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Corrections facility in Hawaii?
2023.03.21 21:32 seachel44 Corrections facility in Hawaii?
Hi there! I'm a new nurse (2.5 in- all in long term care) and I'm almost finished my first 13-week travel contract in BC, Canada.
My sister is also a nurse and is wanting to join the travel nurse train because she sees how much I've been making. She just sent me some links for travel nursing in Hawaii & asked if I'd be willing to join her. I have no hospital experience & there seems to be no LTC travel postings. I do see some posting for corrections- which is absolutely interesting to me. However, with it being in a different country & on an island - I'm not too sure if I should shoot for something like that. The posting states there is no prior experience required, however, they prefer having experience in the main nursing streams (med/surg, mental health, ltc, etc).
Has anyone worked corrections in Hawaii or just in general in America? Does this sound like a super bad idea? đ¤Ł
Thanks!
submitted by seachel44 to TravelNursing [link] [comments]
My sister is also a nurse and is wanting to join the travel nurse train because she sees how much I've been making. She just sent me some links for travel nursing in Hawaii & asked if I'd be willing to join her. I have no hospital experience & there seems to be no LTC travel postings. I do see some posting for corrections- which is absolutely interesting to me. However, with it being in a different country & on an island - I'm not too sure if I should shoot for something like that. The posting states there is no prior experience required, however, they prefer having experience in the main nursing streams (med/surg, mental health, ltc, etc).
Has anyone worked corrections in Hawaii or just in general in America? Does this sound like a super bad idea? đ¤Ł
Thanks!
2023.03.21 21:30 RideshareHeathen Feedback & Thoughts
Posting here, should anyone look for more feedback than just Steam Reviews.
Played about 11 hours so far, with a few short games and then one that lasted for about 6 hours to see just how far you can get. Even with it being EA, I was pretty impressed. The game caught my eye based on the C&C visuals and vibe and honestly is playing better than some phone Tower Defense games I have tried out. A long game like the one I had was certainly challenging due to the lack of additional research, but I have it wishlisted and will certainly give the game a more in-depth playthrough when there is more to do.
Some thoughts:
Pros:
-Simple game play that might have you losing a few matches at first, but once things can be researched I think it becomes pretty easy to keep growing and expanding.
-While everything is pixeled, the layout and feel is also easy to get used to. It didn't take much to figure out how to build things with some efficiency to keep unlocking more space.
-Pixelation Filter is nice! Feels fun to turn it on and gives that old game vibes, but off the game is pretty clean and sharp looking!
-2x and 4x Speed option is nice and the game doesn't seem to suffer much for it. I know plenty of TD's that just break past 2x speeds, even if they offer higher.
-My Pros list is short as its still EA, but I've already suggested it to a few of my friends as a simple time sink while we have downtime.
Cons/Suggestions:
--The turret audio gets wildly intense at times and I often played with the volume nearly at zero. After several hours on one map, the audio was just a total mess of "under attack/turret lost" and mine + enemy gunfire going rampant. I know this is a hard one to address, but if 30 guns are firing, I would limit that sound clip to only a few playing vs every single one going off.
--When you are placing anything, such as a wall and you accidentally click another object while in placement mode, it deselects that and selects the new thing. If in placement mode, disabling the ability to select something would be clutch. Otherwise, I frequently place a wall, click a turret, have to mouse back to the wall, select it and go back into trying to place it and hope I didnt lose the turret behind it (I did). Then you have to also re-place the turret and run into a similar problem. Later in the game, this is really painful with walls being blown away instantly and trying to replace your defenses. Typically it was just me letting a huge swath of defense getting destroyed, then trying to rebuild it all between waves or after the blob moved on.
--Boss HP bars are nice, at first, but at one point I had I think 6 or 7 and it consumed nearly 50% of my screen, making it difficult to see paths and build things.
--No mass repair option, or even a choice to auto-repair. Being able to toggle that for say, just walls, just turrets, etc, would be really nice. Otherwise, I stopped using the repair at all and just let stuff die and then replaced it. Only really used the repair on my HQ as needed.
-Turrets have the ability to shoot different things based on the priority you choose, but a 'deadliest' or 'boss' first would be neat! I set a pile of turrets to shoot highest HP thinking that would work, but it looked like they would switch to something else after some damage was done, moving to a higher HP unit because it was new in that targeting range. They don't stick to the boss or the bigger threats. Tried this with several settings to see if I could find one to do this, but didn't find one that worked.
-No mass select for turrets. Having to manually select each one to change priorities is a slow, tedious process.
-On the main home page and when loading, the camera shakes/tries to be dynamic in movement but its just really disorienting. It can follow the unit but it swinging around does not feel thematic or needed. Loading a map the cannon fires and the screen zooms in/out at a tilted angle. I think a little wiggle here is okay, but the zooming tilt effect is a bit much.
-No pause feature. Opening the research panel and it pausing would be nice, or an overall option to pause. Its not a huge con and I get why there might not be one. Still, it can be pretty useful. UI: --The UI isn't bad, especially again in EA and really gives that old C&C feel. However, a few things complicate the game:
--No shortcuts for buildings, if you misclick during placement, you have to go re-select it.
--Opening the research window in a game, its always stuck in a weird place with the camera in the upper right. Have to use WASD to reposition it every time. If its going to open in a static place, maybe a zoomed out full view is better, like it is on the main home page. Makes it easier to zoom into what I need to see.
--Text in the research descriptions is all different. Font size is huge for some titles, with tiny red & green text that's a little hard to see. You have to zoom in a good bit to read it clearly. Feels like the description box is a set size and the text is trying to squeeze into that space.
--The 'Expand' button on multiple playthroughs covers building space. Can you make it only pop up when you hover over the dome?
-Not every time, but most my games when I build the Radar, the spot for it still has the silver background, some games its all black.
Huge wall of text, thanks for reading it all if you did! I know the game is EA, but this is going to be something I keep an eye on and I really think its good so far and has tons of potential! Thanks for your hard work and I am looking forward to seeing the direction you take it :D
submitted by RideshareHeathen to TerrytorialDisputes [link] [comments]
Played about 11 hours so far, with a few short games and then one that lasted for about 6 hours to see just how far you can get. Even with it being EA, I was pretty impressed. The game caught my eye based on the C&C visuals and vibe and honestly is playing better than some phone Tower Defense games I have tried out. A long game like the one I had was certainly challenging due to the lack of additional research, but I have it wishlisted and will certainly give the game a more in-depth playthrough when there is more to do.
Some thoughts:
Pros:
-Simple game play that might have you losing a few matches at first, but once things can be researched I think it becomes pretty easy to keep growing and expanding.
-While everything is pixeled, the layout and feel is also easy to get used to. It didn't take much to figure out how to build things with some efficiency to keep unlocking more space.
-Pixelation Filter is nice! Feels fun to turn it on and gives that old game vibes, but off the game is pretty clean and sharp looking!
-2x and 4x Speed option is nice and the game doesn't seem to suffer much for it. I know plenty of TD's that just break past 2x speeds, even if they offer higher.
-My Pros list is short as its still EA, but I've already suggested it to a few of my friends as a simple time sink while we have downtime.
Cons/Suggestions:
--The turret audio gets wildly intense at times and I often played with the volume nearly at zero. After several hours on one map, the audio was just a total mess of "under attack/turret lost" and mine + enemy gunfire going rampant. I know this is a hard one to address, but if 30 guns are firing, I would limit that sound clip to only a few playing vs every single one going off.
--When you are placing anything, such as a wall and you accidentally click another object while in placement mode, it deselects that and selects the new thing. If in placement mode, disabling the ability to select something would be clutch. Otherwise, I frequently place a wall, click a turret, have to mouse back to the wall, select it and go back into trying to place it and hope I didnt lose the turret behind it (I did). Then you have to also re-place the turret and run into a similar problem. Later in the game, this is really painful with walls being blown away instantly and trying to replace your defenses. Typically it was just me letting a huge swath of defense getting destroyed, then trying to rebuild it all between waves or after the blob moved on.
--Boss HP bars are nice, at first, but at one point I had I think 6 or 7 and it consumed nearly 50% of my screen, making it difficult to see paths and build things.
--No mass repair option, or even a choice to auto-repair. Being able to toggle that for say, just walls, just turrets, etc, would be really nice. Otherwise, I stopped using the repair at all and just let stuff die and then replaced it. Only really used the repair on my HQ as needed.
-Turrets have the ability to shoot different things based on the priority you choose, but a 'deadliest' or 'boss' first would be neat! I set a pile of turrets to shoot highest HP thinking that would work, but it looked like they would switch to something else after some damage was done, moving to a higher HP unit because it was new in that targeting range. They don't stick to the boss or the bigger threats. Tried this with several settings to see if I could find one to do this, but didn't find one that worked.
-No mass select for turrets. Having to manually select each one to change priorities is a slow, tedious process.
-On the main home page and when loading, the camera shakes/tries to be dynamic in movement but its just really disorienting. It can follow the unit but it swinging around does not feel thematic or needed. Loading a map the cannon fires and the screen zooms in/out at a tilted angle. I think a little wiggle here is okay, but the zooming tilt effect is a bit much.
-No pause feature. Opening the research panel and it pausing would be nice, or an overall option to pause. Its not a huge con and I get why there might not be one. Still, it can be pretty useful. UI: --The UI isn't bad, especially again in EA and really gives that old C&C feel. However, a few things complicate the game:
--No shortcuts for buildings, if you misclick during placement, you have to go re-select it.
--Opening the research window in a game, its always stuck in a weird place with the camera in the upper right. Have to use WASD to reposition it every time. If its going to open in a static place, maybe a zoomed out full view is better, like it is on the main home page. Makes it easier to zoom into what I need to see.
--Text in the research descriptions is all different. Font size is huge for some titles, with tiny red & green text that's a little hard to see. You have to zoom in a good bit to read it clearly. Feels like the description box is a set size and the text is trying to squeeze into that space.
--The 'Expand' button on multiple playthroughs covers building space. Can you make it only pop up when you hover over the dome?
-Not every time, but most my games when I build the Radar, the spot for it still has the silver background, some games its all black.
Huge wall of text, thanks for reading it all if you did! I know the game is EA, but this is going to be something I keep an eye on and I really think its good so far and has tons of potential! Thanks for your hard work and I am looking forward to seeing the direction you take it :D
2023.03.21 21:30 n0mad1o1 M4F an adventure in a galaxy far far away (Star Wars rp)
Hey guys! Letâs pretty much get right into it, i would like this be our own adventure meaning our own characters. I just find it more interesting to have our own personal characters that we made to fit in this huge universe that doesnât mean we cant have existing characters appear in the rp, we totally can ! ( even if itâll be complicated with one of the time period I chose ) We can come up with your character together if you want. This will be our adventure with like I said with our own characters, we can create our own crew, adventure around the galaxy.
The options are :
My first idea is that weâre set in a period called the high republic, itâs set roughly 250 years before episode 1 and we donât know a ton about that time period so itâs perfect if you havenât watched absolutely everything that came out. What we do know is that itâs considered the golden age of jedis, the republic was still somewhat young and the outer rim not fully a part of the republic with some parts being still unexplored. The Jedi were really considered as knights reflected in their more intricately designed and colorful lightsabers and robes. The main threat at that time were space pirates that could destroy ships in light speed lanes and terrorize the people. You will be free to play anyone you desire, a sith, a pirate, a bounty hunter, another jedi maybe have a secret romance story between two jedi itâs all up to what we set up. Since itâs a time period we donât know a ton about we can world build a bit and come up with what we desire
The second idea is we're set after order 66 most of the jedis have been killed off, i would play a surviving Jedi in hiding. We could also form a crew along the story, once again your character can be whatever you want it be . For this i had Star Wars rebels or Jedi fallen order type of feel to this rp. It's also the setting i have most knowledge of.
Third idea is simply you propose something to me and weâll figure out a setting together thatâs totally fine by me. Iâd be down for anything from old republic to after episode 6
Little word about me Iâm 21 i live in CEST time zone, most of the people I rp with are from the us so its not an issue ( i know most people on here are from the us ). I only rp on discord nowhere else and prefer first person but third is doable as well. This will be a sfw rp, flirting , romance is all fine of course but nothing more fade to black works for me. I am semi literate to literate basically no one liners please thats all Iâm asking for lol.
Soo if you read through this mess of a post i guess youâre at least a little interested ? It is still very rough but i think it can be super fun so if you want to set this up hit me up and we can get started
submitted by n0mad1o1 to RoleplayPartnerSearch [link] [comments]
The options are :
My first idea is that weâre set in a period called the high republic, itâs set roughly 250 years before episode 1 and we donât know a ton about that time period so itâs perfect if you havenât watched absolutely everything that came out. What we do know is that itâs considered the golden age of jedis, the republic was still somewhat young and the outer rim not fully a part of the republic with some parts being still unexplored. The Jedi were really considered as knights reflected in their more intricately designed and colorful lightsabers and robes. The main threat at that time were space pirates that could destroy ships in light speed lanes and terrorize the people. You will be free to play anyone you desire, a sith, a pirate, a bounty hunter, another jedi maybe have a secret romance story between two jedi itâs all up to what we set up. Since itâs a time period we donât know a ton about we can world build a bit and come up with what we desire
The second idea is we're set after order 66 most of the jedis have been killed off, i would play a surviving Jedi in hiding. We could also form a crew along the story, once again your character can be whatever you want it be . For this i had Star Wars rebels or Jedi fallen order type of feel to this rp. It's also the setting i have most knowledge of.
Third idea is simply you propose something to me and weâll figure out a setting together thatâs totally fine by me. Iâd be down for anything from old republic to after episode 6
Little word about me Iâm 21 i live in CEST time zone, most of the people I rp with are from the us so its not an issue ( i know most people on here are from the us ). I only rp on discord nowhere else and prefer first person but third is doable as well. This will be a sfw rp, flirting , romance is all fine of course but nothing more fade to black works for me. I am semi literate to literate basically no one liners please thats all Iâm asking for lol.
Soo if you read through this mess of a post i guess youâre at least a little interested ? It is still very rough but i think it can be super fun so if you want to set this up hit me up and we can get started
2023.03.21 21:29 LeVraiRoiDHyrule Beginner in OpenWRT : Can't set Adguard home as my DNS for all my networks
Hi,
I am new to OpenWRT and managed to have my network configured as well as a guest network. Now I'm trying to put everything behind Adguard Home. I tried to follow this guide : https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-useservices/dns/adguard-home#installation
But after doing so I have 2 problems :
I made a post about this with my whole config : https://forum.openwrt.org/t/adguard-home-as-my-primary-dns-doesnt-work-for-guests/155083
By the way, I am new to OpenWRT so if you see errors or bad things in my config, or have tips to improve it, I'm very interested.
Thanks in advance for any answer, have a great day
submitted by LeVraiRoiDHyrule to openwrt [link] [comments]
I am new to OpenWRT and managed to have my network configured as well as a guest network. Now I'm trying to put everything behind Adguard Home. I tried to follow this guide : https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-useservices/dns/adguard-home#installation
But after doing so I have 2 problems :
- The guest network no longer have DNS access (so no internet)
- OpenWRT doesn't have internet access (so it can't download opkg packages for example)
I made a post about this with my whole config : https://forum.openwrt.org/t/adguard-home-as-my-primary-dns-doesnt-work-for-guests/155083
By the way, I am new to OpenWRT so if you see errors or bad things in my config, or have tips to improve it, I'm very interested.
Thanks in advance for any answer, have a great day
2023.03.21 21:29 TinkerSquirrels Does it ever make sense to intentionally not pay accounts in good standing?
I mean from a strategic sense, not a moral one.
Helping a friend who lost their job (and other stuff), has some cash for now, and has things kind of falling apart put has a plan. But there's an aspect I'm not sure of.
They've kept the most important stuff (car payment, rent, etc) up to date, along with some smalleolder cards. About 8 mid-sized CC's and unsecured loans (total about $50K) is between 30 days and starting collections. Then on the top end though, they have about $20K with Discover (not sure if it's a loan or CC) and $10K on another CC -- but both offered very good hardship terms, like $50 /month for a year with Discover, so they are in good standing for now.
Their credit is already in the 400's, and they plan to use some cash and future employment to settle those unpaid accounts hopefully by end of year, and I know you can often get that done for 25-50% of the value. (They really don't want collections ongoing, and to get a hard clock on when it will stop.) Then rebuild from there better, and all that.
The part I'm not sure about is the two large accounts currently in good standing (and opened more recently). Since the massive credit hit is already happening, would it make the most strategic sense to pile it all on together and:
a) stop paying these, let them go to collections/suit, and then (try to) settle for a much smaller amount? (vs long term cost paying them for much more more than face value with interest, etc...and risk of possible future credit hit/restarts if they can't afford it, say, next year)
b) or is there some way to offer a cash settlement to an account in good standing (but on a hardship plan, etc) and skip the not paying steps? (ie. if they get a job, and save up $10K, and then offer to Discover as before the plan is over next year)
Thanks! And apologies if I missed this in the flowcharts and other posts. This part isn't what I'm familiar with, mainly have helped others just dealing with the "after its done" cleanup/forward.
submitted by TinkerSquirrels to CRedit [link] [comments]
Helping a friend who lost their job (and other stuff), has some cash for now, and has things kind of falling apart put has a plan. But there's an aspect I'm not sure of.
They've kept the most important stuff (car payment, rent, etc) up to date, along with some smalleolder cards. About 8 mid-sized CC's and unsecured loans (total about $50K) is between 30 days and starting collections. Then on the top end though, they have about $20K with Discover (not sure if it's a loan or CC) and $10K on another CC -- but both offered very good hardship terms, like $50 /month for a year with Discover, so they are in good standing for now.
Their credit is already in the 400's, and they plan to use some cash and future employment to settle those unpaid accounts hopefully by end of year, and I know you can often get that done for 25-50% of the value. (They really don't want collections ongoing, and to get a hard clock on when it will stop.) Then rebuild from there better, and all that.
The part I'm not sure about is the two large accounts currently in good standing (and opened more recently). Since the massive credit hit is already happening, would it make the most strategic sense to pile it all on together and:
a) stop paying these, let them go to collections/suit, and then (try to) settle for a much smaller amount? (vs long term cost paying them for much more more than face value with interest, etc...and risk of possible future credit hit/restarts if they can't afford it, say, next year)
b) or is there some way to offer a cash settlement to an account in good standing (but on a hardship plan, etc) and skip the not paying steps? (ie. if they get a job, and save up $10K, and then offer to Discover as before the plan is over next year)
Thanks! And apologies if I missed this in the flowcharts and other posts. This part isn't what I'm familiar with, mainly have helped others just dealing with the "after its done" cleanup/forward.
2023.03.21 21:29 Who_What_Where_1406 Advice Needed: Cat Parents Broke Up
Joining Reddit specifically to get advice about this since it's tearing me up inside. My boyfriend of 7 years and I recently mutually broke up. Though it was mutual, I am doing objectively better than he is post-break up. I have 2 wonderful cats that I am the legal owner of. They were just mine for 2 years before my ex-bf and I initially moved in together 3 years ago (so I've owned them 5 years). After my ex-bf and I moved in together, we have considered ourselves co-parents and call ourselves Mom and Dad.
Fast-forward to 1.5 years ago, I left our home to travel for 1.5 years and he took over care of the cats for that period of time. I've now returned home, and was planning to take the cats with me when I move out to the west coast (he's staying in the midwest). We both want the cats and we both want what's best for each other so we're at an impasse as to what to do.
Other relevant information: I'm carrying a lot of guilt about how hard of a time my ex is having post-breakup. He's very depressed and I feel I ruined his life. Taking away the cats, who have been a large part of his support system, feels cruel. His mom died several years ago and his remaining family (dad and sister) aren't very supportive. I, his friends, my family, and the cats have been his main support.
Even more relevant information: my ex-bf is more readily set up to care for the cats. I do travel for pleasure and sometimes for work. I do everything in my power to give them the best care, but knowing my ex doesn't leave home that often is making me feel even more guilty, that I would put the cats through a cross-country move and ask them to settle in to a new home and then be gone a few times a year for 1-2 weeks at a time.
On the other hand, the cats are my babies and I love them more than I can express. Thinking about giving them up makes me sob uncontrollably, as I have been doing for days.
This is a lot and is probably chaotic to read but that's the current state of my brain. I would just love some perspective, it feels like there's no solution that isn't going to kill me inside.
submitted by Who_What_Where_1406 to cats [link] [comments]
Fast-forward to 1.5 years ago, I left our home to travel for 1.5 years and he took over care of the cats for that period of time. I've now returned home, and was planning to take the cats with me when I move out to the west coast (he's staying in the midwest). We both want the cats and we both want what's best for each other so we're at an impasse as to what to do.
Other relevant information: I'm carrying a lot of guilt about how hard of a time my ex is having post-breakup. He's very depressed and I feel I ruined his life. Taking away the cats, who have been a large part of his support system, feels cruel. His mom died several years ago and his remaining family (dad and sister) aren't very supportive. I, his friends, my family, and the cats have been his main support.
Even more relevant information: my ex-bf is more readily set up to care for the cats. I do travel for pleasure and sometimes for work. I do everything in my power to give them the best care, but knowing my ex doesn't leave home that often is making me feel even more guilty, that I would put the cats through a cross-country move and ask them to settle in to a new home and then be gone a few times a year for 1-2 weeks at a time.
On the other hand, the cats are my babies and I love them more than I can express. Thinking about giving them up makes me sob uncontrollably, as I have been doing for days.
This is a lot and is probably chaotic to read but that's the current state of my brain. I would just love some perspective, it feels like there's no solution that isn't going to kill me inside.
2023.03.21 21:23 Argly902 FAQ and Questions Megathread (Read before posting, gacha pulls after day 1 belong in the gacha megathread)
Please give the FAQ below a read, as well as the guide (also linked at the top/side) to see if your question is addressed. If your question remains unanswered, then feel free to comment here or make a separate post if your problem warrants deeper discussion.
Gacha pulls are allowed for the first day, after that pull screenshots should go in the associated megathread
Original Resources Thread
FAQ (Updated Mar 2023)
submitted by Argly902 to ShenheMains [link] [comments]
Gacha pulls are allowed for the first day, after that pull screenshots should go in the associated megathread
Original Resources Thread
FAQ (Updated Mar 2023)
- Who is Shenhe even?
- Cryo polearm, from Liyue. Disciple of Cloud Retainer, and from the family line of exorcists that Chongyun is part of. Either she had an undisclosed sibling that was Chongyun's mother, or she's Chongyun's mother's cousin. But either way she's technically his aunt. Because weird Chinese definitions. Lore Spoilers: Her father went crazy trying to bring back her deceased mother, discovered a sus ritual, sacrificed his own kid for it, only for the kid to throw hands with the summoned demon until she get rescued by the adepti. So she got cursed, causing her to be ceaselessly violent killing machine. Adepti throw binding ropes on her, so now she's just doom slayer. Lives in the mountains with the adepti. Due to traveler and story progression shenanigans, she's now trying to get used to living in society. Probably one of the strongest beings in Teyvat aside from the archons.
- Is Shenhe good? tl;dr Yes, but mostly for cryo teams
- She's good for what she does, with the caveat being that what she does is very narrow in scope. She's a dedicated cryo buffer, with marginal support benefits for physical comps. Generally, she's perfect for Ayaka, a mainstay for any less meta cryo dps comps like Chongyun infusion or Rosaria reverse melt. You may be wondering where she stands in terms of Ganyu teams, and the harsh truth is that Ganyu teams need every support slot they can get, requiring shields, anemo VV, hydro applicators, melt enablers, etc. That said, she can work in some freeze teams (eg. Particularly with kokomi) and in melt teams if you're a fighting game reflex nut who never gets hit and doesn't need a shielder.
- Should I pull for Shenhe? tl;dr Yes. Probably. Unless you shouldn't. Very helpful, I know.
- Since you're in this sub, the answer is going to be yes. But in actuality, this is a gacha game. As a veteran of several gacha games, you're going to be happiest rolling for what you like. If you have your eye on her for purely gameplay functionality, it's best to evaluate what teams you would use her on, what weapons you have available, and the opportunity cost (future banners). What I'd like to note is that she's future-proof in some capacity, as any cryo dps they give us in the future will likely be able to use her. Right now, she's great if you use Ayaka for everything.
- What is her role in a team? tl;dr Damage buffs, debuffs for cryo
- Her kit revolves around team buffs and resistance down on enemies. A true support type at first glance. If your team does a lot of cryo damage, she can add a bunch more damage. She's not the most reliable cryo support for pure element application, since her burst is high energy cost and she's not exceptionally good at generating particles and being her own battery. Some benefits for physical teams, but for the most part she's a hard sell since she's got a high burst cost and isn't that great of a battery.
- Can she be used as dps? tl;dr Yes, but it's not that great
- Any character can be used as dps, but don't expect much from Shenhe in that department. There is nothing stopping you from using a physical or cryo crit setup on her, but her kit doesn't enable her to personally deal consistent damage over time like Diluc/Ganyu or burst dps like Raiden/Ayaka. Theoretically she can use Chongyun to unload all her quills quickly, but the result would be the same with any other infusion-capable character.
- What weapons are best on her? tl;dr Calamity, Engulfing, Skyward, Wavebreaker, Fav
- Most 5 star weapons are good choices, along with weapons such as wavebreaker fin or even royal spear for their above average base atk for their rarity. Her burst and high cooldowns on her skill demands some energy recharge, which can be achieved through favonious lance or skyward spine. For dps setups, a selection from pike, primordial jade spear, blackcliff, homa, deathmatch, lithic is going to be solid. Essentially, you're looking at engulfing lightning and calamity queller as the premium options, with skyward, homa, jade spear, wavebreaker as the second tier. Favonious is the generally accepted budget option, solving both energy problems and featuring relatively high base atk for a 4 star weapon.
- Which artifact sets should I farm? tl;dr 2pc atk% sets, or noblesse
- Due to her wanting a lot of atk, you'll want 2pc glad/shimenawa or other 2 set attack bonus sets with as much atk% as you can get your hands on, with ER sprinkled in as needed. If your team lacks a noblesse 4pc holder, that is also a good, if not the best option, especially for Ayaka teams. If you're one of the enthusiasts going for a dps build, then your best bet is likely blizzard strayer with your usual balance of crit and atk, or a physical build with pale flame and/or bloodstained.
- What stats should I aim for on artifacts? tl;dr atk%, ER
- As a support, Shenhe needs 2 things and 2 things only: attack and energy recharge. For maximum damage, ATK% mainstat on every piece possible, with flat attack and energy recharge substats. However, using an ER sands is perfectly fine if it allows you to burst off cooldown. If using favonius spear, try and get a few critical chance substats so you can proc the passive quickly without disrupting your rotation too much.
- Should I roll for constellations? tl;dr No. But C2 if you want.
- Due to how cooldowns in a continuous rotation work, C1 is fairly low value. However, it's a nice QoL constellation to add some extra frontloaded damage and energy. C2 is a significant burst duration increase, which improves uptime and allows her to use up her own quills in single target, although it's slow. If you're not a heavy spender, it's better to invest your rolls in a new character instead of marginal improvements for the current one. Among 5 stars, Shenhe's constellations are not particularly impactful. For enthusiasts, C2 is a good place to stop. If you're whaling for C3 and beyond, I'd imagine you know what you're doing. If we ever get a dps cryo catalyst, C6 could be extremely strong, but that shouldn't be a consideration for 99% of players.
- Which talents should I level? tl;dr E>Q>Normal
- Currently for a support build, her skill takes priority, followed by burst and then normal attacks. A DPS build would depend on the team and build, but generally it would require investment into all 3 talents
2023.03.21 21:23 throwawaylurker012 Everything Everywhere All At Once: The Citadel Big 3 and how Citadelâs sphere of influence has its fingers stuck not just in the stock market, but the municipal/bond market and sovereign debt/sovereign debt credit default swaps to dangerous degree
 | TL;DR: Citadel doesn't just have a major outsized influence in the US stock market via its market making firm/hedge fund, but also a major indirect influence via Headlands (biggest municipal bond trading firm made of 3 ex-Citadel employees), and direct influence on sovereign debt (can decide when sovereign credit default swaps pay out) with its seat on the CDDC (Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee). submitted by throwawaylurker012 to Superstonk [link] [comments] Hi yâall. Been some while since have been able to post regularly here, so Iâm returning alongside my recent post on FHLB with a bit of a âDD". Partial rush job, so all errors are mine and mine alone (obviously) 0. Sphere of InfluenceOver the past 84 years (/s), you lovely apes at Superstonk have been able to fish out many of the finer points of corruption crystallized into pure, unadulterated financial terrorism and financial terrorist-level crime undertaken by Steve Cohen (Point 72), Jeff Yass (Susquehanna), Doug Cifu & Vincent Viola (Virtu), as well as Wolverine Trading, Jane Street, TwoSigma, and more. But, of course, much of it has centered on our Mayo-artist-in-residence and his firm, that of none other but Ken Griffin and Citadel. One of the biggest finds that has come to light has been the complete and utter bullshit of having (1) a hedge fund and (2) owning a market making firm that most DEFINITELY does not use that non-public information to its benefit? I mean, it would be easy for us to check except that we need 5 swipes to even access that level of inner sanctum at Citadel, whichâper DLauerâs wordsâis more than the fucking Pentagon. But despite Ken Griffinâs reach into every aspect of the most influential stock market in the world, that is not his ONLY level of influence. For we, dear apes, can step back and revisit this idea that Citadelâs power duo (its market making firm and hedge fund) is more like a single part of a Big 3. 1. Meet the Big 3Citadelâs sphere of influence includes not JUST (1) the stock market business, but directly or indirectly, the (2) U.S. municipal and bond markets, plus (3) the sovereign debt/sovereign debt credit default swap markets. Yes, you heard that right. Citadel not only has some sufficient level of influence to tank your favorite stockâand, in turnâretirement fund, but can also effectively drive your city into the fucking ground, or even your country. Iâve written about each of these at length, and wanted to revisit some pieces in the wake of our recent dick twitchings of the coming financial crash. 2. Meet the Municipal Bond MarketCitadel has an indirect grip tickling the taint of the municipal bond market, believe it or not. I first wrote about the municipal bond market here (âHeadlands: How ex-Mayo mercenaries copy pasted Citadelâs model in the muni bond marketâ): https://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/sy6ubj/headlands_how_exmayo_mercenaries_copy_pasted/. For those unfamiliar with municipal bonds, Iâll reiterate what they are and why many push them as a safe investment: âMunicipal bonds (or "munis" for short) help towns/cities raise money for projects like building schools, parks, and fixing highways. Many retail investors--admittedly, on the wealthier side--invest in munis for tax incentives like not paying federal tax on bond returns. In certain cases, certain muni buys also mean no state taxes are paidâŚJust like what had happened to stocks, the old-school market for buying and selling muni bonds is going electronic. This is mainly done through an ATS, or "alternative trading system" known also as a dark pool. This speeds up the process of buying and selling munis, making it closer to a "house auction".In the wake of the SVB (Silicon Valley Bank), there have already been rumblings of its effect on the municipal bond market (Bloomberg âBank Woes Create Bond Bargain in Obscure Corner of Muni Marketâ): âInvestor concerns over the crises within the financial industry are bleeding into a corner of the $4 trillion municipal-bond market where major investment banks guarantee energy for public utilitiesâŚ. 3. San Jose, Revisited That part about âlarge institutional banksâ acting as facilitators of the transactions is what we saw in part in this post by [redacted]. https://preview.redd.it/5pp1500xi5pa1.png?width=1128&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4f48ce1f6d11fff15d44cc47b2174882e34eb03 A commenter spoke about this, and how it wasnât Wells Fargo in doo doo but the city of San Jose. âI believe in theses cases itâs not Wells Fargo that has a problem but the city of San JosĂŠ. âBecause presentments are currently processed automatically at DTC, IPAs have the option to refuse to pay (âRTPâ) for maturing MMI Obligations to protect against the possibility that an IPA may not be able to fund settlement because it has not received funds from the relevant issuer. â -> Wells Fargo didnât receive the money from San JosĂŠ city. In this case, we might be seeing one of the first of MANY issues of cities up shitâs creek over this. 4. The Municipal Bond Market Time BombThe size of the municipal market is A SHIT TON BIGGER than the corporate bond market, which will already show even more signs of being turbo fucked due to borrowing at low interest rates for years. Hereâs the size of the municipal bond market for scale, sans banana: https://preview.redd.it/9pcmm2c9j5pa1.png?width=760&format=png&auto=webp&s=869c0863c6ecc788c29d6dbe37da76521a700d1e Unfortunately, just like retirement funds, many muni investors are âbuy and holdâ: they buy a muni expecting a safe, long-term return with no federal income tax and then, welp, shit hits the fan. The market is heavily illiquid too, meaning if shit needs to move, then you might be fucked. Only about 1% of municipal securities trade any given day, in auctions that often take HOURS: âNow, the primary method of trading on this doesn't look like the New York Stock Exchange or like Nasdaq. It looks like an auction. It takes about 4 hours. An auction is initiated. Participants who come in can bid on this, and it is a competitive auction that yields a very good price.â Now to my understanding you canât short these bonds, but the long time frame means its hard to sell these illiquid assets. Not only that, THERE IS NO NATIONAL NBBO (National Best Bid Offer)...youâre flying blind while this shit happens. Now if youâre wondering what magnanimous souls are helping municipal bonds be sold or fixed in a timely manner for cities like San Jose, well have I got news for you. 5. Meet Headlands, U.S. Municipal/Bond Market Making FirmâŚRun by 3 Ex-Citadel EmployeesTwo months after the sneeze (March 2021), TD Ameritrade bought municipal bond market maker Headlands. Yes, thatâs rightâŚan electronic market maker just like Citadel, this time for bonds for cities and towns vs. stocks. Now letâs check the fine fellows that run this: https://preview.redd.it/i1jnj88bj5pa1.png?width=1886&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6ea375e929a247f0b9618fed703ef519561a6a2
Of note, Matthew Andresen founded Island, one of the 1st dark pools EVER and 2nd only to âInstinetâ (who also got an even bigger wave of funds during the sneeze, info courtesy of Ringing Bells) and was featured heavily in the Scott Patterson book âDark Poolsâ. https://preview.redd.it/ibr2d9xcj5pa1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=ea86240da04d87d28dd9561b4afdb13d600de764 Ol Matty told us that Headlands is completely automated, and where some muni traders make 75-100 muni bond sales a day (sometimes over the phone), Headlands currently bids on 10,000+ bond auctions a day with its algo. Matty Boi even said if that number ever 10xâd âwe wouldnât notice.â Even more sus, Headlands has been growing its own âholdingsâ of muni bonds on its books. 6. In Bros We Trust So remember, this branch of 3 ex-Citadel bros is front and center to the issues already rearing their head. In my previous post, these were just SOME of the already teetering municipal bond issues:
https://preview.redd.it/s8wqbdtej5pa1.png?width=1217&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2ee309462354293b1a4907d0966889bd841089f
7. HurricaneWhat began this rabbit hole was the one and only welp 0 0 7, who caught wind of some fuckery in the municipal bond market: https://preview.redd.it/rsul8xsmj5pa1.png?width=1324&format=png&auto=webp&s=f593d8b9d18e962df50609ba114d0b7093c0cdaf In the post, he mentioned how "American Thinker" 's Joseph Lawler mentioned the SEC has been giving fucking STIFF Heismans nonstop (or per [redacted] the ol' Dustin Martin "don't argues" for you Aussie apes!) on FOIA requests (Freedom of Information Act) related to the municipal bond default in Puerto Rico, the BIGGEST bond default in America's history EVER. https://preview.redd.it/te7m9b5pj5pa1.png?width=782&format=png&auto=webp&s=72fccaee202099011c280636e1501bd570544a2c You see, because this level of municipal bond includes fuckery includes not just cities and towns, but U.S. TERRITORIES. In my post about Hurricane Mariaâs effect on Puerto Rico, I talked about how UBS and others loaded up Puerto Rico with debt because of whatâs called a âTreasury Putâ guarantee that was even called âan exit strategyâ for banks (âThey describe the "treasury put" as "...the implicit guarantee -- as perceived by investors -- from a government agency to provide support in the event of financial distress by the issuer of Puerto Rican bonds."â). Puerto Ricoâs default was the largest in US history, EVER. And all this the same while guess who was holding the bag? Letâs see what W S O P tells us: âThe reality is that a large percentage of Puerto Ricoâs debt is held in tax-free municipal bonds and municipal bond mutual funds, owned not by Wall Street banks or tycoons, but by mom and pop investors seeking tax-free income.â https://preview.redd.it/1a2vz6brj5pa1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=529db6c15522fd84560746523f76bc180207a496 So once again, whether its retirement funds or municipal bonds, its retail caught holding the bag. And this hasn't changed for years. Weâve seen similar fuckery with bonds for NYC in the 70s, and more recently in the 00s for Detroit. One astute wrinkle by the name of [redacted] posted this on that original post trying to dig into how it could all be related: âŚhow the MMLF fund that expanded money/credit to towns/cities started including commercial paperâŚbut also leveraged near the 15 to 1 ratio perhaps under the Net Capital Requirement limit: 8. Don't Bet Against America...Says the Banks and Hedge Funds That Already DidCommercial Paper? Municipals related? Now where does that sound familiar? Ah, yesâŚthe city of San Jose got its call-out by Wells Fargo over COMMERCIAL PAPER. This comes as the push for ppl into municipal bond markets continues, trying to sell it as a âsafe havenâ to retail investors. Vanguard just recently launched its first ETFâsurprise, its first US-listed ETF in 2 yearsâ for municipal bonds (selling point: âhey everyone itâs tax-exempt! Give us money plz!â) for example: https://preview.redd.it/1v8qrfctj5pa1.png?width=1780&format=png&auto=webp&s=8e15ea68094ecdc212a18677fa1966158e362134 Many of us can see all of it for what it is. Bullshit. In the wake of the SVB collapse, there is still a strong push that these regional banksâmany of which lend to municipalitiesâwill be fine. This âsafe havenâ theory continues, even as articles try to have them appeal abroad (such as a few days ago, â ESG Factors of Munis May Attract Non-US Investorsâ âhttps://www.marketsmedia.com/esg-factors-of-munis-may-attract-non-us-investors/â) Even further, one last find is that . I mean itâs not like credit default swaps can be taken on cities and towns in theory right? FWIW also I found an interesting research paper talking about hedge funds buying up credit default swaps, and how they could potentially bankrupt towns/municipalities through some of these moves if they wanted: https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/8264/MingJieWangCreditDefaultS.pdf?sequence=2 **** This is all while we have 3 ex-Citadel heads in charge of just how the municipal bond market moves, like that of San Jose. So is this where Citadelâs reach stops? Clearly, no. It doesnât stop at the US border, just like how Mayo Force One doesnât. 10. ELI5: Whatâs a Soverign Credit Default Swap? https://preview.redd.it/x5z73ef9k5pa1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=e3f0155a2015cecae29d739aca7729e44565566f Thatâs right, mofos. You read that sub-header right. In case youâre wondering, not only can you take out credit default swaps on a failing Swiss bank like CS, but you can do so ON ENTIRE FUCKING COUNTRIES. In one of my old posts âSovereign Debts & Ransom Notes: Pt. 1 The Importance of Being Non-Linearly Destabilized through Sovereign Credit Default Swapsâ (âhttps://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/t35rdi/sovereign_debts_ransom_notes_pt_1_the_importance/â), I talked a little more about the insanity of these things even existing. Sovereign credit default swaps exist. Long story short: sovereign credit default swaps are insurance policies that if a country defaults (usually on its debt)then you get paid! Like many other shit that weâve seen in the GME saga, they are a form of financial derivative (a bet that something goes up, a bet that something goes down) on an underlying (the thing youâre betting on)....They can be used to insure government debt for a country in case that country is unable to pay its debt, for example. However, just like other instruments, naked sovereign credit default swaps also exist. Naked sovereign credit default swaps are used to bet that a country or a country's debt will fail without you owning that country's debt. In part, they were destabilising during the Euro-crisis immediately after the 2008 financial crash. Greece was one of the countries that got naked shorted in 2008. In fact, the country got shorted so bad they were worried about fucking SHORT SQUEEZES on Greek debt and the sovereign CDSs! There were a tons of perhaps âwe will see soonâ if relevant additional points in that old research, including:
https://preview.redd.it/6fp1njsck5pa1.png?width=1295&format=png&auto=webp&s=0ea74b772735a79d5aca4b0d41a658231435dd8f
Crazy shit. So you might say, now this post is meant to be about Citadelâs sphere of influence you might say? âWhere does Citadel fit into all this? â 11. Meet the CDDC (Credit Derivatives Determination Committee)...Where Citadel Sit and Helps Decide Which Countries Default on their DebtOne of the biggest GFC 2008 scenarios of sovereign credit default swaps being misused was against Greece. Afterwards, one of its biggest cases of misuse was by Elliot Management (ran by Paul Singer) who was using their position on the Credit Derivatives Determination Committee, or CDDC, to help decide when their sovereign credit default swaps against Argentina would pay out. Wait, Eliot Management doesnât sound big enough. Who else is on this committee? https://preview.redd.it/gcvfc4shk5pa1.png?width=928&format=png&auto=webp&s=f968f2765e15103295c91bc4dc7ec74836f916a4 Oh wait, so Citadel is ALSO on this committee? Alongside our favorite fucksticks like Chase, Goldman, Deutsche, and BNP? Itâs not lost on me with seeing now that Credit Suisse has been sucked up into UBS, maybe its position on the CDDC has been absorbed further by UBS. Back then, I wrote about the fact is we know next to nothing about the sovereign credit default swaps that might be opened up against countries (be it Russia, Sri Lanka, or otherwise): Here's one such example of a swap dealer: Swiss financial terrorist aficionados UBS AG, who registered to be a swaps dealer with the US at the end of 2012. (UBS had also been a member of the CDDC through the Greek crisis in early 2012, alongside Citadel. In Mar. 2012, they were also one of the members pressing to ask whether Greece had defaulted already.) Not only that, but the CDDC even can say when CORPORATE BONDS even shit the bed: late last year, they were the ones who were deciding to let everyone know whether Sunac (an Evergrande-relate company) went tits up. 12. We Say WhenFor months, there has been talk of a looming debt crisis (alongside all the other ones) in the sovereign debt world. And shit continues to hit the proverbial fan. Apart from Russia, Sri Lanka and others, emerging markets like Ghana and Zambia are beginning to feel the hits from their sovereign debt (oftentimes, trying to restructure it with creditors like China). https://preview.redd.it/gd0ocjuyi5pa1.png?width=2458&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb1fe0ade2f3401b2e081f8d0b55ef55cfb95ae2 Even further, now that Credit Suisse has gone under. We may have another thing to worry about: what banks and prime brokers are housing these opaque sovereign debt structures, loans, and swaps? Even worse, what happens when they go under? Roll that less than beautiful bean footage: https://preview.redd.it/wt5v7uu0j5pa1.png?width=1134&format=png&auto=webp&s=df9cf3379be7ce881d7704013f4e6d92e287f08c https://www.livemint.com/news/world/before-collapse-credit-suisse-quietly-conquered-an-obscure-debt-market-11679395660932.html âBefore collapse, Credit Suisse quietly conquered an obscure debt market A lot of poorer, especially emerging market countries were already in dire straits. Now as opaque deals meant to help these countries might not come to light (are these some of the Level 3 assets that UBS was talking about?), we can ask ourselves wtf will happen when the same banks looking to save their own ass while holding these sovereign, are the same fuckers that sit on the same board that can decide when they are worthless (while Iâm sure being positioned net short). All in all, these banks and holders of sovereign debt credit default swaps, who decide when a country goes boom, are sitting arm in arm alongside Citadel, who themselves potentially hover their greasy mayo-covered finger over the button that decides just when and how the US stock market will eventually implode. 13. Everything Everywhere All at Once To recap, we then have Citadel with (1) the biggest market maker and arguably one of the most influential hedge fund able to decide which stocks rise and which fall as the US stock market teeters on the brink of collapse⌠âŚwith having (2) three of its ex-employees in charge of (not even counting other Citadel employees working there) operating at Headlands ready to help position themselves when the municipal bond market gets nuked, whether as a continued result of regional bank failure or in spite of it⌠âŚwhile (3) sitting on the board that determines when ENTIRE COUNTRIES FAIL, in such a way that their hedge fund and associated pals can be ready to short and profit off failing nations that they and their fuckstick friends help cause. Did I miss anything? Because remember, Citadel is not just Citadel, the market-maker that we all love to hate; Citadelâs sphere of influence via the Big 3 means the grip that it holds over the US and world economy is even greater than we thinkâŚand as such, far far more dangerous. |
2023.03.21 21:22 emorejahongkong Patrick Lawrence @ConsortiumNews: the 45th president threatened national security apparatus for 1st time since Kennedy fired Allen Dulles as C.I.A. director in 1961
Patrick Lawrence @ConsortiumNews: "Trump & the Stormy Deep State":
submitted by emorejahongkong to WayOfTheBern [link] [comments]
what Alvin Bragg is about to do will further divide the nation â if there is any room further to divide it.
A priority is now clear: In its pursuit of Donald Trump, the Deep Stateâs concern is not what some large proportion of Americans may think; it is with eliminating Trump as a political force regardless of how this segment of the citizenry may view the action.
[in this way] do all the Deep Stateâs postâ1945 [mainly overseas] chickens come home to roost.
2023.03.21 21:21 Meledesco Asa would be a Fromsoft fan
The source is my tit.
Now that we got the important stuff out of my way, let's talk.
My guess is Asa grinds Bloodborne to get the true ending and then rage quits the game after not being able to win against orphan of kos.
My guess is she also reads a guide instead of going into the game blind, otherwise, she'd invite the lying man into the chapel and get everyone killed.
She's a Ludwig's holy blade main with an intense build.
She might try the only shield in the game like a dork at some point.
submitted by Meledesco to Chainsawfolk [link] [comments]
Now that we got the important stuff out of my way, let's talk.
My guess is Asa grinds Bloodborne to get the true ending and then rage quits the game after not being able to win against orphan of kos.
My guess is she also reads a guide instead of going into the game blind, otherwise, she'd invite the lying man into the chapel and get everyone killed.
She's a Ludwig's holy blade main with an intense build.
She might try the only shield in the game like a dork at some point.
2023.03.21 21:19 narwall101 Appreciation post for the main menu music
The song goes so unnecessarily hard it's insane
submitted by narwall101 to FrontlinesRoblox [link] [comments]
2023.03.21 21:17 Revolutionary_Luck33 From 5k3 to 7k mmr - What are the differences?
I just reached 7k mmr today!
It took me 4 months (>600 games) to climb from 5k3 to 7k with some frustrations and hardships, so here I would like to share my experience in case it could help somebody else going through the same phase.
https://preview.redd.it/4girdj22a5pa1.jpg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fc3144bbe687ce67aac818bb9b7a7391e51bc8f
Briefly about me:
- I transitioned from HoN to Dota 2 at the end of April, 2022
- I only play support positions (30% pos 4, 70% pos 5) - so my experience is only applicable to support players
- My favourite heroes are also my most picked ones (see image)
- My most hated ones are the ones I ban every game - Tinker and Arc Warden
Alright, let's get to it.
What are the differences between a 5k and a 7k MMR support?
Note: I will not mention the baseline skill that I think most players between 5k and 7k already have. If you are interested in my experience of climbing from 2k to Immortal, please check here: https://www.reddit.com/learndota2/comments/ys8nsa/if_you_need_to_break_down_your_ranked_progress/
So, the main differences between a 5k and 7k support are:
submitted by Revolutionary_Luck33 to learndota2 [link] [comments]
It took me 4 months (>600 games) to climb from 5k3 to 7k with some frustrations and hardships, so here I would like to share my experience in case it could help somebody else going through the same phase.
https://preview.redd.it/4girdj22a5pa1.jpg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fc3144bbe687ce67aac818bb9b7a7391e51bc8f
Briefly about me:
- I transitioned from HoN to Dota 2 at the end of April, 2022
- I only play support positions (30% pos 4, 70% pos 5) - so my experience is only applicable to support players
- My favourite heroes are also my most picked ones (see image)
- My most hated ones are the ones I ban every game - Tinker and Arc Warden
Alright, let's get to it.
What are the differences between a 5k and a 7k MMR support?
Note: I will not mention the baseline skill that I think most players between 5k and 7k already have. If you are interested in my experience of climbing from 2k to Immortal, please check here: https://www.reddit.com/learndota2/comments/ys8nsa/if_you_need_to_break_down_your_ranked_progress/
So, the main differences between a 5k and 7k support are:
- Hero knowledge: To reach 5k mmr, you don't need much knowledge of heroes, you just need to know briefly about their kit, such as whether they have a disable or a survival ability. But on the way to 7k, you need to understand relatively well the heroes in the game, such as their strength, weakness, power spike, timing of spike... in order to boost your team's power or devise a strategy to mitigate the enemies'.
- Observation and planning: As a pos 5, your main role is macro-strategy - you plan where to ward, which part of the map to control, when to force a teamfight... Occasionally, you need to venture into enemy territory to place a sentry to block ancient camp, or place an aggressive ward. Hence, observation is crucial - you should absorb as much information of your enemies as possible, and based on that, devise the most optimal plan for you and your team. In teamfights (which should often be in your advantage if you are doing the correct planning), observation and communication will help you identify the teammate to save, enemy to shut-down, or combo chain to break. For the combo-breaking, usually pos 4 is better for the job, as the heroes commonly picked for this position have the best kits for the task. As a pos 4, your main role is more on micro-controlling the enemies, by roaming, calling shot-gank, provide aggressive vision and smoke etc... Both role need substantial amount of information from the enemy heroes in order to make the correct decision, thus, observation and planning skill is crucial for supports to climb to 7k.
- Itemization: As a support, your first item choice is crucial. The choice of this item should be based on the enemies draft and power spike (and hence you need hero knowledge). A single item choice could mean a difference between winning and losing the first ganks/teamfights, thus help shaping the snowball effect. A 5k support would usually get the item he/she is most comfortable with, but a 7k support will get the item that is most optimal for the situation. A Glimmer Cape and a Force Staff can be completely different in usefulness, depending on the context. Itemization is dependent on a good sense of observation and planning.
- Read the game flow: Another difference I could think of is the ability to read the game flow. Based on hero knowledge, observation and planning, and itemization, a support could make calls to charge in or retreat, depending on the chance of winning a teamfight. This ability can also improve with experience, but I think it will improve significantly faster if you actively consider all the points above in your gameplay.
- Teamwork and communication: If you have the above 4 points better than your enemy supports, chances are you will be climbing for sure. However, if you really want to climb fast, teamwork and communication become very important. The higher level of synergy, the stronger the team; the more efficiently you communicate, the more chance of you positively influencing your teammates (e.g. via enemy kills, avoided ganks etc...) which allow them to capitalize on the benefit even better. I've had an average of 61% winrate over the last 100-200 games, and constantly 64-68% winrate over a 25-game period. But sometimes, the MMR system will put you with significantly worse players comparing to your enemies. There is nothing that can be done in those times, except trying to remain calm and stop playing for a while.
2023.03.21 21:16 KyleKKent Out of Cruel Space, Part 630
First
The Dauntless
âI lost track of all time playing that game!â Ambassador Tal complains as they walk into the main governance building together.
âAn unfortunate side effect of entertainment. You stop counting the minutes and just indulge.â Admiral Cistern notes.
âNo kidding.â Ambassador Tal notes as she cracks her back a bit and sends her breasts bouncing somewhat.
âThere you two are!â Lady Ticanped exclaims walking up. âAt least youâre both presentable! But do you have any ideas about the rumours Iâve been hearing?â
âMy people are doing a great number of things in a great number of places. I require context.â
âRumours of a new species!? A massive raid on hugely influential women!? How about Biological Horror Constructs and an attempt to create an Axiom God!?â Lady Ticanped asks.
â... I honestly expected all that to get out sooner.â
âYouâre confirming it?!â
âYes. In our pursuit of rescue and cooperation with lawful authorities The Undaunted have been placed in situations where we have intercepted a crazed cloneâs attempt to forcibly convert her original into a god-like entity. The agents involved were later setting up a sting operation and stumbled onto a massive child trafficking ring and the overall rescue effort on the lost colony Lakran has caused the emergence of new Urthani strains on the galaxy.â
âAnd the rumour that one of those strains is the second Primal Species to ever arise?â
âI do in fact have a Primal Urthani under my employ.â Admiral Cistern answers.
âAnd the Axiom God?â Ambassador Tal asks with a huge smile on her face at the absurdity of things.
âProfessor Grace? Yes, him and his daughters.â
âDaughters.... wait! Those adorable little Khob girls that the whole ship is doting on?â Nikta asks excitedly. Sheâd seen a soldier chase down a tiny Kohb girl while covered in pink glitter and had tickled her into submission after catching her. Once he stopped she had clung onto his uniform and cheered when he explained that they were going to see her father.
âYes. His clone created twelve more clones and Iâm proud to say the reaction from my men for having a dozen tiny children running everywhere has been more piggyback rides and friendly patience than annoyance. Those little girls are going to spoiled absolutely rotten at this rate.â
âOf course the supposed Axiom God would be a male. Let me guess, human too?â
âPartly? Heâs spliced human traits into himself. So heâs considerably taller than the average Kohb.â
âAnd the Primal Urthani?â
âHeâs on the opposite side of the galaxy. Still on Lakran. Which is also where Iâm keeping him for as long as reasonably possible because as bad as rumours or confirmed rumours of a new Primal Strain is, actually having one anywhere in a thousand lightyears of Centris is infinitely worse.â Admiral Cistern answers.
âThank goodness. And the supposed raid on influential women?â
âI donât have all the information. Much of it is tied up in a huge amount of litigation and court freezes. Even the information I have is heavily redacted for legal purposes.â
âWhat can you tell me?â
âAn enormous child trafficking ring was recently broken wide open by some of my men with the help of local police forces. This ring kept a list of all their customers as well as recorded evidence of their many crimes and that has been seized. The Police of Lilb Tulelb have placed a massive gag order on all information and have frozen the assets of the accused until they can be properly legally processed. They want to ensure that everything is done flawlessly so theyâre taking their time.â
âSome may argue thatâs an abuse of power.â Lady Ticanped notes.
âNot at all, so long as the personal property and persons of the individuals being detained are not damaged or sold off by the police then they are legally permitted to hold someone until their court hearing.â Admiral Cistern says and Lady Ticanped considers.
âThat... hmm... yes that would explain all the rumours. Not enough information going about. Even you donât have the information.â She realizes.
âI have guesses and approximations, but that is what everyone has at the moment.â
âI see. Okay, this is easily workable.â She says before leaning in and giving Admiral Cistern a kiss.
âStill, Iâll be making sure you smell more of feather than engine grease.â
âI donât smell like engine grease!â Ambassador Tal protests.
âLetâs agree to disagree.â Lady Ticanped says in an agreeable tone.
âI donât!â
âOf course.â Lady Ticanbed answers as she snaps out a fan to cover her slight smile. âAnyways darlings, the next council session is soon to begin. I advise you both to find your way to your appointed booths.
â˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘
âHonoured representatives! Astute Ambassadors and Noble Scions! I Lady Ticanped, as Speaker for this Galactic Council, do declare the session as officially open! May all the gods you worship, all the oaths you have sworn and all the peoples you stand for look fondly upon you. It is time!â
The regal Pavorous scans the massive chamber and nods. âTo begin this august session we have the concerns of the Almari Collective directed towards The Undaunted.â
The booths with the Almari Collective representative and Admiral Cistern respectively project images of Representative Val Miriti and Admiral Cistern. Things are set up so the projected images look like theyâre speaking to one another.
âYou! We have heard that you are experimenting with Urthani men to try and create super-soldiers!â The representative, a Tret woman in a formal outfit, accuses.
â... Well... only from the most twisted point of view. One of my soldiers in the Titan Program is an Urthani, as per the Titan Program heâs of equal stature to a Bull Cannidor and often finds himself in power armour and wielding capital ship scale weapons. Thatâs fairly super for a soldier in my professional opinion.â
âAnd the rumours that heâs a Primal Urthani?â
âHe is.â Admiral Cistern states and there is a sudden massive uproar through the room as everyone starts to speak and their booths start automatically project them to try and accommodate the debate but the system is quickly overwhelmed and it all becomes a chaotic mess.
âOrder! There will be Order on my Council!â Lady Ticanped calls out and after a few minutes of yelling and her flexing her new power to forcibly deactivate the projectors she has order. âNow then, would the representative from The Undaunted be so kind as to elaborate his statement?â
âMy Urthani Soldier on Lakran has ascended into a Primal Urthani during the fulfillment of his duties.â Ambassador Cistern says simply. âWhat more is there that requires elaboration.â
âPerhaps how ascension into what many religions consider a living god can be considered part of a soldierâs duty.â Lady Ticanped asks pointedly.
âThe Undaunted strive to be the best they can be. Why is succeeding in oneâs goals a surprise?â
âThatâs a bit above and beyond the call of duty.â
âYes, so the debate as to how highly promoted and how well paid he will be is still underway. Exemplary service must be met with exemplary pay and accreditation.â
âAdmiral Cistern, please take this situation seriously.â
âI am. I hold no special view of Primals excepting what I can learn from them. Otherwise they are merely more citizens of the galaxy to me. If I have to chose between recruiting a well trained and responsible Greater Plains Nagasha or a disobedient and untrained Primal Nagasha I will hire the Greater Plains Nagasha. That Sergeant Skitterway ascended into a Primal Urthani merely meant to me that his official documentation required updating. Itâs what he did in the process of âascendingâ that was more valuable to me.â Admiral Cistern explains using his fingers to draw the airquotes around ascending.
âWhy did you... does it really not matter?â
âItâs interesting, especially to my Research and Development departments. But my primary concerns are funding, logistics, legality, movement and tactics. Whatever the official name of my soldierâs species it matters very little to me so long as their recruitment is a benefit to the Undaunted and not a hindrance.â
âBut you have a Primal Urthani in your army, yes or no?â Representative Miriti demands.
âYes.â Admiral Cistern states.
âThen the Almari Hive Collective demands the release of this specimen to their care.â Representative Miriti states. Not a bad play, a full fifth of all Urthani in the galaxy live in that area of space. Unfortunately for her, Doctor Skitterway was not a citizen of the Collective and neither was Emmanuel.
âDenied, he is needed at his post.â Admiral Cisternâs response is swift and unquestioning.
âHis homelands call to him. He belongs with his people!â
âSergeant Emmanuel Skitterway is not and has never been a citizen or subject of the Almari Collective. And even if he was, not only would his legally binding oath of service to The Undaunted supersede this but his death and following resurrection would further annul any legal bindings you have to him.â
â... Did you say death and resurrection.â Lady Ticanped asks.
âI did.â He replies.
â... Could you clarify?â She asks.
âIs it relevant to the subject at hand?â Admiral Cistern asks.
âIs this the same soldier Sergeant Emmanuel Skitterway?â
âYes.â Admiral Cistern says as the entire room explodes again and minutes are spent muting everyone and getting things under control.
âAdmiral Cistern, we donât appreciate being lied to.â
âWhy would I lie when the truth is both far more absurd and far more entertaining?â Admiral Cistern answers with a grin before accepting a coffee. âThank you Private Stream.â
âSir! Youâre welcome sir!â The overeager private replies and he takes a sip of the steaming drink in front of the entire galaxy.
âAdmiral Cistern. This body does not appreciate double speak or silly games. You will explain yourself.â Lady Ticanped threatens.
âVery well milady. Roughly three hundred years ago a young Urthani man by the name of Emmanuel Skitterway was killed in a power core containment failure. He was survived only by a medical clone that was intended to be used to replace lost limbs or organs and a grieving mother. This mother held onto the unawakened clone for centuries until she got her hands on a mental engram of an Undaunted soldier who had volunteered for a restorative coma. For reasons I have yet to have explained to me, she placed these memories into the clone of her son and jettisoned the pod at a failed colony world named Lakran.â He takes a sip of his coffee.
âIn summation, shenanigans ensued, he established contact with The Undaunted and temporarily took the name Jasper Blue as both an identifier distinct from the soldier whoâs memories he had and as a bit of a joke. Further nonsense followed on that world and he somehow retrieved all the memories and emotional experiences of Emmanuel Skitterway in full. Essentially becoming his own reincarnation but as he identifies himself as Emmanuel weâve referred to it as a resurrection. Further nonsense happened as our rescue and relief force was on the way and by the time we arrived the man had grown to have the stature of a Cannidor, had alloyed his fur, claws and bones with a metal that makes most starship hulls seem fragile, reinforced his claws, grew extra antenna, adjusted and expanded his proboscis, his wings are now segmented and twice their former size, and his digestive tract and internal redundancies are robust to the point that he could potentially survive in Cruel Space.â
âAnd... that makes him a Primal?â
âHe describes in his reports a spiritual experience and claims to have not only seen a woman become a Primal Nagasha, but claims to have seen other races ascend as well. He claims the next race to achieve Primal Status will be a Wimparas.â Admiral Cistern explains. âHe describes the process as entering a realm beyond time, then you must define yourself, reject yourself, define yourself again and reject yourself again until you reach a point of critical mass and become all of your selves simultaneously. This creates the Primal.â
â... Admiral Cistern.â Representative Miriti states after a bit. She looks supremely unimpressed. âIf rumours are inaccurate you are permitted to say as such. Donât make up absurd stories to feed into them. Itâs unbecoming.â
âI will keep that in mind. Though please remember that denying a rumour often has people assume that as proof of itâs accuracy. Or that someone must be hiding something or something else of the sort.â
âIf that is all?â Lady Ticanped asks testily.
âUntil I am questioned again milady.â Admiral Cistern says raising his mug in a toast and then his projector deactivates.
Why lie when the truth itself is MORE than enough?
First Last
submitted by KyleKKent to HFY [link] [comments]
The Dauntless
âI lost track of all time playing that game!â Ambassador Tal complains as they walk into the main governance building together.
âAn unfortunate side effect of entertainment. You stop counting the minutes and just indulge.â Admiral Cistern notes.
âNo kidding.â Ambassador Tal notes as she cracks her back a bit and sends her breasts bouncing somewhat.
âThere you two are!â Lady Ticanped exclaims walking up. âAt least youâre both presentable! But do you have any ideas about the rumours Iâve been hearing?â
âMy people are doing a great number of things in a great number of places. I require context.â
âRumours of a new species!? A massive raid on hugely influential women!? How about Biological Horror Constructs and an attempt to create an Axiom God!?â Lady Ticanped asks.
â... I honestly expected all that to get out sooner.â
âYouâre confirming it?!â
âYes. In our pursuit of rescue and cooperation with lawful authorities The Undaunted have been placed in situations where we have intercepted a crazed cloneâs attempt to forcibly convert her original into a god-like entity. The agents involved were later setting up a sting operation and stumbled onto a massive child trafficking ring and the overall rescue effort on the lost colony Lakran has caused the emergence of new Urthani strains on the galaxy.â
âAnd the rumour that one of those strains is the second Primal Species to ever arise?â
âI do in fact have a Primal Urthani under my employ.â Admiral Cistern answers.
âAnd the Axiom God?â Ambassador Tal asks with a huge smile on her face at the absurdity of things.
âProfessor Grace? Yes, him and his daughters.â
âDaughters.... wait! Those adorable little Khob girls that the whole ship is doting on?â Nikta asks excitedly. Sheâd seen a soldier chase down a tiny Kohb girl while covered in pink glitter and had tickled her into submission after catching her. Once he stopped she had clung onto his uniform and cheered when he explained that they were going to see her father.
âYes. His clone created twelve more clones and Iâm proud to say the reaction from my men for having a dozen tiny children running everywhere has been more piggyback rides and friendly patience than annoyance. Those little girls are going to spoiled absolutely rotten at this rate.â
âOf course the supposed Axiom God would be a male. Let me guess, human too?â
âPartly? Heâs spliced human traits into himself. So heâs considerably taller than the average Kohb.â
âAnd the Primal Urthani?â
âHeâs on the opposite side of the galaxy. Still on Lakran. Which is also where Iâm keeping him for as long as reasonably possible because as bad as rumours or confirmed rumours of a new Primal Strain is, actually having one anywhere in a thousand lightyears of Centris is infinitely worse.â Admiral Cistern answers.
âThank goodness. And the supposed raid on influential women?â
âI donât have all the information. Much of it is tied up in a huge amount of litigation and court freezes. Even the information I have is heavily redacted for legal purposes.â
âWhat can you tell me?â
âAn enormous child trafficking ring was recently broken wide open by some of my men with the help of local police forces. This ring kept a list of all their customers as well as recorded evidence of their many crimes and that has been seized. The Police of Lilb Tulelb have placed a massive gag order on all information and have frozen the assets of the accused until they can be properly legally processed. They want to ensure that everything is done flawlessly so theyâre taking their time.â
âSome may argue thatâs an abuse of power.â Lady Ticanped notes.
âNot at all, so long as the personal property and persons of the individuals being detained are not damaged or sold off by the police then they are legally permitted to hold someone until their court hearing.â Admiral Cistern says and Lady Ticanped considers.
âThat... hmm... yes that would explain all the rumours. Not enough information going about. Even you donât have the information.â She realizes.
âI have guesses and approximations, but that is what everyone has at the moment.â
âI see. Okay, this is easily workable.â She says before leaning in and giving Admiral Cistern a kiss.
âStill, Iâll be making sure you smell more of feather than engine grease.â
âI donât smell like engine grease!â Ambassador Tal protests.
âLetâs agree to disagree.â Lady Ticanped says in an agreeable tone.
âI donât!â
âOf course.â Lady Ticanbed answers as she snaps out a fan to cover her slight smile. âAnyways darlings, the next council session is soon to begin. I advise you both to find your way to your appointed booths.
â˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘Ăâ˘
âHonoured representatives! Astute Ambassadors and Noble Scions! I Lady Ticanped, as Speaker for this Galactic Council, do declare the session as officially open! May all the gods you worship, all the oaths you have sworn and all the peoples you stand for look fondly upon you. It is time!â
The regal Pavorous scans the massive chamber and nods. âTo begin this august session we have the concerns of the Almari Collective directed towards The Undaunted.â
The booths with the Almari Collective representative and Admiral Cistern respectively project images of Representative Val Miriti and Admiral Cistern. Things are set up so the projected images look like theyâre speaking to one another.
âYou! We have heard that you are experimenting with Urthani men to try and create super-soldiers!â The representative, a Tret woman in a formal outfit, accuses.
â... Well... only from the most twisted point of view. One of my soldiers in the Titan Program is an Urthani, as per the Titan Program heâs of equal stature to a Bull Cannidor and often finds himself in power armour and wielding capital ship scale weapons. Thatâs fairly super for a soldier in my professional opinion.â
âAnd the rumours that heâs a Primal Urthani?â
âHe is.â Admiral Cistern states and there is a sudden massive uproar through the room as everyone starts to speak and their booths start automatically project them to try and accommodate the debate but the system is quickly overwhelmed and it all becomes a chaotic mess.
âOrder! There will be Order on my Council!â Lady Ticanped calls out and after a few minutes of yelling and her flexing her new power to forcibly deactivate the projectors she has order. âNow then, would the representative from The Undaunted be so kind as to elaborate his statement?â
âMy Urthani Soldier on Lakran has ascended into a Primal Urthani during the fulfillment of his duties.â Ambassador Cistern says simply. âWhat more is there that requires elaboration.â
âPerhaps how ascension into what many religions consider a living god can be considered part of a soldierâs duty.â Lady Ticanped asks pointedly.
âThe Undaunted strive to be the best they can be. Why is succeeding in oneâs goals a surprise?â
âThatâs a bit above and beyond the call of duty.â
âYes, so the debate as to how highly promoted and how well paid he will be is still underway. Exemplary service must be met with exemplary pay and accreditation.â
âAdmiral Cistern, please take this situation seriously.â
âI am. I hold no special view of Primals excepting what I can learn from them. Otherwise they are merely more citizens of the galaxy to me. If I have to chose between recruiting a well trained and responsible Greater Plains Nagasha or a disobedient and untrained Primal Nagasha I will hire the Greater Plains Nagasha. That Sergeant Skitterway ascended into a Primal Urthani merely meant to me that his official documentation required updating. Itâs what he did in the process of âascendingâ that was more valuable to me.â Admiral Cistern explains using his fingers to draw the airquotes around ascending.
âWhy did you... does it really not matter?â
âItâs interesting, especially to my Research and Development departments. But my primary concerns are funding, logistics, legality, movement and tactics. Whatever the official name of my soldierâs species it matters very little to me so long as their recruitment is a benefit to the Undaunted and not a hindrance.â
âBut you have a Primal Urthani in your army, yes or no?â Representative Miriti demands.
âYes.â Admiral Cistern states.
âThen the Almari Hive Collective demands the release of this specimen to their care.â Representative Miriti states. Not a bad play, a full fifth of all Urthani in the galaxy live in that area of space. Unfortunately for her, Doctor Skitterway was not a citizen of the Collective and neither was Emmanuel.
âDenied, he is needed at his post.â Admiral Cisternâs response is swift and unquestioning.
âHis homelands call to him. He belongs with his people!â
âSergeant Emmanuel Skitterway is not and has never been a citizen or subject of the Almari Collective. And even if he was, not only would his legally binding oath of service to The Undaunted supersede this but his death and following resurrection would further annul any legal bindings you have to him.â
â... Did you say death and resurrection.â Lady Ticanped asks.
âI did.â He replies.
â... Could you clarify?â She asks.
âIs it relevant to the subject at hand?â Admiral Cistern asks.
âIs this the same soldier Sergeant Emmanuel Skitterway?â
âYes.â Admiral Cistern says as the entire room explodes again and minutes are spent muting everyone and getting things under control.
âAdmiral Cistern, we donât appreciate being lied to.â
âWhy would I lie when the truth is both far more absurd and far more entertaining?â Admiral Cistern answers with a grin before accepting a coffee. âThank you Private Stream.â
âSir! Youâre welcome sir!â The overeager private replies and he takes a sip of the steaming drink in front of the entire galaxy.
âAdmiral Cistern. This body does not appreciate double speak or silly games. You will explain yourself.â Lady Ticanped threatens.
âVery well milady. Roughly three hundred years ago a young Urthani man by the name of Emmanuel Skitterway was killed in a power core containment failure. He was survived only by a medical clone that was intended to be used to replace lost limbs or organs and a grieving mother. This mother held onto the unawakened clone for centuries until she got her hands on a mental engram of an Undaunted soldier who had volunteered for a restorative coma. For reasons I have yet to have explained to me, she placed these memories into the clone of her son and jettisoned the pod at a failed colony world named Lakran.â He takes a sip of his coffee.
âIn summation, shenanigans ensued, he established contact with The Undaunted and temporarily took the name Jasper Blue as both an identifier distinct from the soldier whoâs memories he had and as a bit of a joke. Further nonsense followed on that world and he somehow retrieved all the memories and emotional experiences of Emmanuel Skitterway in full. Essentially becoming his own reincarnation but as he identifies himself as Emmanuel weâve referred to it as a resurrection. Further nonsense happened as our rescue and relief force was on the way and by the time we arrived the man had grown to have the stature of a Cannidor, had alloyed his fur, claws and bones with a metal that makes most starship hulls seem fragile, reinforced his claws, grew extra antenna, adjusted and expanded his proboscis, his wings are now segmented and twice their former size, and his digestive tract and internal redundancies are robust to the point that he could potentially survive in Cruel Space.â
âAnd... that makes him a Primal?â
âHe describes in his reports a spiritual experience and claims to have not only seen a woman become a Primal Nagasha, but claims to have seen other races ascend as well. He claims the next race to achieve Primal Status will be a Wimparas.â Admiral Cistern explains. âHe describes the process as entering a realm beyond time, then you must define yourself, reject yourself, define yourself again and reject yourself again until you reach a point of critical mass and become all of your selves simultaneously. This creates the Primal.â
â... Admiral Cistern.â Representative Miriti states after a bit. She looks supremely unimpressed. âIf rumours are inaccurate you are permitted to say as such. Donât make up absurd stories to feed into them. Itâs unbecoming.â
âI will keep that in mind. Though please remember that denying a rumour often has people assume that as proof of itâs accuracy. Or that someone must be hiding something or something else of the sort.â
âIf that is all?â Lady Ticanped asks testily.
âUntil I am questioned again milady.â Admiral Cistern says raising his mug in a toast and then his projector deactivates.
Why lie when the truth itself is MORE than enough?
First Last
2023.03.21 21:15 GenerallyBananas I don't think I've ever "wished to be a girl". Could I be wrong about my identity? (Long post)
I began seriously questioning my gender a little while ago (I'm AMAB). I had had a few moments of thinking "oh god what if I'm trans?!" over the past year, and had been low key thinking about the possibility for the past 2 years more or less, but never allowed my mind to seriously go there and consider it. I'd wave it away as a random thought.
I had become more aware of trans people as I had been watching more and more trans creators on youtube, and a suspiciously high number of creators I used to watch a lot when I was younger came out as trans women. I slowly found myself enjoying and relating to trans creators more and more, and it got to a point where there was a special something "extra" to art coming from trans people, for no particular reason I could put my finger on, and "completely coincidentally" all my favourite creators to use for comfort background noise happened to be trans women.
I eventually started experimenting with some feminine clothes, my curiosity sparked by drag queens online, and it felt like I had kicked the hornet's nest. I think the euphoria from that early experimentation was pretty undeniable, and whether or not I was trans has been more or less the only thing I can think about ever since, and I also happen to be going through possibly the busyest periods of my life so far between work and school, so it's not been a very easy time tbh.
Anyway, the reason I write this post is I've been feeling a lot of that initial excitement about discovering myself fade away and be replaced with intense doubt and just a general feeling of shittiness. I am worrying a lot that I don't really have enough of a reason to transition. I've always felt a disconnect from other boys, honestly failing to fit in with them as a kid, and still now I see them as a weird sort of alien species, but I'm sure lots of men struggle to identify with masculinity when so much of it is wrapped up in toxic undertones. But I also don't think I ever had the thought "I wish I was a girl". I never dreamt of being another gender, I never wished on my birthday to be magically transformed into a girl. This one experience that almost every transfem I've ever heard or read talk about their transition have in common, I never had. I feel like there may be evidence that my brain has danced around this idea a bit, thinking things that hang around the sort conceptual area of "I wish I was a girl" or "I wish I wasn't a boy", but it never cut to the chase. I also believe I have very little gender dysphoria, at least so far. I had a couple of episodes of quite intense bottom dysphoria, always after drinking, but I've been so deep in questioning that I wonder if I could have somehow made myself feel it, out of confirmation bias or something. I don't feel like I can really trust my own feelings, I feel too biased towards wanting to believe I'm trans, because if I'm not...I guess I don't really know who to be. Who I was certainly wasn't cutting it. And I don't know if a woman is even what I want to be. Apart from the fear of just looking like a man in a dress (I'm sorry to any transfems reading this, it's not an idea I apply to anyone other than myself, but I'm sure many of you know understand that), I also just don't necessarily think "I want ot be that" when I see women walking around outside. I don't know how I feel about people treating me like a woman, of people's perception of me changing, and of course, as sad as it is to say, of losing a lot of privilage. I have really enjoyed being treated like a girl with female or non binary friends, but with my guy friends it's almost uncomfortable, through no fault of theirs, as everyone is being supportive. And I'm very scared of what it'll be like if some of the more paternal figures in my life were to find out, like some teachers I am close to.
But these feelings of confusion in regards to my femininity have been growing in particular since my mother found out about my questioning. I hadn't intended to tell her until I was way deeper into this and absolutely sure who I was, but to keep a long story short, she found out early.
I came out as a 'potential trans woman' to close close friends quite quickly, as I knew they would be supportive and wanted outside opinions of the vortex of ideas in my head, and have been going by a female name and pronouns for a while, and was having a lot of fun with that as well. Everybody has been incredibly supportive except my mother, who unfortunately is really struggling to understand and accept this possibility, and manifests that by saying pretty dismissive and sometimes nasty things, responding to any reason I give her for my possibly being trans with a different reason I could be feeling like that. She's very good at coming up with these other reasons, she knows me very well after all. I can't blame it entirely on her, but I feel like every time the discussion of my gender comes up, I wake up the next day feeling more like a guy, more like I made everything up, like this is all a massive mistake and I've confirmation-biased the shit out of myself. I had a particularly involved conversation with her yesterday and today I felt basically no connection to my femininity. I almost felt like no pronouns were good for me at all, like I'm just an amorphous blob who is tired of dealing with the entire thing. "Just call me Thing (they/them/it)" and be done with it" was the mood.
I realize I am very very early to all of this, and I need to give it time, but I guess I really wanted to put some of my thoughts put there to see if anyone can relate, cause to be honest I have a really hard time seeing myself in most trans people's stories, and it makes me think I could be getting this all wrong. Sorry if this is quite an incoherent monologue, it was so difficult to decide what to talk about in the first place, and getting it in an order that made any sense was even harder, thanks so much for reading it all if you did <3
TL:DR I'm a freshly cracked egg(MTF), but as the initial euphoria of early experimentation has died down and I've hit some resistance from my mother who found out way too soon, I'm beginning to doubt if I'm really trans of if I have made it all up to convince myself, one of my main doubts being fuelled by the fact that I don't recall ever actually wishing I was a girl in so many words.
submitted by GenerallyBananas to asktransgender [link] [comments]
I had become more aware of trans people as I had been watching more and more trans creators on youtube, and a suspiciously high number of creators I used to watch a lot when I was younger came out as trans women. I slowly found myself enjoying and relating to trans creators more and more, and it got to a point where there was a special something "extra" to art coming from trans people, for no particular reason I could put my finger on, and "completely coincidentally" all my favourite creators to use for comfort background noise happened to be trans women.
I eventually started experimenting with some feminine clothes, my curiosity sparked by drag queens online, and it felt like I had kicked the hornet's nest. I think the euphoria from that early experimentation was pretty undeniable, and whether or not I was trans has been more or less the only thing I can think about ever since, and I also happen to be going through possibly the busyest periods of my life so far between work and school, so it's not been a very easy time tbh.
Anyway, the reason I write this post is I've been feeling a lot of that initial excitement about discovering myself fade away and be replaced with intense doubt and just a general feeling of shittiness. I am worrying a lot that I don't really have enough of a reason to transition. I've always felt a disconnect from other boys, honestly failing to fit in with them as a kid, and still now I see them as a weird sort of alien species, but I'm sure lots of men struggle to identify with masculinity when so much of it is wrapped up in toxic undertones. But I also don't think I ever had the thought "I wish I was a girl". I never dreamt of being another gender, I never wished on my birthday to be magically transformed into a girl. This one experience that almost every transfem I've ever heard or read talk about their transition have in common, I never had. I feel like there may be evidence that my brain has danced around this idea a bit, thinking things that hang around the sort conceptual area of "I wish I was a girl" or "I wish I wasn't a boy", but it never cut to the chase. I also believe I have very little gender dysphoria, at least so far. I had a couple of episodes of quite intense bottom dysphoria, always after drinking, but I've been so deep in questioning that I wonder if I could have somehow made myself feel it, out of confirmation bias or something. I don't feel like I can really trust my own feelings, I feel too biased towards wanting to believe I'm trans, because if I'm not...I guess I don't really know who to be. Who I was certainly wasn't cutting it. And I don't know if a woman is even what I want to be. Apart from the fear of just looking like a man in a dress (I'm sorry to any transfems reading this, it's not an idea I apply to anyone other than myself, but I'm sure many of you know understand that), I also just don't necessarily think "I want ot be that" when I see women walking around outside. I don't know how I feel about people treating me like a woman, of people's perception of me changing, and of course, as sad as it is to say, of losing a lot of privilage. I have really enjoyed being treated like a girl with female or non binary friends, but with my guy friends it's almost uncomfortable, through no fault of theirs, as everyone is being supportive. And I'm very scared of what it'll be like if some of the more paternal figures in my life were to find out, like some teachers I am close to.
But these feelings of confusion in regards to my femininity have been growing in particular since my mother found out about my questioning. I hadn't intended to tell her until I was way deeper into this and absolutely sure who I was, but to keep a long story short, she found out early.
I came out as a 'potential trans woman' to close close friends quite quickly, as I knew they would be supportive and wanted outside opinions of the vortex of ideas in my head, and have been going by a female name and pronouns for a while, and was having a lot of fun with that as well. Everybody has been incredibly supportive except my mother, who unfortunately is really struggling to understand and accept this possibility, and manifests that by saying pretty dismissive and sometimes nasty things, responding to any reason I give her for my possibly being trans with a different reason I could be feeling like that. She's very good at coming up with these other reasons, she knows me very well after all. I can't blame it entirely on her, but I feel like every time the discussion of my gender comes up, I wake up the next day feeling more like a guy, more like I made everything up, like this is all a massive mistake and I've confirmation-biased the shit out of myself. I had a particularly involved conversation with her yesterday and today I felt basically no connection to my femininity. I almost felt like no pronouns were good for me at all, like I'm just an amorphous blob who is tired of dealing with the entire thing. "Just call me Thing (they/them/it)" and be done with it" was the mood.
I realize I am very very early to all of this, and I need to give it time, but I guess I really wanted to put some of my thoughts put there to see if anyone can relate, cause to be honest I have a really hard time seeing myself in most trans people's stories, and it makes me think I could be getting this all wrong. Sorry if this is quite an incoherent monologue, it was so difficult to decide what to talk about in the first place, and getting it in an order that made any sense was even harder, thanks so much for reading it all if you did <3
TL:DR I'm a freshly cracked egg(MTF), but as the initial euphoria of early experimentation has died down and I've hit some resistance from my mother who found out way too soon, I'm beginning to doubt if I'm really trans of if I have made it all up to convince myself, one of my main doubts being fuelled by the fact that I don't recall ever actually wishing I was a girl in so many words.
2023.03.21 21:15 HellyMois Update post about Maine Coon that the owner wanted to put to sleepđ In comment
 | submitted by HellyMois to PetShelterPaws [link] [comments] |
2023.03.21 21:15 HellyMois Update post about Maine Coon that the owner wanted to put to sleepđ In comment
 | submitted by HellyMois to cats [link] [comments] |
2023.03.21 21:14 Interesting-Bat3993 HOW To WAtch "65" OnLine For FREe Streaming?
Sony Pictures! Here are options for downloading or watching 65 streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the anticipated science fiction movie at home. 65 (2023) available to stream? Is watching 65 on Disney Plus, HBO Max, Netflix or Amazon Prime? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.
Watch Nowđ 65 Full Movie Online Free
Watch Nowđ 65 Full Movie Online Free
In a world with social media at our fingertips, it often seems as if marketing a film is easier than ever. This, of course, has its benefits for both production companies and audiences, with studios having better marketing success with their films and audiences having greater knowledge and therefore choice when it comes to their next viewing experience. Many may argue that this is largely a benefit to the film community, but that debate is for another day. What this does mean however is that when a film with a great cast, crew, and premise comes along and for some unknown reason, chooses to stay mysterious, the attention of many is instantly caught. There are many indie flicks or art-house experiments that go under the radar but, with a film as large as 65, it comes as quite a shock.
65 has been spoken about for years now, with the film being announced back in 2020 and Adam Driver being cast in the movie shortly after the announcement. This gave ample time in this marketing-driven climate for a whole lot of details about the film to emerge. Alas, there have been mere whispers and surface details announced and, to many, it has been long enough now that we must assume this is a marketing tactic. It took until December 2022 for fans to finally get a trailer so with that in mind, and with intrigue rife, here is everything we do know about 65... so far.
When Is the Release Date of 65?
For some reason, the release date of the film has changed several times during its production and post-production process, with many sources often giving conflicting information. In May 2020, it was announced the film would release on May 13, 2022, however, other reports suggested a date in April. More recently, the date was pushed back considerably to March 10, 2023. But that wasn't the end of it and the 65 was delayed by another week and then brought back to the original date. If the current schedule holds, eager fans will be able to catch 65 in theaters on March 10, 2023.
Is 65 streaming or in Theater?
"65" is not streaming for sure yet. Besides this, given the lack of information available on the movie, we are unaware of any streaming websites where the movie might be available. Let alone the date, when will it be? All we know about the film is a mysterious astronaut on a mysterious planet, which has led to mysterious marketing for what seems to be a mysterious film.
Where to watch 65 Online Free:
As of now, the only way to watch 65 is to head to a theater when it releases on Friday, March 3. You can find a local showing on Fandango. Otherwise, youâll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or buy on digital platforms like Vudu, Peacock, Apple and YouTube, or become available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Following its release in theaters, the film will be available to stream on Prime Video. Expect the movie to hit the streamer 45 days after its theatrical run, which should be sometime in April. it's most likely that Prime Video will be the main platform that will stream 65.
Is 65 Streaming on Netflix?
65 won't probably be available on Netflix because Paramount Plus should be the only streaming service to provide it. That would be a very bizarre move on the part of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group to permit the horror film to stream elsewhere.
Is 65 streaming on HBO Max?
65 is expected to stream on HBO Max at some point after its theatrical run. No official streaming release date for the movie has yet been given, but as it comes from Warner Bros., it will likely arrive on the platform after its cinematic debut barring some unprecedented events or a unique deal.
Is 65 streaming on Prime Video?
After completing its huge $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, the movie studio behind 65, in March 2022, Amazon Studios will undoubtedly be making the film available to stream on their Prime Video platform.
The first two Creed movies are available to watch on the streaming service, so it is just a matter of time before 65 also makes an appearance. No official date has yet been set, but it will likely take a couple of months from the filmâs theatrical release before it is available for streaming.
Is 65 Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new movie 65 on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service. fedsg
submitted by Interesting-Bat3993 to Nwe65HQ [link] [comments]
Watch Nowđ 65 Full Movie Online Free
Watch Nowđ 65 Full Movie Online Free
In a world with social media at our fingertips, it often seems as if marketing a film is easier than ever. This, of course, has its benefits for both production companies and audiences, with studios having better marketing success with their films and audiences having greater knowledge and therefore choice when it comes to their next viewing experience. Many may argue that this is largely a benefit to the film community, but that debate is for another day. What this does mean however is that when a film with a great cast, crew, and premise comes along and for some unknown reason, chooses to stay mysterious, the attention of many is instantly caught. There are many indie flicks or art-house experiments that go under the radar but, with a film as large as 65, it comes as quite a shock.
65 has been spoken about for years now, with the film being announced back in 2020 and Adam Driver being cast in the movie shortly after the announcement. This gave ample time in this marketing-driven climate for a whole lot of details about the film to emerge. Alas, there have been mere whispers and surface details announced and, to many, it has been long enough now that we must assume this is a marketing tactic. It took until December 2022 for fans to finally get a trailer so with that in mind, and with intrigue rife, here is everything we do know about 65... so far.
When Is the Release Date of 65?
For some reason, the release date of the film has changed several times during its production and post-production process, with many sources often giving conflicting information. In May 2020, it was announced the film would release on May 13, 2022, however, other reports suggested a date in April. More recently, the date was pushed back considerably to March 10, 2023. But that wasn't the end of it and the 65 was delayed by another week and then brought back to the original date. If the current schedule holds, eager fans will be able to catch 65 in theaters on March 10, 2023.
Is 65 streaming or in Theater?
"65" is not streaming for sure yet. Besides this, given the lack of information available on the movie, we are unaware of any streaming websites where the movie might be available. Let alone the date, when will it be? All we know about the film is a mysterious astronaut on a mysterious planet, which has led to mysterious marketing for what seems to be a mysterious film.
Where to watch 65 Online Free:
As of now, the only way to watch 65 is to head to a theater when it releases on Friday, March 3. You can find a local showing on Fandango. Otherwise, youâll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or buy on digital platforms like Vudu, Peacock, Apple and YouTube, or become available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Following its release in theaters, the film will be available to stream on Prime Video. Expect the movie to hit the streamer 45 days after its theatrical run, which should be sometime in April. it's most likely that Prime Video will be the main platform that will stream 65.
Is 65 Streaming on Netflix?
65 won't probably be available on Netflix because Paramount Plus should be the only streaming service to provide it. That would be a very bizarre move on the part of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group to permit the horror film to stream elsewhere.
Is 65 streaming on HBO Max?
65 is expected to stream on HBO Max at some point after its theatrical run. No official streaming release date for the movie has yet been given, but as it comes from Warner Bros., it will likely arrive on the platform after its cinematic debut barring some unprecedented events or a unique deal.
Is 65 streaming on Prime Video?
After completing its huge $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, the movie studio behind 65, in March 2022, Amazon Studios will undoubtedly be making the film available to stream on their Prime Video platform.
The first two Creed movies are available to watch on the streaming service, so it is just a matter of time before 65 also makes an appearance. No official date has yet been set, but it will likely take a couple of months from the filmâs theatrical release before it is available for streaming.
Is 65 Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new movie 65 on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service. fedsg
2023.03.21 21:14 ar417 My weekend trip: 3 Broadway shows, 1 off-Broadway + bonus Museum of Broadway review
I posted a few weeks ago about how I was coming to New York for the first time since 2019. I packed 4 shows into a weekend and am now infinitely more excited to see how this year's Tonys play out. In the order of which I saw them:
Shucked - A lot of my thoughts are in line with the more lukewarm reviews on here. I had a great time and don't regret seeing it, but there were also a lot of things I didn't love about it. The comedy was definitely the main appeal. There were about a third of the jokes that really weren't my style (all the potty humor), and one that I think really crossed the line in a way that had me wondering why it was even included (the rape joke), but at the end there were just so many jokes that there were plenty that did have me giggling. I think the main issue I had with it was that it was so silly, that when it tried to be sentimental, it completely lost me. When I first saw their marketing I was confused at how none of it actually explained what the show was about, and now that I've seen it I can see why - the plot is not exactly the draw here. There were so many country ballads in the second act that I was just bored - I didn't care enough about these characters to stay invested. I also completely agree with everyone that Alex Newell is seriously underutilized and moreover I think part of the problem is that after a showstopper pretty early in the show, all of their songs are bland ballads where they really don't get to show off their skills. The other thing was that a lot of the jokes were played as self-deprecating jokes about rural people which plays as kind of weird to a New York audience, like even though the characters are laughing at themselves, the play as a whole is punching down. I kind of wonder who those jokes are for. Ticket notes: I got this through Broadway Roulette and was just so happy that I didn't get Bad Cinderella that I was probably in a better mood that night for it. I get seats in the middle of the mezzanine. The view was great but the leg room at the Nederlander is awful and the mezzanine is so steep that I got dizzy a few times.
Leopoldstadt - I came in with some mixed expectations about this one. I am Jewish and I also love Jewish history (I minored in Jewish Studies in college and did another year post-college of Torah study). A good number of my (also Jewish) friends had seen it before me and mostly had mixed reviews. I'm somewhat familiar with Tom Stoppard's other works, mostly Arcadia, which I saw twice and read. I also love a lot of "Jewish plays", but I don't usually love Holocaust fiction of any sort. Having said all that, I was almost surprised by how much I loved this and how 2 hours and 15 minutes flew by. I loved hearing them debate antisemitism, Zionism, Marxism, assmilation, etc. I loved the classic Stoppard technique of using mathematical concepts as a metaphor for the larger story. And though I've heard several people say they wish the Holocaust wasn't included, I think facing some of my own generational trauma was worth it because I loved the last scene. I will say that what contributed to my reaction was that A. my own ancestors were pretty similar to the family in the play (they were German and Italian and not Austrian, and I did have some more who particularly on the Italian side who got out before the Holocaust, but as far as them being completely secular and assimilated, and the German side of my family being almost completely erased, it was accurate) and B. I came in pretty prepared, having read Stoppard's story about his heritage and having been told that you shouldn't get bogged down in the characters or the relations, but rather on the dialogue. That was very good advice. Also, I love Falsettos and it was really good to see Brandon Uranowitz and Anthony Rosenthal together on stage again. Ticket notes: I got these through TDF and they were great seats in the front row of the mezzanine. Perfect for being able to capture the entire stage and all of the actors while also being able to clearly see their faces.
Kimberly Akimbo - My favorite show I saw on this trip! After seeing Shucked, I appreciated even more how well this show balanced humor with honest emotion. The entire cast was at the top of their game, and I don't think there was a single moment that I wasn't completely engaged. I didn't know Bonnie Milligan before this but I hope she shows up in EVERYTHING after hopefully winning the Tony for this.I also love Jeanine Tesori and this seemed like a great example of why. Ticket notes: I won the lottery! It seemed like at my show all the lottery winners were in the front row (the way I'm pretty sure it used to be with all shows). It has been a while since I've sat so close and while my neck didn't love it, it was so cool to be able to see every tiny detail and see the actors right there. Also I really feel like I lucked out by winning the lottery since I wanted to see this no matter what and was planning on rushing or doing TKTS otherwise, but this freed up my morning to do other things :)
Sleep No More - Not a Broadway show but one still theater, technically? This was the first ticket I bought for this trip (and ironically my most expensive one as there are no discounts that I know of) and I knew some going in but tried to keep mostly mostly spoiler-free. I'm very glad I experienced it and loved the world that they created but also I was completely lost on any semblance of plot besides what I know of the Scottish play, which did not really line up with what I actually saw. I didn't really stick with any one character mostly since I wasn't interested in running and especially not running up multiple flights of stairs repeatedly. I'm glad I got to see many different actors' performances, although I do wonder if I did follow just one, especially one of the Macbeth characters (I have now read that there are actually two plotlines happening, one based on Rebecca), I may have gotten a little more out of it. I do understand now why people go so many times since it would be good to see more scenes especially knowing more about how it works, although with the cost of a ticket I'm not really sure how that's feasible for most people. I did feel very lucky to get a one-on-one and it was both very cool and supremely uncomfortable. I am not used to all that prolonged eye contact and touching (consensual, but still surprising) from a stranger, let alone a stranger in character. Other notes: They do tell you to wear good shoes for walking which I did but I did not wear good shoes for standing and that did my feet in by the end of the three hours (plus time spent waiting in line). Also really glad I was warned to wear my contacts! COVID masks are no longer required but I still wear one and I would have seen nothing if I was wearing that plus my glasses under the stage mask. Also I'm really glad I didn't have a drink at the bar before the show because I already feel like I almost fell or stumbled multiple times in the dark and the chaos.
BONUS: The Museum of Broadway - This was gorgeous and very informative but not worth the price of admission. I was kind of shocked at how some of the other guests seemed to not be super invested in Broadway (I overheard someone asking another person what Hairspray is) because I would not have dropped that kind of money if it wasn't for pretty much my favorite topic. It took me about 90 minutes to get through, and that was while reading the panels somewhat thoroughly. I will stay that it was fun talking to the staff! They're mostly college-aged folks who were pretty nerdy for this stuff and it was fun to compare experiences of different musicals with them. Also my favorite of their prop collection is the cod from Come from Away.
Overall a successful trip! Curious to hear your thoughts about any of the above.
submitted by ar417 to Broadway [link] [comments]
Shucked - A lot of my thoughts are in line with the more lukewarm reviews on here. I had a great time and don't regret seeing it, but there were also a lot of things I didn't love about it. The comedy was definitely the main appeal. There were about a third of the jokes that really weren't my style (all the potty humor), and one that I think really crossed the line in a way that had me wondering why it was even included (the rape joke), but at the end there were just so many jokes that there were plenty that did have me giggling. I think the main issue I had with it was that it was so silly, that when it tried to be sentimental, it completely lost me. When I first saw their marketing I was confused at how none of it actually explained what the show was about, and now that I've seen it I can see why - the plot is not exactly the draw here. There were so many country ballads in the second act that I was just bored - I didn't care enough about these characters to stay invested. I also completely agree with everyone that Alex Newell is seriously underutilized and moreover I think part of the problem is that after a showstopper pretty early in the show, all of their songs are bland ballads where they really don't get to show off their skills. The other thing was that a lot of the jokes were played as self-deprecating jokes about rural people which plays as kind of weird to a New York audience, like even though the characters are laughing at themselves, the play as a whole is punching down. I kind of wonder who those jokes are for. Ticket notes: I got this through Broadway Roulette and was just so happy that I didn't get Bad Cinderella that I was probably in a better mood that night for it. I get seats in the middle of the mezzanine. The view was great but the leg room at the Nederlander is awful and the mezzanine is so steep that I got dizzy a few times.
Leopoldstadt - I came in with some mixed expectations about this one. I am Jewish and I also love Jewish history (I minored in Jewish Studies in college and did another year post-college of Torah study). A good number of my (also Jewish) friends had seen it before me and mostly had mixed reviews. I'm somewhat familiar with Tom Stoppard's other works, mostly Arcadia, which I saw twice and read. I also love a lot of "Jewish plays", but I don't usually love Holocaust fiction of any sort. Having said all that, I was almost surprised by how much I loved this and how 2 hours and 15 minutes flew by. I loved hearing them debate antisemitism, Zionism, Marxism, assmilation, etc. I loved the classic Stoppard technique of using mathematical concepts as a metaphor for the larger story. And though I've heard several people say they wish the Holocaust wasn't included, I think facing some of my own generational trauma was worth it because I loved the last scene. I will say that what contributed to my reaction was that A. my own ancestors were pretty similar to the family in the play (they were German and Italian and not Austrian, and I did have some more who particularly on the Italian side who got out before the Holocaust, but as far as them being completely secular and assimilated, and the German side of my family being almost completely erased, it was accurate) and B. I came in pretty prepared, having read Stoppard's story about his heritage and having been told that you shouldn't get bogged down in the characters or the relations, but rather on the dialogue. That was very good advice. Also, I love Falsettos and it was really good to see Brandon Uranowitz and Anthony Rosenthal together on stage again. Ticket notes: I got these through TDF and they were great seats in the front row of the mezzanine. Perfect for being able to capture the entire stage and all of the actors while also being able to clearly see their faces.
Kimberly Akimbo - My favorite show I saw on this trip! After seeing Shucked, I appreciated even more how well this show balanced humor with honest emotion. The entire cast was at the top of their game, and I don't think there was a single moment that I wasn't completely engaged. I didn't know Bonnie Milligan before this but I hope she shows up in EVERYTHING after hopefully winning the Tony for this.I also love Jeanine Tesori and this seemed like a great example of why. Ticket notes: I won the lottery! It seemed like at my show all the lottery winners were in the front row (the way I'm pretty sure it used to be with all shows). It has been a while since I've sat so close and while my neck didn't love it, it was so cool to be able to see every tiny detail and see the actors right there. Also I really feel like I lucked out by winning the lottery since I wanted to see this no matter what and was planning on rushing or doing TKTS otherwise, but this freed up my morning to do other things :)
Sleep No More - Not a Broadway show but one still theater, technically? This was the first ticket I bought for this trip (and ironically my most expensive one as there are no discounts that I know of) and I knew some going in but tried to keep mostly mostly spoiler-free. I'm very glad I experienced it and loved the world that they created but also I was completely lost on any semblance of plot besides what I know of the Scottish play, which did not really line up with what I actually saw. I didn't really stick with any one character mostly since I wasn't interested in running and especially not running up multiple flights of stairs repeatedly. I'm glad I got to see many different actors' performances, although I do wonder if I did follow just one, especially one of the Macbeth characters (I have now read that there are actually two plotlines happening, one based on Rebecca), I may have gotten a little more out of it. I do understand now why people go so many times since it would be good to see more scenes especially knowing more about how it works, although with the cost of a ticket I'm not really sure how that's feasible for most people. I did feel very lucky to get a one-on-one and it was both very cool and supremely uncomfortable. I am not used to all that prolonged eye contact and touching (consensual, but still surprising) from a stranger, let alone a stranger in character. Other notes: They do tell you to wear good shoes for walking which I did but I did not wear good shoes for standing and that did my feet in by the end of the three hours (plus time spent waiting in line). Also really glad I was warned to wear my contacts! COVID masks are no longer required but I still wear one and I would have seen nothing if I was wearing that plus my glasses under the stage mask. Also I'm really glad I didn't have a drink at the bar before the show because I already feel like I almost fell or stumbled multiple times in the dark and the chaos.
BONUS: The Museum of Broadway - This was gorgeous and very informative but not worth the price of admission. I was kind of shocked at how some of the other guests seemed to not be super invested in Broadway (I overheard someone asking another person what Hairspray is) because I would not have dropped that kind of money if it wasn't for pretty much my favorite topic. It took me about 90 minutes to get through, and that was while reading the panels somewhat thoroughly. I will stay that it was fun talking to the staff! They're mostly college-aged folks who were pretty nerdy for this stuff and it was fun to compare experiences of different musicals with them. Also my favorite of their prop collection is the cod from Come from Away.
Overall a successful trip! Curious to hear your thoughts about any of the above.
2023.03.21 21:11 Titin204 Spoilers for OT I and II. For those who have conpleted both games: Are you "dissapointed" with OT II?
IF YOU HAVEN'T CONPLETED BOTH GAMES THEN DON'T READ THIS POST.
I don't really want to say that I'm dissapointed with Octopath II because I still believe that it is a great sequel to a great game and I really enjoyed it, however, it fails with such simple things that makes it less funny than the first one.
Difficulty is the main problem, and some gameplay changes that didn't make any sense to add or omit for the sequel. At least in my playthrough, not a single boss was hard to beat (I only died to Ochette's final chapter boss). And I wasn't even overleveled to the chapters only Agnea was, because she was the one that I started with. Not even Vide could kill me, and during the fight he only killed one traveler. And why is this? Why the game is so easy compared to the first one? Well the answer is: they nerfed the OP skills from OT I but they added much more OP skills for OT II and the sad part is that there isn't a SINGLE boss (Galdera 2.0 is the exception) that can take these skills without dying instantly. How they did not notice this problem? Is just too easy to beat the bosses.
They also changed the way you "earned" the special jobs. In OT I the bosses to get them requiere the player to think of strategies before the battle and die a couple of time to finally get the perfect strategy and then get rewarded with a powerful new special job, it's satisfying to do that (hard workârewardâ satisfaction). With this game you just talk to someone and...the job is yours.??? Doesn't make any sense. Conjurer job did have a boss but she was as easy as normal bosses.
Also, the towns don't have a special theme for each one like the first game (it doesn't really bother me because they added a night version) but it would have been cool to hear a different song each time you arrived to a new town.
Skills: too many skills but in the end you only use half of them specially for the warrior, hunter, dancer and merchant jobs.
I still have to beat galdera 2.0 the only boss that actually is tough and it's a boss from the first game, ironic.
Don't get me wrong. Octopath traveler II is much better at the stories of the travelers, the world, exploration, playing with all 8 travelers at the end was cool af, the music is as good as the first one, variety of skills (even though you don't use them) but it failed on the simplest ones.
I don't know... I am just curious if you find any of these aspects as bad as I did. Thanks for reading.
submitted by Titin204 to octopathtraveler [link] [comments]
I don't really want to say that I'm dissapointed with Octopath II because I still believe that it is a great sequel to a great game and I really enjoyed it, however, it fails with such simple things that makes it less funny than the first one.
Difficulty is the main problem, and some gameplay changes that didn't make any sense to add or omit for the sequel. At least in my playthrough, not a single boss was hard to beat (I only died to Ochette's final chapter boss). And I wasn't even overleveled to the chapters only Agnea was, because she was the one that I started with. Not even Vide could kill me, and during the fight he only killed one traveler. And why is this? Why the game is so easy compared to the first one? Well the answer is: they nerfed the OP skills from OT I but they added much more OP skills for OT II and the sad part is that there isn't a SINGLE boss (Galdera 2.0 is the exception) that can take these skills without dying instantly. How they did not notice this problem? Is just too easy to beat the bosses.
They also changed the way you "earned" the special jobs. In OT I the bosses to get them requiere the player to think of strategies before the battle and die a couple of time to finally get the perfect strategy and then get rewarded with a powerful new special job, it's satisfying to do that (hard workârewardâ satisfaction). With this game you just talk to someone and...the job is yours.??? Doesn't make any sense. Conjurer job did have a boss but she was as easy as normal bosses.
Also, the towns don't have a special theme for each one like the first game (it doesn't really bother me because they added a night version) but it would have been cool to hear a different song each time you arrived to a new town.
Skills: too many skills but in the end you only use half of them specially for the warrior, hunter, dancer and merchant jobs.
I still have to beat galdera 2.0 the only boss that actually is tough and it's a boss from the first game, ironic.
Don't get me wrong. Octopath traveler II is much better at the stories of the travelers, the world, exploration, playing with all 8 travelers at the end was cool af, the music is as good as the first one, variety of skills (even though you don't use them) but it failed on the simplest ones.
I don't know... I am just curious if you find any of these aspects as bad as I did. Thanks for reading.
2023.03.21 21:11 chinadigital_agency Remote Business in China: Overview on Chinese Cross-Border Platforms
 | Since the beginning of the 20th century international trade has been a major driver of China's GDP growth. The liberalization of trade associated with free trade zones is now supported by the development of cross border ecommerce and online retailers business. There are some famous examples of Western online retail sites such as Amazon. China, however, is now a leading country in the field of online shopping development. submitted by chinadigital_agency to u/chinadigital_agency [link] [comments] Today we have prepared a detailed article for you with an overview of the TOP 9 popular and working cross-border ecommerce online marketplaces in China for remote business. In this article, you will learn why cross-border ecommerce is one of the most convenient ways for global brands from other countries to do business in the world's second largest economy using the potential of today's largest ecommerce market. Author: Alexander Sabantsev, China Digital Marketing Agency https://preview.redd.it/wcvrcwo2f5pa1.png?width=861&format=png&auto=webp&s=696bf2aa1ffad51d19558471ea2c748b5d775d8b The benefits of working with Chinese customers through cross border e-commerce are a driver for any Chinese company to increase revenue, as leading e-commerce platforms and online shopping help to improve the connection between Chinese sellers and Chinese shoppers. Chinese shoppers are mostly online shoppers, as the average Chinese spends more than 5 hours a day on mobile services. Modern Chinese consumers consider online retail as the most convenient way to easily select goods from both Chinese businesses and international sellers, who in turn are interested in online sales as a way to reduce costs and benefit from the flash sales effect. Nowadays, the cross-border Chinese ecommerce system allows foreign companies to conduct business activities through a global supply chain and enter China's complex market without having to establish a Chinese legal entity, open an account in a Chinese bank, and create a very expensive operational infrastructure such as opening an office, a warehouse, hiring employees, etc. In order to attract as many foreign brands as possible, most of China's major marketplaces, interested in increasing the number of third party sellers, have launched cross-border trading sections on their platforms in recent years. Tmall GlobalFounded in 2014, Tmall Global is a leading cross border China online marketplace and one of the fastest growing ecommerce platforms with a large market share among other online marketplaces in China which are engaged in international trade. This China marketplace is a special online platform for trading imported goods of the flagship Chinese online marketplace â Tmall owned by Alibaba Group. 800 million people are active Tmall users, and one in eight of them shop on Tmall Global. About 30% of the more than 100 million audience belong to Generation Z, the most active group of Chinese consumers on China market.On the other hand, Tmall Global sells 35 000 international brands from over 90 countries through its online marketplace market. For 80% of them, Jack Ma's online marketplace has become the first sales channel in the Chinese market with one of the highest transaction volumes. Such popularity of this China marketplace is explained by the fact that Tmall has never had a clear specialization in the sale of goods related to a very narrow product niche. As a result, Tmall Global generally attracts a wide variety of shoppers with a wide variety of needs. However, unlike Taobao mall which operates on the consumer-to-consumer model, Tmall is not an online marketplace for small businesses. Entry requirements are high for both domestic companies and international merchants. Chinese online marketplaces Tmall and Tmall Global are more attractive for global brands specializing in manufacturing high quality products, the probability of buying counterfeit products on one of the largest chain store in China is minimal. We should note that manufacturers of beauty and health products and light-weight snacks with medium and high margins should pay special attention to this platform. Home page (left), product card (center) and Tmall Global online store page (right) KaolaKaola is another leading Chinese marketplace and is one of the largest online marketplaces engaged in cross-border ecommerce. The Kaola platform attracts over 30 million users with a 25% market share of all cross-border Chinese marketplaces trade transactions in China. The name of the Chinese marketplace (consonant with the word "koala") suggests that it was originally focused exclusively on Australian brands. But a little later, the scope of the Chinese online marketplace expanded to include the sale of imported goods from all over the world.However, unlike Tmall and some other Chinese marketplaces, Kaola is positioned as a slightly more "prestigious" China online marketplace for the Chinese middle class whose representatives often go to the platform for shopping. The loyalty of this demanding group of consumers is ensured by a strict system of product selection and quality control. The online marketplace has even developed its own system that helps shoppers track the customs history of goods using QR codes. Thanks to this, users have no doubts about the authenticity of the goods sold. As a result, the brand's presence on Kaola increases its appeal in China. The main product categories on the Chinese marketplace are infant formula and other children's products, snacks, health foods, cosmetics, apparel, accessories and home appliances. Home page (left), product card (center) and online store page (right) J.D. WorldwideJD Worldwide, the import section of another popular third party marketplace JD.com, is seen as an alternative to the top online marketplaces such as Tmall Global for exporters looking to generate revenue from cross-border trade.JD has become a famous China marketplace for having the most developed system of its own warehouses and delivery of goods. The company is also trying to maintain its brand by working with foreign merchants. JD Worldwide has partnered with global (DHL) and regional (Australia Post and Yamato) logistics leaders. In addition, the Chinese online marketplace has 32 warehouses for cross-border trade. In January 2022, JD announced a partnership with western e-commerce giant Shopify. This allowed Shopify sellers to enter the Chinese market through JD with little to no effort. As with Tmall, almost every conceivable category of B2C products is sold on the JD platform. However, manufacturers of goods for automobiles, home appliances and electronics should pay special attention to JD Worldwide. The majority of Chinese consumers look for such goods on JD, expecting the high quality approach and effective after sales services. Today, it is difficult to consider JD as one of the pure play marketplaces because its scope is quite broad. JD Worldwide home page (left), promotional offers section (center) and product card (right) Duoduo InternationalThe Pinduoduo marketplace (PDD) became a major Chinese ecommerce sensation in the second half of the 2010s due to two reasons. First, unlike other popular Chinese online marketplaces, Pinduoduo is a group shopping system that allows users to buy together at very deep discounts. The second is its focus on consumers from China's affluent hinterland. But it has also become a source of vulnerability in the e-commerce platform's business model. Although Pinduoduo's active users are on par with the market leader Tmall, the total sales of goods on the site are significantly lower than those on Alibaba's marketplace and some other Chinese online marketplaces.In order to somehow solve this problem, Pinduoduo launched its own cross-border section - Duoduo International in 2019. As a newcomer in this business, PDD started to attract foreign brands with favorable conditions for entering the Chinese marketplace. Unlike other marketplaces, the owners of online stores on Duoduo International do not have to pay an annual service fee, and the registration deposit and order commission are noticeably lower than those of competitors. However, cross-border from PDD has a significant drawback â the marketplace does not have its own warehouses and logistics solutions, so sellers have to deal with these issues themselves. Pinduoduo is actively developing the trade of foreign cosmetics and perfumes. Taking into account the main audience of the site, we can recommend Duoduo International to manufacturers of conspicuous consumption products. Pinduoduo home page (left), product card (center) and online store page (right) Douyin Cross BorderDouyin, the Chinese twin brother of TikTok, has become a symbol of the convergence of social media and online retail in China. Douyin has many of the elements needed to succeed in e-commerce. On the one hand, it has the most engaging content formats â short videos watched by 900 million Chinese on various platforms, and live broadcasts, which became one of the main profit-making tools in Chinese online commerce in the 2010s. On the other hand, there are more than 600 million active users and an army of influencers who have earned the trust of their subscribers.Therefore, in 2018, Douyin entered the e-commerce market, initially by actively collaborating with Alibaba marketplaces. Two years later, Douyin broke off its partnership with Tmall and built its own infrastructure to provide full-cycle in-app trading. And in 2021, it began to attract foreign brands for cross-border trade. On the whole, cross-border trading on Douyin is still in the early stages of development, which allows even small-brand product sellers to carve out a significant niche on the platform. However, when choosing which products to display and how to promote them, it is very important to remember that Douyin is the territory of wealthy Gen Z consumers. Video (left), product search (center) and online store page (right) on Douyin Kuaishou Cross BorderKuaishou, with its 400 million viewers, is often metaphorically called "TikTok for the Chinese village". The majority of its users are young residents of provincial cities who prefer to watch short videos about people similar to themselves, rather than about the daily lives of rich KOLs.Although Kuaishou is still playing catch-up with Douyin, the social network began to engage in e-commerce much earlier than its main competitor. As a result, about 20% of the company's revenue now comes from e-commerce (while Douyin still relies mainly on advertising revenue). But at the same time, like Douyin, Kuaishou only announced the start of its cross-border business last year. Therefore, this part of Kuaishou's business is still in its infancy, which may be even more beneficial for exporters - the platform will offer more favorable cooperation terms and additional services at this stage. However, it is not so easy to get on Kuaishou now - the site only accepts manufacturers of cosmetics, food, watches and luxury goods, and then only by invitation from Kuaishou itself. Video (left), online store page (center) and product card (right) on Kuaishou VIP InternationalVIP.com is one of the oldest Chinese marketplaces, as well as the world's largest flash-sale marketplace (the main method of sales on it is discount offers that are valid for no more than 24 hours). The products that are sold on this Chinese marketplace are mainly related to the fashion industry â clothes, shoes, cosmetics, etc.While VIP.com is no match for the largest marketplaces in China's overall e-commerce market, its cross-border division, VIP International, is among the market leaders, accounting for approximately 10% of China's cross-border B2C commerce. Buying popular brands at low prices is what its users come to the platform for. Therefore, unless you are a world famous brand, VIP.com is unlikely to be your first sales channel in China. VIP.com main page (left), product card (center) and online store page (right) Little Red Book Cross-BorderIf Douyin and Kuaishou are Chinese versions of TikTok, then Little Red Book (or simply RED) can be loosely described as the local Instagram. On this platform, ordinary users and influencers talk about their lifestyles and write reviews on the products they use (mostly these are clothes, cosmetics, skin care products). Other users can purchase the products shown in the photos with just a few clicks. This can be done both in stores within the application and by clicking on links to third-party marketplaces (for example, Tmall). In this way, a business account on Little Red Book can serve two functions at once â an independent sales channel and a tool for promoting products on other platforms.It is worth noting that RED has a very unusual demographic profile â about 90% of the platform's 100 million audience are women. Little Red Book home page (left), shopping section (center), and product card (right) Suning GlobalSuning was originally known in China as a large offline retailer of various electronics. Later, it began to expand both in terms of the breadth of the range of goods in various categories, and in terms of its presence on the Chinese Internet. One step in Suning's e-commerce push was to attract cross-border brands from overseas.However, Suning is not only waiting for brands of foreign electronic equipment to enter its marketplace. The company writes on its website that it primarily would like to see foreign manufacturers of baby food, cosmetics, shoes, bags and food products on its platform. In addition, while other major e-commerce platforms prefer to deal with brands that have not yet entered the Chinese market, Suning explicitly states that brands that are already listed on Tmall or JD are more likely to open an online store. To date, Suning is the least significant of the major players, with its marketplace accounting for approximately 1.5% of the total cross-border market in China. Home page (left), product card (center) and online store page (right) ConclusionsToday, more than 1400 categories of various products can be exported to China through cross-border channels (a complete list of these categories can be found at the link â a document in Chinese). Today cross-border ecommerce gives numerous opportunities to purchase inventory directly, buy consumer products from foreign brands, etc.You can open your own cross-border online store on a dozen Chinese platforms and become a successful online retailer. Some of them are traditional marketplaces, while others are social networks with e-commerce features. But despite the differences, their requirements for exporters are similar: â Entity registered outside of China â Foreign registered trademark â Statement from a foreign bank account â Copy of passport of company's representative â Payment of a refundable deposit (from $1.5 thousand on Pinduoduo to $10-47 thousand dollars on Tmall, depending on the category) â Payment of an annual service fee (from $1 thousand for JD to $4.7-9.4 thousand for Tmall) â Platform commission on orders (from 0.6% on Pinduoduo to 2-10% on Kaola) Trading through cross-border makes it much easier to do business in China. The absence of the need to open a legal entity and a bank account in China helps reduce the risks of entering an unfamiliar market. Thus, small brands have the opportunity to test the demand for their products in China or prove to investors that they are promising without large initial investments. China is closer than you think. |
2023.03.21 21:11 TheAmazingButtcrack Advance review of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising by C. S. Friedman
This advance review of Nightborn: Coldfire Rising has just been posted on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist:
When C. S. Friedman got in touch with me to see if I'd like an early read of the forthcoming Coldfire prequel Nightborn: Coldire Rising, needless to say I was extremely excited. Not only would we get the story of the founding of Erna, but the book would also include a revised edition of the novella Dominion, which I read and reviewed back in 2012. It's been a while, that's for sure. Crown of Shadows, final installment in the original series, was published in 1995. Since then, the Coldfire trilogy has remained in print and very few SFF works can boast of such longevity unless they're quite good.
Friedman has always been adamant that there would never be a sequel to the Coldfire series. And nearly three decades down the line, it doesn't look like she will change her mind. However, the market for shorter works, especially novellas, has been expanding in recent years. So much so that she realized that the time could be ripe to explore ideas and concepts that, while they lacked enough material to warrant a novel-length project, could be turned into books that couldn't have been published just a few years back. Dominion was the first such project and it turned out to be a wonderful read.
Nightborn: Coldire Rising focuses on the Founding of Erna and what led to the First Sacrifice. Fans might recall that it's a tale hinted at in the prologue of When True Night Falls. Dominion recounts the story of how Gerald Tarrant mastered the Forest and became the Hunter. This novella takes place 613 years following the settlement of the colony on Erna and about six centuries prior to the events of the Coldfire trilogy. Friedman realized that Erna has a rich history that is hinted at in the series and that there was a wealth of material for potential prequels. Mapping out such story arcs, the author envisioned a set of novellas that would also explore the Age of the False Messiahs, the Neo-Gothic Revival and its Unification Wars, the great Rakhene Genocide, the transformation of the Forbidden Forest into Tarrantâs private hunting ground, and the Churchâs doomed war against him and his minions. All of which has this Coldfire fan pretty excited!
Some readers unfamiliar with the original trilogy will wonder if Nightborn: Coldire Rising makes a good starting point for newbies. Yes, it is a prequel and efforts were made by the author to make this book a somewhat stand-alone work that can be read and understood without having read the Coldfire trilogy. And yet, why would you want to do that? The Coldfire series is a seminal work of dark fantasy that has withstood the test of time, so why would you want to pick up this one before reading the original material? Though Nightborn: Coldire Rising can be read on its own, without the context provided by the original trilogy you'd be missing out on lots of things and not just a few nuances. You might enjoy Dominion without having prior knowledge of Gerald Tarrant, but if you actually know the story of this fascinating badass character you'll be ecstatic. This new one is slated to be released in July, so there is ample time for you to find out for yourself just how brillant the Coldfire trilogy truly is by starting with Black Sun Rising. Follow this Amazon Associate link to learn more about this title and its sequels. Believe you me: You'll love them! And you'll be up-to-date when this prequel hits the shelves this summer.
Here's the blurb:
A prequel to the lauded Coldfire trilogy, Friedman's latest novel mixes the best of dark fantasy and chilling sci-fi.
A ship full of colonists arrive on a seemingly hospitable planet, only to discover that it harbors a terrifying secret. Soon the settlers find themselves caught up in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, bringing a personâs greatest fears and darkest nightmares to life.
As Colony Commander Leon Case and Chief Medic Lise Perez struggle to find a way to control the fae before more people die, other settlers have ideas of their ownâŚand they may prove more of a threat to colony than the fae itself.
Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is a tale that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, suspenseful and emotionally intense, as a handful of humans struggle to survive on an alien world that seems determined to kill them. In the end they will have to draw upon both scientific knowledge and mystical traditions to save themselves.
Whether you're just discovering the Coldfire universe through this prequel or returning to it as a classic favorite, Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is the perfect entry point to this unique, genre-blending space fantasy epic.
As mentioned, Nightborn: Coldire Rising is the story of the Founding of Erna. It focuses on the horrors that the colonists had to face when they first encountered the mysterious and all-encompassing force they'll come to know as the fae. Coming out of cryogenic sleep after decades spent searching for an habitable planet, the leading faction of the settlers discover that their ship has been observing Erna for ninety years before waking them up. There are obviously some anomalies that prevented the ship from approving the planet as an acceptable settlement for their colony, but they can't find anything concrete as to why the process took this long. In an essay she wrote for her Patreon, Friedman says that one of the most interesting facets of the Coldfire Trilogy is its science fiction background. The people who landed on Erna were rational, scientifically minded people, from a culture not unlike our own. Yet a thousand years later they would have lost all their technology, mastered the fae (as much as anyone could), and adopted terminology and trappings from mysticism and sorcery. How did they get from point A to point B, changing not only their technology but the very tenor of their society? This is the question that she tried to answer with this newest work. How did the colonists figure out what the fae was in the first place? Fans of the trilogy will know that there were no adepts when the colonists landed on Erna. Hence, nobody could see it without Working their sight, but human beings hadnât learned to Work yet. According to Friedman, this was the biggest challenge to address. If the colonists couldnât see the fae, didnât even know it was there to begin with, and had never encountered anything like it to make them suspect it even existed, how did they figure out how to See it, much less control it? That ended up being the main theme of Nightborn: Coldire Rising: a group of colonists trapped on a planet where a seemingly supernatural force was manifesting their darkest instincts and wildest nightmares, who were struggling to figure out what the hell it was and how to gain a measure of control over it before it killed them all.
And time is running out. When I started reading the book, I believed that the tale would cover the span of several months. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Nightborn: Coldire Rising only covers a period of about twenty days. Less than three weeks, that's how long it took for everything to go down the crapper. This lends a tense and suspenseful atmosphere to the story and forces characters to make questionable decisions as their lives and their chances of survival continue to unravel with each passing day. Though I would have liked for the story to cover a bit more ground and give us more than a glimpse of the colonists' early days on Erna, there's no denying that it is self-contained and ends with the aftermath of the First Sacrifice. You reach the ending wanting more, but this new Coldfire tale does what it set out to do. Understandably, it's more scifi than fantasy, and might feel a little discordant with the original material, at least stylistically. Yet a settlement story couldn't be anything else, and I'm sure that fans will enjoy discovering how it all began.
As for Dominion, well it was a doozy! Even though I read the original version a decade ago, like all Coldfire fans I relished the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite SFF characters of all time: Gerald Tarrant. And even though this one occurs more than six centuries into the pass, Friedman recaptured the feel of the Coldfire books. This makes this one impossible to put down and you'll likely finish it in a single sitting. As I mentioned in my first review, Friedman sets the mood perfectly. The narrative grabs hold of you and won't let go. The prose is evocative and the Forest almost becomes a character in its own right. Sure, some will say that hardcore fans are already won over. But it's no secret that the author knows how to draw readers into her tales and Dominion is no different.
The novella features the POVs of two protagonists. The first is that of Gerald Tarrant, first Neocount of Merentha. Although the thirty pages or so don't provide enough of an opportunity to fully appreciate this chance to see Tarrant in action and witness events unfold through his eyes, I loved every single moment of it. Hot damn, I want more! The second perspective is that of Faith, last survivor of a band of knights of the Church hunting faeborn creatures in the Forest. She possesses a special gift known as the Earth's blessing; the fae does not respond to her. Both characters find themselves in the heart of the Forest; one trying to escape, while the other means to best it. I think Friedman created a good balance between the two POV sections throughout the novella. I also enjoyed how the author introduced Amoril and how he became part of Tarrant's entourage.You reach the end too quickly for my taste, but again this tale is as long as it needs to be.
If all goes according to plan, Friedman says that the next novella will be a tale from the Neo-Gothic era, when a young idealist named Gerald Tarrant brings faith to his world, even as darkness begins to take root within his own soul. The author believes that fans of Gerald Tarrant will love to watch that corruption unfold, as well as seeing parts of his personal history that he hinted at in the original trilogy. So Coldfire fans unite! Unless Nightborn: Coldire Rising is a success, we might never get to read that new story. And I for one cannot countenance such a thing! I also want to read every other planned Coldfire novella, so we need to make it happen!
Original link: https://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2023/03/nightborn-coldfire-rising.html
I'm so excited to read this one!:)
submitted by TheAmazingButtcrack to Fantasy [link] [comments]
When C. S. Friedman got in touch with me to see if I'd like an early read of the forthcoming Coldfire prequel Nightborn: Coldire Rising, needless to say I was extremely excited. Not only would we get the story of the founding of Erna, but the book would also include a revised edition of the novella Dominion, which I read and reviewed back in 2012. It's been a while, that's for sure. Crown of Shadows, final installment in the original series, was published in 1995. Since then, the Coldfire trilogy has remained in print and very few SFF works can boast of such longevity unless they're quite good.
Friedman has always been adamant that there would never be a sequel to the Coldfire series. And nearly three decades down the line, it doesn't look like she will change her mind. However, the market for shorter works, especially novellas, has been expanding in recent years. So much so that she realized that the time could be ripe to explore ideas and concepts that, while they lacked enough material to warrant a novel-length project, could be turned into books that couldn't have been published just a few years back. Dominion was the first such project and it turned out to be a wonderful read.
Nightborn: Coldire Rising focuses on the Founding of Erna and what led to the First Sacrifice. Fans might recall that it's a tale hinted at in the prologue of When True Night Falls. Dominion recounts the story of how Gerald Tarrant mastered the Forest and became the Hunter. This novella takes place 613 years following the settlement of the colony on Erna and about six centuries prior to the events of the Coldfire trilogy. Friedman realized that Erna has a rich history that is hinted at in the series and that there was a wealth of material for potential prequels. Mapping out such story arcs, the author envisioned a set of novellas that would also explore the Age of the False Messiahs, the Neo-Gothic Revival and its Unification Wars, the great Rakhene Genocide, the transformation of the Forbidden Forest into Tarrantâs private hunting ground, and the Churchâs doomed war against him and his minions. All of which has this Coldfire fan pretty excited!
Some readers unfamiliar with the original trilogy will wonder if Nightborn: Coldire Rising makes a good starting point for newbies. Yes, it is a prequel and efforts were made by the author to make this book a somewhat stand-alone work that can be read and understood without having read the Coldfire trilogy. And yet, why would you want to do that? The Coldfire series is a seminal work of dark fantasy that has withstood the test of time, so why would you want to pick up this one before reading the original material? Though Nightborn: Coldire Rising can be read on its own, without the context provided by the original trilogy you'd be missing out on lots of things and not just a few nuances. You might enjoy Dominion without having prior knowledge of Gerald Tarrant, but if you actually know the story of this fascinating badass character you'll be ecstatic. This new one is slated to be released in July, so there is ample time for you to find out for yourself just how brillant the Coldfire trilogy truly is by starting with Black Sun Rising. Follow this Amazon Associate link to learn more about this title and its sequels. Believe you me: You'll love them! And you'll be up-to-date when this prequel hits the shelves this summer.
Here's the blurb:
A prequel to the lauded Coldfire trilogy, Friedman's latest novel mixes the best of dark fantasy and chilling sci-fi.
A ship full of colonists arrive on a seemingly hospitable planet, only to discover that it harbors a terrifying secret. Soon the settlers find themselves caught up in a desperate battle for survival against the fae, a natural force with the power to prey upon the human mind itself, bringing a personâs greatest fears and darkest nightmares to life.
As Colony Commander Leon Case and Chief Medic Lise Perez struggle to find a way to control the fae before more people die, other settlers have ideas of their ownâŚand they may prove more of a threat to colony than the fae itself.
Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is a tale that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, suspenseful and emotionally intense, as a handful of humans struggle to survive on an alien world that seems determined to kill them. In the end they will have to draw upon both scientific knowledge and mystical traditions to save themselves.
Whether you're just discovering the Coldfire universe through this prequel or returning to it as a classic favorite, Nightborn: Coldfire Rising is the perfect entry point to this unique, genre-blending space fantasy epic.
As mentioned, Nightborn: Coldire Rising is the story of the Founding of Erna. It focuses on the horrors that the colonists had to face when they first encountered the mysterious and all-encompassing force they'll come to know as the fae. Coming out of cryogenic sleep after decades spent searching for an habitable planet, the leading faction of the settlers discover that their ship has been observing Erna for ninety years before waking them up. There are obviously some anomalies that prevented the ship from approving the planet as an acceptable settlement for their colony, but they can't find anything concrete as to why the process took this long. In an essay she wrote for her Patreon, Friedman says that one of the most interesting facets of the Coldfire Trilogy is its science fiction background. The people who landed on Erna were rational, scientifically minded people, from a culture not unlike our own. Yet a thousand years later they would have lost all their technology, mastered the fae (as much as anyone could), and adopted terminology and trappings from mysticism and sorcery. How did they get from point A to point B, changing not only their technology but the very tenor of their society? This is the question that she tried to answer with this newest work. How did the colonists figure out what the fae was in the first place? Fans of the trilogy will know that there were no adepts when the colonists landed on Erna. Hence, nobody could see it without Working their sight, but human beings hadnât learned to Work yet. According to Friedman, this was the biggest challenge to address. If the colonists couldnât see the fae, didnât even know it was there to begin with, and had never encountered anything like it to make them suspect it even existed, how did they figure out how to See it, much less control it? That ended up being the main theme of Nightborn: Coldire Rising: a group of colonists trapped on a planet where a seemingly supernatural force was manifesting their darkest instincts and wildest nightmares, who were struggling to figure out what the hell it was and how to gain a measure of control over it before it killed them all.
And time is running out. When I started reading the book, I believed that the tale would cover the span of several months. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Nightborn: Coldire Rising only covers a period of about twenty days. Less than three weeks, that's how long it took for everything to go down the crapper. This lends a tense and suspenseful atmosphere to the story and forces characters to make questionable decisions as their lives and their chances of survival continue to unravel with each passing day. Though I would have liked for the story to cover a bit more ground and give us more than a glimpse of the colonists' early days on Erna, there's no denying that it is self-contained and ends with the aftermath of the First Sacrifice. You reach the ending wanting more, but this new Coldfire tale does what it set out to do. Understandably, it's more scifi than fantasy, and might feel a little discordant with the original material, at least stylistically. Yet a settlement story couldn't be anything else, and I'm sure that fans will enjoy discovering how it all began.
As for Dominion, well it was a doozy! Even though I read the original version a decade ago, like all Coldfire fans I relished the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite SFF characters of all time: Gerald Tarrant. And even though this one occurs more than six centuries into the pass, Friedman recaptured the feel of the Coldfire books. This makes this one impossible to put down and you'll likely finish it in a single sitting. As I mentioned in my first review, Friedman sets the mood perfectly. The narrative grabs hold of you and won't let go. The prose is evocative and the Forest almost becomes a character in its own right. Sure, some will say that hardcore fans are already won over. But it's no secret that the author knows how to draw readers into her tales and Dominion is no different.
The novella features the POVs of two protagonists. The first is that of Gerald Tarrant, first Neocount of Merentha. Although the thirty pages or so don't provide enough of an opportunity to fully appreciate this chance to see Tarrant in action and witness events unfold through his eyes, I loved every single moment of it. Hot damn, I want more! The second perspective is that of Faith, last survivor of a band of knights of the Church hunting faeborn creatures in the Forest. She possesses a special gift known as the Earth's blessing; the fae does not respond to her. Both characters find themselves in the heart of the Forest; one trying to escape, while the other means to best it. I think Friedman created a good balance between the two POV sections throughout the novella. I also enjoyed how the author introduced Amoril and how he became part of Tarrant's entourage.You reach the end too quickly for my taste, but again this tale is as long as it needs to be.
If all goes according to plan, Friedman says that the next novella will be a tale from the Neo-Gothic era, when a young idealist named Gerald Tarrant brings faith to his world, even as darkness begins to take root within his own soul. The author believes that fans of Gerald Tarrant will love to watch that corruption unfold, as well as seeing parts of his personal history that he hinted at in the original trilogy. So Coldfire fans unite! Unless Nightborn: Coldire Rising is a success, we might never get to read that new story. And I for one cannot countenance such a thing! I also want to read every other planned Coldfire novella, so we need to make it happen!
Original link: https://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2023/03/nightborn-coldfire-rising.html
I'm so excited to read this one!:)
2023.03.21 21:10 EdPosterUser UK, Parliament Meeting: Pit Bull Lobby has the front seat
The DDAWatch is the main lobbying group who wants to remove the UK BSL.
Their post on Facebook about the metting taking place tonight 21st March at the Parliament is as follows:
Meeting later today: DDA Watch volunteers will be attending and speaking at the meeting later this afternoon:
Amplified Behaviour are hosting Part 2 of The Dog Bite Problem in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, UK.
'Is It The Dogs?' Chaired by Rosie Duffield MP and secretariat Marc the Vet.
Part 2 brings leading Industry experts in the field of breeding, training & behaviour together to discuss epigenetics, breed specific legislation (BSL) & the role that current dog training & breeding practices have on the rise in dangerous dogs.
Are we breeding, training & living with a more dangerous population of dogs than ever before? What factors can turn manâs best friend into a hound from hell? We ask once and for all âIs it the dogs?â
Speakers include the honourable Wayne David MP, Yours truly, Hannah Molloy of Amplified Behaviour, Animal Behaviour Kent's super brain Daniel Shaw, The School of Canine Science's superstar behaviour guru Jo-rosie Haffenden, Expert witness legend Helen Howell Dog Behaviour Expert, Battersea's Research Specialist Helen McNally and BSL expert Sian Davies from DDA Watch
If you missed Part 1 in November and want to get up to speed on what was discussed I caught up with Colin Spence & Patricia McGrady on their podcast Dog Speak you can listen to on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/70FHDe7PtZzVDfQsSO0HyR
And you can hear my opening speech delivered in Parliament last November in the closing episode of The Future Of Dogs Podcast here: https://futureofdogs.buzzsprout.com/1970778/12421864
submitted by EdPosterUser to BanPitBulls [link] [comments]
Their post on Facebook about the metting taking place tonight 21st March at the Parliament is as follows:
Meeting later today: DDA Watch volunteers will be attending and speaking at the meeting later this afternoon:
Amplified Behaviour are hosting Part 2 of The Dog Bite Problem in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, UK.
'Is It The Dogs?' Chaired by Rosie Duffield MP and secretariat Marc the Vet.
Part 2 brings leading Industry experts in the field of breeding, training & behaviour together to discuss epigenetics, breed specific legislation (BSL) & the role that current dog training & breeding practices have on the rise in dangerous dogs.
Are we breeding, training & living with a more dangerous population of dogs than ever before? What factors can turn manâs best friend into a hound from hell? We ask once and for all âIs it the dogs?â
Speakers include the honourable Wayne David MP, Yours truly, Hannah Molloy of Amplified Behaviour, Animal Behaviour Kent's super brain Daniel Shaw, The School of Canine Science's superstar behaviour guru Jo-rosie Haffenden, Expert witness legend Helen Howell Dog Behaviour Expert, Battersea's Research Specialist Helen McNally and BSL expert Sian Davies from DDA Watch
If you missed Part 1 in November and want to get up to speed on what was discussed I caught up with Colin Spence & Patricia McGrady on their podcast Dog Speak you can listen to on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/70FHDe7PtZzVDfQsSO0HyR
And you can hear my opening speech delivered in Parliament last November in the closing episode of The Future Of Dogs Podcast here: https://futureofdogs.buzzsprout.com/1970778/12421864