My current campaign involves a lot of random encounters and traveling, it's essentially a series of mini hex crawls on a giant continent sized hex crawl map with an abundance of random tables, my biggest issue thus far with prep has been the difficulty of preparing interesting encounters. One thing I am very big on pushing is the fusion of roleplay and combat, IE I don't merely want there to be dedicated encounters for combat or dedicated encounters for roleplay but thus far most of the resources in the books boil encounters down to be either too mundane skill challenges or straight up "A manticore swoops down from the sky, roll initiative." Of course, there isn't anything with a straight beast encounter, but I wouldn't want to be running those all the time.
Basically, what I'm looking for is any tools that have been helpful in creating a large amount of possible encounters that are multi-faceted and interesting without having to sit down for 20 mins and brainstorm each one. I'm currently on a quest to pump out a decent amount of random encounters in reserve just in case, so I can't be putting too much individual thought into each one. My biggest resource thus far has actually been the d1000 shared random encounter table (I'll drop a link to it in the comments), but my biggest issue with that one is that the vast majority of encounters on there aren't conducive for the sea, and that's an issue since I am running a very nautical campaign with a lot of ocean adventure.
Any advice is appreciated.

My current campaign involves a lot of random encounters and traveling, it's essentially a series of mini hex crawls on a giant continent sized hex crawl map with an abundance of random tables, my biggest issue thus far with prep has been the difficulty of preparing interesting encounters. One thing I am very big on pushing is the fusion of roleplay and combat, IE I don't merely want there to be dedicated encounters for combat or dedicated encounters for roleplay but thus far most of the resources in the books boil encounters down to be either too mundane skill challenges or straight up "A manticore swoops down from the sky, roll initiative." Of course, there isn't anything with a straight beast encounter, but I wouldn't want to be running those all the time.
Basically, what I'm looking for is any tools that have been helpful in creating a large amount of possible encounters that are multi-faceted and interesting without having to sit down for 20 mins and brainstorm each one. I'm currently on a quest to pump out a decent amount of random encounters in reserve just in case, so I can't be putting too much individual thought into each one. My biggest resource thus far has actually been the d1000 shared random encounter table (I'll drop a link to it in the comments), but my biggest issue with that one is that the vast majority of encounters on there aren't conducive for the sea, and that's an issue since I am running a very nautical campaign with a lot of ocean adventure.
Any advice is appreciated.

Yesterday, I had my graduation ceremony. After years of university with absolutely no help besides occasional rides to the bus stop and, very rarely, to campus, I finally graduated. Here's what my parents have done in the lead-up to graduation and the day after instead of supporting me.
My parents spent months leading up to the graduation freaking out about how I'll get a job, trying to control my hair and clothing (even implying I'm ugly when I choose my own hair and clothing), harassing me to hand out business cards to everyone I meet (especially if the situation would be an immense faux pas), grilling me on if my grades are good, lecturing me relentlessly about how I need to keep in contact with people in my class and it's soooo important and would I like to hear about how my dad got a job through nepotism for the eightieth time, asking me questions they already know the answers to (Yes, I'm still talking to my former classmates. Yes, I know that you worked in the Yukon when you were 18. Yes, I know about your friend who worked in a weather station. Yes, I know you had to move to find a job in the 1980s. Yes, I am aware that it is a possibility I might have to move too. Yes, I know that it's okay to invite people over to the house, you've only "informed" me about a hundred times. Yes, I know that school is important.) Every single thing that they "inform" me about is something I have very clearly expressed that I understand, and is just thinly veiled criticism. But my dad needs to lecture more than he needs oxygen.
Just constant nitpicking, criticism, and nothing I ever did was enough. I couldn't even focus on grades, because they would in their own words "put pressure on" me to do what they wanted. To handle their emotions for them. They're obsessed with the idea that I would have to move to a tiny town or work in a coal mine to find a job, because I'm more highly educated than my dad (who dropped out of university despite having all expenses paid by his father), and because my dad worked in the Yukon for two summers. He will never shut up about that, and he even goes so far as to hold us hostage with implicit threat of a massive tantrum to listen to him tell us the story again and again and again and to show us pictures of the place he worked on Google maps and point to everything he remembers. Sometimes he can go on for half an hour just repeating himself over and over.
Last summer, my parents even went and took action without my knowledge or approval to try and get a job set up for me cleaning up a mine contaminated with arsenic in the middle of nowhere, NWT. They tried to guilt and shame me into it ("What are your plans instead? Do you have another job lined up? Because you need to have a job. You can't sit around all day." This coming almost literally one week into summer vacation after my second-last year of university, when I could be using my energy to find interesting co-ops or explore hobbies or travel, instead dealing with their harassment and obsession with trying to literally trap me in a fucking arsenic mine.) They went on and on, lectured me over and over, implied that I would be embarrassing my grandfather if I didn't go, and so on. Eventually they said "You can go work or get a certification", and I picked the certification, but then they got grumpy anyways, and every week for the entire summer they would ask "Are you still working on the certification?". Of course, dipsh*t. I've told you fifty times how long the program lasts.
They don't care about what I'm learning in class, don't care about my hobbies or interests, only care about my friends as either a means to get backdoored into a job or a "nice French Canadian woman" to have babies with. They don't care if I'm struggling, and are completely unavailable to help in any regard. Any request for help would result in a guilt trip. Even if I actually couldn't eat dinner with the family for one day because I had a test, my father would get raw emotions and I'd have to walk on eggshells for a few days. The one time I mentioned I was having trouble studying, instead of shutting up and no longer ranting in the main floor where I could hear him or turning the TV off, he just dragged a table into the unfurnished boiler room (without asking me) and then told me that I would have to study there. I wasn't allowed to choose not to, because he'd already set it up. Ironically, my anger at him did let me study pretty well for the one day that I was forced there. He tried to keep me there long-term because he thought it was just such a great idea, but I managed to trick him into thinking I didn't need help studying anymore, so I got to study at a desk with a light on it and flooring that wasn't bare cement. Hooray for the most minor victory imaginable.
In the months leading up to graduation, did they care about how hard I was working at my capstone project and offer support? Absolutely not! Did they care about how well my sleep quality was, how many times the cat woke me up because they didn't play with her enough or give her enough attention? Nope! Did they care about how exhausting it was to deal with their constant lectures on the same topics, and to have to give them affirmations ("Yes, you're right, that's right, good job, nice, very tasty, good work, oh really?, neat, that's cool, how'd you make that?, mhm, I agree, you're being reasonable, they're being ridiculous, that's crazy") a hundred times a day? Not even in the slightest!
We spend more time talking about my dad's college friends than about anything I or my brother care about.
Then, leading up to graduation. all I've gotten are the most humiliating, infuriating, insulting messages and lectures from my parents. I get almost daily emails and texts saying "You need to get a job, it's important to look for a job" despite the fact I've told them I am looking probably fifty times. Too cowardly to say it to my face. I've been texted literal links to a Google search for "[degree name] jobs [city]" more than once. Both my parents treat me like I don't listen, when I do. They treat me like I'm lazy, when I've put myself through university with no help even after they lied to me about giving me financial aid and made me out to be a bully demanding more money when all I did was say "alright" and then pay for it myself. They must have sternly given me a talking to about how "I'm not going to pay for university, you know that, right? You need to pay. Don't expect us to pay. Because we paid for your first semesters, you know that, right? We've already paid for enough." thirty times, even after I'd made the final payment. They treat me like I'm stupid when I have expressed understanding before. They treat me like I'm a bully while I always bend over backwards for them, just because I don't play my role as "surrogate mommy but this time I get to tell her what to do" well enough.
It feels like they're almost raising me into a replacement or surrogate parent. Like my dad wants me to be his mom or dad, except this time he gets to be in charge. And my mom wants me to be her mom, except this time when she freaks out or has her deer in headlights look, she'll get someone to step up and take care of everything for her. I distinctly remember having to comfort her even for things she did to me, like tell me that a pair of comfortable shoes I picked out was good and she'd get them, and then immediately scream "take it out, take it out!" after it was scanned at the register. I could not have been older than twelve. And for my dad, he always rants and raves to me exactly like he does to his parents, except without including blame for them sending him to boarding school and instead having tons of old "life updates" like where he worked when he was 18 and what music he liked to listen to in high school, stuff like that. Then he expects me to praise him or be interested like his parents never were (he always tells me that his parents only cared about his car when they called).
So now I graduated. All they had to say in the days coming up to it was to grill me on the time I'd have to be at the venue and the time I was planning to leave the house to get there on time, with a distinct air of "you're too lazy to think of this in advance and too stupid to figure it out without a plan". Of course, I had to answer this question probably five times, because they don't care to ever listen to me. Before the ceremony I got text messages showing they were way more excited about themselves being here than anything relating to me, with multiple messages expressing how they arrived and it was exciting, then they asked me how the atmosphere was and their only reply was a one-word "nice" with no punctuation, because they don't care about me and only ask droll questions to segue into their next bit.
After grad, there was two generic sentences spoken with no emotion about how it was nice I graduated, and then they made a whole song and dance about the amazing gifts they got me. It was a degree frame I picked out myself that my dad presented as new and exciting (because he never pays attention to me, of course, when I told him I had picked one out and ordered it with my mother. Also she had another freakout about price and acted like I was holding her hostage by taking her unforced offer to buy me the second-cheapest degree frame on offer.). Then he presented the free gift small frame they got with it as though I should praise him for it, then a congratulation card that was alright I suppose if only because my brother drew a little creature in it that made me smile (my parents did not add anything special or meaningful to it). There was also a cap, which I genuinely enjoy and is nice, and a cheap ballpoint pen for some reason. He said there was more gifts at home, which okay, I don't care about gifts but I'd like him to at least be as excited for my graduation as he was for the picture frame. I didn't get any souvenirs from the bookstore because I knew if I got something he'd also gotten he'd freak out and accuse me of not listening to him or whatever, so I waited. When I got home my gift was Skittles. I don't know why I thought me might have gone to the bookstore and gotten me something special related to my actual interests. He doesn't care to know what those are anyways. I guess I hoped that at least this one day would be different.
Today, the day after graduation, all I've gotten from my parents is:
- Involved in a lecture and manufactured drama about my brother not using my car to drive to his job, even though my dad had the exact opposite position the entire rest of the year, because "what if you need to drive somewhere?", trying to manufacture a fight between my brother and me while also guilting and shaming me for not driving as a hobby like he does.
- A text message from my mother asking me if I'm awake because she wants more ammo to paint me as lazy. Nevermind that I barely slept the night before to make it to grad (of course neither of my parents would care enough about me to come with me as a family. I was literally the only person I saw who went on my own and without their family showing up early too, to support them. I walked past so many families in the parking lot knowing my mother couldn't be bothered to change out of her pajamas for me.) Nevermind I had a huge day that day, and that I was taking care of the cat's energy all that night too because attending my grad is apparently soooo draining my parents can't look after their own pet, and somehow it falls to me. All that matters is she woke up early and I didn't (after I handled all her inconveniences for her, funny how that works).
- Rapid knocks on my door because my dad is making bread as a hobby and apparently "needs" me there to help him with it, and then also "needed" me to stay and make cookies with him.
- A lecture about someone I never knew who apparently once threw something at another kid on my street when I was about 5, and about how he died and how his wife's hobby was really expensive or whatever and if I really don't remember him?
- I went to a showhome for fun and brought back the brochure. My dad jabbed his finger at the pictures on it to explain the house to me like I wasn't the one who literally brought the brochure back. Never asked if I cared or anything, just immediate launch into lecture and expecting me to stay and listen and praise him for being so smart or whatever.
- A lecture about D Day for some fucking reason. My dad is obsessed with history, and he doesn't have any friends to talk to (wonder why) so his lectures always fall on my ears.
- An email from my mother explaining in an extremely condescending way how important it is to have a cover letter when applying for jobs (just completely assuming I don't write them and also am too lazy or stupid to think about having them) including copy-pasted text from a sample cover letter that is no doubt one of the first results on google for "cover letter example"
- An angry email from my mother including a job she found on google
But, contrast that to my neighbors across the street. I was friends them in grade school, haven't seen them in like ten years, and just on my way past to the showhome we said hi and chatted in a genuinely nice conversation that wasn't a one-sided lecture like usual in my house. They could sense my emotions and didn't try to keep me there longer than I wanted to rant, they were genuinely interested in me and gave me space and interest to express myself, their mother even hugged me for graduating and it was the most genuine hug and congratulations I've ever received in person. Every other hug was my family members forcing me to hug them for their own sole benefit. I admit I cried a bit later on my walk thinking about it.
Compared to my parents, the parents of old friends care more about me, trust me more, believe in me more, have more hope for my future, are more interested in me, and understand me better. It's tremendously sad that all throughout my graduation ceremony I was worried about my parents becoming upset for some random reason and blowing up at me. I'm glad I at least focused and made myself feel some pride and joy in myself for graduating.
Even the random people I met who were also taking part in the open house were nicer and better conversationalists than my parents. A random elderly couple I have never seen in my life can have a better interaction with me than my own parents. The realtor was more chill and less perfectionistic than my parents by a mile. His million-dollar house sale was something he was less stressed and perfectionistic about and something he beat himself up over less than my parents are about my hairstyle when I'm going to class because "What if you meet someone in industry and they see you're not professional".
It's absurd.

My ex-husband, the father of my four oldest children, died suddenly 9 years ago at the age of 42. Although we had known each other since the first grade, our ten year marriage was volatile. He had suffered through years of abuse and neglect as a child and it showed in the way he treated me. He continued to harass and abuse me after our divorce until I eventually took the kids and ran as far from him as possible, all the way across the country, almost to the ocean.
I did my best to help him keep in contact with the kids and told them only positive things about him, because even with all the dysfunction there was good in him too. He didn’t really stay in touch. The kids went years without hearing directly from him, though he would occasionally call me and ask about them.
In November of 2015 he reached out to ask if our children could fly back east to spend Christmas with him. Three of our four kids were eager to do so. Our oldest was married with young babies of her own by then and couldn’t join them. The three kids, in their teens at that time, spent an entire month with their dad. I was so happy for them all. Despite the abuse I endured at his hands, he had never been violent physically or verbally with our children. I always wanted to help them know the best of him while sparing them the worst.
I was horrified when our youngest, our 16 year-old asthmatic daughter, came home choking and struggling to breathe, telling me her father had spent the entire month smoking cigarettes right in her face. He knew she was allergic to cigarette smoke, on top of having asthma. I am also allergic, and at the very horrible end of our marriage he used to torture me by locking me in the car with him and smoking until I couldn’t breathe or speak.
I was so angry at the thought of my daughter being treated that way. I called her father and just lost it. I told him I was sorry I had helped get his children to him and that I would never do it again. And then I told him I would never speak to him again, for the rest of his life.
I don’t know what made me say it in exactly that way, but he died unexpectedly just two months later. The kids were overcome with grief, and I was overwhelmed by the guilt of my last words to him. He was a damaged person who damaged me and our children, but I also remembered him as the 6 year old he was when I first knew him.
About six months after his death he visited me in a dream. My current husband at that time was sleeping beside me, which matters a little further in to this experience. In my dream my ex asked me to come with him for awhile. In my dream we traveled together a very long way through the darkness until we reached a place that felt absolutely peaceful. We talked for hours in my dream, and he apologized for everything he had done to hurt me and the kids. After some time he told me, it’s time for you to go back now, our daughter needs you.
I woke up immediately and realized it was 5:30 AM and time to drive my daughter to work. I sat up and started to get out of bed when my husband said, “Where have you been? You’ve been gone for hours.” I’ve never fully understood what happened that night. I don’t know if it was a dream, or if I truly traveled, or if it was something else. But I’m grateful for whatever it was. I was able to let go of my guilt and accept that he was in a place of peace.

Leviathan, the Eikon of Water concept art
Leviathan, the lost Eikon of Water, has finally been found! After months of waiting, the Rising Tide downloadable content (DLC) has been released and with it, I am once again rambling about the mythological, religious, and cultural inspirations behind the Eikons of Final Fantasy XVI. If you would like to check out any of my previous posts on the subject of Eikons, you can find them here:

1.) Phoenix

2.) Ifrit

3.) Shiva

4.) Ramuh

5.) Garuda

6.) Titan

7.) Bahamut

8.) Odin

As I’ve said in the past, if you feel that I may have said something wrong, or if you would like to add to what information I have provided; by all means please do so. I absolutely welcome the discussion.
The sea serpent Leviathan, like most of the Eikons, has been a staple of the Final Fantasy series since its introduction as one of the original summons#Summon_Magic) from 1990’s Final Fantasy III. While modern usage of the terms “leviathan” and “behemoth” are often used to denote something large and imposing, these words actually originate as the names of two creatures from the Tanakh (or Hebrew Bible). According to the verses 40:15-41:34 in the Book of Job, Leviathan and Behemoth are two gigantic and nigh indestructible animals born around the same time as the creation of the first two humans Adam and Eve, with Behemoth residing over the wilderness east of the Garden of Eden called Duidain and Leviathan bound to the watery Abyss) as stated in verses 60:7-10 in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. While the term abyss may bring to mind the idea of a bottomless hole or even an underworld such as the Greek Hades, Hebrew Sheol, or Christian Hell; the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, often uses the term abyss to instead refer to deep bodies of water. In fact, Abyss is the translated noun for the Hebrew Tehom, or the “deep” primordial waters from which the god Yahweh formed the world after the creation of light as stated by the verses 1:2-10 in the Book of Genesis; which is but one example of the cosmic ocean motif, whereby existence is conceptualized as originating from a watery void. I find it very interesting then that the Abyss is referenced several times in the Rising Tide DLC, such as in the name of Leviathan’s Eikonic ability Abyssal Tear; the Motes of Water adage “Know that even should you walk Abyss, our hands will guide you home” from the Minwu Arm Ring description; or the description of the Radiant Tidestrike weapon that says “Surge did the tide, the water rising as if it were some mighty whale stranding itself upon the shore. Behold, the Devourer of Worlds. The beast within whose foul belly our hopes are carried unto the Abyss. - Eikonomachy - Book of Currents 15:40-41”.
From the aforementioned verses of the diegetic Book of Currents, as well as one of the Active Time Lore Entries for Leviathan that states “Old writings clearly speak of Dominants past summoning great whale-like creatures capable of swallowing entire cities…”; we can possibly see a reference to Leviathan) swallowing the protagonist Firion and his allies on their way to the Mysidian Tower in Final Fantasy II. However, I would suggest that these quotes go further than mere references to past games and are actually an allusion to the parable of Jonah surviving in the belly of a whale from the eponymous Book of Jonah. For those unfamiliar with the story, the Hebrew prophet Jonah was tasked by God to preach on His behalf to the citizenry of Nineveh in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Jonah instead refuses the call, and attempts to sail across the sea to Tarshish. On the journey, Jonah and the sailors he is accompanied by are caught in a huge storm, and believing that Jonah’s dismissal of God is the cause, the sailors thus throw him overboard. God then sends a whale to swallow Jonah, with the intention of preventing the Israelite from drowning. Miraculously surviving in the whale’s stomach for 3 days, Jonah vows to do God’s bidding and is thus safely returned to shore, whereby he travels to Nineveh and beseeches the citizens to renounce their wicked ways, lest they be visited by calamity. This story is meant to illustrate that Yahweh is a merciful god who allows for second chances, giving not only Jonah, but also the Ninevites the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and redirect their course of actions.
With this parable in mind, I would like to mention that in 1949, literary professor Joseph Campbell published “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”; a work of comparative mythology in which he proposed his idea of the Monomyth (later called the Hero’s Journey). Campbell’s theory of the Monomyth posits that while most narratives involving a heroic protagonist may have differing contents, these stories also typically follow a similar pattern; that being a three-act structure comprised of 17 subset stages. One such stage in Campbell’s model is the Belly of the Whale (sometimes also referred to as the Abyss), one of the literally or figuratively lowest points in the story for the protagonist in which the hero must engage in introspection and commence a process of self-transformation if they are to be equipped to finish their journey. This stage acts as a symbolic death and rebirth for the protagonist, with some Christians even interpreting Jonah’s story as actually being an allegory for Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection.
A prime example of this stage can be seen in Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, whereby the eponymous puppet Pinocchio and his creator Geppetto are swallowed by the Terrible Dogfish; with the typically irresponsible and selfish Pinocchio instead performing a self-sacrificial act in order to save his “father”, which he is thus rewarded for by being brought back to life as a human by the Fairy with Turquoise Hair. Viewing the Pinnochio narrative as an example of a more modern mythical epic, Thomas J. Morrissey and Richard Wunderlich state in “Death and Rebirth in Pinocchio”; “Gods can die and be reborn, or rise from the dead. Such mythological events probably imitate the annual cycle of vegetative birth, death, and renascence, and they often serve as paradigms for the frequent symbolic deaths and rebirths encountered in literature. Two such symbolic renderings are most prominent: re-emergence from a journey to hell and rebirth through metamorphosis. Journeys to the underworld [Katabasis] are a common feature of Eurasian literary epics: Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Aeneas, and Dante all benefit from the knowledge and power they put on after such descents. Rebirth through metamorphosis, on the other hand, is a motif generally consigned to fantasy or speculative literature… These two figurative manifestations of the death-rebirth trope are rarely combined; however, Carlo Collodi’s great fantasy-epic, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is a work in which a hero experiences symbolic death and rebirth through both infernal descent and metamorphosis”. We as the player also experience this Belly of the Whale stage in Final Fantasy XVI, when our heroes Clive Rosfield and Jill Warwick confront the Dominant of Darkness Barnabas Tharmr on the seafloor of the sundered Naldia Narrow, appropriately labeled as the Abyss, whereby Clive is soundly defeated by Barnabas for a second time. Fleeing their assailant, Clive and Jill consummate their love for one another on the shore of Ash, with Clive acquiring a portion of the Eikon Shiva’s powers from Jill so that he may finally triumph over Barnabas in a battle of physical prowess and ideals; proving to the false prophet and his God that compassion and the desire for freedom will always overcome any adversity.
With all this talk of whales, I should mention that from the descriptions as given in the Book of Job, Behemoth sounds to resemble that of a large ox or hippopotamus, while Leviathan is suggested as being similar to that of the tanninim) or “great whales” mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, Islamic folklore has its own variant of this terrestrial and aquatic duo, that being the large bull Kujata and the even larger whale Bahamut; as outlined by the medieval cosmographer Zakariya al-Qazwini in his seminal work “The Wonders of Creation”. Even though I am going to hazard a guess that the name of the Kuza Beast), a variant of the Behemoth enemy in several Final Fantasy games, is named after Kujata; it is quite obvious on the other hand that the draconic Eikon Bahamut borrows its name from the Islamic whale of the same name as well as the dragon god Bahamut) from the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. While the Book of Job describes Leviathan as being a whale or even a crocodile as suggested by a footnote in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, verse 27:1 in the Book of Isaiah instead equates Leviathan to a sea serpent or dragon, with the Book of Job description also making it a point to mention Leviathan’s fearsome fiery breath. Given its status as a tutelary god for the Japanese-inspired nation of Wutai in Final Fantasy VII, it could be argued that Leviathan in the Final Fantasy series also shares similarities with Eastern dragons, such as the Chinese Lóng or Japanese Ryū; beneficent, serpentine deities of water and rain.
It is presumed that the figure and name of Leviathan actually originates from the older Canaanite sea monster Lôtān, whose name in the Ugaritic language meant “coiled” and was given the epithets “the fugitive serpent” or “the wriggling serpent”. In the first two tablets of the fragmentary Ugaritic Baal Cycle text, the storm god Baal (Lord) Hadad engages in a feud with the deification of the sea Yammu) to succeed their father El) as the ruler of the gods. At some point in this first chapter of the Baal Cycle, Hadad strikes down the seven-headed serpent Lôtān, who given the missing pieces of the text, could either be a servant of or another name for Yammu, with it also being believed that the monster was a zoomorphic representation of the Lebanese Litani River. Why I bring this up is to illustrate that Hadad’s defeat of Lôtān is but one example of the Chaoskampf mytheme, a pattern found in numerous Indo-European mythologies whereby a younger storm god or culture hero representing order and human civilization slays an ancient serpent or dragon associated with water that represents primordial chaos); perhaps a sentiment held by early agricultural riverine civilizations wishing to triumph over the constant and often devastating threat of floods.
One of the oldest examples of this mytheme is that of the Mesopotamian god Marduk’s dismemberment of Tiamat. According to the Babylonian Enūma Eliš, in the beginning there existed only Tiamat, the female personification of salt water; and Abzu, the male personification of fresh water. From the union of the two primeval waters sprang forth the first generation of gods called the Anunnaki. One such god, Enki (or Ea) would capture and kill Abzu after he plotted to kill his children due to the commotion they were causing. Enraged by Enki’s actions, Tiamat gave birth to eleven monstrous children to wage war against the gods along with her new consort Kingu, who possessed the Tablet of Destinies); the mark of divine rule. Marduk, the son of Enki, challenged Tiamat and her monsters, eventually slaying his opponents with lightning and storm winds. Defeated, Tiamat’s body was sliced in twain, with the two halves becoming the sky and earth. From an earlier promise made with the Anunnaki and the Igigi (lesser gods) as well as the acquisition of the Tablet of Destinies from the beaten Kingu, Marduk was made king of the gods; later mixing the blood of Kingu with clay to also become the creator of mankind.
Through the lens of the Chaoskampf mytheme, we can start to see connections between Tiamat’s dismemberment, the defeat of the multi-headed Lôtān, and Leviathan form. The non-canonical Book of Enoch actually specifies that the land-dwelling Behemoth is male, while the aquatic Leviathan is female; possibly creating an inadvertent association between Leviathan and the sea goddess and mother of monsters Tiamat. This may also be why Leviathan’s Chronolith Trial is named the Hand of Tethys. While still following the moons of Saturn naming convention, it is very fitting that the trial is also named after the Greek Tethys); wife of the world-encompassing river Oceanus and mother to the male river gods and female water nymphs called the Potamoi and Oceanids, respectively. Furthering the connections to Tiamat and Lôtān, several accounts in the Hebrew Bible describe Yawheh triumphing over the forces of the sea, such as in Isaiah 51:9-10 “Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab) to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed may cross over?” and Job 26:12-13 “By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces. By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent”. It is believed that Rahab, while occasionally used as a flowery term for Egypt or arrogance, was also a sea serpent either comparable to or synonymous with Leviathan. While Leviathan’s death at the hands of Yahweh in Isaiah 27:1 is viewed as a metaphor for the enemies of Israel who will submit to the Hebrew God, the Chaoskampf and the connection with the Canaanite Lôtān is further shown in verse 74:14 from the Book of Psalms, which says “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness”; which is where the name of the trophy for beating Leviathan on Final Fantasy mode, Thou Brakest the Head, comes from.
Along with the account of Leviathan’s death in Psalms 74:12, several other Jewish sources, such as the Second Book of Esdras 6:47-52, the Apocalypse of Baruch 29:4, and the Bava Batra tractate in the Talmud state that Yahweh will slay Leviathan and Behemoth so that their flesh shall be given as food and shelter to the righteous during the End of Days and the Messianic Age. This may explain why the Behemoth King in FFXVI has several attacks referencing Christian eschatology from the Book of Revelation, such as the Four Horsemen; personifications of War, Conquest, Famine, and Death that herald the Last Judgment; and the Apocalypse, another term for a revelation which has since become synonymous with a cataclysmic end-time event, like the battle at Armageddon for instance. Leviathan and Behemoth’s statuses as eventual sacrifices is very similar to the role that Leviathan and its Dominant unfortunately play in Final Fantasy XVI.
Both DLCs, the Echoes of the Fallen and the Rising Tide, deal with themes of rectifying the sins of the past; whereby the Fallen and the Motes of Water engaged in questionable behavior in an attempt to create their own Mothercrystals to disastrous effect. The Motes of Water, a central focus of the Rising Tide, are a tribe originating from the southern coast of the continent of Ash and hosts to the Dominants of the Eikon Leviathan. After the loss of their Mothercrystal Drake’s Horn, the tribe migrated across the twin continent of Storm; where they were mercilessly persecuted by several groups, particularly the Greagorian faithful of the burgeoning Holy Empire of Sanbreque, causing the tribe and their Eikon to become “lost” to history. Due to their nomadic nature as well as Sanbreque’s similarities with the Roman and Holy Roman Empires, one could say that the Motes of Water mirror the Jewish Diaspora (exile) and transformation of the faith after the Roman Empire’s siege on Jerusalem) and the destruction of the Second Temple during the First Jewish-Roman War; or perhaps one could say the tribe is treated in a similar fashion to the oft demonized itinerant Romani people of eastern Europe. Either way, the Motes of Water are meant to represent the “Other”; ostracized outsiders to the customs of Storm who hid themselves away from the rest of the world to avoid further religious persecution.
After finding sanctuary in the northern territory of Mysidia, the Motes of Water tried to create for themselves a new Mothercrystal to replace the Northern Territories’ own shattered Mothercrystal called Drake’s Eye. The story of the Motes of Water is one of loss and a constant fight to carve out a place in the world to call their own, so it is no surprise then that they wished to regain something taken away from them so many years ago. However, the tribe would engage in a terrible act, enraging their Eikon Leviathan that laid dormant within the infant Dominant Waljas, and freeze both the baby and the Eikon in time to essentially act as an aether battery. Unsuccessful in turning Waljas into the heart of a Mothercrystal, all the tribe achieved was robbing the poor baby of its life and autonomy, imprisoning the Dominant and the tidal wave it summoned in that moment where the tribe’s greatest sin occurred for 80 years.
This frozen tsunami, dubbed the Surge, is not only a monument to the tribe’s greatest shame, but is also a constant looming threat over the tribe’s village of Haven; a reminder to never again engage in such a transgression, lest they be met with watery doom. This mirrors not only Jonah preaching to the Ninevites to change their ways, but also God’s warnings against individuals sacrificing children to Moloch in the Book of Leviticus 20:2-5. In fact, as ProfNoctis suggests in his video “Final Fantasy XVI Lecture Stream: The Mythos of Leviathan Part 2”; Leviathan and the Surge are symbols of human and divine regret, with Ultima, the creator of mankind and the Mothercrystals, referring to Leviathan as its “most profaned fragment”; due to the Eikon being rested from its creator’s control and the act of creating a man-made Mothercrystal being a repeat of the Fallen’s blasphemous attempts at attaining godhood during the War of the Magi and the Sins of Dzemekys, flagrant displays of mankind’s development of free will which is anathema to Ultima’s collective identity.
As a symbol of divine regret, the Surge could be seen as a parallel to the Flood from the Book of Genesis. Deluge or flood myths are motifs that can often be found amongst cultures residing near the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Persian Gulf such as Egypt, Greece, and Israel; with these stories usually recounting a tale in which a deity or deities summon a world-wide flood as a form of divine retribution. One of the earliest examples is the Mesopotamian Epic of Atra-Hasis, in which mankind was created by the gods to act as servants and laborers. However, due to overpopulation, the storm god Enlil seeks to reduce their numbers by bringing forth a great flood. Enki, seen as a benefactor of mankind, warns the human Atra-Hasis about the flood, telling him to build a boat to protect himself, his family, and his livestock from the deluge. After seven days, the waters recede and Enki and Enlil agree on other means of maintaining the human population. This story is also thought to have been later adapted in Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where the survivor of the flood is renamed Utnapishtim; though both the Atra-Hasis and Gilgamesh flood accounts seem to originate from an even older source called the Eridu Genesis. Similarly, the Greeks also had a deluge myth, as outlined in the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where Deucalion, the human son of the divine Prometheus, is warned by his father to build a chest for himself and his wife Pyrrha to escape a gigantic flood that the storm god Zeus plans to bring forth as a response to the insufficient offering given to him by Lycaon), the king of Arcadia); with the pair washing up on Mount Parnassus nine days after the storm.
There are several theories, such as the Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis, that propose that the ancient Middle East did indeed experience a large flood at some point in the very distant past. Given that flood myths are thus believed to have originated from Mesopotamia, it should come as no surprise that the Hebrew flood narrative bears similarities to the previously discussed deluge myths as well. According to chapters 6-9 in the Book of Genesis, God grows increasingly distraught over the wicked nature of the humans descended from Adam and Eve and their inadvertent creation of sin, and so decides to reset creation to a state of watery chaos. God warns one of the few moral men, the Antediluvian patriarch named Noah, about His plan to flood the world and instructs him to build an ark to house himself, his family, and two of each animal to be the first creatures to inhabit the new world. After the firmament breaks forth and floods the world for 40 days, Noah’s Ark washes up on Mount Ararat. Noah then builds an altar, with God forming a covenant with Noah whereby He declares to never again summon a flood to devastate the world. As Genesis 9:9-17 states, this promise between Noah and God is commemorated by the rainbow, a symbol of peace; which as ProfNoctis points out, also appears once Clive saves Waljas.
Through a certain perspective, the Flood could be seen as a sort of baptism, a spiritual cleansing of the world through physical water. Baptism is considered one of the 7 sacraments of the Christian Catholic denomination; a rite of initiation whereby the individual joining the faith is either submerged in or sprinkled with water three times, representing the purification of sin and the grace given by the Holy Trinity. This is not unlike the Rite of Immersion that the infant Waljas is granted at the conclusion of the Rising Tide DLC; a ceremony for all babies born into the Motes of Water in which the initiate is sprinkled with mountainous rain water from Maiden’s March, river water from Riversmeet, and sea water from Tailwind Bay. The water used in this rite is used as a metaphor for life’s journey, likened by the tribe to that of a river, with this revealing that the Motes of Water hold a very cyclical view of life in a similar fashion to the Buddhist beliefs in reincarnation or the Lifestream from Final Fantasy VII. As the descriptions for the 3 kinds of water used in the ceremony state; “The rain that falls upon the mountains of Mysidia emerges in the springs of Maiden’s March. Thus the water collected from said springs represents birth-the fountainhead from which the river of life begins”, “In the Riversmeet valley, several tributaries merge into a single stream, where clear currents and roiling eddies swim side by side. Its water represents life-a course complete with myriad meanderings, yet one that runs inexorably from source to sea”, and “The Mysidian river empties into the ocean amid the shallows of Tailwind Bay, and thus its water represents death-the stillness that lies beyond the end of the river of life, and from whence the raindrops are born anew”. In fact, the symbol for the village of Haven is meant to be the combination of Leviathan’s scales and the river called the Ceaseless Rill, “...the circle of life that has neither beginning nor end”, not unlike the serpentine symbol of the Ouroboros. I would thus argue that not only does Leviathan represent regret and retribution, but also the chaotic journey of life.
If it’s not already apparent, I find Leviathan to be very interesting. I want to thank you all for sticking around and reading the whole thing, as I know this was a lot. If you would like to check out some more information about Leviathan, I would recommend checking out the videos “Leviathan of Final Fantasy VS the Leviathan of the Bible - FF16 The Rising Tide” by Country Kratos and “A Brief History of Final Fantasy Summons Final Fantasy Lore” by Alleyway Jack.
With the conclusion of both DLCs, Clive and by extension the player, is granted one additional Eikonic power. As such, I am actually going to do one more essay, which I will post next week. I hope you look forward to it and thank you again for reading this. Have a fantastic day!
​

If the latest Mad Max movie was more grounded in realism and if it were not for suspension of disbelief, Dementus would’ve ruled the wasteland in its entirety. His gang maybe even ruling beyond where no bikertracks marked the grounds.
He would’ve ruled Gas Town, Bullet Farm and Citadel, only for him to drum up an expedition to rediscover and map the wasteland. If that were not enough he definitely would have set sail after conquering the wasteland and set foot in whichever continent his great expedition team ends up in. The subsequent movie showing their adventures and epic battles with unfamiliar tribes and gangs of men in territories far away from the wastelands.
Why do I think so? Because Dementus is “great” and there’s nothing out there that can satisfy his great inner void. That’s why I think him venturing into the unknown is the only natural outcome of his character.
Think about it: The Great Dementus! Kickstarting a new era of man under the sound of roaring motorcycle engines, just like the “leaders” who came before him. He is the embodiment of the kind who led the world to ruin in the first place; men who are willing to sacrifice their own.
Now… George gave us Furiosa and buried every possible epic tales, we the viewers could have, under a tree. Instead we got a furious tale of vengeance, just peachy…

The Next Step - Cyberpunk Red

[LGBT+ Friendly, Beginner Friendly, 18+]
Length of Game: Long-term
Day and Time w/Time Zone: Every Saturday, 5 pm EST. Roughly 4 hours per session.
Platform: Discord for voice, Owlbear Rodeo for maps.
Number of Players Needed: 3-4.
Game Description and Additional Notes:
Please note that this campaign does not take place in the Cyberpunk universe. Additionally, cyberpsychosis does not exist and homebrew rules will be put in place to reflect this change - to summarize the homberew rules, cybernetics will be rejected by the human body over time, resulting in injury and potentially death. A substance branded as TechFix is used to reverse this process.
The year is 2039. It's been nine years since the day the first cybernetics were installed into the human body, technology discovered by the Association of Human Evolution, governed by the leadership of the Japanese government, nine years since the world changed forever.
It was expensive - half the price of a house, really, and at first, only the rich could access it, and for a time that was alright. The common people complained, the rich ignored, the lucky few got media attention to get medical-grade cybernetics, and the topic died down soon enough. Then, only four years later, a breakthrough was made, and the tech was made available to the public.
The middle class scrambled to get their very own cybernetics; improved thought processes, new, powerful limbs, hearts and lungs immune to disease - all of these things became wondrously feasible. Soon enough, a quarter of society had become augmented... yet, the common person soon could not afford the upkeep of cybernetics. Augmented bodies failed, limbs rusted, hearts stopped. Fear of augmentation grew.
Yet still, humanity sought it; corporations began to refuse to hire those without physical or mental augmentations, forcing mankind to put their lives at risk, and those who valued their lives above their work were left behind, resulting in mass loss of income throughout the world.
Hatred towards the augmented grew; 'They've taken our jobs, our lives!' is the common rhetoric. This only grew as time went on; the number of augmented grew as the unchanged sought work, resulting in roughly half the world becoming augmented, the other half afraid and confused.
Now, five years later, amidst the chaos of the world, in the city of Immerung, an Organicism Purist/Anti-Augmentation Group has begun to commit acts of terror against the augmented. You are employed by the Immerung city police to investigate this group, infiltrate it, and bring it to its knees.
This campaign will begin in an open-world city environment that is highly detailed and painstakingly put together in a similar style to Deus Ex: Human Revolution/Mankind Divided and other immersive simulator games. Your goal will be to explore this environment and uncover secrets and the like regarding the organicist terrorist group to better help you infiltrate and destroy it.
Please message me on Discord if you are interested. My tag is Snnoy

Well here we are, FG, our first decades tournament, the 2010’s. Thank you to everyone who nominated movies, and let’s get right into it!
Results of Round 1

• Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) (9) beat 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) (8) and Sorry to Bother You (2018) (6)
• Snowpiercer (2013) (11) beat 12 Years a Slave (2013) (7), and Spotlight (2015) (6)
• Skyfall (2012) (9) beat 127 Hours (2010) (8) and Spring Breakers (2012) (7)
• First Reformed (2017) (10) beat Skate Kitchen (2018) (3), and Steve Jobs (2015) (3)
• 1917 (2019) (9) beat Sing Street (2016) (6), and Stoker (2013) (6)
• Silence (2016) (14) beat 20th Century Women (2016) (4) and Stray Dogs (2013) (3)
• Sicario (2015) (17) beat Sunset (2017) (3) and 50/50 (2011) (3)
• Shutter Island (2010) (11) beat A Field in England (2013) (5), and Tabu (2012) (2)
• A Ghost Story (2017) (13) beat Short Term 12 (2013) (6), and Tehran Taboo (2017) (1)
• A Separation (2011) (7) tied with Shoplifters (2018) (7), and beat The Act of Killing (2012) (3)
• The American (2010) (8) beat A Silent Voice (2016) (2), and Shin Godzilla (2016) (2)
• The Assassin (2015) (11) beat Shame (2011) (7), and A Star is Born (2018) (5)
• Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) (11) beat Ad Astra (2019) (6), and The Avengers (2012) (4)
• The Babadook (2014) (10) beat All is Lost (2013) (7) and Rubber (2010) (4)
• Annihilation (2018) (15) beat Room (2015) (5), and The Babysitter (2017) (2)
• Roma (2018) (12) beat April and the Extraordinary World (2015) (4), and The Conjuring (2013) (3)
• The Big Short (2015) (7) beat Aquarius (2016) (5), and Right Now, Wrong Then (2015) (0)
• Arrival (2016) (16) beat Raw (2016) (3), and The Big Sick (2017) (1)
• Atomic Blonde (2017) (6) beat Rango (2011) (5) and The Captain (2017) (3)
  
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) (8) beat Post Tenebras Lux (2012) (3), and Bait (2019) (1)
  
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) (10) beat Barbara (2012) (1), and The Counselor (2013) (1)
  
• The Death of Stalin (2017) (8) beat Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) (6), and Beasts of No Nation (2015) (3)
  
• Birdman (2014) (7) tied Phoenix (2014) (7) and beat The Double (2013) (2)
  
• Black Swan (2010) (11) beat Phantom Thread (2017) (8), and The Drop (2014) (3)
  
• Blade Runner 2049 (2017) (11) beat The Florida Project (2017) (9), and The House That Jack Built (2018) (2)
  
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) (15) beat Blindspotting (2018) (2), and Paddington 2 (2017) (1)
  
• Blue is the Warmest Color (2013) (7) beat Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) (6), and The Great Beauty (2013) (2)
  
• The Handmaiden (2016) (11) beat Bone Tomahawk (2015) (7), and Only God Forgives (2013) (4)
  
• Once Upon a Time....In Hollywood (2019) (15) beat The Hateful Eight (2015) (8), and Bridge of Spies (2015) (4)
  
• Boyhood (2014) (7) beat Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) (5), and The Hollars (2016) (2)
  
• O.J. Made in America (2016) (10) beat Parasite (2019) (9), and Brooklyn (2015) (5)
  
• Nightcrawler (2014) (12) beat Burning (2018) (7), and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) (1)
  
• Nebraska (2013) (7) beat The Hunt (2012) (4), and Byzantium (2012) (4)
  
• Mysteries of Lisbon (2010) (4) beat Carlos (2010) (3), and The Imposter (2012) (2)
  
• Carol (2015) (12) beat The Irishman (2019) (6), and mother! (2017) (3)
  
• The Lighthouse (2019) (9) beat Moonrise Kingdom (2012) (8), and Cemetery of Splendour (2015) (4)
  
• Moonlight (2016) (9) beat The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) (5), and Chappie (2015) (3)
  
• Molly’s Game (2017) (8) beat Coherence (2013) (7), and Cloud Atlas (2012) (4)
  
• The Master (2012) (11) beat Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) (6), and The Martian (2015) (5)
  
• Cold War (2018) (5) ties Meek's Cutoff (2010) (5), and beats The Missing Picture (2013) (2)
  
• The Nice Guys (2016) (14) beat Contagion (2011) (5), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018) (2)
  
• Margaret (2011) (9) beat The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) (6), and Creed (2015) (2)
  
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) (8) tied with The Raid 2 (2014) (8), and beat Maps to the Stars (2014) (3)
  
• Drive (2011) (17) beat The Revenant (2015) (6), and Mandy (2018) (4)
  
• Django Unchained (2012) (11) beat The Salesman (2016) (3) and Made in Dagenham (2010) (2)
  
• Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (9) beat Train to Busan (2016) (5), and Diamantino (2018) (1)
  
• Eighth Grade (2018) (5) beat Elle (2016) (4), and Long Way North (2015) (2)
  
• The Turin Horse (2011) (10) beat Logan (2017) (9), and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) (0)
  
• The Way Back (2010) (8) beat Locke (2013) (5), and The Tree of Life (2011) (4)
  
• Embrace of the Serpent (2015) (10) beat Little Women (2019) (6), and The Whispering Star (2015) (2)
  
• Enemy (2013) (6) tied with The Wind Rises (2013) (6) and beat Like Someone in Love (2012) (3)
  
• Life of Pi (2012) (9) beat The Witch (2015) (8), and Evangelion 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012) (1)
  
• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (7) beat Leave No Trace (2018) (6) and Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) (3)
  
• Ex Machina (2014) (9) beat Thoroughbreds (2017) (4), and Le Havre (2011) (3)
  
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) (13) beat Ladybird (2017) (9), and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
  
• La La Land (2016) (13) beat 13 Assassins (2010) (4), and White Boy Rick (2018) (1)
  
• The Social Network (2010) (11) Four Lions (2010) (5), and Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) (2)
  
• Get Out (2017) (7) beat Two Days, One Night (2014) (5), and Konosuba Legend of Crimson (2019) (1)
  
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) (7) beat Girlhood (2014) (4), and Klaus (2019) (1)
  
• Under the Skin (2013) (13) beat Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) (3), and God Bless America (2011) (2)
  
• Upstream Color (2013) (8) beat Killer Joe (2011) (7), and I Saw The Devil (2010) (4)
  
• Good Time (2017) (11) beat Joker (2019) (6), and Us (2019) (2)
  
• Gravity (2013) (15) beat Jackie (2016) (6), and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) (1)
  
• Green Book (2018) (6) beat Jauja (2014) (4), and Victoria (2015) (4)
  
• Hell or High Water (2016) (15) beat It Must Be Heaven (2019) (1), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) (1)
  
• Interstellar (2014) (11) beat Her (2013) (8), and Warrior (2011) (5)
  
• Whiplash (2014) (12) beat Inside Out (2015) (4), and I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018) (0)
  
• Toy Story 3 (2010) (7) beat Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) (5), and Holy Motors (2012) (3)
  
• Inception (2010) (10) beat Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) (9), and Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010) (1)
  
• Incendies (2010) (8) beat How to Train your Dragon (2010) (5), and Wild (2014) (4)
  
• Gone Girl (2014) (11) beat Winter Sleep (2014) (4), and In Fabric (2018) (1)
  
• Zero Dark Thirty (2012) (9) beat Hereditary (2018) (7), and I, Tonya (2017) (7)
  

Results of Round 2

• Snowpiercer (2013) (12) beat Skyfall (2012) (6), and Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) (4)

View Poll

Bloating has been ongoing for 10 years. Previously, there was diarrhea. I did a GI MAP test, which detected E. Coli identified as pathogenic, but without the classic symptoms of watery diarrhea, and these E. Coli persisted for several months - so they are unlikely to be pathogenic (antibiotics and phages did not eliminate them). I treated my gallbladder for sludge, but bile reflux remained despite this.
Antibiotics, phages, herbs, Atrantil, and prokinetics that reduce upper abdominal bloating but cause constipation, do not help with the symptoms. Various diets, from low FODMAP to carnivorous diet, did not improve the symptoms even when followed for more than two weeks.
Tests for worms, cancer markers, Candida, thyroid, calprotectin, colonoscopy, and many other tests were all negative except for leptin, homocysteine, and androstenedione - which are above normal, but there are no classic symptoms of PCOS. H. Pylori IgG in blood is 3.37 AU/mL, which seems to be a normal value? Creatine kinase is also low. Mast cell syndrome was ruled out with empirical treatment. Currently, symptoms are identical to methane, that is, slow transit constipation, but the most bothersome is the constant 24/7 bloating, which is not affected by anything. There is also a low-grade fever of about 36.9 - 37.0 degrees Celsius with normal CRP levels.
Very little muscle, a lot of fat, despite normal weight. Weak muscles that I can't control. For the past two years, I've been housebound, barely going outside, and gradually observing a worsening of symptoms, while exercise (particularly walking, stretching, yoga) has a prokinetic effect and causes trapped gas - the same effect as Motegrity.
I took a lactulose test for the first time, and... it came back negative. So much so that there is no methane at all, and hydrogen is at a fairly low level, less than double digits. But lactulose made me nauseous, so there was definitely a reaction. Does anyone have any ideas - what could this be? Can it be false negative?
Numbers
Chart

Advanced leather repair gel is generally safe for use on leather surfaces, provided that it is applied correctly and according to the manufacturer's instructions. This type of product is designed to fill and repair cracks, scratches, and minor tears in leather, restoring its appearance and functionality. The ingredients used in these gels are typically formulated to bond well with leather without causing damage or discoloration.
When using advanced leather repair gel, it's important to test the product on a small, inconspicuous area first to ensure it does not react adversely with your specific type of leather. Following the instructions carefully will help avoid any potential issues and ensure the best results.
For those with extensive leather damage or concerns about achieving a professional finish, considering a leather repair service is advisable. These services have the expertise and professional-grade products to handle complex repairs and ensure the safety and longevity of your leather items.
In summary, advanced leather repair gel is safe when used as directed, making it a useful tool for minor leather repairs. However, for more significant damage or to ensure a flawless repair, seeking help from a professional leather repair service is often the best approach. This ensures your leather items are restored effectively and safely.
Click here if you are looking leather repair service at Austin

First of, I'm still super excited for Azur Promilia. Another open world RPG, more competition to already famous games in the genre. From a company that has done an insanely good job with Azur Lane. The game looks amazing.
Despite all of that excitement I am also sad, because for years I've been waiting for Azur Lane to get a modern, up to date PC-game. The story, uniqueness of the world, character design with skins is so insanely good in my opinion. Manjuu is known to have a good track record, a fair monetization model (although for the open world equivalent I wouldn't be surprised to see this change).
I see so much potential in an Azur Lane RPG in the style of Genshin, Wuwa. Arknights is getting its Endfield. It could have been extremely unique too, with you mostly exploring the oceans and seas. Navigating from country to country, continent to continent, going through the stories, seeing all the different fractions and their story. I like Azur Lane's character design the most, the characters are super attractive, or cute and the skins are insane. It's such a shame and continously makes me think what could have been if instead of Manjuu doing Azur Promilia we would have gotten an open world RPG Azur Lane.
Of course I'll still play Azur Promilia and I'm sure it will be a good game, by a good developer in a beautiful setting, but deep down I'm still waiting for a new, modernized Azur Lane game on PC, like I've been waiting for years already. Maybe one day...

Last week, I visited Oahu and rode the Skyline rail from West Loch to the stadium, here is my review.
The good:

• It was fast, it was clean, and it was safe.
  
• The fare machines worked and I got my ticket easily (except it didn't say it did not give cash change, luckily it put the remainder on the card).
  
• The platforms look good, there are nice views everywhere, and the front of the (driverless) train is open to passengers with a big window.
  
• When I got off the train, there was a bus going downtown and to Waikiki right away. The bus was agonizingly slow compared to the train, but the transfer was well planned and executed.
  

The bad:

• The elevated stations are ungainly, almost ugly. I'm not for spending millions more on architectural gems, but the random hanging walkways and oveunder passes stick out badly.
  
• I'm not going to go into the politics and logistics of station locations, but it could've been better.
  
• At "Hō'ae'ae" (aka West Loch) station, there was a line map near the entrance that showed a solid line (completed segment) all the way to "Kahauiki" (aka Kahili transit center). Needless to say, I was very confused about the last train stopping at Hālawa, and I almost didn't get on until I asked an agent.
  

And the ugly:

• Closes early: I think of Honolulu as a big city, and the buses run until midnight. I left at 6pm, walked a over a mile, and was very surprised/lucky to catch the last city-bound train at 7pm. When it runs downtown, it better not have commuter hours only.
  
• Naming: I thought this was minor at first, but as I write this, I realize that saying "I can't wait until the rail extends past Hālawa" means nothing to most people. I get it, ōleleo won't ever flourish if everyone keeps saying "Stadium", but they even gave new names to places that already had Hawaiian names. This just seems confusing. And on top of that, even though I don't speak Hawaiian, to me the automated voice pronunciation of the stop names seemed off.
  
• Rails not straight: for a brand new line, this is absolutely inexcusable. The train lurches side to side makeing an uncomfortable ride, and when I looked down the track from the front of the train, I could see wavy rails. I've ridden trains in Europe, and the coolest thing about them is they are smooth and comfortable. I could understand if the line was 50 years old like BART in the Bay Area, or had grade crossings and lots of switches. But a brand new, dedicated and elevated rail line should be smooth as butter. There better be operating parameters and performance guarantees in the contracts so that this can be fixed by the manufacturer.
  

All that said, I'm not against the rail, I want it to succeed, and I think it will when it goes to Kālia (Ala Moana). But they still need to use common sense when designing and implementing it.

Context

At the dawn of time, the mortals were separated into four tribes. They all were led by their gods to live on their own continents, separate from the other tribes.
Centuries later, the Sapient tribe of the south dared to challenge the divine decree and crossed the ocean. Their hearts were full of hope to finally reunite all of mortal kind and that together they would be unstoppable. The gods could at last be proud of their creation.
However, this hope was soon replaced by despair: war broke out not long after the first of the Sapients set foot on the scattered archipelago that was once the eastern continent. No report ever reached the emperor back home whether it was his own men or the Warlocks, the inhabitants of the archipelago, who struck first.
Now, this first great war has reached Evermore Island, one of the many wonders of the archipelago, and a veritable fortress of mountains. Should the Sapients be able to take it, it would be a decisive victory. In their minds, it would ensure an easy road to peace; their dream of unity could live again.

Roleplay

You have three options where your characters might be at the start of this roleplay:
In Marsted, a young port city of the Sapients, where a new fleet of fighters prepare to cross the ocean to support their brothers and sisters in the war.
Or
On Muckwater Island, an outpost of the Sapient empire, where reinforcements from the mainland just arrived and the offensive on Evermore Island is being planned. ^{(This is the speedrun option if you want to be on the Sapients' side but get to the war quickly})
Or
On Evermore Island, where the native population of Warlocks awaits the coming war, getting their best mages in shape to unleash chaos.

Rules and Requests

I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to overpower my world. While there are (very few) gods, they won't try to fight your characters (or even appear at all).
It would be neat if you included characters from the distant past of your world, as this is set in ancient history. This isn't a requirement if you don't want to.
**
If this goes well, I might do another one like these for a different time and place in ancient history.

Introduction

This is a Series of connections Comparing Influential characters in One Piece History to Important gods in the Aztec's 5 Suns creation myth and several aspects of the Myth to aspects of One Piece. I intend to explain what these connections could mean for history yet to be revealed to us in One Piece. I have already posted this, however, on one of the Subreddits that I posted the theory to got deleted. So I figured I would Remake it. I also figured due to the massive number of views compared to the lack of any movement up or down to the theory that many saw the massive block of text and chose to not read it. (I actually know this is possibly the case since 1 of the only comments I got on it was TLDR). So I’m going to split this series of connections up into 5 parts. (One for each of the 5 suns)
I will also divide each part into 3 portions: the Myth portion, The connections portion, and what it could mean to the story portion (TLDTheory). Since there will be so many Aztec Names I will mention the character that they influence in the story right after their name. This Means If you are Extremely familiar with One Piece you could just focus on the Myth Portion and get a General Gist of the Connections and Theory. If you're Just focused on the Connections and evidence and don't care about the myth you can read the Myth portion. And if You just want to know what I think this means for the Story you can focus on the Theory/TLDR portion.
Lastly These Series of connections are not meant to overwrite the Connections Oda has made to Characters in the story but to add to them. (I know Luffy is based on Hanuman, But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t represent the Aztecs 5th sun Nanahuatzin as Well) Great now that wall of text is done (Probably with no one reading it) Let’s Begin

Pre Creation (myth)

In Aztec mythology before the earth, suns, and people were created there were 2 Primordial gods that gave birth to the 4 Creator gods. The 4 Creator gods are known as the 4 Tezcatlipocas all divided into separate colors to distinguish them. The 4 Tezcatlipocas are Black Tezcatlipoca (Imu), White Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Blue Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Red Xipe Totec (No one known). These 4 creators were tasked with creating the world. Before they created the world they had to deal with a vast never ending ocean and a massive Crocodile-like monster with many mouths known as Cipactli (Red Line). Cipactli (Red Line) would eat up anything that the 4 gods created. So the gods set a trap to defeat it. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) would dangle his leg in the water to drag the monster up to the surface while the 4 gods defeated it together. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) lost his leg in this incident.
It should Also be known that Cipactli (Red Line) was not killed but defeated with its flesh being shaped into the land. Cipactli (Red Line) was also satiated by sacrifice promised by the gods so it didn't awaken and destroy the world (That's why Aztec loved sacrifices).
Some Versions of the myth just have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) and Quetzalcoatl (Nika), being the only 2 creator gods and defeating Cipactli (Red Line).

First Sun (Myth)

Following the Fight against Cipactli (Red Line) The 4 Creator Gods Tezcatlipoca (Imu), Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Xipe Totec (No one known) work on making the world, humanity, the 12 heavens, and many other gods. The versions of humans that the 4 gods created for the first world were larger than the modern day humans kind of like giants. These Humans liked to eat Acorns. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) then chose to become the Sun. This Sun during this first world was only a half sun giving off less light. (not clear whether it's because Tezcatlipoca (Imu) was a god of darkness or because of his injury). After 676 years (13 cycles of Aztecs 52 year calendar (Ironically split into 13 20-day months)) Tezcatlipoca (Imu), and Quetzalcoatl (Nika) developed a rivalry. Quetzalcoatl (Nika) then takes a club and knocks Tezcatlipoca (Imu) out of the sky. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in anger then summon a hoard of Jaguars to kill all of the Larger humans. (In other Versions He just becomes a giant Jaguar instead of summing a bunch) Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is then forced to step down as the Sun.

Connections

• To spread things out I will be Focusing on the connections for Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in this Part and save the connections for Quetzalcoatl (Nika) for the second part and second sun.
  • These 4 creator gods I believe correlate to the 4 gods mention in Skypia by the Shandians. I believe Nika and Imu are among the 4 gods. Imu does have connections to both of the known users of the Nika fruit. Rather then a straight connection to Joy Boy this could be from a connection to the already Established Sun God Nika.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with concepts including the night skys, Hurricanes, Obsidian, and conflict. He was the god of Providence, Invisible and Darkness, and lord of the night. Being associated with conflict can by seen through the multitude of conflict created by the world government and celestial dragons. Being the Invisible could be reverenced to how Imu is only known to the Gorosie. Being a god of darkness, lord of the night, and having a half Sun with diminished light could eluded to Imu's and the celestial Dragons connections to the moon.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) had names such as Titlacauan and Ipalnemoani meaning “We are his slaves” and “He by whom we live" respectively. relating to the Celestial Dragons slave owning connections.
  • The color schemes is another connection with Tezcatlipoca (Imu) being associated with Black as Imu is only every shown so far in Shadow.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is also the guardian of the Nagual a group of human beings capable of shapeshifting. Many Nagual would have the Ability to shapeshift into Animals with some even being able to shapeshift into natural phenomena like lightning, wind, clouds, or fireballs. Nagual seems to be a clear Parallel to the Devil fruits users (Zoans and Logias specifically) and the Gorosie. (dependent they are not Zoan Users)
  • Many sources have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with sorcery mainly over Animism, Divination, and Illusions. He had many associations with evil spirits. After Christianization occurred he was compared to devils and Demons. Easily comparable to how the Gorosie are able to be summon through Pentagrams an ability Imu might share.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is commonly seen wearing a headdress of featers, flowers, of Flint Knifes which could explain the extreme pointed crown atop Imu's Head.
• Cipactli (Red Line) The Massive Crocodilian-like Monster being the red line is an easy connection and a possible inspiration similar to Jorgmungandr "The world serpent" in Norse Mythology.
  • It could also be that the World government flag could have the 4 circles connected to the 4 Creators Gods with the central circle being Cipactli (Red Line)
• The Giant Humans are a clear parallels to the Giants of One Piece but is also supported since the First and one of only 2 giants with a given name and surname given (unless you include John Giant) is Jaguar D. Saul.
  • Now we all know that Giants are based off of Norse Mythology however Jaguars Are not, they're a South American Species only. So Giants with a connection to Jaguars mostly likely leads us back to Tezcatlipoca (Imu)
• Now I know everyone is wondering why I bothered mentioning that the Giant Humans ate Acorns. Well The One Piece Arc with the most Aztec influence Skypia also has 2 characters with acorns as a major design element Noland and Cricket. I fell this is meant to show that during the earliest parts of the world standard Humans still had some representation. (As snacks)

Possible meaning for the story (Theory Time)

• Imu lived in the era of Nika as well as Joy Boy and Luffy. Imu could still be mortal since Nika is Dead but somehow extended his life Through Youth surgery or Sorcery
• Imu and Nika are meant to be siblings Possibly with 2 other siblings (again might be taken from the myth with 2 creators gods instead of 4). The other 2 Creator Gods don't make a relevant impact on the rest of the 5 Sun Myth. ( yeah I'll mention Huitzilopochtli (No one known) when I get their) The 2 other Sibling may have been killed off possibly kicking off the conflict between Imu and Nika. Or Imu Became a tyrannical leader owning slaves that Nika stopped (Both cases Causing Nika to be worshipped by the Giants)
• These 2 or 4 Siblings were responsible for defeating a massive monster that rather then becoming the world itself just became the Grandline. (Altering the continents.)
• Among the 3 remaining gods mention by the Shandians I see Imu being the Rain God. Since A current prevailing theory is Imu is capable of turning into an UmiBozu, Yokai that are common during storms in the ocean.
  • Another Possible monster Imu could turn into is a Were-Jaguar (Similar concept to Werewolves) one of which is a supernatural rain deity of Olmec Mythology. Olmec (Fun Note: Olmec Means Rubber People) civilization came from the same place as Aztec Civilization but came one generation sooner. Olmec Mythology was associated with and partially adopted by the Aztecs. It would also fit with the myth as Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is said to turn into a giant jaguar (I know the shadow looks more humanoid but Nusjuro's and Jupeter's Didn't look much like there shadows either)
• One Thing we could see in Elbaf Could be some kind of Giant Jaguar Enemies. Or Possibly a Clan of Giants named after Jaguars. Possibly one linked to Imu to Control or thin the population of Giants. Possibly in order to control them this Family would Be Royalty. A mysterious Giant Prince does exist that many already theorize to be the center of a conflict in Elbaf. I Believe Jaguar Loki and the Giants Royal Jaguar Family will be introduced. Jaguar D Saul already mentioned his distain for the other giants of Elbaf seeing them as barbaric and savage, ideals he gained from half of his Family (The other half is D Clan) similar to what many royalty see from the common folk.

Out Takes (not important to myth or the One Piece Story)

I worked Extremely hard On this And although I wanted to Cut down the Massive block of text there were just so many things I wanted to mention that I didn't in the Previous post. I know it's not Likely that many actually read the whole thing, However if you got the gist of what the series of Connection could mean to the story of One Piece I'll be satisfied as I do believe that Everything mentioned Holds up. I intend to continue with the other 4 parts as soon as possible but like with this part there is so much more I want to add to each Part.
If you Guys have any feedback Good or negative please let me know in the comments. I hope to get this Theory spread out to more of the world. Sorry Again for the massive block of Text. Thanks again for reading it and giving it you time.
Once I have the others parts up I will place links at the bottom of this post to them.
Part 2

Introduction

This is a Series of connections Comparing Influential characters in One Piece History to Important gods in the Aztec's 5 Suns creation myth and several aspects of the Myth to aspects of One Piece. I intend to explain what these connections could mean for history yet to be revealed to us in One Piece. I have already posted this, however, on one of the Subreddits that I posted the theory to got deleted. So I figured I would Remake it. I also figured due to the massive number of views compared to the lack of any movement up or down to the theory that many saw the massive block of text and chose to not read it. (I actually know this is possibly the case since 1 of the only comments I got on it was TLDR). So I’m going to split this series of connections up into 5 parts. (One for each of the 5 suns)
I will also divide each part into 3 portions: the Myth portion, The connections portion, and what it could mean to the story portion (TLDTheory). Since there will be so many Aztec Names I will mention the character that they influence in the story right after their name. This Means If you are Extremely familiar with One Piece you could just focus on the Myth Portion and get a General Gist of the Connections and Theory. If you're Just focused on the Connections and evidence and don't care about the myth you can read the Myth portion. And if You just want to know what I think this means for the Story you can focus on the Theory/TLDR portion.
Lastly These Series of connections are not meant to overwrite the Connections Oda has made to Characters in the story but to add to them. (I know Luffy is based on Hanuman, But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t represent the Aztecs 5th sun Nanahuatzin as Well) Great now that wall of text is done (Probably with no one reading it) Let’s Begin

Pre Creation (myth)

In Aztec mythology before the earth, suns, and people were created there were 2 Primordial gods that gave birth to the 4 Creator gods. The 4 Creator gods are known as the 4 Tezcatlipocas all divided into separate colors to distinguish them. The 4 Tezcatlipocas are Black Tezcatlipoca (Imu), White Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Blue Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Red Xipe Totec (No one known). These 4 creators were tasked with creating the world. Before they created the world they had to deal with a vast never ending ocean and a massive Crocodile-like monster with many mouths known as Cipactli (Red Line). Cipactli (Red Line) would eat up anything that the 4 gods created. So the gods set a trap to defeat it. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) would dangle his leg in the water to drag the monster up to the surface while the 4 gods defeated it together. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) lost his leg in this incident.
It should Also be known that Cipactli (Red Line) was not killed but defeated with its flesh being shaped into the land. Cipactli (Red Line) was also satiated by sacrifice promised by the gods so it didn't awaken and destroy the world (That's why Aztec loved sacrifices).
Some Versions of the myth just have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) and Quetzalcoatl (Nika), being the only 2 creator gods and defeating Cipactli (Red Line).

First Sun (Myth)

Following the Fight against Cipactli (Red Line) The 4 Creator Gods Tezcatlipoca (Imu), Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Xipe Totec (No one known) work on making the world, humanity, the 12 heavens, and many other gods. The versions of humans that the 4 gods created for the first world were larger than the modern day humans kind of like giants. These Humans liked to eat Acorns. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) then chose to become the Sun. This Sun during this first world was only a half sun giving off less light. (not clear whether it's because Tezcatlipoca (Imu) was a god of darkness or because of his injury). After 676 years (13 cycles of Aztecs 52 year calendar (Ironically split into 13 20-day months)) Tezcatlipoca (Imu), and Quetzalcoatl (Nika) developed a rivalry. Quetzalcoatl (Nika) then takes a club and knocks Tezcatlipoca (Imu) out of the sky. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in anger then summon a hoard of Jaguars to kill all of the Larger humans. (In other Versions He just becomes a giant Jaguar instead of summing a bunch) Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is then forced to step down as the Sun.

Connections

• To spread things out I will be Focusing on the connections for Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in this Part and save the connections for Quetzalcoatl (Nika) for the second part and second sun.
  • These 4 creator gods I believe correlate to the 4 gods mention in Skypia by the Shandians. I believe Nika and Imu are among the 4 gods. Imu does have connections to both of the known users of the Nika fruit. Rather then a straight connection to Joy Boy this could be from a connection to the already Established Sun God Nika.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with concepts including the night skys, Hurricanes, Obsidian, and conflict. He was the god of Providence, Invisible and Darkness, and lord of the night. Being associated with conflict can by seen through the multitude of conflict created by the world government and celestial dragons. Being the Invisible could be reverenced to how Imu is only known to the Gorosie. Being a god of darkness, lord of the night, and having a half Sun with diminished light could eluded to Imu's and the celestial Dragons connections to the moon.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) had names such as Titlacauan and Ipalnemoani meaning “We are his slaves” and “He by whom we live" respectively. relating to the Celestial Dragons slave owning connections.
  • The color schemes is another connection with Tezcatlipoca (Imu) being associated with Black as Imu is only every shown so far in Shadow.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is also the guardian of the Nagual a group of human beings capable of shapeshifting. Many Nagual would have the Ability to shapeshift into Animals with some even being able to shapeshift into natural phenomena like lightning, wind, clouds, or fireballs. Nagual seems to be a clear Parallel to the Devil fruits users (Zoans and Logias specifically) and the Gorosie. (dependent they are not Zoan Users)
  • Many sources have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with sorcery mainly over Animism, Divination, and Illusions. He had many associations with evil spirits. After Christianization occurred he was compared to devils and Demons. Easily comparable to how the Gorosie are able to be summon through Pentagrams an ability Imu might share.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is commonly seen wearing a headdress of featers, flowers, of Flint Knifes which could explain the extreme pointed crown atop Imu's Head.
• Cipactli (Red Line) The Massive Crocodilian-like Monster being the red line is an easy connection and a possible inspiration similar to Jorgmungandr "The world serpent" in Norse Mythology.
  • It could also be that the World government flag could have the 4 circles connected to the 4 Creators Gods with the central circle being Cipactli (Red Line)
• The Giant Humans are a clear parallels to the Giants of One Piece but is also supported since the First and one of only 2 giants with a given name and surname given (unless you include John Giant) is Jaguar D. Saul.
  • Now we all know that Giants are based off of Norse Mythology however Jaguars Are not, they're a South American Species only. So Giants with a connection to Jaguars mostly likely leads us back to Tezcatlipoca (Imu)
• Now I know everyone is wondering why I bothered mentioning that the Giant Humans ate Acorns. Well The One Piece Arc with the most Aztec influence Skypia also has 2 characters with acorns as a major design element Noland and Cricket. I fell this is meant to show that during the earliest parts of the world standard Humans still had some representation. (As snacks)

Possible meaning for the story (Theory Time)

• Imu lived in the era of Nika as well as Joy Boy and Luffy. Imu could still be mortal since Nika is Dead but somehow extended his life Through Youth surgery or Sorcery
• Imu and Nika are meant to be siblings Possibly with 2 other siblings (again might be taken from the myth with 2 creators gods instead of 4). The other 2 Creator Gods don't make a relevant impact on the rest of the 5 Sun Myth. ( yeah I'll mention Huitzilopochtli (No one known) when I get their) The 2 other Sibling may have been killed off possibly kicking off the conflict between Imu and Nika. Or Imu Became a tyrannical leader owning slaves that Nika stopped (Both cases Causing Nika to be worshipped by the Giants)
• These 2 or 4 Siblings were responsible for defeating a massive monster that rather then becoming the world itself just became the Grandline.>! (Altering the continents.)!<
• Among the 3 remaining gods mention by the Shandians I see Imu being the Rain God. Since A current prevailing theory is Imu is capable of turning into an UmiBozu, Yokai that are common during storms in the ocean.
  • Another Possible monster Imu could turn into is a Were-Jaguar (Similar concept to Werewolves) one of which is a supernatural rain deity of Olmec Mythology. Olmec (Fun Note: Olmec Means Rubber People) civilization came from the same place as Aztec Civilization but came one generation sooner. Olmec Mythology was associated with and partially adopted by the Aztecs. It would also fit with the myth as Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is said to turn into a giant jaguar (I know the shadow looks more humanoid but Nusjuro's and Jupeter's Didn't look much like there shadows either)
• One Thing we could see in Elbaf Could be some kind of Giant Jaguar Enemies. Or Possibly a Clan of Giants named after Jaguars. Possibly one linked to Imu to Control or thin the population of Giants. Possibly in order to control them this Family would Be Royalty. A mysterious Giant Prince does exist that many already theorize to be the center of a conflict in Elbaf. I Believe Jaguar Loki and the Giants Royal Jaguar Family will be introduced. Jaguar D Saul already mentioned his distain for the other giants of Elbaf seeing them as barbaric and savage, ideals he gained from half of his Family (The other half is D Clan) similar to what many royalty see from the common folk.

Out Takes (not important to myth or the One Piece Story)

I worked Extremely hard On this And although I wanted to Cut down the Massive block of text there were just so many things I wanted to mention that I didn't in the Previous post. I know it's not Likely that many actually read the whole thing, However if you got the gist of what the series of Connection could mean to the story of One Piece I'll be satisfied as I do believe that Everything mentioned Holds up. I intend to continue with the other 4 parts as soon as possible but like with this part there is so much more I want to add to each Part.
If you Guys have any feedback Good or negative please let me know in the comments. I hope to get this Theory spread out to more of the world. Sorry Again for the massive block of Text. Thanks again for reading it and giving it you time.
Once I have the others parts up I will place links at the bottom of this post to them.
Part 2

Introduction

This is a Series of connections Comparing Influential characters in One Piece History to Important gods in the Aztec's 5 Suns creation myth and several aspects of the Myth to aspects of One Piece. I intend to explain what these connections could mean for history yet to be revealed to us in One Piece. I have already posted this, however, on one of the Subreddits that I posted the theory to got deleted. So I figured I would Remake it. I also figured due to the massive number of views compared to the lack of any movement up or down to the theory that many saw the massive block of text and chose to not read it. (I actually know this is possibly the case since 1 of the only comments I got on it was TLDR). So I’m going to split this series of connections up into 5 parts. (One for each of the 5 suns)
I will also divide each part into 3 portions: the Myth portion, The connections portion, and what it could mean to the story portion (TLDTheory). Since there will be so many Aztec Names I will mention the character that they influence in the story right after their name. This Means If you are Extremely familiar with One Piece you could just focus on the Myth Portion and get a General Gist of the Connections and Theory. If you're Just focused on the Connections and evidence and don't care about the myth you can read the Myth portion. And if You just want to know what I think this means for the Story you can focus on the Theory/TLDR portion.
Lastly These Series of connections are not meant to overwrite the Connections Oda has made to Characters in the story but to add to them. (I know Luffy is based on Hanuman, But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t represent the Aztecs 5th sun Nanahuatzin as Well) Great now that wall of text is done (Probably with no one reading it) Let’s Begin

Pre Creation (myth)

In Aztec mythology before the earth, suns, and people were created there were 2 Primordial gods that gave birth to the 4 Creator gods. The 4 Creator gods are known as the 4 Tezcatlipocas all divided into separate colors to distinguish them. The 4 Tezcatlipocas are Black Tezcatlipoca (Imu), White Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Blue Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Red Xipe Totec (No one known). These 4 creators were tasked with creating the world. Before they created the world they had to deal with a vast never ending ocean and a massive Crocodile-like monster with many mouths known as Cipactli (Red Line). Cipactli (Red Line) would eat up anything that the 4 gods created. So the gods set a trap to defeat it. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) would dangle his leg in the water to drag the monster up to the surface while the 4 gods defeated it together. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) lost his leg in this incident.
It should Also be known that Cipactli (Red Line) was not killed but defeated with its flesh being shaped into the land. Cipactli (Red Line) was also satiated by sacrifice promised by the gods so it didn't awaken and destroy the world (That's why Aztec loved sacrifices).
Some Versions of the myth just have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) and Quetzalcoatl (Nika), being the only 2 creator gods and defeating Cipactli (Red Line).

First Sun (Myth)

Following the Fight against Cipactli (Red Line) The 4 Creator Gods Tezcatlipoca (Imu), Quetzalcoatl (Nika), Huitzilopochtli (No one known), and Xipe Totec (No one known) work on making the world, humanity, the 12 heavens, and many other gods. The versions of humans that the 4 gods created for the first world were larger than the modern day humans kind of like giants. These Humans liked to eat Acorns. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) then chose to become the Sun. This Sun during this first world was only a half sun giving off less light. (not clear whether it's because Tezcatlipoca (Imu) was a god of darkness or because of his injury). After 676 years (13 cycles of Aztecs 52 year calendar (Ironically split into 13 20-day months)) Tezcatlipoca (Imu), and Quetzalcoatl (Nika) developed a rivalry. Quetzalcoatl (Nika) then takes a club and knocks Tezcatlipoca (Imu) out of the sky. Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in anger then summon a hoard of Jaguars to kill all of the Larger humans. (In other Versions He just becomes a giant Jaguar instead of summing a bunch) Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is then forced to step down as the Sun.

Connections

• To spread things out I will be Focusing on the connections for Tezcatlipoca (Imu) in this Part and save the connections for Quetzalcoatl (Nika) for the second part and second sun.
  • These 4 creator gods I believe correlate to the 4 gods mention in Skypia by the Shandians. I believe Nika and Imu are among the 4 gods. Imu does have connections to both of the known users of the Nika fruit. Rather then a straight connection to Joy Boy this could be from a connection to the already Established Sun God Nika.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with concepts including the night skys, Hurricanes, Obsidian, and conflict. He was the god of Providence, Invisible and Darkness, and lord of the night. Being associated with conflict can by seen through the multitude of conflict created by the world government and celestial dragons. Being the Invisible could be reverenced to how Imu is only known to the Gorosie. Being a god of darkness, lord of the night, and having a half Sun with diminished light could eluded to Imu's and the celestial Dragons connections to the moon.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) had names such as Titlacauan and Ipalnemoani meaning “We are his slaves” and “He by whom we live" respectively. relating to the Celestial Dragons slave owning connections.
  • The color schemes is another connection with Tezcatlipoca (Imu) being associated with Black as Imu is only every shown so far in Shadow.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is also the guardian of the Nagual a group of human beings capable of shapeshifting. Many Nagual would have the Ability to shapeshift into Animals with some even being able to shapeshift into natural phenomena like lightning, wind, clouds, or fireballs. Nagual seems to be a clear Parallel to the Devil fruits users (Zoans and Logias specifically) and the Gorosie. (dependent they are not Zoan Users)
  • Many sources have Tezcatlipoca (Imu) associated with sorcery mainly over Animism, Divination, and Illusions. He had many associations with evil spirits. After Christianization occurred he was compared to devils and Demons. Easily comparable to how the Gorosie are able to be summon through Pentagrams an ability Imu might share.
  • Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is commonly seen wearing a headdress of featers, flowers, of Flint Knifes which could explain the extreme pointed crown atop Imu's Head.
• Cipactli (Red Line) The Massive Crocodilian-like Monster being the red line is an easy connection and a possible inspiration similar to Jorgmungandr "The world serpent" in Norse Mythology.
  • It could also be that the World government flag could have the 4 circles connected to the 4 Creators Gods with the central circle being Cipactli (Red Line)
• The Giant Humans are a clear parallels to the Giants of One Piece but is also supported since the First and one of only 2 giants with a given name and surname given (unless you include John Giant) is Jaguar D. Saul.
  • Now we all know that Giants are based off of Norse Mythology however Jaguars Are not, they're a South American Species only. So Giants with a connection to Jaguars mostly likely leads us back to Tezcatlipoca (Imu)
• Now I know everyone is wondering why I bothered mentioning that the Giant Humans ate Acorns. Well The One Piece Arc with the most Aztec influence Skypia also has 2 characters with acorns as a major design element Noland and Cricket. I fell this is meant to show that during the earliest parts of the world standard Humans still had some representation. (As snacks)

Possible meaning for the story (Theory Time)

• Imu lived in the era of Nika as well as Joy Boy and Luffy. Imu could still be mortal since Nika is Dead but somehow extended his life Through Youth surgery or Sorcery
• Imu and Nika are meant to be siblings Possibly with 2 other siblings (again might be taken from the myth with 2 creators gods instead of 4). The other 2 Creator Gods don't make a relevant impact on the rest of the 5 Sun Myth. ( yeah I'll mention Huitzilopochtli (No one known) when I get their) The 2 other Sibling may have been killed off possibly kicking off the conflict between Imu and Nika. Or Imu Became a tyrannical leader owning slaves that Nika stopped (Both cases Causing Nika to be worshipped by the Giants)
• These 2 or 4 Siblings were responsible for defeating a massive monster that rather then becoming the world itself just became the Grandline. (Altering the continents.)
• Among the 3 remaining gods mention by the Shandians I see Imu being the Rain God. Since A current prevailing theory is Imu is capable of turning into an UmiBozu, Yokai that are common during storms in the ocean.
  • Another Possible monster Imu could turn into is a Were-Jaguar (Similar concept to Werewolves) one of which is a supernatural rain deity of Olmec Mythology. Olmec (Fun Note: Olmec Means Rubber People) civilization came from the same place as Aztec Civilization but came one generation sooner. Olmec Mythology was associated with and partially adopted by the Aztecs. It would also fit with the myth as Tezcatlipoca (Imu) is said to turn into a giant jaguar (I know the shadow looks more humanoid but Nusjuro's and Jupeter's Didn't look much like there shadows either)
• One Thing we could see in Elbaf Could be some kind of Giant Jaguar Enemies. Or Possibly a Clan of Giants named after Jaguars. Possibly one linked to Imu to Control or thin the population of Giants. Possibly in order to control them this Family would Be Royalty. A mysterious Giant Prince does exist that many already theorize to be the center of a conflict in Elbaf. I Believe Jaguar Loki and the Giants Royal Jaguar Family will be introduced. Jaguar D Saul already mentioned his distain for the other giants of Elbaf seeing them as barbaric and savage, ideals he gained from half of his Family (The other half is D Clan) similar to what many royalty see from the common folk.

Out Takes (not important to myth or the One Piece Story)

I worked Extremely hard On this And although I wanted to Cut down the Massive block of text there were just so many things I wanted to mention that I didn't in the Previous post. I know it's not Likely that many actually read the whole thing, However if you got the gist of what the series of Connection could mean to the story of One Piece I'll be satisfied as I do believe that Everything mentioned Holds up. I intend to continue with the other 4 parts as soon as possible but like with this part there is so much more I want to add to each Part.
If you Guys have any feedback Good or negative please let me know in the comments. I hope to get this Theory spread out to more of the world. Sorry Again for the massive block of Text. Thanks agian for reading it and giving it you time.
Once I have the others parts up I will place links at the bottom of this post to them.
Part 2

dude...i just got rejected...by this girl thats like...the girl of my dreams. For a recap, when i started 9th grade (school year 2022-2023), we were seatmates. We usually didint talk but one time, during a hard leason in maths which was like quadratic equations and stuff. I was struggling hard. I legit was just staring at the activity sheet. After a while she noticed and helped me which brought the start of our friendship. We always talked through chat, sometimes irl, but its mostly through chat. The first few weeks of talking, she usually sent me videos of herself doing math problems that i can watch if i need help. It continued untilthe math lessons didint get hard the following quarters. Summer vacation came, and i thought it would be great. Guess what...IT WASNT. I hate my family, my dad isn't with us, so it was only me(oldest), my mom, my lil brother, and my sister. Me and my siblings are all 3 years apart from age. I dont know why its always me getting scolded back then for the things my siblings do. It was so bad...i wanted to commit suicide. Like, my mental state was not OKAY. I didint know who to cry to, who to talk to. But then, thats when i thought, why not talk to her? So i ranted and ranted and ranted, i wanted to kill myself. I wanna rnd my life. Things were rough and on the outside, i might look tough or emotion less, but in reality. Im just a sensitive loser thats emotional, easily cries, and sucks at everything. I told her i wanted to kill myself. She kept stopping me. And take note, we rarely talk irl because...im too shy yo approach her. Then she said the most out of the blue thing "If you can't find a reason to live, why not make me your reason to live?" IT HIT HARD. I didint know what to say or reply. I just dropped my phone and continued crying in my room. A few days passed, i talked to her again, but i guess that was the wrong day because she was NOT in the mood. Her parents were about to go divorce because of a problem(i cant rlly say). She told me stuff like she already cried abt it and stuff. We were both there for each other. after that talk with her...summer vacation went, just a little smoother. We always get to play games on roblox, because we cant rlly meet up. We always chat from morning till night. It was perfect. Then, 10th grade came(school year 2023-2024). This time, we weren't seatmates. Since we both go to a special school which has a robotics class, and our T.L.E(Technology and Livelihood Education) was specialized on animation. Like, the whole thing was about 2D and 3D animation. Beinh the perfect most smartest person she is (atleast in my eyes) she was assigned the role of 3D animation for her group. After that...we never got to play most of the time...during our mid year break, she was still busy...a few months pass and on the 4th quarter(final quarter) of the school year. THEY ANNOUNCED THAT OUR BATCH WAS HAVING A PROM. So naturally, i was so excited. I immediately invited her and asked if she wanted to go with me. She said she's gonna think about it so I waited. I asked her about 3 weeks before prom. Then when our batch representative announced in the groupchat that since theres more girls that boys in our batch, they made a poll on who wants to volunteer to go individual to prom. SHE IMMEDIATELY WENT SOLO AND VOTED. It kinda hurt...she said she was gonna think about it and well...she went solo. I asked her why she did that and then she said "I wanna go with my other friends", which was okay with me since i have no rights to make her my partner because...well...we weren't a thing yet, and i still havent confessed. After that...a few more weeks pass, and take not of this specific detail: She asked me what my discord was because she said she forgot what my discord name was because she lost count and alot of her discord friends changed names. THEN I REMEMBERED, my discord bio was basically, me telling that i like her and hoping she doesnt find out and stuff. So i immediately change it then send her the screenshot of my discord.
After 1 week, prom night came. I went in a cool looking suit and stuff when it was time for the red carpet... she eas absolutely stunning. Her eyes sparkled, her pink dress was beautiful. In my eyes, shes the one that stood out the most. She went solo for the red carpet...and i did too..i told my self if i wasnt gonna get partnered with her, then im not gonna get partnered with anyone. Our tabled were far apart but i could still see her from the distance. When it was time for the slow dance part of prom. I went outside because well...i wasnt gonna dance with anyone. When i went outside i saw her with her friends. I just passed by and sat near the bench outside of the venue. I didint know what to do but just admire her beauty from afar. She was perfect. As time passed, only a few more minutes were left before prom night ended so i worked up my courage and went to her. I was about to confess but then when i looked at her, my mind went completely blank. Her eyes weren't the ocean, but i still drown...get lost in them. I was panicking on the inside but on the outside, I was just staring at her. Then the moment of silence was broken when she suddenly said "I already know you liked me"...i smiled...then she said "gotta go" as she want back into the venue because her friends were calling her she looked back for a second then shouted "I knew from your discord bio" AND I WAS SHOCKED. Because...after the discord incident...she never distanced herself from me. We kept talking, and one time, she even asked me "Be honest, Do i text badly? Do you feel ignored?" Which was like...dude...bro i love her. I just sat on the bench the whole night thinking about what i should do. After prom, when i got home i immediately texted her and said "sorry for earlier...my mind went black ahahahaha" she said "its okay" then i said "so...uhh...do you like me back...?" She said "sorry i dont feel the same..i wanna keep things platonic" SO THAT SHOOK MY TO MY CORE...it hurt alot. But still, we kept talking, she still didint distance her self.
This is my confession btw: If you ever get this message, it may be because when i confessed to you, I had a lot more to say(i didint confess😭). You made me feel the most special person in the world, for once i felt i wanted and i guess you're the reason for that. I know you might not like me back, and i know I'm probably not even close to your standards, but i just wanted to tell you how i feel about you. Do you know the saying: "you cant love others without loving yourself first." I never believed in that because I never loved myself, but you...I love YOU so much that i forgot what hating myself felt like. You're the reason i catch myself smiling out of nowhere in the middle of the day. You are the sunshine in my thoughts, and the unexpected joy that fills my heart. Every time I think of you, everything seems just a little brighter and a little lighter. You make waking up the best part of the day, seeing you at school always makes me the happiest person on earth...and i really just like you...i hope this won't ruin our friendship, and that things won't get awkward between us.
A few more weeks passed by and it was our moving up. I didint get to go because i was sick. Before that she was showing me a necklace that she found on Instagram then...well...i thought to myself why not buy it. Atleast i can give jer something for moving up. I bought it for her..then thats when fever struck me. I didint get to go to moving up so i just told her about the necklace. Then she said "Oh i wanted to give you something too, a Friendship bracelet." Since we both didint get to see each other for moving up, i just told her..."lets give our gifts for each other next school year" and she said "sureee". After that well..A FEW MORE WEEKS PASSED BY. And i was thinking to myself. I wanna pursue her. I loved her. And like...i dont know how to say it. So i made this whole ass paragraph again.
WHAT I SAID: I've been thinking abt this for a while now...and i really wanna try pursuing you. I know you're still prioritizing ur studies and time with ur fam but, i do wanna try pursuing you, i know that you never felt the same and stuff but like...yk..i guess that's the point? who knows you might fall or maybe feel the same too? I'M NOT FORCING U OR ANYTHING. Just... you're one of the people who made me feel this tingly feeling like, when someone mentions your name or your chat head pops up on my screen..i just get this feeling, it only has ever happened when its about you...i cant really express through words what or how i feel about you...but im POSITIVE..i can show them through my actions. i wanna give you the best hugs you deserve(im rlly into hugs). I wanna get to know you even more, i want to get to share unforgettable experiences with you. You're the first person that just I REALLY WANNA PURSUE AND BE WITH. You are the most perfect person in my eyes...i know perfect people don't exist but your imperfections, your flaws, everything about you...it just makes me go bananas. So...how about...we try it...? Like...trying to learn how to love me too...? ARGH I DONT KNOW MY HANDS R SHAKING AS IM TYPING THIS...i just wanna....be with you...i wanna stay with you and...i dont know what to say anymore...but maybe...just maybe even if its the slightest chance, maybe you'd fall for me too like how i fell for you? I know I'm putting our friendship at risk of awkwardness and stuff and maybe even the end of it...but I'm willing to take those risks for you. I know I'll just get hurt but...can you really experience love if you don't feel pain too?
IM NOT PRESSURING U OR ANYTHING DWWWWW!! dam I yap alot😭 just answer with a yes or no. And i know what to do next. Anyways, iloveuu🫶🏻(?)
I sent it to her after a few hours of procrastinating. She replied a few hours later and this is what she replied.
HER REPLY: Idk, like I said I don't really care, but I don't wanna, and u shouldn't get ur hopes up, liek I said last time, I really don't want to get into a relationship at all, I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings but you did say that you aren't forcing but I don't want to "try" or anything like that, I see you as a friend and only a friend. I appreciate that you think of me that way but I won't be returning those feelings back to you in any point of my life.
IT HURTS. It hit me hard. Its like getting shot straight to the heart. Her reply was the last time we talked to each other(3 days ago). We still havent talked after that. Im legit gonna cry...the first person i actually had feelings for...damn.

I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/blastfromthepast1122 posting in survivinginfidelity
Concluded as per OOP
1 update - Short
Original - 23rd May 2019
Update - 6th March 2020
​
Ex wife drops back into my life after 6 years
​
My ex and I met in college and were madly in love all 4 years in school. Got married after graduation in 2010. In 2013 I caught her in a year plus affair with a coworker. I was crushed. She said they loved each other, soulmates, didn’t mean to hurt anyone, blah blah blah.
We divorced only 3 months later. I was crushed. Worst time in my life. I mourned for over a year. I heard they got married. One day I decided I was tired of being sad so I completely let go of her in my heart, got off my butt and truly moved on.
I’m a programmer by profession and decided to take a pre-sales solutions consultant gig with one of the biggest software companies on the planet. That job has been amazing. I’ve traveled the entire world. Every continent and all the major cities. Life has been a great adventure. I never did date seriously or remarry. I’m not opposed to casual dating and have dated beautiful women all over the globe. After my experience with marriage I decided that wasn’t my path and have been happy. Sometimes lonely, especially during holidays, but overall happy.
I had decided enough traveling for a while so I switched roles and am based in a major city in the U.S. I’m sitting in a diner on a Saturday morning eating breakfast and reading the news, Facebook, Reddit, etc. and somebody says “? Oh my God.” The voice sounded like one of my women friends at work so I looked up to say hi and my jaw dropped. It’s my ex wife.
Here I am 2000+ miles away from our old hometown, haven’t seen her in almost 6 years and there she is. I was dumbstruck. All I could manage was “hi.” I hate to say it but she looked beautiful. She said I looked amazing. She asked if I was busy and that she didn’t want to bother me but that she’d love to talk. I said sure. We ended up talking for over two hours and continued for another couple of hours when we went for a walk in a close by park.
We were making small talk about mutual acquaintances, my stories of traveling the globe. Everything but the elephant in the room. She finally asks me if I had gotten remarried at any point. I said no, once was enough. She seemed sad by that.
We walked in silence for maybe a minute and she said “I have to say that I’m so so sorry for what I did to you. You didn’t deserve it. It was incredibly shitty and has haunted me since it happened. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I said you fell in love with someone else and married them. I couldn’t stop you from doing that. I wanted you to be happy. Then I asked are you happy? She laughed one of those joke laughs “Ha!” She told me the OM and her fought constantly and he ended up cheating on her and leaving her two years into marriage.
I said I’m sorry that happened to you. I know how bad that can hurt. She said she knew. That when her heart was broken all she could think of was that she had done the same thing to me and that tortured her. She said she fell apart for almost a year, engaged in very self-destructive behavior, and then went to therapy to figure out why she’s so screwed up. She said that was extremely helpful and several years ago she finally grew up and holds herself accountable for her own actions now.
She had ended up moving to this city because she has an aunt that she loves that lives there and after her second divorce before age 30 she needed to make big changes in her life. The changes were noticeable. She’s definitely more mature. I had to go and get ready for the evening with friends so we said our goodbyes. We exchanged contact info and agreed to go have coffee and talk more.
We have been doing that. We’re both single. I guess there’s no harm. I can tell she wants more from me. She wants me to want her back. She drops hints as big as the Pacific Ocean. I’m not dumb. I have to admit she still has that certain something that just makes my heart skip a beat. Something I can’t describe. Something I hadn’t found in anyone else since her. I guess it’s chemistry between us.
To be honest I want to be more than friends. I want to hold her and kiss her. She wants that too but as of yet I’ve made zero moves.
What holds me back? Fear. I’m afraid of getting hurt again. If she had been a casual girlfriend that dumped me I would have shook it off and moved on quickly. She wasn’t though. She was my wife and the love of my life. I used to dream of her somehow coming back into my life. Well here it is and I’m scared shitless. I don’t know if I can give her that much of myself again. I’m way more protective of my heart now. We’ve both grown a lot and the past seems like a hundred years ago. If she wasn’t who she is I’d already be head over heels in love.
I struggle with do I pursue love with her again or do I leave the past in the past? It sounds cliche but it just had to be her. Of all the people I could have met here it had to be her.
​
Comments
​
fatboy-slim
Personally....getting back with an ex is like eating your own vomit. Sagas are never good, remember you got divorced a reason beyond your control. Remember the pain you went through. I believe you are in love with the IDEA of her, and not the reality. 2 divorce’s before 30 is a trend.
​
spazzitgoes
I'd keep this as friends only, if that. Who doesn't love romance, but life isn't a romcom. 2 divorces before 30 is a lot of baggage. If he hadn't cheated, they'd still be married - she didn't leave because she still loved you. You only crossed her mind after he did to her what she did to you.
Your life went on a dizzying upward trajectory after the divorce. Hers spiraled down and she lived a depressed, reckless life. She's at the bottom, you're at the top. Why wouldn't she want to be a part of what you have? Despite the problems and therapy one of the best life lessons that never fails is: when people show you who they are, believe them the first time. Good luck.
​
messythehoe
Despite what a lot of people say - fear is not a bad thing. It’s there for a reason. She was “happily” married to you and then casually fell in love w someone else out of an affair and wasted a year of your life. Falling-in-love w your ex college sweetheart, aka maybe your love of life, sounds like a fairy tail, no? But imagine the literal heartbreak of having your heart in pieces again by the same person who broke it in the first place.

OOP: That is my fear. I don’t think I could survive that a second time. It’s been the most traumatic experience of my life to this point.

​
Ash1221m1328
Tell her that. Tell her that’s what’s holding you back.

OOP: We haven’t gotten to that level of intimacy in conversations yet. We’re tiptoeing around where we are, getting close to the “next level” but I sense she’s as scared as I am. I can see the shame and guilt in her eyes. She senses my fear and hesitation. I think at some point soon we both need to lay our cards on the table and start the conversations we’re both thinking about having but haven’t yet. I do appreciate the advice.

​
Update - 10 months later
​
I’ve gotten so many requests for an update. I have one but was hesitant to post because in this sub I’d take a lot of grief.
The update is we got re-married over the Christmas holidays and we’re now pregnant. She has grown a lot as a person. So have I. We’re not kids anymore. We’re in an adult relationship and it’s much better than before. Throw in the chemistry we’ve always had and it’s wonderful. I couldn’t be happier.
I do want to address the accusations that she tracked me down. She didn’t. She had moved to our current city before I did. She really had moved on, went to therapy, and had grown a lot as a person. I just happened to be in that diner. We think it had to be fate or some type of intervening force. Neither of us are religious but the astronomical odds of us running into each other, both single, and in a city neither of us had ever lived in, are hard to ignore. Obviously the universe had a plan for us.
I wish all of you good luck! My only advice is don’t close your heart. You never know who will stroll into your life.
​
Comments
​
lmv123reddit
My friend, the only thing I can say to you is this:
Good luck...hope you know what you doing...
Experience tells me that you are playing with fire.
Well, hope you never need to come back to this sub but it's here if you ever need. May God help you...
​
Datonecatladyukno
My heart says this is beautiful and romantic, my head said this is stupid and foolish. Update is in a year or two op and hopefully we are all wrong
​
I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP.
Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments

I'm young, (15, almost done with my sophomore year to be exact), and I was diagnosed with ADHD and Autism when I was four years old. I've always had a hard time making friends due to this and due to the fact that I was placed in special education for having an early diagnosis which lead to me being isolated from other kids and never learning how to develop friendships.
Ever since I entered middle school, my friendships and friend group became a lot more complicated, (I think this was due to middle school itself, but also COVID played a part in it as well as it started in my 6th grade year). Well basically in 7th grade, I was in a relationship with my best friend, (male, I was female at the time, will get to my gender identity later), and it ended really horribly and we hated each other for the rest of middle school and it tore our friend group apart and some guys that I thought were my friends took his side even though he mentally gaslighted me.
Flash forward to eighth grade, I became a loner, and then a girl, (we will call her Katie), that I didn't know very well, ended up inviting me to sit next her, this led to me meeting a whole new array of people over the course of several months that stretched into high school, (which was also when my ex moved away), and Katie would eventually become my best friend for a while.
So when we get to 10th grade, (this current year), I had decided to take AP Euro as my first AP Class, the year before I had taken honors civics, (we weren't allowed to take AP's in 9th grade), and Katie, seeing that I really struggled to adapt to honors civics, did not want me to do AP euro, but my dad had recommend the course to me and I love history and didn't care for what Katie had to say. So I took the course. Now it's also important to add that I do cross country and I choose to do honors English this year because I did really well in regular English last year. So anyways, I get a C+ on my first test and I feel like shit because it's a map test and everyone else got an A on it. So anyways my parents attempt to talk me out of doing AP Euro, and they are not successful, the next Friday, I had a race and I started crying by the end of the race and I wouldn't stop bailing my eyes out and to make matters worse, this is when my parents decided to sit me down to talk about my grades, they told me that they wanted me to drop honors English and AP euro because it was too much for me while I just sat their crying, anyways they let me go to my room, and I texted Katie and two others girls that I was close with and this guy, (who will be called Stonewall), and none of them responded except for Stonewall, who basically saved my life that night because I was thinking about suicide as a way of getting out of that horrible night, (I have never told him this), anyways I was also thinking about self-harm, which I did the next morning due to the stress I was feeling, anyways when I told Katie that I had self-harmed, she was less than supportive, when she suggested essentially what my parents were saying, drop euro and honors English, and I knowing this would pass, didn't.
I eventually got through and I thought things were fine between me and Katie until I messaged her about us being distant and she told me that I had overwhelmed her by dragging her into my mental health struggles and it was too much for her to deal with and she needed a break from me. This devastated me obviously, and Stonewall once again helped me through it.
Then everything was fine for few months until I found out that she didn't invite me to her birthday party. Thats when I knew, however it wasn't until Valentine's Day when I was told, not by Katie herself but by another friend that she didn't want me to be her friend anymore.
I've been struggling with self-harm ever since because I was kicked out of Katie's friend group and was in the psych ward a few weeks ago for suicidal behavior related to what had happened between us and me feeling lonely as shit.
I honestly don't know what to do anymore, stonewall, another guy and girl are basically all I have left for friends and I just want more friends.
How can I make more friends?
I wanna stop being lonely and feeling like such a loser all the time.