like a amazing show of how the characters (Carol and Daryl) have changed morally.
- S6 Ep 13 The Same Boat- Carol has been shown to be ruthless, but this episode shows her true colors as how she doesn't want this to be her life anymore.
- S5 Ep 13 Forget- the episode itself has many great minisodes it felt like which was fantastic.
- S8 Ep 16 Wraith- The ending to season 8 was pretty eventful for the battles begin as Eugene saved everyone's asses from a cool trick with the bullets. I am happy that Rick decided to save Negan and I love the episode except for the ending being off-putting with Maggie.
- S6 Ep 9 No way Out- The Wolf has a pretty interesting end that I enjoyed to see and aside from the the entire eoisode is the best part. You never feel that sense of boring to it as the action is nonstop great.
- S5 Ep 5 Now- I liked small bits and pieces of this episode mostly revolving around Diana and her role starting to change. If she survived I don't doubt I would've loved to see her go through more of an arc.
- S7 Ep 11 Hostiles and Calamities- I can see the hate for this episode, though I love it myself. Eugene in my opinion is at his best here and I love watching him here with Negan and their interactions. It was also great how Dwight had framed the doctor.
- S5 Ep 6 Consumed- Abraham was one of my favorite characters not just for jokes but for this episode. His backstory is heartbreaking to learn about and relatable. When he falls down after beating Eugene in defeat I can feel his pain with him.
- S9 Ep 13 Chokepoint- Daryl VS Beta!!!
Around this time I also realized that it seems my numbers on the side aren't matching so I'm fixing it from here so skip 42- 38. Idk what happened but I messed up somewhere and went to fix it but couldn't find the problem.
- S2 Ep 13 Besides the Dying Fire- The walkers attacking the farm was a great scene just as much as the Democracy speech was from Rick, though Lori is horrible to Rick in this episode. Also Rick tells the group "we're all infected"
- S4 Ep 2 Infected- I love the scene where Patrick reanimates and the morning fight they have in the prison. So much stuff happens at once. The ending was Great with Tyreese and. The pig scene was sad to watch.
- S6 Ep 6 Always Accountable- One time when I like Sasha is this episode with Abraham. Where to begin; The Rocket launcher scene was great, Abraham is great with quips, Daryl with Dwight is a good scene and I love the ending as well.
- S6 Ep 14 Twice as Far- The Denise speech wasnt too bad and the death was great. I enjoyed Abraham and Eugene; I think my favorite scenes was with Abraham and Eugene with another one of his speechs towards him which was funny and heartfelt.
- S4 Ep 16 A- The best part is when Joe's group comes along and how Rick bites out his throat signifying that he and Shane are now alike. I also like when Rick and Daryl talk as well as Rick figuring out this olace kidnaps people.
- S2 Ep 7 Pretty Much dead Already- Shane is what I love about this episode, he and Dale had a really funny encounter and I feel like Shane makes me laugh and be serious at the same time with each scenes. I also like how Rick is more accepting towards Hershel.
- S10 Ep 16 A Certain Doom- Beta was good in this episode and had some great parts, but the fights wee great especially the scene with the Music. Betas death felt odd, but that doesn't lower the episode.
- S4 Ep 14 The Grove- I mean do I really have to explain? Carol is a savage here and I love when they finally talk about Karen and Davids death here. Nothing in this episode is a low note.
- S2 Ep 5 Chupacabra- I love everything about Daryl's scenes in this that show how he is a badass and capable of holding his own. Also love his Hallucinations.
- S11 Ep 24 Rest In Peace- certainly wasn't the best finale, but I felt like it did well enough for the episode. It tied up most loose ends for the show given its runtime and I feel like it is fitting enough.
- S2 Ep 10 18 Miles Out- my favorite of Season 2 has Shane and Rick have the best battle I have seen even more than The Governor and Rick or Negan and Rick. This battle utilizes both of their strengths and weaknesses with some things that have never been done in the show much more like using your blood to attract walkers to other places. It was an amazing episode all in all.
- S1 Ep 6 TS-19- idk what it is but I love watching this episode over and over again and I love it the more I watch it. It is probably because I like Doctor Jenner a bit more in each watching of his tragic backstory with his wife.
- S9 Ep 14 Scars- The flahsback was an amazing one that told us something vital to the story about how they don't trust people coming in anymore. What Daryl and especially Michonne went through is tragic.
- S5 Ep 3 Four Walls a roof- this episode is perfect for a number of reasons like Bob and his antics or Savage Rick, this was a turning point for the walking dead and this is where Rick gets some of his roots.
- S1 Ep 4 Vatos- even though I love TS-19 I love Vatos more. This is unique to some episodes where you see a group just like Ricks that is trying to survive and this is where we realize the world is bigger than we thought still.
- S7 Ep 16 The first day of the rest of your Life- The battle was amazing and I feel like this was the best it was going to get for the coming seasons, but season 9 and 10 surprised me.
- S10 Ep 5 What it always Is- Negan with the Kid is the highlight I think, I could've honestly seen this going farther, if it wasn't for the former savior. I feel like this was fitting for an entire episode of, but we diverged a bit.
- S4 Ep 3 Isolation- Hershel and Tyreese are the highlights for me with Tyreese going berserk and Hershel being a kind soul. This is a staple episode for why Season 4 is amazing and why Hershel is what made season 4 great.
- S6 Ep 4 Here's not Here- I love learning about Eastman and Morgan in this one off. I love how it is somewhat told in the first person narrative to the Wolf and how Morgan changed back to who he was. Eastman shows how he and Morgan are pretty similar and why he should be like him.
- S5 Ep 14 Spend- aside from Francine being here to be used as eye candy for me I loved how some of Alexandria like and dislike rick's group here. I do hate Noah dying as I feel like he could've been so much more.
- S10 19 One More- I love havng the episode based on Aaron and Gabriel as they have came a long way since their beginnings. When they have few an encounter with Mays I felt like this was a testimony to who they are as people. We see how they care for each other and how Mays fails to make a point of who they are until Gabriel Kills him showing he has gone farther away from the light.
- S7 Ep 3 Cell- Daryl is locked up and he is now being treated like shit. This episode feels great cause of how it feels like he is trying to break Daryl. Dwight also has a great mission on how he mercy kills a savior and shows he isn't as bad as you may think.
- S6 Ep 1 First time again- I do enjoy the setting of the episode how we see the diverge in Alexandria and who listens or hears Rick out. The episode is a great example for staring episodes... But not the best at it.
- S5 Ep 9 What Happened and what's going On- I loved Tyreese's character so to see him die was horrible for me. His episodes I feel like was a good send off since it is a test to who he is as a person who is confounded about the world around him.
- S3 Ep 4 Killer Within- this episode was played perfectly and I feel like is a good sendoff for other characters as well like how I hate Lori. She is made just a bit better from her sacrifice and thought T-Dog went out in a good way as well. The prisoners also had a good show for their trust.
- S4 Ep 5 Interment- this is where Hershel's best episode is as he is the best Samaritan Alive in the apocalypse. At the end where Rick and Carl fend off the walkers inside the gates in a great bond and I love the whole episode.
- S6 Ep 3 JSS- it is well rounded and has good action as well as a lot of tension and suspense with Carol showing off her capabilities and Morgan with his philosophy.
- S8 Ep 15 Worth- Worth has what I want in an episode; good characters and story/plot. Eugene's parts are made more important seeing how he needed to stay at the sanctuary to save Alexandria and the other communities. I loved even more Dwight's part where I have without doubt the most suspense with him and Negan. Simon also had the most best arc death as it felt complete.
- S5 Ep 16 Conquer- the episode has a lot of action and the ending was the pivet. I love the speech he has and how Diana let's Rick be in charge now was a sort of cliffhanging ending that signify's perfection.
- S5 Ep 1 No sanctuary- both Season 5's beginning and finale are amazing and the way Rick and his group take down Terminus in one episode is amazing as they fight there way out and the scene with Judith was great. Morgan was just a sprinkle of wholesomeness to see.
- S10 Ep 12 Walk With Us- The Episode had just enough action, good deaths and character interactions to make it here. First of the battle at hilltop was amazing. The second best thing was Earl and I feel very sad every time I watch this episode at his part. Then the best thing is the end with Alpha and Negan.
- S3 Ep 1 Seed- The best beginning to a season it shows how the group has changed since Rick and the prison is a great example. The tombs are a great scenery and the ending was perfect for a cliffhanger as well as Conquer.
- S3 Ep 2 Sick- the prisoner episode was pretty good to watch as a group of prisoners try to take on walkers. While some are good others would rather be assertive. Rick has definitely changed since season 2 and the group is played great here and much more human like.
- S7 Ep 2 Well- what helps this episode is the last episode before it having a dark tone. This instead has a more uplifting one with the king and with Carol and Morgan being a great pair. The Kingdom seems to be a good community and seeing how Carol tries to smooth talk the king and how he tells whays her bullshit is an amazing scene.
- S10 Ep 22 Heres Negan- We realize he was a kinda lousy husband that wasn't really too good to becoming a really supportive husband who cares deeply for his wife Lucille. The story before showed a lot of Negan and how he is and I love Lucille as a character from this episode trying to do whats best for Negan.
- S4 Ep 8 Too Far gone- Honestly this IS the best episode, but I am bias so I had to put my own personal favorite above it not to say this isn't right behind it easily. Too far gone is what feels like a season finale but isn't. The Governors first encounter should've been this and I'm glad we got to see it unfold great. Rick has a great speech in it about not being too far gone yet and the Governor killing Hershel to start the best battle of the series. The Governors death feels fitting and the ending was sad and amazing.
- Season 3 Episode 15 This Sorrowful Life- Now what makes this episode so great to me? Well I'm totally biased towards the actor and the character in the show Merle Dixon. I could watch Merle all day which is what they episode feels like with the perfect duo of Michonne and Merle on their way to the governor. It has some of the most perfect comedy in the episode as well as having the best sacrifice redemption arc and ending. This episode made me laugh, smile, cry and more. There will never be a time when I ever change my opinion about this episode in existence.
2024.05.13 10:34 adulting4kids Figures of Speech
1. Simile:
Definition: A figure of speech that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as."
Example: The night sky was like a vast canvas, scattered with stars as bright as diamonds.
2. Metaphor:
Definition: A figure of speech that implies a comparison between two unrelated things, stating that one thing is another.
Example: Time is a thief, silently stealing moments from our lives.
3. Hyperbole:
Definition: A figure of speech involving exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.
Example: The suitcase weighed a ton, making it nearly impossible to carry.
4. Understatement:
Definition: A figure of speech where a writer deliberately represents something as much less than it actually is.
Example: The storm brought a bit of rain; nothing too major, just a small flood in the living room.
5. Personification:
Definition: A figure of speech where human qualities are attributed to non-human entities.
Example: The wind whispered secrets through the ancient trees.
6. Assonance:
Definition: The repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words in a sentence.
Example: The melody of the evening breeze gently swept through the fields of wheat.
7. Onomatopoeia:
Definition: The use of words that imitate the sound they describe.
Example: The door creaked open, and footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.
8. Alliteration:
Definition: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
Example: The playful puppy pranced through the park, chasing butterflies.
*9. Oxymoron:
Definition: A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.
Example: The comedian's humor was both dark and lighthearted, creating an unsettling joy.
10. Irony:
Definition: A figure of speech in which words express a meaning opposite to their literal interpretation.
Example: The fire station burned down while the firefighters were on vacation—what a twist of irony.
11. Pun:
Definition: A play on words that have multiple meanings or sound similar but have different meanings.
Example: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
12. Juxtaposition:
Definition: Placing two elements side by side to present a contrast.
Example: In the bustling city, the serene park offered a juxtaposition of tranquility amid the urban chaos.
13. Synecdoche:
Definition: A figure of speech where a part represents the whole or the whole represents a part.
Example: "All hands on deck" implies the need for the assistance of the entire crew.
14. Metonymy:
Definition: A figure of speech where one term is substituted with another closely related term.
Example: The White House issued a statement on the recent policy changes.
15. Zeugma:
Definition: A figure of speech where a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence.
Example: She stole both his wallet and his heart that fateful night.
16. Epiphora:
Definition: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
Example: The forest was mysterious, the mountains were majestic, and the rivers were enchanting.
17. Euphemism:
Definition: Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh or blunt one.
Example: She passed away peacefully in her sleep, euphemizing the concept of death.
18. Anthimeria:
Definition: The use of a word in a grammatical form it doesn't usually take.
Example: She bookmarked the page to return to the thrilling story later.
19. Chiasmus:
Definition: A figure of speech in which the order of terms in one of the clauses is inverted in the other.
Example: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you?" - Cinderella
20. Allusion:
Definition: A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.
Example: His ambition was Caesar-like; he aimed to conquer not only Rome but the hearts of its people.
21. Allegory:
Definition: A narrative in which characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral qualities . Example: Orwell's "Animal Farm" serves as an allegory for political corruption and the abuse of power.
22. Metonymy:
Definition: A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted with another closely associated with it.
Example: The pen is mightier than the sword, emphasizing the power of the written word over physical force.
23. Sarcasm:
Definition: The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.
Example: "Nice job on the presentation," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm as the audience chuckled.
24. Understatement:
Definition: A figure of speech where a writer deliberately represents something as much less than it actually is.
Example: The mountain climber faced a slight challenge as he ascended Everest, navigating only a few treacherous crevices.
25. Cliché:
Definition: An expression or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning.
Example: The detective followed the suspect's trail like a bloodhound, relying on the cliché methods of his trade. *
submitted by adulting4kids to writingthruit [link] [comments]
Definition: A figure of speech that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as."
Example: The night sky was like a vast canvas, scattered with stars as bright as diamonds.
2. Metaphor:
Definition: A figure of speech that implies a comparison between two unrelated things, stating that one thing is another.
Example: Time is a thief, silently stealing moments from our lives.
3. Hyperbole:
Definition: A figure of speech involving exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.
Example: The suitcase weighed a ton, making it nearly impossible to carry.
4. Understatement:
Definition: A figure of speech where a writer deliberately represents something as much less than it actually is.
Example: The storm brought a bit of rain; nothing too major, just a small flood in the living room.
5. Personification:
Definition: A figure of speech where human qualities are attributed to non-human entities.
Example: The wind whispered secrets through the ancient trees.
6. Assonance:
Definition: The repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words in a sentence.
Example: The melody of the evening breeze gently swept through the fields of wheat.
7. Onomatopoeia:
Definition: The use of words that imitate the sound they describe.
Example: The door creaked open, and footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.
8. Alliteration:
Definition: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
Example: The playful puppy pranced through the park, chasing butterflies.
*9. Oxymoron:
Definition: A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.
Example: The comedian's humor was both dark and lighthearted, creating an unsettling joy.
10. Irony:
Definition: A figure of speech in which words express a meaning opposite to their literal interpretation.
Example: The fire station burned down while the firefighters were on vacation—what a twist of irony.
11. Pun:
Definition: A play on words that have multiple meanings or sound similar but have different meanings.
Example: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
12. Juxtaposition:
Definition: Placing two elements side by side to present a contrast.
Example: In the bustling city, the serene park offered a juxtaposition of tranquility amid the urban chaos.
13. Synecdoche:
Definition: A figure of speech where a part represents the whole or the whole represents a part.
Example: "All hands on deck" implies the need for the assistance of the entire crew.
14. Metonymy:
Definition: A figure of speech where one term is substituted with another closely related term.
Example: The White House issued a statement on the recent policy changes.
15. Zeugma:
Definition: A figure of speech where a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence.
Example: She stole both his wallet and his heart that fateful night.
16. Epiphora:
Definition: The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
Example: The forest was mysterious, the mountains were majestic, and the rivers were enchanting.
17. Euphemism:
Definition: Substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh or blunt one.
Example: She passed away peacefully in her sleep, euphemizing the concept of death.
18. Anthimeria:
Definition: The use of a word in a grammatical form it doesn't usually take.
Example: She bookmarked the page to return to the thrilling story later.
19. Chiasmus:
Definition: A figure of speech in which the order of terms in one of the clauses is inverted in the other.
Example: "Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you?" - Cinderella
20. Allusion:
Definition: A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance.
Example: His ambition was Caesar-like; he aimed to conquer not only Rome but the hearts of its people.
21. Allegory:
Definition: A narrative in which characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral qualities . Example: Orwell's "Animal Farm" serves as an allegory for political corruption and the abuse of power.
22. Metonymy:
Definition: A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted with another closely associated with it.
Example: The pen is mightier than the sword, emphasizing the power of the written word over physical force.
23. Sarcasm:
Definition: The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.
Example: "Nice job on the presentation," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm as the audience chuckled.
24. Understatement:
Definition: A figure of speech where a writer deliberately represents something as much less than it actually is.
Example: The mountain climber faced a slight challenge as he ascended Everest, navigating only a few treacherous crevices.
25. Cliché:
Definition: An expression or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning.
Example: The detective followed the suspect's trail like a bloodhound, relying on the cliché methods of his trade. *
2024.05.13 06:31 Disastrous-Oven340 When is it too old to be a virgin..?
So I'm 24 and a virgin. I grew up hella fat, still am and have lost a lot of weight (85lbs) so far.
Gay men have always been hard for me, pun intended, and issues surrounding intimacy, sex, etc have been consistent issues. I struggle with my dick size and not even measuring up to average. I also have issues with severe anxiety and am too afraid to even link up with anyone.
For example, I have a lot of built up anxiety about becoming too old. I've wanted to be in certain scenarios that I hear about from other gay guys all the time, let alone just have sex, but I'm too afraid that my weight and age makes it too late for me. Even after I lose all this weight, I'll probably have loose skin. And by the time I lose it all... I'll be too old.
On top of all of that, finding a partner which was always my end goal seems so.... untangable.. Even if you managed to find one you have to settle for opening your relationship up, etc.
Even if I don't find a partner right off the bat, wanting to do certain things with different guys is something of interest to me.
Bro why do I feel like I was born in the wrong Era 😅...
submitted by Disastrous-Oven340 to askgaybros [link] [comments]
Gay men have always been hard for me, pun intended, and issues surrounding intimacy, sex, etc have been consistent issues. I struggle with my dick size and not even measuring up to average. I also have issues with severe anxiety and am too afraid to even link up with anyone.
For example, I have a lot of built up anxiety about becoming too old. I've wanted to be in certain scenarios that I hear about from other gay guys all the time, let alone just have sex, but I'm too afraid that my weight and age makes it too late for me. Even after I lose all this weight, I'll probably have loose skin. And by the time I lose it all... I'll be too old.
On top of all of that, finding a partner which was always my end goal seems so.... untangable.. Even if you managed to find one you have to settle for opening your relationship up, etc.
Even if I don't find a partner right off the bat, wanting to do certain things with different guys is something of interest to me.
Bro why do I feel like I was born in the wrong Era 😅...
2024.05.13 06:24 HungQuach_hq What are your thoughts on being a fan of idols that are younger than you?
I’ll start by stating my own opinion. To preface, I’m a 2004-liner and I’ve been a K-Pop fan since 2016. Because of this, I’ve always assumed idols to be older than me. What first changed this assumption was the debut of Itzy back in 2019. Yuna, the youngest member, is only one year older than me. She’s still older than me but the age gap have definitely decreased. I don’t know why but this made me felt kind of old even though I wasn’t even an adult back then. Whatever the case, I was still sure that it will take years until idols of my age or younger would debut.
Then Niki was like, “Let me introduce myself.” As someone who watched I-LAND weekly when it was airing, it was wild watching Niki and Daniel pursuing their dreams while I was laying in bed rooting for them. Even Jungwon, who I just now realized is exactly 5 months older than me, was accomplishing more than what I could ever dreamed of doing. It was impressive seeing them in I-LAND and especially for Niki and Jungwon for managing to debut. However, I don’t know if this is even applicable to me, but I sort of had a midlife crisis. I’m honored that I was able to witnessed the journey of Niki, Jungwon and the other members debuting in Enhypen, but it also made me think to myself, “Wow, I need to get my life together.” (Spoilers: I still haven’t.)
Anyway, back on topic. Am I a fan of Niki, Jungwon and Enhypen as a whole? Absolutely. Although my bias is Heeseung, I like talent and both Niki and Jungwon are overflowing with talent. However, even with the debut of Niki, I was still sure that he was an anomaly, an outlier if you will. Yeah, he’s not. I’m not going to list out every idol that has debuted these past four years who is younger than me because not only there are many, but my self esteem can’t take it man.
My ego aside, returning to the main question, is it alright for fans to like idols that are younger than them? My answer is yes. I understand where people who think otherwise are coming from, but I believe that ultimately you’re a fan of an idol because of their qualities as an artist. For example, I like Niki because he’s a dancing machine and I find his deep voice to be very calming. I like Jungwon because of his voice as well. I don’t how to describe it but his voice is very soothing and smooth, almost as if he’s reading poetry whenever he sings. His voice exudes an aura of grace, I like it a lot. I don’t think there’s anything bad if you’re a fan of them because of their skills. I mean, isn’t that what being a fan is all about?
Now, regarding whether it’s alright for fans to like idols that are younger than them because of their looks. I think it’s completely fine as long as you’re not weird about it. Using myself as an example again, I think Haerin is pretty cute. Her hairstyle and sense of fashion was what first caught my attention (pun intended) when I discovered NewJeans. I also really like her personality because to me, she’s the definition of chill. Her being an introvert is also very relatable since I am also an introvert. These are one of the many reasons why she became my bias. However, ultimately, I like Haerin not only because of looks, her personality, or her skills in singing and dancing, but because she’s an artist. I am a fan of the artist Haerin. There’s nothing more to it. As long as you recognize and respect the boundaries of being a fan, I believe it is fine.
Thank you for those of you who made it this far. I never really thought about this topic that deeply until recently when one of my friends brought it up. I’ve also seen a couple of people voiced their opinions online so I thought it would be interesting to hear the thoughts of others.
submitted by HungQuach_hq to kpopthoughts [link] [comments]
Then Niki was like, “Let me introduce myself.” As someone who watched I-LAND weekly when it was airing, it was wild watching Niki and Daniel pursuing their dreams while I was laying in bed rooting for them. Even Jungwon, who I just now realized is exactly 5 months older than me, was accomplishing more than what I could ever dreamed of doing. It was impressive seeing them in I-LAND and especially for Niki and Jungwon for managing to debut. However, I don’t know if this is even applicable to me, but I sort of had a midlife crisis. I’m honored that I was able to witnessed the journey of Niki, Jungwon and the other members debuting in Enhypen, but it also made me think to myself, “Wow, I need to get my life together.” (Spoilers: I still haven’t.)
Anyway, back on topic. Am I a fan of Niki, Jungwon and Enhypen as a whole? Absolutely. Although my bias is Heeseung, I like talent and both Niki and Jungwon are overflowing with talent. However, even with the debut of Niki, I was still sure that he was an anomaly, an outlier if you will. Yeah, he’s not. I’m not going to list out every idol that has debuted these past four years who is younger than me because not only there are many, but my self esteem can’t take it man.
My ego aside, returning to the main question, is it alright for fans to like idols that are younger than them? My answer is yes. I understand where people who think otherwise are coming from, but I believe that ultimately you’re a fan of an idol because of their qualities as an artist. For example, I like Niki because he’s a dancing machine and I find his deep voice to be very calming. I like Jungwon because of his voice as well. I don’t how to describe it but his voice is very soothing and smooth, almost as if he’s reading poetry whenever he sings. His voice exudes an aura of grace, I like it a lot. I don’t think there’s anything bad if you’re a fan of them because of their skills. I mean, isn’t that what being a fan is all about?
Now, regarding whether it’s alright for fans to like idols that are younger than them because of their looks. I think it’s completely fine as long as you’re not weird about it. Using myself as an example again, I think Haerin is pretty cute. Her hairstyle and sense of fashion was what first caught my attention (pun intended) when I discovered NewJeans. I also really like her personality because to me, she’s the definition of chill. Her being an introvert is also very relatable since I am also an introvert. These are one of the many reasons why she became my bias. However, ultimately, I like Haerin not only because of looks, her personality, or her skills in singing and dancing, but because she’s an artist. I am a fan of the artist Haerin. There’s nothing more to it. As long as you recognize and respect the boundaries of being a fan, I believe it is fine.
Thank you for those of you who made it this far. I never really thought about this topic that deeply until recently when one of my friends brought it up. I’ve also seen a couple of people voiced their opinions online so I thought it would be interesting to hear the thoughts of others.
2024.05.13 04:11 automotiveinfohub Unveiling the Mystery: A Guide to Car Dashboard Lights
 | Understanding Car Dashboard Lights: A Comprehensive GuideHave you ever been startled by a bright light on your car’s dashboard while cruising down the road? Those symbols and lights might seem cryptic at first, but fear not! They’re actually your car’s way of communicating with you. This guide will shed light (pun intended!) on the most common car dashboard lights, helping you understand their meaning and ensuring a safe and informed driving experience.Understanding Car Dashboard Lights: Car dashboard lights come in a variety of colours, each with a specific message. Let’s break down the most common ones:
Now that we understand the colour scheme, let’s delve into some of the most common car warning lights you might encounter:
Beyond the Basics: While these are some of the most common car dashboard lights, there are many others specific to your car’s make and model. Consulting your car’s owner’s manual is crucial for understanding the exact meaning of each light in your vehicle. The manual will also likely have instructions on how to reset certain warning lights, like the TPMS light after inflating your tires. Maintaining Peace of Mind: Here are some additional tips for maintaining peace of mind on the road:
By understanding your car dashboard lights, you can ensure a safer and smoother driving experience. Remember, these lights are your car’s way of keeping you informed. So pay attention to them, address any issues promptly, and keep rolling! With a little knowledge and proactive maintenance, you can navigate. For more information on automotive issues like this, visit automotiveinfohub.com |
2024.05.13 00:59 trashesss My bf has no sex drive and i'm devastated.
Just a rant since i can't afford a therapist right now.
We have been together for almost two years and at first our sex life was great but now my bf doesn't seem to be interested in sex as much anymore. I try to initiate but he always turns me down so we have sex only when he decides to which is not often to me (like three times a month, maybe more, maybe even less). We have a great relationship outside of bedroom, we live together, I love him so so much but this thing just frustrates me. I did communicate it with him but he says he's fine the way it is and it's not gonna change in the nearest future. Btw, it was the same with his ex too, she would also cry for sex and he would turn her down every time. For context, we are 22 years old so I suspect testosterone issues since there are other signs as well ( for example, he suddenly gained weight but he was really skinny all his life).
Now, to my feelings. I just feel empty inside (no pun intended), like there is a hole inside me that can't be filled no matter what (no pun intended again). Like no matter how happy I am, this dissatisfaction just always follows me everywhere. I don't feel pretty and I don't feel desirable. It hurts me that he's not attracted to me as much as I am to him. I'm afraid he doesn't view me as a beautiful woman but more like a cute and funny gremlin next to him. To me, sex is what divides our romantical partners from our friends. Sometimes it feels like we are just rommates. We hang out, we cuddle, we cook together and watch TV but that's it. Sometimes I forget that I'm still an attractive girl.
When I was on an all girls trip we went to the club. Honestly, I don't like clubs and I don't support clubbing when you're in a relationship unless you are together but that was the only time and it wasn't intentional. It was supposed to be a bar and it Was for some time but then the people arrived and the music started and me and my best friend decided to just dance a little cause we also met two girls (you know, drunk friendship in a club toilet, one of you have some relationship problems, classic) and also we were already drunk. At the club several guys hitted on me I obviously turned down every one of them (I'm not really attracted to men unless it's my boyfriend, especially to men who go to the clubs to pick girls) but it felt shocking. Like man i forget I'm still young and attractive. Like someone still wants me for the way I look and for my body.
Long story short, I had issues with thinking people only date me because I'm interesting to talk to not because I am pretty. I wasn't really interested in sex until i met my boyfriend and lucky! those people were not that interested too. And after that I had people interested in me Only because of my body and not my personality at all. So my boyfriend loving both was some kind of revelation to me and him turning to just liking to spend time with me and talk to me wakes up in me that past trauma? i guess. Or better say insecurity.
My bf was the one who got me into sex as an enjoyable activity I can look forward to. I did have sex w girls before him and it wasn't bad but I didn't care if I had it or not, it just didn't cross my mind. If it happens, great, if not, also great. And later on when i started having sex w men I just had sex for the sake of it and didn't get any pleasure out of it. Yay! Penetration! But he made it great. Like I actually started to orgasm with him, I started to like it and want more of it.
I know I am attractive. I want to have so much sex while I'm still young and pretty. I want to explore different things (not like threesomes and sex parties but something I can do with my bf only). And it pains me that I'm wasting my youth.
It may sound silly but it just feels horrible. I have all kinds of self doubts on top of having general relationship anxiety. I'm devastated. I'm spiraling every day. Some people say it's better to just break up if you have sexual incompatibility, some say it's actually fixable (like if it's testosterone issues). I know he loves me, I know he's not cheating or anything and I just really don't want to bother him with my intrusive thoughts. But I really feel undesirable. I feel like I'm 13 years old again and no guy will look at me cause I'm not feminine enough.
I just want my boyfriend to want me. Anytime I read the post from the girl saying her bf want wayy more sex than her I think girl if only I could trade the situations with you oh my god. I shut myself everyday. I try to convince myself sex is not that important and the realisation that to me it is and I can't change it hurts so much.
I don't want to break up over it for now since I still believe there are ways to fix it but if they will be unsuccessful? I don't think I'm gonna be able to continue this. And I don't want that. For me, I believe there should be only one serious partner in my life and we would get married and live haplily ever after. Like I'm not living in a fairytale I know people break up and sometimes it's for good. I've also had relationship before but they wasn't as serious. And I don't think I will be able to trust another man in my life. I don't want to live with someone, make our home cozy, building the life together and then just become a strangers. Like I won't be able to handle it over and over again. And I have severe trust issues towards men since a lot of them are cheating and not over their ex. Yes, I used to date girls before and this is my first boyfriend and it feels like a Nightmate. I've never had trust issues in the relationship before. I've never worried there could be some girl they be texting or whatever. Just pure mindless happiness. So sweet. Well not until I started interacting with men and was introduced to all kinds of mischief, lying and all sorts of disrespectful things. I don't hate men if I sound like that but my experience with them was awful and the things I've read on the internet and the things my friends told me don't make it easier for me to trust them. For background all of my new friends in the past few years are guys and I always spend time in the all boys company (bfs friends, my girl friends live in different cities so we don't see each other often) and they are great people and i care for them so much but boy! some of them shouldn't go near a woman until they deal with their issues. I don't know why I'm even explaining myself I just don't want reddit people to jump on me for stereotyping. I do trust my boyfriend though mostly. We had some issues (kinda serious ones) but we resolved them and now I'm almost healed and he actually grew as a person too and changed. So I don't want it go to waste.
I just really really hope it will be resolved and I'm willing to wait. Not because I don't believe i won't find anyone ever again but because I actually do love my bf and I like that we are both growing in this relationship. I just realized how stupid i sound. Like i cling onto the relationship cause he's the first person to give me what i wanted 😭 It's not like that I promise I actually view relationship way more rationally than it may look like but I was just ranting uncontrollably. Yeah, I would be fine if we broke up but I don't want that and I don't see it as a solution.
Anyway, I hope it's not some kind of lesson to learn fron the universe but a strong bond between us developing.
submitted by trashesss to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
We have been together for almost two years and at first our sex life was great but now my bf doesn't seem to be interested in sex as much anymore. I try to initiate but he always turns me down so we have sex only when he decides to which is not often to me (like three times a month, maybe more, maybe even less). We have a great relationship outside of bedroom, we live together, I love him so so much but this thing just frustrates me. I did communicate it with him but he says he's fine the way it is and it's not gonna change in the nearest future. Btw, it was the same with his ex too, she would also cry for sex and he would turn her down every time. For context, we are 22 years old so I suspect testosterone issues since there are other signs as well ( for example, he suddenly gained weight but he was really skinny all his life).
Now, to my feelings. I just feel empty inside (no pun intended), like there is a hole inside me that can't be filled no matter what (no pun intended again). Like no matter how happy I am, this dissatisfaction just always follows me everywhere. I don't feel pretty and I don't feel desirable. It hurts me that he's not attracted to me as much as I am to him. I'm afraid he doesn't view me as a beautiful woman but more like a cute and funny gremlin next to him. To me, sex is what divides our romantical partners from our friends. Sometimes it feels like we are just rommates. We hang out, we cuddle, we cook together and watch TV but that's it. Sometimes I forget that I'm still an attractive girl.
When I was on an all girls trip we went to the club. Honestly, I don't like clubs and I don't support clubbing when you're in a relationship unless you are together but that was the only time and it wasn't intentional. It was supposed to be a bar and it Was for some time but then the people arrived and the music started and me and my best friend decided to just dance a little cause we also met two girls (you know, drunk friendship in a club toilet, one of you have some relationship problems, classic) and also we were already drunk. At the club several guys hitted on me I obviously turned down every one of them (I'm not really attracted to men unless it's my boyfriend, especially to men who go to the clubs to pick girls) but it felt shocking. Like man i forget I'm still young and attractive. Like someone still wants me for the way I look and for my body.
Long story short, I had issues with thinking people only date me because I'm interesting to talk to not because I am pretty. I wasn't really interested in sex until i met my boyfriend and lucky! those people were not that interested too. And after that I had people interested in me Only because of my body and not my personality at all. So my boyfriend loving both was some kind of revelation to me and him turning to just liking to spend time with me and talk to me wakes up in me that past trauma? i guess. Or better say insecurity.
My bf was the one who got me into sex as an enjoyable activity I can look forward to. I did have sex w girls before him and it wasn't bad but I didn't care if I had it or not, it just didn't cross my mind. If it happens, great, if not, also great. And later on when i started having sex w men I just had sex for the sake of it and didn't get any pleasure out of it. Yay! Penetration! But he made it great. Like I actually started to orgasm with him, I started to like it and want more of it.
I know I am attractive. I want to have so much sex while I'm still young and pretty. I want to explore different things (not like threesomes and sex parties but something I can do with my bf only). And it pains me that I'm wasting my youth.
It may sound silly but it just feels horrible. I have all kinds of self doubts on top of having general relationship anxiety. I'm devastated. I'm spiraling every day. Some people say it's better to just break up if you have sexual incompatibility, some say it's actually fixable (like if it's testosterone issues). I know he loves me, I know he's not cheating or anything and I just really don't want to bother him with my intrusive thoughts. But I really feel undesirable. I feel like I'm 13 years old again and no guy will look at me cause I'm not feminine enough.
I just want my boyfriend to want me. Anytime I read the post from the girl saying her bf want wayy more sex than her I think girl if only I could trade the situations with you oh my god. I shut myself everyday. I try to convince myself sex is not that important and the realisation that to me it is and I can't change it hurts so much.
I don't want to break up over it for now since I still believe there are ways to fix it but if they will be unsuccessful? I don't think I'm gonna be able to continue this. And I don't want that. For me, I believe there should be only one serious partner in my life and we would get married and live haplily ever after. Like I'm not living in a fairytale I know people break up and sometimes it's for good. I've also had relationship before but they wasn't as serious. And I don't think I will be able to trust another man in my life. I don't want to live with someone, make our home cozy, building the life together and then just become a strangers. Like I won't be able to handle it over and over again. And I have severe trust issues towards men since a lot of them are cheating and not over their ex. Yes, I used to date girls before and this is my first boyfriend and it feels like a Nightmate. I've never had trust issues in the relationship before. I've never worried there could be some girl they be texting or whatever. Just pure mindless happiness. So sweet. Well not until I started interacting with men and was introduced to all kinds of mischief, lying and all sorts of disrespectful things. I don't hate men if I sound like that but my experience with them was awful and the things I've read on the internet and the things my friends told me don't make it easier for me to trust them. For background all of my new friends in the past few years are guys and I always spend time in the all boys company (bfs friends, my girl friends live in different cities so we don't see each other often) and they are great people and i care for them so much but boy! some of them shouldn't go near a woman until they deal with their issues. I don't know why I'm even explaining myself I just don't want reddit people to jump on me for stereotyping. I do trust my boyfriend though mostly. We had some issues (kinda serious ones) but we resolved them and now I'm almost healed and he actually grew as a person too and changed. So I don't want it go to waste.
I just really really hope it will be resolved and I'm willing to wait. Not because I don't believe i won't find anyone ever again but because I actually do love my bf and I like that we are both growing in this relationship. I just realized how stupid i sound. Like i cling onto the relationship cause he's the first person to give me what i wanted 😭 It's not like that I promise I actually view relationship way more rationally than it may look like but I was just ranting uncontrollably. Yeah, I would be fine if we broke up but I don't want that and I don't see it as a solution.
Anyway, I hope it's not some kind of lesson to learn fron the universe but a strong bond between us developing.
2024.05.12 22:48 Sea-Cockroach-3360 Legitimate question for my fellow non straights/cis about the naming scheme we fall under.
I think we need to be honest about the semantics and naming and lumping together of our unique groups. The acronym has gotten so long that I can't even remember the full thing anymore, it seems like it changes daily and many people can't even agree with what is appropriate anymore. Perhaps we are not all part of the same homogenized (no pun intended) group and should be treated uniquely as such? As a bi man I don't consider myself to have the same struggles, back story or identity as say a trans person for example. Is is simply neo-liberal straights lumping us all into an impossibly large acronym? Should we even have a word to describe everyone as an "other"? A blanket term for "Non straight"? Seems to ignore the unique identities of everyone here as an individual. Almost wish they just went back to calling us "the gays" or something lmao /s. Would love to know what y'all think.
submitted by Sea-Cockroach-3360 to lgbt [link] [comments]
2024.05.12 21:00 Icy_Heron4026 Got Hekate? (Repost, derp)
 | How To HEKATE: submitted by Icy_Heron4026 to Hecate [link] [comments] Or: “How to HEKA-Te like Karate‼️ 1). THINK about Hekate; become CONSCIOUS of Her in Some way. ….WHAT is that like? WHO is Hekate TO YOU? 👼🌹👿 2). GIVE Her a Visualization 💃 whatever the Situation Requires 😬 Do you Need Her? WHAT for? Help of Some sort, generally--witch is Good (pun intended)--because She LIKES to Help. So, then: SEE Hekate as YOU need Her. Do you need Physical Healing? SEE "Paionios," The Healer (I, personally, "see" Her as a Green Goddess with One Eye, One Head and 100 Arms or Legs. If I need Speed of Recovery, Hekate Paionios has more Legs than Arms, lol; if I need EFFICACY during Treatment, I "see" Hekate with more Arms, armed with surgical instruments--some of witch are medical, but some musical, and some are SPIRITs, like McKira-Acos--BUT, She never has more than 100 total. ALL OF THIS, however, is Personal Gnosis--personal Preference--YOUR "Hekate PAIONIOS" may differ🦠). Do YOU need Justice? Then SEE Hekate BRIMO with all the Heads YOU feel appropriate for The Job (like snarling Hounds, Vipers, raging Horses, etc.) SEE Hekate Brimo STALK your aggressor; Remember: Her Many Hands are actually CLAWS and they wield WHATEVER Weapon your Dark Imagination can concoct...😈 OR did the CONSCIOUSNESS OF HEKATE simply Come To You Unbidden? THEN try simply letting your "Imagination" Relax--for THERE is "where" THE actual Astral Plane IS--and remain Quiet for Hekate to APPEAR there; inside your mind with Inspiration or other Messages (sometimes to Simply give you a Smooch, if you've got that kind of Relationship with Her). 3). CALL OUT to Her. Just DO IT ✅ Honestly, just start Talking TO Her Most will want to Get Together a Prayer or Three. Just find ones online that Speak to YOU, Or make them Up! Or USE THOSE Magick Words that you Already Have—deep down, in Fantasy—remember learning them as a kid, watching the movie Excalibur? ⚔️ 🧙♂️ Or CALL as Her Names, Her Epithets—EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE GREEK—as they enter your mind. See those Epithets Take Shape, swirl to Life! Are there Song Lyrics appropriate for THIS VISUALZATION? 🎶 SHE’d LOVE to hear them 💕 add THOSE magick words! For Example: Maybe Hekate ENODIA (of The Ways) suddenly Visits Your “imagination” one day and has a Great Idea for a Project—or a Proposal to get YOU noticed, finally? Maybe the song “Let’s Dance” by BOWIE🕺is somehow playing as that “idea” enters your brain? SING IT! YOU just cast a SPELL, son! NOW, that Idea will become Enlivened INSIDE you like possessing Angel who now even has a Mantra to awaken THAT power daily 💥 4). FORM YOUR “Relationship.” Once Again: JUST DO IT. Honestly, it’s a lot like working with People. Simply, if for no other reason than SPIRIT works THROUGH YOU. The “language,” the Operating System, that THEY will use to Talk to You is YOU. Be it through Inspiration or enhanced Energy or Drive or straight-up Conversation as you WILL SEE—IF—you put in THE WORK. The Work to Form a Relationship The Work to Learn To Perceive. Witch, 🧙 of course, takes Time and Patience for most of us—I didn’t so much as see a ghost my entire long and depressed life until I gave up “being right” all the time and started PRACTICING High Magick, lol 👻 BUT it’s REALLY NOT AT ALL HARD‼️ And it’s REALLY not locked behind the gates of ANY arcane tradition, ANY specific practice, any proprietary names OR ANY secret teaching other than WHAT I’m laying down right here. And that is, in summary: Think Hekate; SEE Hekate; Talk TO Hekate; and finally DANCE with Hekate 🔥💃🔥 Everything else is Flair; everything this Else is “Style.” Anyone telling you that you MUST do their special method is Gatekeeping. |
2024.05.12 20:55 Icy_Heron4026 Got Hekate? (Reposted, derp)
 | How To HEKATE: submitted by Icy_Heron4026 to Hekate101 [link] [comments] Or: “How to HEKA-Te like Karate‼️ 1). THINK about Hekate; become CONSCIOUS of Her in Some way. ….WHAT is that like? WHO is Hekate TO YOU? 👼🌹👿 2). GIVE Her a Visualization 💃 whatever the Situation Requires 😬 Do you Need Her? WHAT for? Help of Some sort, generally--witch is Good (pun intended)--because She LIKES to Help. So, then: SEE Hekate as YOU need Her. Do you need Physical Healing? SEE "Paionios," The Healer (I, personally, "see" Her as a Green Goddess with One Eye, One Head and 100 Arms or Legs. If I need Speed of Recovery, Hekate Paionios has more Legs than Arms, lol; if I need EFFICACY during Treatment, I "see" Hekate with more Arms, armed with surgical instruments--some of witch are medical, but some musical, and some are SPIRITs, like McKira-Acos--BUT, She never has more than 100 total. ALL OF THIS, however, is Personal Gnosis--personal Preference--YOUR "Hekate PAIONIOS" may differ🦠). Do YOU need Justice? Then SEE Hekate BRIMO with all the Heads YOU feel appropriate for The Job (like snarling Hounds, Vipers, raging Horses, etc.) SEE Hekate Brimo STALK your aggressor; Remember: Her Many Hands are actually CLAWS and they wield WHATEVER Weapon your Dark Imagination can concoct...😈 OR did the CONSCIOUSNESS OF HEKATE simply Come To You Unbidden? THEN try simply letting your "Imagination" Relax--for THERE is "where" THE actual Astral Plane IS--and remain Quiet for Hekate to APPEAR there; inside your mind with Inspiration or other Messages (sometimes to Simply give you a Smooch, if you've got that kind of Relationship with Her). 3). CALL OUT to Her. Just DO IT ✅ Honestly, just start Talking TO Her Most will want to Get Together a Prayer or Three. Just find ones online that Speak to YOU, Or make them Up! Or USE THOSE Magick Words that you Already Have—deep down, in Fantasy—remember learning them as a kid, watching the movie Excalibur? ⚔️ 🧙♂️ Or CALL as Her Names, Her Epithets—EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE GREEK—as they enter your mind. See those Epithets Take Shape, swirl to Life! Are there Song Lyrics appropriate for THIS VISUALZATION? 🎶 SHE’d LOVE to hear them 💕 add THOSE magick words! For Example: Maybe Hekate ENODIA (of The Ways) suddenly Visits Your “imagination” one day and has a Great Idea for a Project—or a Proposal to get YOU noticed, finally? Maybe the song “Let’s Dance” by BOWIE🕺is somehow playing as that “idea” enters your brain? SING IT! YOU just cast a SPELL, son! NOW, that Idea will become Enlivened INSIDE you like possessing Angel who now even has a Mantra to awaken THAT power daily 💥 4). FORM YOUR “Relationship.” Once Again: JUST DO IT. Honestly, it’s a lot like working with People. Simply, if for no other reason than SPIRIT works THROUGH YOU. The “language,” the Operating System, that THEY will use to Talk to You is YOU. Be it through Inspiration or enhanced Energy or Drive or straight-up Conversation as you WILL SEE—IF—you put in THE WORK. The Work to Form a Relationship The Work to Learn To Perceive. Witch, 🧙 of course, takes Time and Patience for most of us—I didn’t so much as see a ghost my entire long and depressed life until I gave up “being right” all the time and started PRACTICING High Magick, lol 👻 BUT it’s REALLY NOT AT ALL HARD‼️ And it’s REALLY not locked behind the gates of ANY arcane tradition, ANY specific practice, any proprietary names OR ANY secret teaching other than WHAT I’m laying down right here. And that is, in summary: Think Hekate; SEE Hekate; Talk TO Hekate; and finally DANCE with Hekate 🔥💃🔥 Everything else is Flair; everything this Else is “Style.” Anyone telling you that you MUST do their special method is Gatekeeping. |
2024.05.12 20:23 tesseracts [LES] Too many recent Chainsaw Man arcs are moving from high stakes to low stakes (manga spoilers)
I have always enjoyed how Chainsaw Man combines humor with serious high stakes and drama. For example, I like how Denji's relationship with Makima started as ridiculous with Denji literally barking like a dog, but it ended with him trapped in a seriously abusive dynamic the story pulled no punches in depicting. I also like how Chainsaw Man part 2 began with a short arc where they threatened to eat a weak chicken devil named Bucky who kept making chicken related puns, but the bucky arc ended with serious drama and was a turning point for Asa.
What I don't like is how the most recent arc began with Denji losing his pets to arson, almost losing his sanity, getting killed and locked in a high security prison for devils, then coming back to life and escaping the prison with no effort, the latter part occurring almost entirely off screen amidst silly crude jokes with goofy characters.
What's the difference between what I said in the first paragraph and what I said in the second paragraph? In the first it starts un-serious and gets serious. In the second it starts deadly serious but all the stakes are dropped for no reason.
A lot of recent arcs are like this and it's really tiresome. The first half of part 2 was incredible and I want that back.
submitted by tesseracts to CharacterRant [link] [comments]
What I don't like is how the most recent arc began with Denji losing his pets to arson, almost losing his sanity, getting killed and locked in a high security prison for devils, then coming back to life and escaping the prison with no effort, the latter part occurring almost entirely off screen amidst silly crude jokes with goofy characters.
What's the difference between what I said in the first paragraph and what I said in the second paragraph? In the first it starts un-serious and gets serious. In the second it starts deadly serious but all the stakes are dropped for no reason.
A lot of recent arcs are like this and it's really tiresome. The first half of part 2 was incredible and I want that back.
2024.05.12 18:05 AcrillixOfficial Sir Whoopass™: Immortal Death Giveaway
I already own this title. I actually quite enjoyed it.
Sir Whoopass: Immortal Death is a humorous action-adventure game developed by Atomic Elbow. In this indie title, you play as Sir Whoopass, a valiant knight with a heart of gold (and a penchant for poor life choices). Unfortunately, your actions have accidentally unleashed chaos upon a once-perfect world. Now, it’s up to you to fix it by defeating your arch-nemesis, The Immortal. Here are some key features of the game:
TO ENTER: Simply comment below. Giveaway runs 24 hours. Unique challenge is not required for entry. RedditRaffler will be used.
Challenge: Comment a creative and pun-tastic word association related to the game. Commenters below your word must come up with a short sentence to complete the word association. Must include "Whoopass".
Example: Word - Banana "Sir Whoopass wielded his mighty banana sword, peeling through enemies with fruity finesse!"
submitted by AcrillixOfficial to steam_giveaway [link] [comments]
Sir Whoopass: Immortal Death is a humorous action-adventure game developed by Atomic Elbow. In this indie title, you play as Sir Whoopass, a valiant knight with a heart of gold (and a penchant for poor life choices). Unfortunately, your actions have accidentally unleashed chaos upon a once-perfect world. Now, it’s up to you to fix it by defeating your arch-nemesis, The Immortal. Here are some key features of the game:
- Hilarious Hack 'n Slash: Expect ragdoll effects, swords, maces, and even magical wands imbued with the power of a slight pandemic cough. Take on Orcs, Skeletons, Trolls, and other quirky foes as you seek redemption.
- Traverse the Open World: Embark on a quest for The Legendary Villain-Beating Artifact™ across the world of Weirdwood. Explore forests, delve into dank caves, and scour the heavens in your grand endeavor. Along the way, you’ll encounter hidden puzzles, treasures, and artsy artifacts.
- Mature Content: Be aware that the game contains puns, dad jokes, flappy-bird-like arcade minigames, and even breaks the fourth wall. It’s definitely not for those who hate fun! The content includes violence and blood.
TO ENTER: Simply comment below. Giveaway runs 24 hours. Unique challenge is not required for entry. RedditRaffler will be used.
Challenge: Comment a creative and pun-tastic word association related to the game. Commenters below your word must come up with a short sentence to complete the word association. Must include "Whoopass".
Example: Word - Banana "Sir Whoopass wielded his mighty banana sword, peeling through enemies with fruity finesse!"
2024.05.12 17:57 syntaxGarden Anybody else feel that the Ancient Egyptian symbolism is a bit confused with itself?
The first game (don't know about the second) has a lot of religious symbolism in it, most notably with the names of the subordinate functions being greek gods. But Ted Faro and Elisabet Sobek are 2 examples that work on their own (at least Ted's does), but really don't work together.
First is Ted Faro. Like Ted "Pharoah". Get it? I think this one works the best because even if you don't see the symbolism, Faro is still a normal sounding lastname. But it also works as symbolism, because pharoahs believed they were living incarnations of a god with a crocodile's head (who I'll mention in a moment), which really tracks with Faro's arrogance and general personality. And when he did try to change the world by destroying Apollo, the negatives of his decision are obvious, and the positives are only really debatable.
I like this one because it's not in your face and still fits Ted's character and story. Unlike Lis.
Lis Sobek. Her last name is literally just "Sobek". Because subtlty is for cowards. If you're an Hbomberguy fan, you already know that Sobek was the "lord of semen" and helped the sun move through the sky ("presumably by blasting it with sperm" - Harris Brewis)
This kind of works for Lis. Her pitch for project Zero Dawn was centrally about having more dawns beyond the "zero dawn", so her work ended up, in a vague, flowery metaphorical way, moving the sun through the sky for the next generations. It's not the best metaphor, but is mostly works.
And that's where my praise ends, because that way of thinking only works if you remembered that one single cutscene. Otherwise, Lis is more of a healer than anything, so if you wanted to give her an appropriate lastname, then something about healing would have worked so much better.
(also, I find it funny that they're linking Lis with "the lord of semen" when Lis, a women with a girlfriend, has stayed pretty far away from semen. I just think that's a funny coincidence)
Not to mention this is so heavy-handed. She's literally called "Sobek". No pun or soundalike, literally "Sobek" There's a section from the "Adum And Pals" Daredevil video I will always love, when one of Adum's pals (Gael) asks "where's the line between religious symbolism and just puns?"
I didn't get "Ted Pharoah" until one of my later playthrough when I suddenly realised it, because it's decently subtle. And even if that link was not intended by the writers, it still works as a piece of symbolism. Meanwhile, I actually remember rolling my eyes when I learned she was called Lis "Sobek" because it's so on the nose. And the writers definitely intended this link, which makes it worse.
And lastly, the 2 metaphors don't work together. Sobek, the god, was the god that the pharoahs believed they were incarnations of, but weren't because Sobek isn't real. You can't really have Lis represent Sobek but then have Ted represent people who had a sense of ego because they falsely believed they were a god.
So the symbolism gets muddled and becomes either A, the writers are saying that Sobek, the god, was real but the pharoahs weren't incarnations of him (which is rewriting mythology), or B, Ted Faro was an incarnation of Lis Sobek (which doesn't work at all for the story). Your symbolism needs consistancy.
submitted by syntaxGarden to horizon [link] [comments]
First is Ted Faro. Like Ted "Pharoah". Get it? I think this one works the best because even if you don't see the symbolism, Faro is still a normal sounding lastname. But it also works as symbolism, because pharoahs believed they were living incarnations of a god with a crocodile's head (who I'll mention in a moment), which really tracks with Faro's arrogance and general personality. And when he did try to change the world by destroying Apollo, the negatives of his decision are obvious, and the positives are only really debatable.
I like this one because it's not in your face and still fits Ted's character and story. Unlike Lis.
Lis Sobek. Her last name is literally just "Sobek". Because subtlty is for cowards. If you're an Hbomberguy fan, you already know that Sobek was the "lord of semen" and helped the sun move through the sky ("presumably by blasting it with sperm" - Harris Brewis)
This kind of works for Lis. Her pitch for project Zero Dawn was centrally about having more dawns beyond the "zero dawn", so her work ended up, in a vague, flowery metaphorical way, moving the sun through the sky for the next generations. It's not the best metaphor, but is mostly works.
And that's where my praise ends, because that way of thinking only works if you remembered that one single cutscene. Otherwise, Lis is more of a healer than anything, so if you wanted to give her an appropriate lastname, then something about healing would have worked so much better.
(also, I find it funny that they're linking Lis with "the lord of semen" when Lis, a women with a girlfriend, has stayed pretty far away from semen. I just think that's a funny coincidence)
Not to mention this is so heavy-handed. She's literally called "Sobek". No pun or soundalike, literally "Sobek" There's a section from the "Adum And Pals" Daredevil video I will always love, when one of Adum's pals (Gael) asks "where's the line between religious symbolism and just puns?"
I didn't get "Ted Pharoah" until one of my later playthrough when I suddenly realised it, because it's decently subtle. And even if that link was not intended by the writers, it still works as a piece of symbolism. Meanwhile, I actually remember rolling my eyes when I learned she was called Lis "Sobek" because it's so on the nose. And the writers definitely intended this link, which makes it worse.
And lastly, the 2 metaphors don't work together. Sobek, the god, was the god that the pharoahs believed they were incarnations of, but weren't because Sobek isn't real. You can't really have Lis represent Sobek but then have Ted represent people who had a sense of ego because they falsely believed they were a god.
So the symbolism gets muddled and becomes either A, the writers are saying that Sobek, the god, was real but the pharoahs weren't incarnations of him (which is rewriting mythology), or B, Ted Faro was an incarnation of Lis Sobek (which doesn't work at all for the story). Your symbolism needs consistancy.
2024.05.12 17:54 No_Pomegranate7134 How difficult are both Chinese & Japanese for native Bulgarian speakers to learn despite them being very different from Slavic languages (that use Cyrillic) like Ukrainian or Russian for example?
 | I mean, the Bulgarian (language) alone only encompasses 30 letters in total within the Cyrillic alphabet, while other Slavic languages (that also use Cyrillic) such as Ukrainian (33) & Russian (32) - in all those languages, you read the letters as you see them and correspond to how they sound, as in comparison between Chinese and Japanese: submitted by No_Pomegranate7134 to bulgaria [link] [comments]
Put it this way: Bulgarian only has 30 letters. - Ukrainian (33) & Russian (32).Another thing between Chinese & Japanese, are they are logographic, instead of alphabetical system, they also don't have gender cases but instead may have untranslatable nuances that often get misunderstood, which is annoying in certain situations, especially puns with kanji or Japanese / Chinese proverbs. As they get translated literally instead of figuratively. This causes problems between both languages upon translation, whenever I want to translate lets say from Chinese / Japanese > Bulgarian, the sentence in Chinese or Japanese remains indifferent whether you are a male or female, but machine translation misunderstand this thus making the meaning vague or gets Bulgarian people confused to if it is a guy or a woman speaking or addressing them. From both Japanese あなた or Chinese 你 remains indifferent if you are a man or woman - for example 你 can be an analog of Ти or Вие in Bulgarian (in Ви / Ти or Тебе in Ukrainian & Вы / Ты in Russian), however machine translation cannot distinguish the right equivalent properly therefore it is inconsistent upon being translated as it changes within the translation. Take this sentence from Chinese: 你沒有工作，有很多錢，但沒有時間。你會做些什麼？
As you can see, in Chinese 你 remains the same despite being in different parts of the sentence, it is omitted in Bulgarian, Russian started with вас then switched to вы, while in Ukrainian it first used вас then used ви in the latter half.Also, in terms of logographs between Kanji & Hanzi, they can represent an entire word, its like for example 1 character represents a word that in return requires multiple letters from Cyrillic within Bulgarian, Ukrainian or Russian to spell out (along with the character being classed into multiple definitions and phonologies.) In terms of Chinese, it is tonal while Japanese has multiple readings for one kanji & pitch accents. EG. From Japanese: Accent 1 is noted as High Low & Accent 2 is noted as Low High. The pitch accent connotates a different word despite them both sounding similar to one another, as in adjusting the volume of one phoneme upon your pronunciation. In regards to Kanji & Hanzi, they both have a huge bank of characters that can imply multiple definitions depending on how they are used. (In the case of Japanese, the phonology changes all because of how it is used.). eg. take the Kanji: The Nanori readings are exclusive to people's names, those phonologies only apply if the kanji in question is used within somebody's name. The Kunyomi readings are native phonologies within Japanese, while Onyomi readings are derivative from Chinese pronunciations. For example take the sentences: (Kanji used: 中) In this case, the Kanji used remains the same in both sentences, the phonology does change depending on where it is placed within the sentence or how it is used. (As shown in the image using furigana.) I mean, how difficult is this concept for native Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian speakers to fully grasp and get use to? Does an equivalent feature exist within their own languages to begin with?EG. Fom Chinese: As you can see, the 5 tones from Mandarin (shown in bold) upon hearing each one, the meaning of the word changes despite sounding similar to each other. How difficult is this to distinguish for native Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian speakers to tell them apart on knowing the correct word solely by hearing Chinese being spoken? (Are tones even a thing in Slavic languages, like at all?)Another unique thing between both Chinese & Japanese is that since they are both logographic, they enable the feature of the character positioning to be flipped, but in doing so the meanings will change altogether. (In Chinese specfically, you can flip the hanzi to inherit a closely related definition, loosely related definition and a logical one - which means that flipping the characters changes the connotation of that word now describing the action derived from its meaning. Between Cantonese & Mandarin, in certain words, the definition remains the same despite the characters being flipped.) EG 1. From Japanese: As you can seethe positioning of the Kanji (Green & Blue) are flipped, but the meanings are different altogether by doing so. Do you also have this feature in Bulgarian, Russian or Ukrainian? (Is it really a thing in Slavic languages, I mean would it work in singular words alone as in swapping letter placement?)EG 2. From Chinese: As you can see, upon flipping the position of the Hanzi (Orange & Purple) between (1) and (2) now connotates a closely related definition, but keep in mind they don't signify exactly the same thing. Can you also do this in Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian words? (But they now connotate a closely related meaning.)EG 3. From Chinese: As you can see, upon flipping the position of the Hanzi (Pink & Brown) between (1) and (2) now connotates a loosely related definition, but keep in mind it is tied to a specific context, so use it carefully to not be misunderstood. Can you also do this for Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian words? (But they now connotate a loosely related meaning.)EG 4. From Chinese: As you can see, upon flipping the positions of the Hanzi (Yellow & Grey) between (1) - the word itself, while (2) - the meaning is now logical, as in describing the action derived from the meaning. Can you also do this for Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian words? (But they now bare a logical definition describing the action derived from its meaning.)EG 5. Between Cantonese & Chinese: Between Cantonese & Mandarin - the word retains the same definition, with the only difference being that the hanzi has swapped positions. Is this also possible in Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian?Also, Chinese grammar differs from Japanese, since Japanese complies with SOV word order, thus when they form sentences it is reversed from how Bulgarian, Russian or Ukrainian sentences are formatted, along with subject omission. For example in Japanese: 私は is omitted from this sentence, as it is already addressed to the person involved in the conversation. In both Russian & Ukrainian - the existence of (Я) is present but omitted in Japanese. I mean can you omit any Bulgarian pronoun within a sentence like in Japanese, for example instead of saying: Името ми е Иван > Also, how would you translate 敬語 directly from Japanese into Bulgarian, Russian or Ukrainian (without transliterating it as -сан, -сама, -сенсей, -сенпай, and etc.)
EG. 二台 (にだい) / 四枚 (よんまい)Some examples:
Можете ли да поръчате седем екземпляра от книгата на издателството?EG 2. パンを一個買った。 (Аз) купих един хляб.I mean in Bulgarian, Russian & Ukrainian (or in Slavic languages for that matter) can you still use counting suffixes and words to indicate on exactly what you are referring to when discussing numerical units or quantities of animals, people or objects? (As in using a specific counting suffix that fits within the noun, as in how you would count the number of pets you have differs from the number of cars parked for example.) |