Certain horses nyt crossword
5 Things You May Not Have Known You Could Do In TOTK!!
2023.06.03 18:41 LBPrice62 5 Things You May Not Have Known You Could Do In TOTK!!
*Collect 4 Sage's Wills then take them to a blessing statue to strengthen the powers of a sage of your choice, there are 20 total to upgrade them all!!
*In the depths there are 34 yiga schematics you can collect with yiga designed machines!! Also with each yiga schematic, there is a treasure chest with 20 crystallized charges, that's a total of 680 crystallized charges, almost enough for 7 battery upgrades!!
*You can make your own home with the possibility of having up to 3 rooms each of bow, weapon, or shield stands!!
*At the Horse God's Spring, Malanya can not only bring your horse back to life, but she can now upgrade your horse's stats to all 5 stars in all categories if you bring her certain meals!!
*You can grow a crop of any 1 vegetable of your choice including Big Hearty Radishes and Endura Carrots!!
submitted by LBPrice62 to tearsofthekingdom [link] [comments]
*In the depths there are 34 yiga schematics you can collect with yiga designed machines!! Also with each yiga schematic, there is a treasure chest with 20 crystallized charges, that's a total of 680 crystallized charges, almost enough for 7 battery upgrades!!
*You can make your own home with the possibility of having up to 3 rooms each of bow, weapon, or shield stands!!
*At the Horse God's Spring, Malanya can not only bring your horse back to life, but she can now upgrade your horse's stats to all 5 stars in all categories if you bring her certain meals!!
*You can grow a crop of any 1 vegetable of your choice including Big Hearty Radishes and Endura Carrots!!
2023.06.03 18:14 _DiE4U_ Upper Cuspids Extraction
 | [Currently 5 trays into my treatment and it’s been fine. Haven’t notice anything major yet] submitted by _DiE4U_ to Invisalign [link] [comments] Anyhow, my Ortho I had told that with my treatment plan he wanted me to have my upper cupids remove in order to create space to bring my two big front teeth in but currently my bite is bad that I can’t eat certain things or bite down with my other teeth’s so I rely on using my upper cuspids for everything. Also, I read that not having them will affect chewing and speech a lot which I’m already having issues. Another thing is I have massive horse teeth I feel like my mouths going look so weird. Has anyone have their upper cupids remove and been fine without it? [yes, I will talk to my Ortho and I’m not against following his advice either I’m just scared taking out healthy teeth] |
2023.06.03 17:31 Blubber28 Gathering Storm Round 2 - The results!
 | Good day to everyone! Here are the results for round 2 of the Gathering Storm competition. submitted by Blubber28 to SprocketTankDesign [link] [comments] First, I want to start off with an apology for taking so long. I wish I had been able to give the results sooner, but unfortunately, May was quite an eventful month for me. Finding the time to make this post has been difficult, as writing it takes up quite some time. But, alas here it is, and I hope you will excuse the long waiting time. I also want to quickly mention that the next round will take place at some point after the internal space rework has rolled out, likely somewhere in July. If you like these competitions, keep an eye on the subreddit by then, and consider participating in a different competition in the meantime :) With that out of the way, I do want to thank everyone who participated. I loved seeing some of you mention that getting the vehicle up to 50 km/h was quite a challenge, as that was exactly what it was meant to be :). Some of you have been in competitions before, while there were also some newcomers. With 8 participants, I feel like I am still able to rank all entries and give them a review. If we do at some point reach over 10, I may start to limit the number of entries discussed in the result posts, but I don't think we'll get there soon XD. I have changed the scoring again, making armour its own category (with less weight due to the nature of this round). It was somewhat clunky for me to properly adjudicate points to it as a subcategory of 'utility,' like it was previously. This system should be much better at rewarding additional protection overall. As always, I will also mention that while certain designs were better than others, I could tell that every single one had effort and thought put into it. In this particular round, you were asked to design an alternate universe Type 97 Chi-Ha, and I believe all (well, most, I'll get to that) designs offered an alternative worthy of consideration. With that out of the way, let's get into the meat of this post: The results! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8th place: The Type 97 "Zako" by u/benkavin. https://preview.redd.it/oevbdra65s3b1.png?width=1446&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ec59a26fbeb9347ae4f6b50be6a08f29e156ce4 This vehicle was certainly an interesting one to test out. I myself was quite surprised it ended up as the lowest ranked entry, as u/benkavin is quite a seasoned competition participant, ending up in the category top 5's of TEABAG several times. So, I will summarize why. As a quick disclaimer though, there is a method to the madness, and what I will say, I mean in a more playful manner rather than an offensive one. Please take that into consideration as you read the So, what is there to like about this tank? Several things, actually. It has a very low and generally small profile, which helps with its stealth. All this space is efficiently used, as all three crewmembers get the full cubic meter of space. Its engine is in the front, acting as an additional layer of protection, while the sprocket and transmission are in the back to spread the weight better. The radio antenna can be pushed out of the way when the turret turns, meaning it will not restrict turret movement. The suspension is simple (coil springs) and should be relatively easy to maintain. I also quite like the shape of this tank - especially the front part. It also clearly advertises that this is a light and nimble vehicle. Now, onto the less good parts. Some of the more observant among you may have noticed some flaws already. To start off with some visual/constructional flaws: The air vent in the direct front forms a weakspot, the exhaust blocks most of the driver's vision, and the protrusion at the back prevents the turret from rotating 360° and doesn't serve a particular purpose as far as I could tell. While the shape of the vehicle is quite nice in my opinion, it did lack any national decals or insignia. The suspension itself ingame is not well designed, and the vehicle bounces around on any bumps it crosses, so much so that I had to steer when driving over the testing bumps to stay on them. The backside protrusion blocks the cannon Needless to say, due to these flaws it scored quite low in the aesthetics and mobility categories. The armour protection was up to standard after a small revision, but not much more than necessary. In utility, it performed better in some aspects; it had 17° gun depression, 100% crew space, albeit for 3 crewmembers. There was one peculiarity where it rose above the competition, as it had a gearbox with only 5 gears in total (4f, 1r) to bring it up to the required 50 km/h. Still, it is sadly not enough to escape the last position. The pitch for this vehicle is quite short, but well made and nicely edited as pictures. While the limited length and the disclaimer at the end limit the salesmanship effectiveness, the rest makes up for it somewhat, meaning the pitch got a decent score overall. So, all this makes it the bottom-scoring entry for this particular round. And yet, with all this taken into account, this is one of my favourite entries. Now, you may wonder, why? Well, as I mentioned, there was a method to this madness. In one of the comments under the pitch Reddit post, our builder mentions the name means "Inferior Fish," and that this vehicle was designed by Chinese sympathizers in occupied Manchuria. This made me chuckle somewhat, as it puts a lot of the flaws into context. This also explains why the entry is at the bottom of the competition; it was made bad intentionally. It is the sprocket entry equivalent of purposefully failing a test, something that many people argue to be just as hard as succeeding on a test. So, with that, I take my hat off to you, u/benkavin, for purposefully creating a severely flawed vehicle and creating a decent pitch to try and sell it off to the invaders. While it did not win you the competition, I suspect that that was never the intent with such an entry. You can be very proud of your bottom score, as your vehicle excelled in what you made it to be. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7th place: The Type 6 Ke-Ha by u/Face_Stabbed. https://preview.redd.it/2w34cgnn5s3b1.png?width=1245&format=png&auto=webp&s=fdb7b8a64d85c6e81ded502159d9dd730f005192 A returning participant from round 1, which is nice to see. This vehicle, while its overall score was low, has some interesting qualities. It had a decent score in utility, mostly due to the large amount of fuel it carries: 860l in total, more than any other vehicle in the competition, which would enable the vehicle to perform long-distance operations with ease. It also carried the most ammunition, with 186 37mm rounds in total. It gave its three crewmembers maximum space, and fulfilled the preferred 6-speed gearbox. It also features three machine gun mounts; two at the front and one at the back of the turret. It didn't score great in the aesthetics category. Not because I think this is an ugly vehicle by any means, but rather due to the lack of national characteristics. I like the angular shape of the front, the protrusion at the back of the turret for the radio and machine gun, and the sponson shape at the front and back. It also looks very believable; you can easily imagine three crewmembers sitting quite comfortably within this vehicle. However, it does not exactly look like a Japanese vehicle, neither in shape nor in the details. There are also no national decals of any kind present, meaning that there was a small point reduction there. Its mobility and armour protection scores were adequate overall, though this vehicle suffered somewhat from the steering. It felt quite sluggish, both at low and high speeds. This made driving it difficult at times. My advice is to have a stronger first gear. This generally improves steering, especially at low speeds. The frontal hull armour does offer great protection due to the angling, and will likely bounce most things the Chinese could throw at it. The pitch was well-written; it had a logical structure and laid out the vehicles' characteristics very well. From reading it, you can really tell that it was carefully designed. It also included a stat sheet, and was decent at salesmanship. While this is near the bottom in the ranking, this is by no means a bad vehicle. I recommend keeping in mind the country that you are designing for, and trying to make the best of the space available, as there was a lot of free room left in the vehicle. With that advice, I would not be surprised to see you rise up in future competitions, as this design shows you have a great foundation in your sprocketeer skills! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th place: The Type 96 Te-Ha by u/Legodudelol9a. https://preview.redd.it/kbqq6klq5s3b1.png?width=1098&format=png&auto=webp&s=28c42bc65f983791c536d3bdc84095b8bc631685 Now, I cannot help but feel that this vehicle does look a little bit cursed, with the huge turret on the small hull. However, this is because it is re-using parts from existing designs submitted to other competitions. As refurbishing old tanks or creating designs using older parts wasn't out of the question in real life, I think it is an acceptable reason. Also, while it is not mentioned in the pitch, I do like to think that this is the reason the name is from the year before (Imperial Year 2596, or 1936 in the Roman years). Now, let's start with the review. This vehicle had a stellar score in utility, and scored the second highest in that category. From past experience, this seems to be a bit of a trademark for our moderator, as he's quite good at fitting a lot in a tight space. Or, to word it slightly less like an innuendo, he is quite good at using the available space. This tiny vehicle has 104 37mm rounds, 800l of fuel, nearly 20° of gun depression, maximum space allocated to four crewmembers, and three machine guns. The latter is also one of its flaws, however. Simply put, I think putting two machine guns that close to each other may make them nearly impossible to use, as they are likely in each other's way. The hull does also seem to be too small to realistically fit the driver and all the other hardware listed previously. Other than that, it does have the typical Japanese characteristics in its shape, especially with the asymmetrical turret. Its score in mobility was very mixed. It is the first vehicle reviewed here that managed to surpass the 50 km/h, topping out at around 50.8 km/h. It overcame all required obstacles and its steering was very smooth at all speeds, most likely due to the short length of the hull. However, it was the joint worst scoring entry on the obstacle course, together with the Type 97 "Zako." It suffered from the same issues; only three wheels with a very stiff suspension means that it just bounces around while trying to drive. It definitely lost out on a lot of points in that regard, but it was likely a necessary sacrifice to help cross the trench and climb the step obstacle. The frontal hull and turret armour are thicker than requested, making it quite durable in a hull-down position, which is complemented by the great gun depression. Other than that, the armour fulfills the requirements and not much more. The pitch was well-structured and laid out the details of the vehicle well, but sometimes it felt more like a technical summary rather than a sales pitch. While those details are important, they are not the main reason that makes the pitch stand out to potential buyers. All in all, I am once again surprised at all the utility that fits in such a small machine. A decent entry overall. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th place: The Type 19 Ha-To by u/bonnibelio. https://preview.redd.it/xi96s76u5s3b1.png?width=1318&format=png&auto=webp&s=2bfd3373a075b11ae4727bcb6a26acf20376421b Now we get to the top five entries. This was the first submitted entry to this particular round, and by a first-time participant no less. This is a solid first entry overall. In fact, it managed to score a category win in the newly made 'armour' category. While this category had a lower weight this round due to the nature of Japanese tank design, it is no mean feat. Its frontal protection went up to 50mm effective armour in places, and this was not just on small spots. The lower and upper glacis, as well as the sponsons and the turret side were well protected. Even then, the actual thickness of the flatter plates was 25mm on the hull and 30mm on the turret. These are significant differences, meaning that even dedicated anti-tank guns of the time will struggle to penetrate the front at a long to medium range. Even on the sides, the plate behind the tracks is 25mm thick, meaning they too are tough to crack. This added armour did somewhat impact the top speed, but it did manage to get to the required 50 km/h. It was also able to climb all required inclines and had a very well set up twin-transmission for both acceleration and steering. However, while I tried my best to overcome the 0.5m step, I wasn't able to do it. I even tried it backwards, but sadly it refused to climb it, no matter the method. So unfortunately I had to deduct some points there. The pitch was well structured and had some great pictures to go along with it, but it was lacking in salesmanship and era-appropriateness. This is likely due to the text itself being quite short. Now I don't require an essay referencing historical documents, of course, but I would say this area has the most room for improvement. Why were the Japanese looking for a tank, and why should it be yours? What is it expected to face, and what does this vehicle bring to the table to meet that threat? Those kinds of questions should be answered in a solid pitch, and they are not. I think if you keep them in mind in the future, that they will be of great use in writing your future pitches. In terms of utility, the Type 19 surpasses some of the requirements. It gets some bonus points for the 700l of fuel, and in addition offers a good 18,0° of gun depression, four crewmembers with decent space, more than one MG mount, and 6 gears per transmission. The aesthetics were also good, though it did also miss out on some points here. So, first of all, this vehicle very much looks the part of a Japanese tank, especially with the turret. However, it does look much more like a late-war design rather than an early-war one. I don't think this is surprising given the great Chi-Nu replica that u/bonnibelio was also working on, but it does mean it loses a point for era-appropriateness. The turret and hull look nice, but the hull does feel a little squished to me. I think crawling in there would have been difficult at the very least. The design does make great use of crewparts and decals to decorate the tank, as you can see here: There are decals that decorate certain parts of the tank, like the cupola, the custom fuel port, the plates on the turret, and the protective bars around the exhaust. I've seen parts and decals been used as decoration many times, but using them in tandem like this is a great skill, and it is executed very well on this design. All in all, this design is a good entry, especially for a first-time participant. u/bonnibelio, you can be proud of your creation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th place: The Type 4 Kin no Suisei (Ki-Su) by u/mei9k. https://preview.redd.it/4ksdtlrw5s3b1.png?width=1354&format=png&auto=webp&s=6844263ad430dcd46c1150896bd73dfe457f09c2 Another great entry from a first-time participant. Some of you may immediately see the resemblance to the old Type 89 I-Go (Chi-Ro) medium tank, the first domestic design by the Japanese. As it played a major role in the conquest of Manchuria in the early 30's, seeing a tank clearly evolved from that design for the later China campaigns is not out of the question. This vehicle had a shared top score in aesthetics. This is likely not a surprise if you take the time to look at the tank. It is a very unique looking machine, yet it makes sense given the history. It received top marks for national identity and a very high score for historical accuracy as well. I was also quite happily surprised to see the return of using placable plates for decoration, something that was much more popular back when rivets were not a thing yet in the game. And it looks great on this machine! The plates are all very neatly worked into the shape of the design. The turret has the typical round-ish shape with a machine gun sticking out the back, with nicely smoothed out plates. The hull, as mentioned, is very reminiscent of the Type 89 medium tank in its shape. In the pitch, it is said to be inspired by the cavalry riding horses, and one could see the resemblance. On top of the great shape, there is also plenty of details to look at, including custom wooden/bamboo boxes for stowage, access hatches for the engine, crew hatches in the turret and the front, and a special protrusion for the driver. I do imagine it may be quite tight for his legs, though, given how far forward the driver's visor is. Other than that, no major drawbacks were found aesthetics-wise. https://preview.redd.it/cd9k1pt66t3b1.png?width=1372&format=png&auto=webp&s=79945ed19a3b97bc684393bdaced6f40b8736554 And, well, they also made a variant with rust and decay, which looks pretty sick tbh: Freshly dug-up out of the mud While the looks were the best part of this machine, it is not its only quality. While the armour fulfilled the minimum and did not exceed it significantly in any place, the mobility score was also quite good. It manages to almost reach 51 km/h, so it was among the faster entries in the competition. It managed to overcome all necessary obstacles, and its steering was very smooth as well. Despite its strong suspension, the ride was relatively smooth over bumps - mostly because of speed and smaller roadwheels. Its utility score was on the lower side, which is not surprising given the small size of this tank. It carried the required fuel, ammunition, has three crewmembers at full space, and offers 17,0° of gun depression, and used the 57mm cannon, but that is all. Another strong point of this entry was the pitch. It is well structured, and takes the historical context of the designed vehicle's task into account. It lays out the details of the vehicle well and has good pictures to accompany it. A solid pitch and entry overall, especially for a first-time participant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd place: The Nanakyū-shiki keisensha Kehe (Type 97 Ke-He) by u/Nicholpher. https://preview.redd.it/hn3a1co66s3b1.png?width=1311&format=png&auto=webp&s=7b25d85bba29faa48ef37583b21b9dd31e24859c Our bronze medalist is not a first-time competition participant, but is relatively new still. However, this did not stop them from making a killer entry. Just from a first glance, you can already tell that this is a nicely compact design, and from testing it I can confirm that it uses its space to the fullest. The top half of the scores in Utility were all very close, and this design was among them. Within this small machine, there is 800l of fuel, 6 gears, and four crewmembers at maximum space all cramped together. This entry also has the best gun depression out of all entries, sporting an impressive 19,8° on the 57mm anti-infantry cannon. It also has two machine guns; one in the mantlet for the gunner and another in the back for the commander. This makes it a well-rounded machine overall in the intended theater. It managed to get the category win in mobility, even though it was not the fastest entry. But as I was grading it, I found that several machines had some shortcomings of some kind. Some had a bumpy suspension, others had trouble steering, etc. This one just does everything good. It overcame all obstacles, performed a smooth ride on the testing bumps, and had great steering capabilities at all speeds. This was mostly due to a very well-tuned twin transmission. In essence, this vehicle shows that good mobility does not always equal great speed. With the great mobility score, it will not come as a surprise that the armour score was not the highest. Although there was increased protection on the hull rear and turret sides that the crew would appreciate, if only for morale. Aesthetics wise, this entry scored decently as well. There wasn't any particular subcategory where it over or underperformed in this regard. It had a good national identity and era-appropriateness score, and it looks decently realistic in shape as well (i.e. it looks like humans would fit inside). It makes great use of crew parts to add further functionality like the smoke launchers. It also features the two hatches for the two transmissions in the front, a great detail to add. Interestingly, it doesn't feature any national flags, but it does have several markings on it that look like production numbers or slogans. As such, I did reduce the points gained from the decals slightly, but it's still a positive score. Finally, we arrive to the pitch, which also had a good score overall. The presentation format is interesting, with the Japanese on top and English below. This did make reading somewhat harder due to the separation, but the text itself was well-written and well-structured. The various capabilities of the vehicle are laid out and highlighted, explaining some of the decisions made in the design process. The pictures were nicely framed, but I felt that the filter takes away a lot of the detail within, so it scored a little lower in that regard. Still, a solid pitch and entry overall, and a worthy receiver of the bronze medal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd place: The Type 97 Ke-Ho by u/Cardinal_Reason. https://preview.redd.it/5jkkhxnnct3b1.png?width=1333&format=png&auto=webp&s=b0d5b7b7edc2d4a31f782321bbc34f6344559b92 Our silver medalist is also a relative newcomer, and like the previous entry they too did an excellent job. In fact, I found it quite interesting that they ended up receiving the highest score in two categories - an impressive feat! One of those was the utility category. The vehicle has the desired 800l of fuel covered, offers 19,7° of gun depression, has four crewmembers with maximum space allocated, the preferred 57mm cannon, 6 gears and even a whopping four MG mounts. The thing that pushed them ahead of the competition on top of all this was likely the extra ammunition, carrying 60 rounds of 57mm high-explosive rounds and 15 rounds of armour piercing. While I didn't find any information on this particular cannon firing anything other than high-explosive, the space for those shells still counts towards the total. In essence, this little machine has all the kit required for the operations in the vast space of China. This machine's armour fulfills only the requirements, with exception to the thicker plate of 25mm on the front of the turret, something that will effectively protect the crew in hull-down positions. This did make this vehicle one of the lighter entries, which is reflected in its excellent mobility score, coming in as a second in that category. This particular entry is the fastest in this round, reaching an impressive 52.6 km/h. It performed well in the other subcategories too, with the exception of the bumps, where it was plagued by a too soft suspension. This, in combination with the unevenly spread roadwheels, meant that it kind of bounced around and was hard to control. The steering was adequate, as the twin transmission wasn't perfect, and tended to slow down the tank significantly when steering. However, other than that, this vehicle performed great in terms of mobility. Aesthetics wise, this vehicle had a good score as well, coming in second after the joint category winners. It had a very high score in national identity, both in terms of shape and decals. It also had a good score in era-appropriateness. I don't think that one needs much explanation either. It is not difficult to imagine this vehicle in the Chinese theater next to a Type 95 Ha-Go. It is also nicely decorated with the Imperial flag and the Sakura (cherry blossom) decals. Finally, we touch on the other category win that this vehicle managed to secure: The Pitch. This particular pitch has received top marks in several subcategories, most notable in terms of structure and salesmanship. Seriously, at the end of the pitch all I could think was "Shut up and take my money!" It does a good job at laying out the specifications and details of this vehicle, and presents it in a way that is very persuasive, especially to the Imperial army. Touching on the situation Japan was in, their plans for the future, and how this vehicle was going to fit in those plans was what made me give it the top marks. On top of that, it also has nicely framed and edited pictures. The one thing that I missed was a stat sheet, but it did not cost you your well-deserved category win. It was very convincing and well thought-out, and it got your entry the well-deserved silver medal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st place: The Type 97 Ke-Ru by u/Drallo. https://preview.redd.it/23r9be5yet3b1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4d5c2a4593ea5330b27caafe7b3074c14a0eccd Our golden medalist, once dubbed 'Bargain-bin Lily' by our resident Minister of Military Expenditure himself, is none other than u/Drallo. This entry once again highlights that consistently performing well in several categories is the thing that wins you competitions like this. While he did also bag one category win, this entry did score second or third in most other subcategories. The one exception to this is the mobility, where this entry was fourth. It is still a good score overall, however. It managed to barely get the 50 km/h required, but performed good in all other aspects. It overcame all obstacles, was relatively comfortable over bumps, and had good steering capabilities. While it struggled somewhat with the higher speeds, it did accelerate very well, and got up to a decent speed quickly. While it did not excel in this particular category, it is certainly a mobile and maneuverable vehicle. It is mentioned in the pitch that "Your evaluation crew will find a nimble vehicle that does not fight or complain to its driver - it listens and obeys." After evaluating it I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The lower mobility score can be easily explained when one looks at the armour of this machine. Coming in at 5.79 tonnes, it is among the heavier entries. This is because the hull and turret front are significantly thicker than requested, with armour effectiveness ranging from 30mm to 50mm in some places. This means that it will be able to shrug off even dedicated (small-calibre) anti-tank weapons at medium ranges, a great feat for a light vehicle. The hull rear and turret sides are also a couple of millimeters thicker. All this meant that this vehicle got the second place in terms of protection. It got its third place in the Utility category, bringing 800l of fuel and 78 rounds of 57mm ammunition into the fight. It also has an impressive 17,5° of gun depression and the desired 6 gears. It does have four crewmembers with limited space, particularly for the driver and gunner. Other than that, it had the preferred cannon and multiple MG mounts scattered around the vehicle, meaning it will be well-armed against the expected infantry. The pitch for this vehicle was also great, getting a close second place in that category. It scored high in salesmanship, details, and received the top marks for the many pictures. Each one is nicely framed and presented. There is even a leather cover of the official report! In addition, it provided a decent acknowledgment of the Japanese plans, helping with the era appropriateness score. Finally, a nicely made stat sheet gave us a good overview of the vehicle's capabilities. It will likely not come as a surprise that this vehicle was the other category winner in terms of Aesthetics. While the national identity score was somewhat lower, mainly due to the turret shape, all the other subcategories made up for it. It very much looks like it was designed in the late 30's, and the large turret actually makes it look like three people could fit in there. Most points came from the details, though. With many custom decals, grates, hatches, smoke launchers, and some well-placed spare parts, this looks like a vehicle ready for combat. https://preview.redd.it/a8lx4x7ilt3b1.png?width=1609&format=png&auto=webp&s=0aaf6090fe53ac9aeb645387dd7e97695d5f1393 There's just so much to look at on this vehicle - so many little details that make it as good as it is. I can only recommend to check out the pitch if you haven't already. The pictures he makes are much better and do this vehicle more justice than I could. All in all, it is a well-crafted entry for a well-deserved win. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that concludes this particular round of Gathering Storm! Congratulations to the winner, and thanks again everyone for submitting your designs. While it took me much longer than I had hoped, I enjoyed testing and grading them. Keep an eye out in July for the next round, and let me know if you have any questions or comments. See you all hopefully next time! |
2023.06.03 17:07 xtrabubblez WIBTA for taking a job that my best friend wanted but didn't get?
okay so some basic info, I 21F and my best friend 21F both work for the same company, it is a horse breeding stud for some context, each did not tell the other we applied for the job last year as we both went different route of getting the job, she got it through some connections while I did over 3 interviews to get the position.
So there recently came an opportunity for certain amount of staff to move to Australia and work for their spring and summer and possibly move out there for the rest of our careers. So I and best friend (who we will call Kate) along with 30 other applied for the position. there is a limited number of spots, 14 in total and I got one of the top position while Kate got an email to state she was rejected from the work programme. Now Kate has done nothing but talk about how she got the job to friends and family while telling them I had little chance as I didn't have "friends in the right places" so to say she was gutted when she got the email was an understatement, she called HR to rage to them about it and said they made a mistake and that they had to fix it at once as she demanded that she be but on to the first flight available. While I went out for dinner with my Bf to celebrate the good news. at this point I didn't have Kate told I was going, only my Bf and my father knew about it.
So Kate came over to talk to me and I knew it was about her not getting the position, while she was over she was so mad at the HR telling her she wasn't suited for the program. Kate then went on to talk about how I didn't get the job so she didn't feel as bad, it was in the moment I turned to Kate and told her I got the position and I was just waiting to start the process for my visa. Kates anger turned in to pure utter rage when I told her this. she began to scream and throw things at me which included a mug of fresh tea. After she started to calm down she began begging and crying asking me to turn down the position so that she could go instead of me. Kate then went on a rant of how she deserved it more then I did and it wasn't right for someone like me to go when it was rightfully hers.
Kate has gotten her family involved in the situation telling them I am the reason she can't go cause I took her spot and that I am being selfish and that I haven't put in enough work this year to get this. she has also started to tell people I slept with my manager to get a good recommendation from him for this position.
so would I be the asshole for taking this job?
submitted by xtrabubblez to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]
So there recently came an opportunity for certain amount of staff to move to Australia and work for their spring and summer and possibly move out there for the rest of our careers. So I and best friend (who we will call Kate) along with 30 other applied for the position. there is a limited number of spots, 14 in total and I got one of the top position while Kate got an email to state she was rejected from the work programme. Now Kate has done nothing but talk about how she got the job to friends and family while telling them I had little chance as I didn't have "friends in the right places" so to say she was gutted when she got the email was an understatement, she called HR to rage to them about it and said they made a mistake and that they had to fix it at once as she demanded that she be but on to the first flight available. While I went out for dinner with my Bf to celebrate the good news. at this point I didn't have Kate told I was going, only my Bf and my father knew about it.
So Kate came over to talk to me and I knew it was about her not getting the position, while she was over she was so mad at the HR telling her she wasn't suited for the program. Kate then went on to talk about how I didn't get the job so she didn't feel as bad, it was in the moment I turned to Kate and told her I got the position and I was just waiting to start the process for my visa. Kates anger turned in to pure utter rage when I told her this. she began to scream and throw things at me which included a mug of fresh tea. After she started to calm down she began begging and crying asking me to turn down the position so that she could go instead of me. Kate then went on a rant of how she deserved it more then I did and it wasn't right for someone like me to go when it was rightfully hers.
Kate has gotten her family involved in the situation telling them I am the reason she can't go cause I took her spot and that I am being selfish and that I haven't put in enough work this year to get this. she has also started to tell people I slept with my manager to get a good recommendation from him for this position.
so would I be the asshole for taking this job?
2023.06.03 17:02 maximusaemilius Human and their alien partners fight for the right to have interspecies relationships.
He had expected this sooner rather than later, and it hurt to see.
He knew it wasn't going to work.
The Galactic Assembly was full of aliens, not humans. The things that got humanity's attention were the same sort of things that tended to scare the GA.
But of course, the average human couldn't have known that, and with their tendency to change creatures around them to become more human, the aliens with which they worked didn't see it either.
They were doing the right thing, but going about it the wrong way.
Still, that didn't stop his feelings of sadness and empathy for their plight.
Walking with Sunny, standing on the buddy pegs attached to her back, and examining the protest encampment around him, he couldn't help but be impressed by their bravery.
He knew for a fact that if he was in their shoes, he would be way more likely to hide, lie to everyone around him, and even himself.
But here they were out in the open, a shining beacon of defiance against the GA.
It was a difficult situation, of course he supported the GA wholeheartedly, and he always would, and with that support came an understanding.
But that didn't mean that he had to agree with them.
They were scared.
And people tend to lash out at things that scare them.
As it turns out, that seemed to be a common factor across the galaxy.
He reached down, hand caressing the tear gas canisters at his belt and the accompanying gas mask. He prayed, just PRAYED that he wouldn't have to use them, but how was he to know what would happen. When people got righteously angry about something they tended to act up, and when thrown into a group of like-minded people, the pack mentality was overwhelming.
He wanted everything to go well, he wanted them to make their point, to prove that they were the moral superiors, demonstrate to the GA that they weren't militant, and all they wanted was peace.
That was the sort of thing that would get across to the GA.
But with humans involved... He didn't really have much hope.
He glanced around at the assembled tents, looking for any sign of trouble.
He didn't see much, just the limp white flags, with the LFIL logo printed proudly on their front.
Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, he leaned against one of Sunny's shoulders.
"So, what do you think about this whole thing?"
Sunny turned her head to look at him, gold eyes and blue carapace glittering with the yellow sheen of the Rundi sky.
She shrugged, setting him a little off balance. She grabbed his feet to steady him as she continued up a small incline.
"It doesn't bother me, and I suppose I understand them."
"Oh?"
"Imagine finding someone you connect with, someone who understands you more than anyone ever has. Imagine a Drev finding the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and then... Just having to suffer knowing you can never be with them. Granted none of the other species ever would have considered it an option without the humans, but now.... It makes sense. You connect with someone well enough, then beyond that there isn't much you can do. And now the GA has prohibited that."
"I agree with you completely, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment. They aren't even the same species, without the same genetics. It wouldn't be physically possible to produce a viable offspring wouldn’t it?”
She turned her head to look at him.
"And how does it work for your brother David and his husband Jordan?"
He laughed,
"Ok, ok, poor question."
"Adoption is a relevant option. Plus, this is coming from the guy who lent his DNA to some alien."
"Arguably she stole it, but I get your point."
They turned another corner scanning the crowd,
"Hear me out though. Humans are... Well, you know how humans are. They need... uhhm uhhh you know…”
Adam got a little red,
”…Affection and intimacy... How does that even... Work?"
"Oh, I am sure some human has found a way, besides, humans and Drev aren't so different in that regard..."
He tilted his head to look at her,
"How the hell do you know that?”
"Got into a discussion with Krill. He thinks it's possible, though he would never tell you humans. He already thinks you do a ton of stupid stuff anyway."
”Oh really what is he expecting? I don’t think anyone from our crew would jump at the opportunity to do it with a Drev be it man or woman… Besides with all these tall as hell Drev males, human women wouldn’t have much fun either would they?”
”Considering males who would be interested, aren’t you good friends with Ramirez? Why don’t you ask him, maybe he knows someone?”
”Okay damn fair point… but the female argument still stays.”
”Krill did some research, I swear I never saw him so… done with humans. He looked like he would drink away his sorrow to forget everything… if his body could tolerate alcohol.”
”So what did he find out about this time?”
”After another particularly massive aggressive rant about how and I quote “shitting freaking goddamn incredibly punk-ass weird” you humans are, he said some weird words in a context I didn’t understand. So, do you know what a dragon is and can you tell me why it is so bad?”
”Hmm what… wait a second…”
”…”
”Oh shit…”
”So?”
"So uhmmm uhhh, let’s stop with humans and talk about Drev again okay? Don't you Drev guys also have a mating season?”*
"We did, but it was actually based on the magnetic fluctuation of our planet in time with the seasons. Now that we don't have that anymore, things are out of whack."
"Huh, I didn't know that."
"You never asked."
"Because that is a totally normal thing to ask someone. Hello, my name is Adam, and I am actually very curious about how... That stuff... works on your planet."
"That stuff, huh?"
He rolled his eyes,
"I was sheltered ok, give me a break."
They came to a stop at a crossroads, and Adam stepped down from her back and onto the dirt, tilting his head to listen, trying to detect any signs of a disturbance.
As of yet there was nothing.
He turned to the left, down another line of tents, passing into a more populated area of the protest encampment.
People wearing specially made clothing, with the LFIL logo, shirts, scarves, bandannas, jackets, hats etc. etc. walked about, openly with their alien companions, a few even brave enough to show overt affection towards each other.
A human hugging a Tesraki, while another stood on a box to kiss the cheek of their Drev partner.
"Now that, is something I couldn't do."
He said to Sunny, as they walked past.
"Kiss someone?"
"No, Kiss someone three to four feet taller than me. Way too much work."
"How do you know, maybe climbing up three feet would be worth it?”
Eyes followed them nervously as they walked past, their riot gear marking them as “the enemy”.
"I would rather not be in danger of twisting my ankle every time I wanted to show someone affection, thanks."
"You twist your ankle all the time anyway."
"That's my point. If I twist my ankle now, imagine what would happen if I had to do acrobatics on a regular basis."
They came to a halt as a group of protesters paraded in front of them holding up picket signs.
One of the protesters turned to glare at him,
"We aren't doing anything illegal!”
Adam held up his hands,
"I know. I'm just security to make sure no one gets hurt.”
The other human didn't seem convinced, angrily grabbing their alien companion around the waist before marching off.
The Tesraki looked uncomfortable, looking back at them apologetically.
Though Tesraki were generally cutthroat businessmen, they tended towards extreme submissiveness in relationships with humans.
Adam stepped through the gap left by the protesters and continued walking.
As they did, they early ran into a group of kids selling little white flags and bandannas.
They pulled to a halt, eyes widening in surprise and shock.
A young Tesraki pulled to a halt with them looking as if he was about to panic and run off.
However, the kid at the front's eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face,
“Holy shit! You, I know you!"
Adam smiled,
"You do now?"
"Yeah , yeah you're in that movie. You, you command the UNSC fleet."
For some reason, that exclamation calmed the other kids, and they squealed, shouting and asking for a picture. Of course, he was happy to oblige, posing with them for their pictures. Sunny stood to the side, happy to watch though she was dragged in for the next set of pictures once they realized who she was.
"What are you doing here?"
One of them asked, glancing down at his clothing. When she saw what he was wearing her smile was falling,
"You... aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Adam shook his head,
"No, of course not, protesting isn't illegal."
He motioned to Sunny with his other hand,
"Sunny and I are just here to make sure that you guys stay safe, and that no one gets hurt.”
Sunny nodded. One of the more skeptical looking teens looked up at him,
"How do we know you aren't here to stop us. You work for the GA after all."
Adam shrugged,
"I don't have much else to prove, other than my word."
The skeptic looked at them, a wicked smile appearing on her face,
"I know."
She reached into her cart and pulled out one of the bandannas,
"Wear this!”
It was clear she expected him to balk at the idea, but to her surprise, he smiled,
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He held out his arm, and watched, still smiling as she tied it around his upper arm still glowering at him skeptically,
"Think you can spare one for my big friend?"
He patted Sunny on the arm.
That broke her skepticism, and she smiled openly, handing a second one over to him, which he tied around one of Sunny's upper arms.
He waved a goodbye to them, and stepped back up onto Sunny's back, walking away with her.
"That was nice of you."
He shrugged,
”Not really. I honestly agree with them. The GA has no right to tell them who they can and cannot be with. I know they have some reasons, but I feel like there is a better way of dealing with it."
Sunny hummed deep in her throat,
"Uh-huh, or you really just want a really tall girlfriend."
He sighed,
"Honestly I'd settle for any size girlfriend if I could just talk to her like a normal person without sticking my foot in my mouth. No Maverick and Dr. Katie do not count…"
"Your incompetence with women is acrobatic."
"I'm glad you're impressed.”
Together, they continued their slow circle around the encampment, drawing suspicious and confused eyes as they went. Sometimes they were recognized, and occasionally people would ask to take pictures with them, other times, they just wanted to talk.
The variety of people was... astounding.
A barely five foot human with a nine foot Drev.
A group of humans and a group of Tesraki.
A lawyer and a Finnari.
Two couples both as business partners with a Tesraki half.
They were young and old male-female, in all different pairings.
Old soldiers, and young students.
It was honestly quite stunning.
At one point they stopped off for water and ran into a massive bodybuilder with his Drev girlfriend, whose carapace at any other time would have marked her as ugly for a Drev.
At first Sunny felt bad for her, with her muddy brown carapace, mat without any shine.
The man turned and handed Adam some water.
”Here better stay hydrated brother!”
Adam raised the bottle,
"Thanks."
The man looked him over, eyeing the bandanna around his arm.
"Interesting accessories for a GA affiliate."
"You can work for someone and disagree with them."
The man laughed,
"I suppose that's true."
He greeted Sunny as well, who was trying not to stare at the other female Drev for too long, lest it seem like she was staring.
He motioned to the arm band,
"Supporter, or-"
His eyes flicked between Adam and Sunny.
"We're just here to make sure everyone stays safe."
Off to the side the mat Drev looked at Sunny,
"I'm sorry."
Sunny glanced over at her nervously,
"Sorry for what?"
"You must have been treated very poorly on Anum."
Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly,
"I was alright I guess..."
"Regardless. I hope things work out for you. The Drev beauty standards are unfair, and things need to change."
Sunny wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about that.
"They aren't so bad."
She ventured defensively.
"Then I am sure you are getting combat offers left and right with your coloring.”
Sunny went quiet again. She would have said this was passive aggressive, but the Drev didn't do passive aggressive, so was this just an open statement about how ugly she was? If that was the case, it kind of hurt.
"I have, because I am an experienced warrior."
Her voice was cold.
"Oh, so where is your partner?"
"I turned them down."
That seemed to surprise the female Drev.
Sunny felt her fists clench, but Adam placed a hand on her arm. She was quiet,
The two humans exchanged a look, the way that only humans can, speaking without actually saying anything.
”C’mon babe, lets look a little bit around and let these two be… It was nice meeting you brother! Also… good luck man…”
The human bodybuilder turned around, taking the Drev by one of her hands to lead her away.
Adam took Sunny by the arm and raised his water at the man,
"Uhm what? Huh anyway, good luck to you too?"
Before turning to walk away, the other Drev cut in at the last second.
"I hope you find a worthy battle partner."
Adam Squeezed Sunny's arm tighter, but she turned her head anyway snapping,
"I already have."
Before marching off without another word.
Adam was forced to scamper after her, his legs much shorter.
"Wow, wow, hold your horses!”
She finally slowed to a stop, still fuming.
"Who the hell does she think she is!?”
"Sunny-."
"Calling me ugly to my face!"
"Sunny-"
"I should have challenged her to a duel right then and there!"
"Sunny!?”*
She turned to look at him,
"What!?"
He climbed back up on her back, patting her shoulder,
"She was obviously just insecure and jealous. I mean come on, look at you, blue is the rarest color in the galaxy and most attractive for a Drev, and we all know that height is the least important attribute of Drev beauty standards. The better you can fight, the more you make up for it, besides it's not her fault that she can't accept someone as being valid unless they are in a pair."
Sunny grunted. He frowned,
"Speaking of which, coming from her it seems like a double standard. You fight with me, and I'm fucking awesome, so by default you have to be too."
"Wow Adam, you really know how to make a person feel better."
"I know."
[…]
They were crossing back to the other side of the encampment, when they ran into some familiar faces.
Ramirez and Maverick appeared from the crowd, waving the two of them down with greeting hands.
They pulled to a stop, and the commander motioned to the white bandanna on Ramirez's arm,
"Nice accessories."
"I like yours too."
"I didn't know you were a supporter?”
Ramirez laughed,
"Man I am a supporter of whatever the hell people want to do with themselves."
Off to his side Maverick had tied one of the white bandannas to her belt.
"And you?”
"Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't even think it should be an issue, but by banning it, the GA created a problem for themselves and took away the freedom of choice for these people. Even if I did disagree with what they are doing, I would still support their ability to make that choice for themselves."
She tugged on the bandanna,
"But hey, would I be wearing this otherwise?”
The commander nodded his head, surprised and pleased at his men for being so open minded, though he supposed it should make sense. They worked with aliens every day. Where others might have fostered a sense of fear based on unfamiliarity, they had experience.
"Let’s just hope this all goes over well tomorrow. I don't want to have to use any of this."
He motioned down to his gear.
The commander sighed.
"Isn't that like the catch 22 thing?”
Loyal to one side.
Sympathetic to the other.
Empathetic to both.
He would be relieved when it was finally fixed.
Though how he could help was beyond him.
[...]
"Please everyone, calm yourselves. The Galactic Assembly is addressing the issue as we speak."
The crowd roiled and churned like the bubbles in a pot of boiling water. Flags waved and voices rose high into the air.
The chanting increased in fervor.
"Please!"
The Rundi struggled to raise his voice high enough to be heard over the crowd, who only grew with strength and intensity.
Commander Vir keyed his mic,
"Delta units to the GA side of the crowd, some of these protesters are looking extremely agitated. Let's make sure they don't do anything we're all going to regret.”
He stood with his back to the GA chambers, its wide arching courtyard devoid of life, except for those unfortunate Rundi ordered to carry messages from one side of the compound to the other, otherwise they tried to keep their distance from the front facade of the building and the churning mass of protesters.
White flags waved and fluttered.
Commander Vir held the energy shield with one arm, pressing it back firmly against the crowd, so they could not pass the dedicated marking point.
"Commander, the crowd over here is getting violent."
He grimaced and reached a hand down to open the line,
"Stun them and let them calm down, do NOT catch anyone else in the crossfire. We do not want this escalating."
"Yes sir."
Something pushed against his shield and he grunted, pushing back.
The white bandanna on his arm was pressed against the clear blue force field and helped to at least confuse the crowd before them.
And luckily, they would be kept too confused to get violent.
The aliens among the human protesters helped as well.
If this was on earth, things would have broken out into a riot by now, but the Drev the Tesraki and the Finnari tended to be more levelheaded when it came to these kinds of things, and they managed to reign in their humans from doing something stupid.
He closed his eyes tight for a second, praying that the GA would rethink their position.
It hurt him to watch these people struggle like this.
It just felt so strange that anyone should be here in the first place.
Beside him, Sunny had taken control of two young humans who were getting a bit more than rowdy,
"Let’s keep this a protest, and not a riot."
She growled, giving them a look that would have made anyone quell in their boots. It sort of made him half smile, Sunny was such a badass, he wanted to be more like her when he eventually grew up.
His thoughts were cut off, as the crowd churned a bit, pressing into his shield.
He keyed his mic again, prepared to go over the loudspeaker and tell them that if they didn't calm down he was going to turn this protest into a mass nap time.
He had the power to do that if things got out of hand, though he honestly didn't want to.
The GA needed to see this.
He was so preoccupied with the crowd, that he barely noticed as the Rundi ran up from the inside of the compound, flying forward on its long spindly legs.
It stopped by the first Rundi to say something, and the conversation that passed between them didn't look particularly encouraging.
HIs heart sank into his stomach.
He felt... Surprisingly disappointed, very sad for all those people who were going to get their day ruined.
The Rundi waffled around at the front of the crowd for a bit before turning and looking over to where he stood.
Oh great.
The Rundi walked over, and he backed off from the crowd, allowing Sunny to take a step in his place with her shield at the ready.
The people looked as if they were about to start something, but seeing her expression, they decided not to.
He dropped his shield and lowered his head to hear the Rundi over the roaring of the crowd.
"The GA is not budging."
The Rundi whispered,
"They are asking the protesters to leave."
Adam growled in frustration.
Behind him someone in the crowd pointed at him,
"They're saying no aren't they!?”
Others took up the call, and soon enough the rest of the crowd had been alerted. Adam was forced to run back to support Sunny, as everything suddenly grew more intense.
Fights were breaking out on the left and the right.
People were hitting the ground as the guards were forced to stun them.
That only agitated the rest of the crowd who also began to buck and fight.
Adam keyed the mic for real this time, filling the intervening space with his booming voice,
”ALL OF YOU KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW OR I WILL STUN YOU ALL."
The aggression in the crowd died down, though the anger remained sizzling at the surface.
Overhead clouds passed over the sun, before him the crowd roared like a wave, and behind him the GA council chambers were as silent as a ghost town.
"LISTEN, QUIET DOWN ALL OF YOU."
It sort of felt as if he was floating.
The world around him hardly seemed real though that was not the best way to explain it.
The crowd died down a bit,
"You may not understand this! And I have said it before, but these are not humans. Protests don't work on them. When they see a group of angry humans, they get scared and when they get scared, they double down even further. I know it does not make any sense to you NOT to protest for what you believe in, but if you are going to do this, you MUST remain civil. Even now the GA is frightened by you. They don't believe you are rational, and they are not going to listen to you if this keeps up."
The crowd had quieted down to a milling sort of confusion.
"Then what should we do!"*
The shouting came from somewhere and in anger, though he couldn't pinpoint the source.
In frustration he nudged Sunny, and she allowed him to climb on her back as he had before.
The crowd could see him now, and he could see them for the most part.
He waved them down trying to cut off the others who had taken up the chant.
"I understand what you are trying to do, and I support your efforts, but you are only hurting ourselves. The GA can only be won by rational discussion."
"The GA won't see any of our representatives. They are debating only on their own facts and opinions."
One of the crowd's people snarled. The call was echoed and Adam stared at them in shock,
"Wait what!? Are you serious?”
There was a muttering throughout the crowd.
"For fuck's sake."
He muttered under his breath,
"The Rudi think none of us are high ranking enough to be allowed into the council chambers, and none of the representatives will take up our cause. The human ambassador thinks we are disgusting, so she won't do anything and says she won’t represent our minority."
The muttering through the crowd grew louder.
Adam looked around, head turning to see all the angry faces, blushed with red, or streaked with tears.
These people were frustrated, and hurt, and he understood why.
This wasn't right!
He closed his eyes again and took another deep breath.
What was he thinking!?
He stepped down from Sunny's back and walked over to one of the protestors in the front row, pointing to his large flag on a pole that was about eight feet tall.
"May I borrow your flag?"
The protester stared on at him in confusion,
"What, why?"
"Because, I am going to give you the representative you need."
[…]
Commander Vir and Sunny walked alone down the length of the GA outer courtyard.
A billowing white flag streamed lazily over his head, suspended there by way of the pole which rested heavily on his shoulder. The white of the fabric had been marred now by many colors as hundreds of rushed signatures had been scrawled on its face.
He was armed with the backing of a thousand protesters, a hundred signatures, and more than a few dozen stories.
Sunny turned her head to look at him, and he fancied that maybe he saw an expression of pride in her eyes, though she didn't say much except,
"Pretty brave."
He didn't feel very brave, and as they walked through the front doors of the GA atrium, his hand was shaking against the cold metal of the flagpole.
He was stopped by a pair of Rundi guards on his way into the chamber, but was let in after they recognized who he was.
He could hear voices up ahead, and the sounds of the protest going on outside had all but died away,
"They have proven that they cannot be civil, and based on the humanizing effect, we can assume they will do similar things to any non-human lifeform that they encounter."
"I may not agree with their decision counselor, but that sounds like your prejudice against humans is seeping through."
There was an uproar in the council chamber.
He paused for a moment, staying with Sunny just out of line of sight and took a deep breath.
She lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Here goes nothing."
He muttered, before stepping his way out onto the GA floor.
At first no one noticed his presence as he made his slow way into the center of the circle, but his large, white flag soon changed that.
The council chambers went silent.
The chairwoman stood,
"Commander, what are you doing here. Shouldn't you be taking care of the protesters?”
His lips drew into a thing line,
"With all due respect councilwoman, I am."
He rammed the flagpole against the stone, sending a loud cracking sound out and around the wide atrium silencing the council,
"I have been made aware that you refuse to see their representatives based on a ranking issue, well I assume my rank is high enough."
The Human rep leaned forward,
"Commander, this is not your place!”
He shot her a look,
"Then whose place is it counselor? I heard a certain democratic counselor refuses to speak for them because they are and I quote “a too small and insignificant minority”…”
He turned his head in a wide arc at the watching crowd,
"Counselors, you have known me, longer than you have known any human currently in this galaxy. You understand that I know your rules and your customs. You understand that I have only ever striven to protect and uphold the GA and the planet's it encompasses. I have thwarted wars, signed treaties, and broken my own body for your best interests."
There was silence about the room.
"Will you let me speak now, with the understanding that my loyalty has never wavered from you, and never will?”
The silence continued.
Aliens understood the power of human loyalty.
Or at least they should…
The chairwoman took a seat,
"Very well, commander."
He lifted his head, feeling his heart slow as he took a few deep breaths. There was a muscle in his face that had begun to twitch, like it always did if he was extremely angry or nervous, but he held it down,
"I understand you are frightened, and I understand that you are confused, but I want you to know first of all that those people outside are good average people. They don't mean you any harm. They are hurting, and they are afraid for themselves, and they are trying to get your attention. Historically, humanity has used protests to right the injustices of government to combat prejudices brought on by one's sex or the color of their skin. You must understand that they see this as an impingement on their happiness and a decision made out of line."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, I ask you now, that I may, perhaps, answer your questions and ease your worries. Why are you so against them?"
"It's unnatural."
It was the Bran representative that had spoken, and he did it quite emphatically.
"Why?"
The commander asked,
"Because they aren't even the same species."
"So?"
The Bran seemed caught off guard,
"They... It's not natural. They can't reproduce, so it isn't... A thing that should be done."
The commander shrugged,
"So if one can't reproduce then they aren't natural? I see a couple issues in that logic relating to prejudices against people with infertility."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, they can't reproduce, so what? You know who we can reproduce with though... Adaptids."
There was a sort of hushed exclamation form around the room.
The commander shrugged,
"They can't have kids.... Hardly a good enough argument to bring to the floor of a government discussion."
"What he is trying to say is that this practice equates itself to bestiality. It is utterly disguting!"
It was the human representative this time, and she stared at him with her eyes narrowed in anger.
He kept his cool, though he very much did not like her.
"That is absolutely disgusting and wildly insulting of you because that implies that one or both parties are no better than animals, beasts as you will."
The room was silent,
"So which one is it, are humans animals, counselor, are the Finnari or the Rundi animals?"
He turned to the Drev counselor,
"Are the Drev just dumb animals that have no understanding, and no decision making abilities?”
The Drev representative stood, angrily cracking his spear against the stone,
"We are most certainly not!"
The commander held up his hands,
"Then what is so bestial about it? Bestiality is absolutely disgusting because you are taking advantages of a creature that can neither understand nor protect itself from what you are doing. It cannot say yes, and it cannot say no. It has no greater understanding than that of a child, and so cannot make its own decisions."
He looked towards the Finnari representative,
"Tell me counselor, is your species a species of children, with no greater concept of their own decision making?”
"Of course not. Why would you even imply such a thing!?”
"I imply nothing, counselor. This is what YOU imply with your decision. So far we have established that all parties are intelligent consenting creatures, and none of you have managed to give me an actually good reason for banning the practice."
The floor was growing more agitated.
"They will be a poor example for the rest of the galaxy. If we make it legal others will surely follow."
Adam turned his eyes on the speaker, an Iotin,
"You're worried that they are going to turn the rest of the galaxy extrial?"
He laughed,
"That is a poor argument which is not only selfish, but foolish. People should be allowed to make their own decisions. And assuming you are right, what then? Oh no... There are a few more extrials... And it does... What exactly?"
He turned in a wide circle,
"If you are worried about population growth or in this case population falloff due to this issue then you should be reminded that extrials comprise a percentage of the human population so small that I could fit the greater majority of them on my ship comfortably. This occurrence is not common, and even if the numbers were to rise, it would not be of enough significance to cause issues."
His heart was hammering hard inside his chest. He felt like he was doing alright, but that might mean nothing.
"In any event, these relationships do not affect the vast majority of the galaxy. Humans cannot be with the Bran or the Rundi due to the water we shed from our skin. The Gromm and the Iotins are out for similar reasons. Vrul and Gibb are incapable of having feelings for humans in that way as far as we know, and both the Tvek and the Celzex are too different from humans for either party to be interested."
He walked around in a circle, allowing the flag to trail behind him,
"Furthermore, the humanization phenomenon happens with or without romantic intent, and as it is, its mention is more a mark of prejudice on humans than it is an argument against the two groups being together."
He left the floor open for a little while, as the council muttered with each other.
Finally, the Drev representative stood,
"My species culture and our way of life has been upturned by the GA. I fear relationships with humans will result in the loss of our culture. We have already strayed far from what we originally were. We are hardly recognizable as Drev anymore."
The commander let his voice soften,
"I understand that the Drev have lost a lot in joining this..."
Sunny held up a hand, and in surprise he was cut off.
She took the floor,
"Your Glory…"
She said bowing her head,
"If you would have truly upheld those ideals, you would not be sitting on this council."
The Drev pulled back in surprise at her words,
"Yes, we lost a lot in joining the GA, and after the war, but I would argue that some of that was for good. Before the GA people like me, with perceived imperfection were cast into the fire and perceived as no better than animals. This practice still takes place on our planet, where these traditions are still alive and well."
Her words made the room shift nervously,
"However, culture changes and adapts, and it must to survive. We changed in order to live among the GA. We found other alternatives to fighting that still maintain our honor and our prowess in war, and this includes the sports that the humans have brought to us. Furthermore, the vast majority of the Drev I see who are with humans are those of us who would not be accepted by our own kind, perceived as ugly or malformed. If this is the case then your traditions remain sound, and those like me are removed from the mating population."
The counselor almost looked ashamed at her words, turning his head away so as not to look her in the eyes.
"As far as a change of culture goes, it was bound to happen, and it seems you are more worried about change than you actually are about relationships."
She went quiet, and Adam nodded to her taking the floor again.
A Finnari counselor stood,
"I am simply worried about our birth rate. The Finnari were farmed by the Gnarlak for many years, and we are only now replenishing our population."
"I don't think you need to worry. The amount of relationships is so small that it will not affect the Finnari population in any significant manner."
The chairwoman stood,
"Your arguments have been heard commander, but, what the others do not mention is the issue of disease. We have seen a great increase of human transmitted illnesses."
"I hate to cut you off chairwoman, but that is NOT related to interspecies relationships, it has another explanation: human tourism."
"Explain."
"You all know that humans are not allowed to leave their planet, unless tested for all communicable non-treatable diseases. This means that those of us that you see here cannot physically pass our diseases off onto other people. In this case these issues did not stem from relationships at all, but poor vaccination, the poor regulation of tourism, and allowing aliens to travel onto earth where infected humans are located, not testing them as they leave. You see? You don't even have problems with them, but you are using them as a real scapegoat for the actual issues. In fact you are causing more problems by banning this! The more you push, the harder they will push back, eventually someone is going to get hurt. Also since they are not allowed to be together legally, they do it illegally, and because they do it illegally, they end up in dangerous places exposed to greater rates of crime. They get hurt, and they get involved in things they would otherwise not have gotten involved in if you had not banned it. Just look at Noctoplis. It has the highest rate of extrials living there and the lowest policing force and the most corrupted system. There are no legitimate jobs there, so we see an influx of crime by desperate people who won't be accepted anywhere else. Not to mention that it increased the depression rates, which increases suicide rates. Your laws have ostracized them, forced them to become criminals, and turned many of them to killing themselves, rather than living in a world where they are seen as disgusting."
He had to take a deep breath,
"Earth has seen all of this before, and one way or another, eventually someone will see what I am trying to say."
He rested the flag on the floor beside him, feet planted at shoulder width.
"I hope that this rational conversation will allow a more open mind on the council. I encourage you to talk to their representatives. They are more rational and educated than I am, and they can give you hard facts and statistics. But please, they don't want to cause trouble, if you allow them to do as they will, you might find these problems going away for you."
The human representative clearly did not seem convinced, but he didn't expect to convince her, he expected to convince the others who were more afraid than they were prejudiced.
"It seems as if we have some other potential policies to discuss, commander."
The chairwoman said, tapping her fingers on the table before her.
"I have a suggestion, ma'am."
"And that is?"
"A temporary revocation on the ban, that way you can SEE what the universe will be like without it, and you can judge for yourself whether The ban does any good. You don't have to overturn the law just yet, but temporarily suspend it, that way you can re institute at any time. Then you will have concrete proof. You can do testing, and polls and whatever else, then you would know for sure."
His suggestion turned into a discussion, that dragged on for many minutes before the chairwoman raised her hand,
"It has been decided, all in favor of this temporary proposal please indicate."
The voting lights flashed above them.
[…]
He walked from the venue, hours after he had entered.
The flag felt heavy in his hands, his boots thudded with exhaustion on the white marble below him.
Outside, the protest field was surprisingly silent, though he could still see their flags.
As he walked closer, he could see that the crowd was sitting down.
Their voices reached him from a distance at first, until he realized they were calmly singing with each other.
Waiting...
Suddenly the first people from the crowd noticed the two silhouettes coming from the chambers towards them.
A lone man and Drev, walking from the building.
The man was wearing riot gear, a full helmet, a shield, and carrying their flag, resting against his right shoulder.
The group of them began to stand, rising to their feet and yelling.
They quieted as he got closer.
"What did they say!? What did they say!?”
He passed the flag to the original protester who looked on at him with such an expression of pleading that he felt his eyes tingle a bit with rising emotion.
He had to look away, boosting himself onto Sunny's back, keying his mic.
The crowd was silent.
"I spoke to the GA. After a long debate, and a slim majority the GA have decided to temporarily revoke the ban on inter-species relationships until a-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, drowned out by a powerful wave of noise and joy so overwhelming that he was nearly knocked backwards off his feet.
The crowd surged forward and Sunny staggered as the group surrounded them.
Adam found himself on the ground on his feet, enclosed by hundreds of pairs of arms, as every person tried their best to get one hand on him.
He was deafened by cheering and an outpouring of gratitude so profound he had simply never experienced such emotion.
He looked up at Sunny, pressed in with him by the enthusiastic crowd, she nodded her head in approval.
He grinned, he had to admit this felt pretty good.
Though, whether it was all over was a question for another time.
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He knew it wasn't going to work.
The Galactic Assembly was full of aliens, not humans. The things that got humanity's attention were the same sort of things that tended to scare the GA.
But of course, the average human couldn't have known that, and with their tendency to change creatures around them to become more human, the aliens with which they worked didn't see it either.
They were doing the right thing, but going about it the wrong way.
Still, that didn't stop his feelings of sadness and empathy for their plight.
Walking with Sunny, standing on the buddy pegs attached to her back, and examining the protest encampment around him, he couldn't help but be impressed by their bravery.
He knew for a fact that if he was in their shoes, he would be way more likely to hide, lie to everyone around him, and even himself.
But here they were out in the open, a shining beacon of defiance against the GA.
It was a difficult situation, of course he supported the GA wholeheartedly, and he always would, and with that support came an understanding.
But that didn't mean that he had to agree with them.
They were scared.
And people tend to lash out at things that scare them.
As it turns out, that seemed to be a common factor across the galaxy.
He reached down, hand caressing the tear gas canisters at his belt and the accompanying gas mask. He prayed, just PRAYED that he wouldn't have to use them, but how was he to know what would happen. When people got righteously angry about something they tended to act up, and when thrown into a group of like-minded people, the pack mentality was overwhelming.
He wanted everything to go well, he wanted them to make their point, to prove that they were the moral superiors, demonstrate to the GA that they weren't militant, and all they wanted was peace.
That was the sort of thing that would get across to the GA.
But with humans involved... He didn't really have much hope.
He glanced around at the assembled tents, looking for any sign of trouble.
He didn't see much, just the limp white flags, with the LFIL logo printed proudly on their front.
Still keeping an eye on his surroundings, he leaned against one of Sunny's shoulders.
"So, what do you think about this whole thing?"
Sunny turned her head to look at him, gold eyes and blue carapace glittering with the yellow sheen of the Rundi sky.
She shrugged, setting him a little off balance. She grabbed his feet to steady him as she continued up a small incline.
"It doesn't bother me, and I suppose I understand them."
"Oh?"
"Imagine finding someone you connect with, someone who understands you more than anyone ever has. Imagine a Drev finding the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and then... Just having to suffer knowing you can never be with them. Granted none of the other species ever would have considered it an option without the humans, but now.... It makes sense. You connect with someone well enough, then beyond that there isn't much you can do. And now the GA has prohibited that."
"I agree with you completely, but let me play devil's advocate for a moment. They aren't even the same species, without the same genetics. It wouldn't be physically possible to produce a viable offspring wouldn’t it?”
She turned her head to look at him.
"And how does it work for your brother David and his husband Jordan?"
He laughed,
"Ok, ok, poor question."
"Adoption is a relevant option. Plus, this is coming from the guy who lent his DNA to some alien."
"Arguably she stole it, but I get your point."
They turned another corner scanning the crowd,
"Hear me out though. Humans are... Well, you know how humans are. They need... uhhm uhhh you know…”
Adam got a little red,
”…Affection and intimacy... How does that even... Work?"
"Oh, I am sure some human has found a way, besides, humans and Drev aren't so different in that regard..."
He tilted his head to look at her,
"How the hell do you know that?”
"Got into a discussion with Krill. He thinks it's possible, though he would never tell you humans. He already thinks you do a ton of stupid stuff anyway."
”Oh really what is he expecting? I don’t think anyone from our crew would jump at the opportunity to do it with a Drev be it man or woman… Besides with all these tall as hell Drev males, human women wouldn’t have much fun either would they?”
”Considering males who would be interested, aren’t you good friends with Ramirez? Why don’t you ask him, maybe he knows someone?”
”Okay damn fair point… but the female argument still stays.”
”Krill did some research, I swear I never saw him so… done with humans. He looked like he would drink away his sorrow to forget everything… if his body could tolerate alcohol.”
”So what did he find out about this time?”
”After another particularly massive aggressive rant about how and I quote “shitting freaking goddamn incredibly punk-ass weird” you humans are, he said some weird words in a context I didn’t understand. So, do you know what a dragon is and can you tell me why it is so bad?”
”Hmm what… wait a second…”
”…”
”Oh shit…”
”So?”
"So uhmmm uhhh, let’s stop with humans and talk about Drev again okay? Don't you Drev guys also have a mating season?”*
"We did, but it was actually based on the magnetic fluctuation of our planet in time with the seasons. Now that we don't have that anymore, things are out of whack."
"Huh, I didn't know that."
"You never asked."
"Because that is a totally normal thing to ask someone. Hello, my name is Adam, and I am actually very curious about how... That stuff... works on your planet."
"That stuff, huh?"
He rolled his eyes,
"I was sheltered ok, give me a break."
They came to a stop at a crossroads, and Adam stepped down from her back and onto the dirt, tilting his head to listen, trying to detect any signs of a disturbance.
As of yet there was nothing.
He turned to the left, down another line of tents, passing into a more populated area of the protest encampment.
People wearing specially made clothing, with the LFIL logo, shirts, scarves, bandannas, jackets, hats etc. etc. walked about, openly with their alien companions, a few even brave enough to show overt affection towards each other.
A human hugging a Tesraki, while another stood on a box to kiss the cheek of their Drev partner.
"Now that, is something I couldn't do."
He said to Sunny, as they walked past.
"Kiss someone?"
"No, Kiss someone three to four feet taller than me. Way too much work."
"How do you know, maybe climbing up three feet would be worth it?”
Eyes followed them nervously as they walked past, their riot gear marking them as “the enemy”.
"I would rather not be in danger of twisting my ankle every time I wanted to show someone affection, thanks."
"You twist your ankle all the time anyway."
"That's my point. If I twist my ankle now, imagine what would happen if I had to do acrobatics on a regular basis."
They came to a halt as a group of protesters paraded in front of them holding up picket signs.
One of the protesters turned to glare at him,
"We aren't doing anything illegal!”
Adam held up his hands,
"I know. I'm just security to make sure no one gets hurt.”
The other human didn't seem convinced, angrily grabbing their alien companion around the waist before marching off.
The Tesraki looked uncomfortable, looking back at them apologetically.
Though Tesraki were generally cutthroat businessmen, they tended towards extreme submissiveness in relationships with humans.
Adam stepped through the gap left by the protesters and continued walking.
As they did, they early ran into a group of kids selling little white flags and bandannas.
They pulled to a halt, eyes widening in surprise and shock.
A young Tesraki pulled to a halt with them looking as if he was about to panic and run off.
However, the kid at the front's eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face,
“Holy shit! You, I know you!"
Adam smiled,
"You do now?"
"Yeah , yeah you're in that movie. You, you command the UNSC fleet."
For some reason, that exclamation calmed the other kids, and they squealed, shouting and asking for a picture. Of course, he was happy to oblige, posing with them for their pictures. Sunny stood to the side, happy to watch though she was dragged in for the next set of pictures once they realized who she was.
"What are you doing here?"
One of them asked, glancing down at his clothing. When she saw what he was wearing her smile was falling,
"You... aren't here to stop us, are you?"
Adam shook his head,
"No, of course not, protesting isn't illegal."
He motioned to Sunny with his other hand,
"Sunny and I are just here to make sure that you guys stay safe, and that no one gets hurt.”
Sunny nodded. One of the more skeptical looking teens looked up at him,
"How do we know you aren't here to stop us. You work for the GA after all."
Adam shrugged,
"I don't have much else to prove, other than my word."
The skeptic looked at them, a wicked smile appearing on her face,
"I know."
She reached into her cart and pulled out one of the bandannas,
"Wear this!”
It was clear she expected him to balk at the idea, but to her surprise, he smiled,
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He held out his arm, and watched, still smiling as she tied it around his upper arm still glowering at him skeptically,
"Think you can spare one for my big friend?"
He patted Sunny on the arm.
That broke her skepticism, and she smiled openly, handing a second one over to him, which he tied around one of Sunny's upper arms.
He waved a goodbye to them, and stepped back up onto Sunny's back, walking away with her.
"That was nice of you."
He shrugged,
”Not really. I honestly agree with them. The GA has no right to tell them who they can and cannot be with. I know they have some reasons, but I feel like there is a better way of dealing with it."
Sunny hummed deep in her throat,
"Uh-huh, or you really just want a really tall girlfriend."
He sighed,
"Honestly I'd settle for any size girlfriend if I could just talk to her like a normal person without sticking my foot in my mouth. No Maverick and Dr. Katie do not count…"
"Your incompetence with women is acrobatic."
"I'm glad you're impressed.”
Together, they continued their slow circle around the encampment, drawing suspicious and confused eyes as they went. Sometimes they were recognized, and occasionally people would ask to take pictures with them, other times, they just wanted to talk.
The variety of people was... astounding.
A barely five foot human with a nine foot Drev.
A group of humans and a group of Tesraki.
A lawyer and a Finnari.
Two couples both as business partners with a Tesraki half.
They were young and old male-female, in all different pairings.
Old soldiers, and young students.
It was honestly quite stunning.
At one point they stopped off for water and ran into a massive bodybuilder with his Drev girlfriend, whose carapace at any other time would have marked her as ugly for a Drev.
At first Sunny felt bad for her, with her muddy brown carapace, mat without any shine.
The man turned and handed Adam some water.
”Here better stay hydrated brother!”
Adam raised the bottle,
"Thanks."
The man looked him over, eyeing the bandanna around his arm.
"Interesting accessories for a GA affiliate."
"You can work for someone and disagree with them."
The man laughed,
"I suppose that's true."
He greeted Sunny as well, who was trying not to stare at the other female Drev for too long, lest it seem like she was staring.
He motioned to the arm band,
"Supporter, or-"
His eyes flicked between Adam and Sunny.
"We're just here to make sure everyone stays safe."
Off to the side the mat Drev looked at Sunny,
"I'm sorry."
Sunny glanced over at her nervously,
"Sorry for what?"
"You must have been treated very poorly on Anum."
Sunny shuffled her feet awkwardly,
"I was alright I guess..."
"Regardless. I hope things work out for you. The Drev beauty standards are unfair, and things need to change."
Sunny wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about that.
"They aren't so bad."
She ventured defensively.
"Then I am sure you are getting combat offers left and right with your coloring.”
Sunny went quiet again. She would have said this was passive aggressive, but the Drev didn't do passive aggressive, so was this just an open statement about how ugly she was? If that was the case, it kind of hurt.
"I have, because I am an experienced warrior."
Her voice was cold.
"Oh, so where is your partner?"
"I turned them down."
That seemed to surprise the female Drev.
Sunny felt her fists clench, but Adam placed a hand on her arm. She was quiet,
The two humans exchanged a look, the way that only humans can, speaking without actually saying anything.
”C’mon babe, lets look a little bit around and let these two be… It was nice meeting you brother! Also… good luck man…”
The human bodybuilder turned around, taking the Drev by one of her hands to lead her away.
Adam took Sunny by the arm and raised his water at the man,
"Uhm what? Huh anyway, good luck to you too?"
Before turning to walk away, the other Drev cut in at the last second.
"I hope you find a worthy battle partner."
Adam Squeezed Sunny's arm tighter, but she turned her head anyway snapping,
"I already have."
Before marching off without another word.
Adam was forced to scamper after her, his legs much shorter.
"Wow, wow, hold your horses!”
She finally slowed to a stop, still fuming.
"Who the hell does she think she is!?”
"Sunny-."
"Calling me ugly to my face!"
"Sunny-"
"I should have challenged her to a duel right then and there!"
"Sunny!?”*
She turned to look at him,
"What!?"
He climbed back up on her back, patting her shoulder,
"She was obviously just insecure and jealous. I mean come on, look at you, blue is the rarest color in the galaxy and most attractive for a Drev, and we all know that height is the least important attribute of Drev beauty standards. The better you can fight, the more you make up for it, besides it's not her fault that she can't accept someone as being valid unless they are in a pair."
Sunny grunted. He frowned,
"Speaking of which, coming from her it seems like a double standard. You fight with me, and I'm fucking awesome, so by default you have to be too."
"Wow Adam, you really know how to make a person feel better."
"I know."
They were crossing back to the other side of the encampment, when they ran into some familiar faces.
Ramirez and Maverick appeared from the crowd, waving the two of them down with greeting hands.
They pulled to a stop, and the commander motioned to the white bandanna on Ramirez's arm,
"Nice accessories."
"I like yours too."
"I didn't know you were a supporter?”
Ramirez laughed,
"Man I am a supporter of whatever the hell people want to do with themselves."
Off to his side Maverick had tied one of the white bandannas to her belt.
"And you?”
"Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't even think it should be an issue, but by banning it, the GA created a problem for themselves and took away the freedom of choice for these people. Even if I did disagree with what they are doing, I would still support their ability to make that choice for themselves."
She tugged on the bandanna,
"But hey, would I be wearing this otherwise?”
The commander nodded his head, surprised and pleased at his men for being so open minded, though he supposed it should make sense. They worked with aliens every day. Where others might have fostered a sense of fear based on unfamiliarity, they had experience.
"Let’s just hope this all goes over well tomorrow. I don't want to have to use any of this."
He motioned down to his gear.
The commander sighed.
"Isn't that like the catch 22 thing?”
Loyal to one side.
Sympathetic to the other.
Empathetic to both.
He would be relieved when it was finally fixed.
Though how he could help was beyond him.
"Please everyone, calm yourselves. The Galactic Assembly is addressing the issue as we speak."
The crowd roiled and churned like the bubbles in a pot of boiling water. Flags waved and voices rose high into the air.
The chanting increased in fervor.
"Please!"
The Rundi struggled to raise his voice high enough to be heard over the crowd, who only grew with strength and intensity.
Commander Vir keyed his mic,
"Delta units to the GA side of the crowd, some of these protesters are looking extremely agitated. Let's make sure they don't do anything we're all going to regret.”
He stood with his back to the GA chambers, its wide arching courtyard devoid of life, except for those unfortunate Rundi ordered to carry messages from one side of the compound to the other, otherwise they tried to keep their distance from the front facade of the building and the churning mass of protesters.
White flags waved and fluttered.
Commander Vir held the energy shield with one arm, pressing it back firmly against the crowd, so they could not pass the dedicated marking point.
"Commander, the crowd over here is getting violent."
He grimaced and reached a hand down to open the line,
"Stun them and let them calm down, do NOT catch anyone else in the crossfire. We do not want this escalating."
"Yes sir."
Something pushed against his shield and he grunted, pushing back.
The white bandanna on his arm was pressed against the clear blue force field and helped to at least confuse the crowd before them.
And luckily, they would be kept too confused to get violent.
The aliens among the human protesters helped as well.
If this was on earth, things would have broken out into a riot by now, but the Drev the Tesraki and the Finnari tended to be more levelheaded when it came to these kinds of things, and they managed to reign in their humans from doing something stupid.
He closed his eyes tight for a second, praying that the GA would rethink their position.
It hurt him to watch these people struggle like this.
It just felt so strange that anyone should be here in the first place.
Beside him, Sunny had taken control of two young humans who were getting a bit more than rowdy,
"Let’s keep this a protest, and not a riot."
She growled, giving them a look that would have made anyone quell in their boots. It sort of made him half smile, Sunny was such a badass, he wanted to be more like her when he eventually grew up.
His thoughts were cut off, as the crowd churned a bit, pressing into his shield.
He keyed his mic again, prepared to go over the loudspeaker and tell them that if they didn't calm down he was going to turn this protest into a mass nap time.
He had the power to do that if things got out of hand, though he honestly didn't want to.
The GA needed to see this.
He was so preoccupied with the crowd, that he barely noticed as the Rundi ran up from the inside of the compound, flying forward on its long spindly legs.
It stopped by the first Rundi to say something, and the conversation that passed between them didn't look particularly encouraging.
HIs heart sank into his stomach.
He felt... Surprisingly disappointed, very sad for all those people who were going to get their day ruined.
The Rundi waffled around at the front of the crowd for a bit before turning and looking over to where he stood.
Oh great.
The Rundi walked over, and he backed off from the crowd, allowing Sunny to take a step in his place with her shield at the ready.
The people looked as if they were about to start something, but seeing her expression, they decided not to.
He dropped his shield and lowered his head to hear the Rundi over the roaring of the crowd.
"The GA is not budging."
The Rundi whispered,
"They are asking the protesters to leave."
Adam growled in frustration.
Behind him someone in the crowd pointed at him,
"They're saying no aren't they!?”
Others took up the call, and soon enough the rest of the crowd had been alerted. Adam was forced to run back to support Sunny, as everything suddenly grew more intense.
Fights were breaking out on the left and the right.
People were hitting the ground as the guards were forced to stun them.
That only agitated the rest of the crowd who also began to buck and fight.
Adam keyed the mic for real this time, filling the intervening space with his booming voice,
”ALL OF YOU KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW OR I WILL STUN YOU ALL."
The aggression in the crowd died down, though the anger remained sizzling at the surface.
Overhead clouds passed over the sun, before him the crowd roared like a wave, and behind him the GA council chambers were as silent as a ghost town.
"LISTEN, QUIET DOWN ALL OF YOU."
It sort of felt as if he was floating.
The world around him hardly seemed real though that was not the best way to explain it.
The crowd died down a bit,
"You may not understand this! And I have said it before, but these are not humans. Protests don't work on them. When they see a group of angry humans, they get scared and when they get scared, they double down even further. I know it does not make any sense to you NOT to protest for what you believe in, but if you are going to do this, you MUST remain civil. Even now the GA is frightened by you. They don't believe you are rational, and they are not going to listen to you if this keeps up."
The crowd had quieted down to a milling sort of confusion.
"Then what should we do!"*
The shouting came from somewhere and in anger, though he couldn't pinpoint the source.
In frustration he nudged Sunny, and she allowed him to climb on her back as he had before.
The crowd could see him now, and he could see them for the most part.
He waved them down trying to cut off the others who had taken up the chant.
"I understand what you are trying to do, and I support your efforts, but you are only hurting ourselves. The GA can only be won by rational discussion."
"The GA won't see any of our representatives. They are debating only on their own facts and opinions."
One of the crowd's people snarled. The call was echoed and Adam stared at them in shock,
"Wait what!? Are you serious?”
There was a muttering throughout the crowd.
"For fuck's sake."
He muttered under his breath,
"The Rudi think none of us are high ranking enough to be allowed into the council chambers, and none of the representatives will take up our cause. The human ambassador thinks we are disgusting, so she won't do anything and says she won’t represent our minority."
The muttering through the crowd grew louder.
Adam looked around, head turning to see all the angry faces, blushed with red, or streaked with tears.
These people were frustrated, and hurt, and he understood why.
This wasn't right!
He closed his eyes again and took another deep breath.
What was he thinking!?
He stepped down from Sunny's back and walked over to one of the protestors in the front row, pointing to his large flag on a pole that was about eight feet tall.
"May I borrow your flag?"
The protester stared on at him in confusion,
"What, why?"
"Because, I am going to give you the representative you need."
Commander Vir and Sunny walked alone down the length of the GA outer courtyard.
A billowing white flag streamed lazily over his head, suspended there by way of the pole which rested heavily on his shoulder. The white of the fabric had been marred now by many colors as hundreds of rushed signatures had been scrawled on its face.
He was armed with the backing of a thousand protesters, a hundred signatures, and more than a few dozen stories.
Sunny turned her head to look at him, and he fancied that maybe he saw an expression of pride in her eyes, though she didn't say much except,
"Pretty brave."
He didn't feel very brave, and as they walked through the front doors of the GA atrium, his hand was shaking against the cold metal of the flagpole.
He was stopped by a pair of Rundi guards on his way into the chamber, but was let in after they recognized who he was.
He could hear voices up ahead, and the sounds of the protest going on outside had all but died away,
"They have proven that they cannot be civil, and based on the humanizing effect, we can assume they will do similar things to any non-human lifeform that they encounter."
"I may not agree with their decision counselor, but that sounds like your prejudice against humans is seeping through."
There was an uproar in the council chamber.
He paused for a moment, staying with Sunny just out of line of sight and took a deep breath.
She lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Here goes nothing."
He muttered, before stepping his way out onto the GA floor.
At first no one noticed his presence as he made his slow way into the center of the circle, but his large, white flag soon changed that.
The council chambers went silent.
The chairwoman stood,
"Commander, what are you doing here. Shouldn't you be taking care of the protesters?”
His lips drew into a thing line,
"With all due respect councilwoman, I am."
He rammed the flagpole against the stone, sending a loud cracking sound out and around the wide atrium silencing the council,
"I have been made aware that you refuse to see their representatives based on a ranking issue, well I assume my rank is high enough."
The Human rep leaned forward,
"Commander, this is not your place!”
He shot her a look,
"Then whose place is it counselor? I heard a certain democratic counselor refuses to speak for them because they are and I quote “a too small and insignificant minority”…”
He turned his head in a wide arc at the watching crowd,
"Counselors, you have known me, longer than you have known any human currently in this galaxy. You understand that I know your rules and your customs. You understand that I have only ever striven to protect and uphold the GA and the planet's it encompasses. I have thwarted wars, signed treaties, and broken my own body for your best interests."
There was silence about the room.
"Will you let me speak now, with the understanding that my loyalty has never wavered from you, and never will?”
The silence continued.
Aliens understood the power of human loyalty.
Or at least they should…
The chairwoman took a seat,
"Very well, commander."
He lifted his head, feeling his heart slow as he took a few deep breaths. There was a muscle in his face that had begun to twitch, like it always did if he was extremely angry or nervous, but he held it down,
"I understand you are frightened, and I understand that you are confused, but I want you to know first of all that those people outside are good average people. They don't mean you any harm. They are hurting, and they are afraid for themselves, and they are trying to get your attention. Historically, humanity has used protests to right the injustices of government to combat prejudices brought on by one's sex or the color of their skin. You must understand that they see this as an impingement on their happiness and a decision made out of line."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, I ask you now, that I may, perhaps, answer your questions and ease your worries. Why are you so against them?"
"It's unnatural."
It was the Bran representative that had spoken, and he did it quite emphatically.
"Why?"
The commander asked,
"Because they aren't even the same species."
"So?"
The Bran seemed caught off guard,
"They... It's not natural. They can't reproduce, so it isn't... A thing that should be done."
The commander shrugged,
"So if one can't reproduce then they aren't natural? I see a couple issues in that logic relating to prejudices against people with infertility."
There was a murmur around the room.
"So, they can't reproduce, so what? You know who we can reproduce with though... Adaptids."
There was a sort of hushed exclamation form around the room.
The commander shrugged,
"They can't have kids.... Hardly a good enough argument to bring to the floor of a government discussion."
"What he is trying to say is that this practice equates itself to bestiality. It is utterly disguting!"
It was the human representative this time, and she stared at him with her eyes narrowed in anger.
He kept his cool, though he very much did not like her.
"That is absolutely disgusting and wildly insulting of you because that implies that one or both parties are no better than animals, beasts as you will."
The room was silent,
"So which one is it, are humans animals, counselor, are the Finnari or the Rundi animals?"
He turned to the Drev counselor,
"Are the Drev just dumb animals that have no understanding, and no decision making abilities?”
The Drev representative stood, angrily cracking his spear against the stone,
"We are most certainly not!"
The commander held up his hands,
"Then what is so bestial about it? Bestiality is absolutely disgusting because you are taking advantages of a creature that can neither understand nor protect itself from what you are doing. It cannot say yes, and it cannot say no. It has no greater understanding than that of a child, and so cannot make its own decisions."
He looked towards the Finnari representative,
"Tell me counselor, is your species a species of children, with no greater concept of their own decision making?”
"Of course not. Why would you even imply such a thing!?”
"I imply nothing, counselor. This is what YOU imply with your decision. So far we have established that all parties are intelligent consenting creatures, and none of you have managed to give me an actually good reason for banning the practice."
The floor was growing more agitated.
"They will be a poor example for the rest of the galaxy. If we make it legal others will surely follow."
Adam turned his eyes on the speaker, an Iotin,
"You're worried that they are going to turn the rest of the galaxy extrial?"
He laughed,
"That is a poor argument which is not only selfish, but foolish. People should be allowed to make their own decisions. And assuming you are right, what then? Oh no... There are a few more extrials... And it does... What exactly?"
He turned in a wide circle,
"If you are worried about population growth or in this case population falloff due to this issue then you should be reminded that extrials comprise a percentage of the human population so small that I could fit the greater majority of them on my ship comfortably. This occurrence is not common, and even if the numbers were to rise, it would not be of enough significance to cause issues."
His heart was hammering hard inside his chest. He felt like he was doing alright, but that might mean nothing.
"In any event, these relationships do not affect the vast majority of the galaxy. Humans cannot be with the Bran or the Rundi due to the water we shed from our skin. The Gromm and the Iotins are out for similar reasons. Vrul and Gibb are incapable of having feelings for humans in that way as far as we know, and both the Tvek and the Celzex are too different from humans for either party to be interested."
He walked around in a circle, allowing the flag to trail behind him,
"Furthermore, the humanization phenomenon happens with or without romantic intent, and as it is, its mention is more a mark of prejudice on humans than it is an argument against the two groups being together."
He left the floor open for a little while, as the council muttered with each other.
Finally, the Drev representative stood,
"My species culture and our way of life has been upturned by the GA. I fear relationships with humans will result in the loss of our culture. We have already strayed far from what we originally were. We are hardly recognizable as Drev anymore."
The commander let his voice soften,
"I understand that the Drev have lost a lot in joining this..."
Sunny held up a hand, and in surprise he was cut off.
She took the floor,
"Your Glory…"
She said bowing her head,
"If you would have truly upheld those ideals, you would not be sitting on this council."
The Drev pulled back in surprise at her words,
"Yes, we lost a lot in joining the GA, and after the war, but I would argue that some of that was for good. Before the GA people like me, with perceived imperfection were cast into the fire and perceived as no better than animals. This practice still takes place on our planet, where these traditions are still alive and well."
Her words made the room shift nervously,
"However, culture changes and adapts, and it must to survive. We changed in order to live among the GA. We found other alternatives to fighting that still maintain our honor and our prowess in war, and this includes the sports that the humans have brought to us. Furthermore, the vast majority of the Drev I see who are with humans are those of us who would not be accepted by our own kind, perceived as ugly or malformed. If this is the case then your traditions remain sound, and those like me are removed from the mating population."
The counselor almost looked ashamed at her words, turning his head away so as not to look her in the eyes.
"As far as a change of culture goes, it was bound to happen, and it seems you are more worried about change than you actually are about relationships."
She went quiet, and Adam nodded to her taking the floor again.
A Finnari counselor stood,
"I am simply worried about our birth rate. The Finnari were farmed by the Gnarlak for many years, and we are only now replenishing our population."
"I don't think you need to worry. The amount of relationships is so small that it will not affect the Finnari population in any significant manner."
The chairwoman stood,
"Your arguments have been heard commander, but, what the others do not mention is the issue of disease. We have seen a great increase of human transmitted illnesses."
"I hate to cut you off chairwoman, but that is NOT related to interspecies relationships, it has another explanation: human tourism."
"Explain."
"You all know that humans are not allowed to leave their planet, unless tested for all communicable non-treatable diseases. This means that those of us that you see here cannot physically pass our diseases off onto other people. In this case these issues did not stem from relationships at all, but poor vaccination, the poor regulation of tourism, and allowing aliens to travel onto earth where infected humans are located, not testing them as they leave. You see? You don't even have problems with them, but you are using them as a real scapegoat for the actual issues. In fact you are causing more problems by banning this! The more you push, the harder they will push back, eventually someone is going to get hurt. Also since they are not allowed to be together legally, they do it illegally, and because they do it illegally, they end up in dangerous places exposed to greater rates of crime. They get hurt, and they get involved in things they would otherwise not have gotten involved in if you had not banned it. Just look at Noctoplis. It has the highest rate of extrials living there and the lowest policing force and the most corrupted system. There are no legitimate jobs there, so we see an influx of crime by desperate people who won't be accepted anywhere else. Not to mention that it increased the depression rates, which increases suicide rates. Your laws have ostracized them, forced them to become criminals, and turned many of them to killing themselves, rather than living in a world where they are seen as disgusting."
He had to take a deep breath,
"Earth has seen all of this before, and one way or another, eventually someone will see what I am trying to say."
He rested the flag on the floor beside him, feet planted at shoulder width.
"I hope that this rational conversation will allow a more open mind on the council. I encourage you to talk to their representatives. They are more rational and educated than I am, and they can give you hard facts and statistics. But please, they don't want to cause trouble, if you allow them to do as they will, you might find these problems going away for you."
The human representative clearly did not seem convinced, but he didn't expect to convince her, he expected to convince the others who were more afraid than they were prejudiced.
"It seems as if we have some other potential policies to discuss, commander."
The chairwoman said, tapping her fingers on the table before her.
"I have a suggestion, ma'am."
"And that is?"
"A temporary revocation on the ban, that way you can SEE what the universe will be like without it, and you can judge for yourself whether The ban does any good. You don't have to overturn the law just yet, but temporarily suspend it, that way you can re institute at any time. Then you will have concrete proof. You can do testing, and polls and whatever else, then you would know for sure."
His suggestion turned into a discussion, that dragged on for many minutes before the chairwoman raised her hand,
"It has been decided, all in favor of this temporary proposal please indicate."
The voting lights flashed above them.
He walked from the venue, hours after he had entered.
The flag felt heavy in his hands, his boots thudded with exhaustion on the white marble below him.
Outside, the protest field was surprisingly silent, though he could still see their flags.
As he walked closer, he could see that the crowd was sitting down.
Their voices reached him from a distance at first, until he realized they were calmly singing with each other.
Waiting...
Suddenly the first people from the crowd noticed the two silhouettes coming from the chambers towards them.
A lone man and Drev, walking from the building.
The man was wearing riot gear, a full helmet, a shield, and carrying their flag, resting against his right shoulder.
The group of them began to stand, rising to their feet and yelling.
They quieted as he got closer.
"What did they say!? What did they say!?”
He passed the flag to the original protester who looked on at him with such an expression of pleading that he felt his eyes tingle a bit with rising emotion.
He had to look away, boosting himself onto Sunny's back, keying his mic.
The crowd was silent.
"I spoke to the GA. After a long debate, and a slim majority the GA have decided to temporarily revoke the ban on inter-species relationships until a-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, drowned out by a powerful wave of noise and joy so overwhelming that he was nearly knocked backwards off his feet.
The crowd surged forward and Sunny staggered as the group surrounded them.
Adam found himself on the ground on his feet, enclosed by hundreds of pairs of arms, as every person tried their best to get one hand on him.
He was deafened by cheering and an outpouring of gratitude so profound he had simply never experienced such emotion.
He looked up at Sunny, pressed in with him by the enthusiastic crowd, she nodded her head in approval.
He grinned, he had to admit this felt pretty good.
Though, whether it was all over was a question for another time.
Here is the link to the master-post.
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
2023.06.03 16:26 Intrepid_Guidance_93 solver problem in excel
this is a problem of excel from coursera in which i am stuck and this problem does not have video explanation , have to do with the help of solver , it is basically divided into 3 parts variable , objective and criteria in which i phrase difficulty in objective part
The feed mixes available for the horses’ diet are an oat product, a highly enriched grain, and a mineral product. Each of these mixes contains a certain amount of five ingredients needed daily to keep the average horse healthy. The table below shows these minimum requirements, units of each ingredient per pound of feed mix, and costs for the
In addition, the stable owner is aware that an overfed horse is a sluggish worker. Consequently, he determines that a total of 6 pounds of feed per day is the most that any horse needs to function properly.
submitted by Intrepid_Guidance_93 to excel [link] [comments]
Scenario
The Battery Park Stable feeds and houses the horses used to pull tourist-filled carriages through the streets of Charleston’s historic waterfront area. The stable owner, an ex-racehorse trainer, recognizes the need to set a nutritional diet for the horses in his care. At the same time, he would like to keep the overall daily cost of feed to a minimum.The feed mixes available for the horses’ diet are an oat product, a highly enriched grain, and a mineral product. Each of these mixes contains a certain amount of five ingredients needed daily to keep the average horse healthy. The table below shows these minimum requirements, units of each ingredient per pound of feed mix, and costs for the
| Diet Requirement (Ingredients) | Oat Product (units/lb) | Enriched Grain (units/lb) | Mineral Product (units/lb) | Minimum Daily Requirement (units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| B | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| C | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
| D | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | 7 |
| E | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 6 |
| Cost/lb | $0.09 | $0.12 | $0.18 |
In addition, the stable owner is aware that an overfed horse is a sluggish worker. Consequently, he determines that a total of 6 pounds of feed per day is the most that any horse needs to function properly.
2023.06.03 15:18 Bragior Civ of the Week: Hungary (2023-06-03)
Navigation
- Previous Discussion: July 18, 2022
- Last Week: Brazil
- Next Week: France
Hungary
- Required DLC: Gathering Storm Expansion Pack
Unique Ability
Pearl of the DanubeStarting Bias: River (Tier 3), Geothermal Fissure (Tier 5)
Unique Unit
Huszár- Basic Attributes
- Cost
- Maintenance
- Base Stats
- Bonus Stats
- Ignores enemy zone of control
- Unique Attributes
- Differences from Replaced Unit
(Available only for certain leaders)
- Basic Attributes
- Cost
- Maintenance
- Base Stats
- Bonus Stats
- Ignores enemy zone of control
- Unique Attributes
- Differences from Replaced Unit
Unique Infrastructure
Thermal Bath- Basic Attributes
- Cost
- Maintenance
- Base Effects
- Unique Attributes
- Differences from Replaced Infrastructure
Leader: Matthias Corvinus
Leader Ability
Raven King- Levied city-state units gain +2 Movement and +5 Combat Strength
- Levied city-state units can be upgraded at a 75% Gold and Resource discount
- Gain 2 Envoys when levying from a city-state
- Gain the Black Army unique unit
Agenda
Raven Banner- Attempts to levy troops from city-states as much as possible
- Likes civilizations who levy troops from city-states
- Dislikes civilizations who do not levy troops from city-states
Civilization-related Achievements
- The Laurels of Virtues and Letters King — Win a regular game as Matthias Covinus
- Shield of Christianity — As Hungary, have Christianity as the dominant religion and defeat a Civilization's unit whose dominant religion is not Christianity
Useful Topics for Discussion
- What do you like or dislike about this civilization?
- How easy or difficult is this civ to use for new players?
- What are the victory paths you can go for with this civ?
- What are your assessments regarding the civ's abilities?
- How well do they synergize with each other?
- How well do they compare to other similar civ abilities, if any?
- Do you often use their unique units and infrastructure?
- Can this civ be played tall or should it always go wide?
- What map types, game mode, or setting does this civ shine in?
- What synergizes well with this civ? You may include the following:
- Terrain, resources and natural wonders
- World wonders
- Government type, legacy bonuses and policies
- City-state type and suzerain bonuses
- Governors
- Great people
- Secret societies
- Heroes & legends
- Corporations
- Have the civ's general strategy changed since the latest update(s)?
- How do you deal against this civ if controlled by the player or the AI?
- Are there any mods that can make playing this civ more interesting?
- Do you have any stories regarding this civ that you would like to share?
2023.06.03 15:12 ScribblingFox98 The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon (Chapter 78)
First
Vitmori POV
Well, that fight went about as well as I expected. Between the slight disconnect of having to think about how to move and command my new body and facing a warrior experienced in combat against other beings of this world, I knew I didn't really stand a chance. However, it was an excellent opportunity to figure out how people in this world fight. After Reonim dismissed himself, I was approached by a few people; Trisha and Sylvia were the two I immediately recognized, though, after a couple of moments, the names of the remaining two came to mind, that being Miriam and Isaak. I offered a smile at their approach as my hands came up to the black cloth that Historietta wrapped around me; I had only barely noticed it was starting to unravel and fall off due to it being ripped apart after Reonim cut me in half. "Hey there, what's going on?" I ask, with a healthy amount of curiosity in my voice as they draw closer.
Miriam was the first to speak up, even if it looked like Sylvia was about to speak as well, though she patiently held her tongue and listened as Miriam pat my arm in an encouraging manner. "You did very well out there, Vitmori; I feel you performed valiantly against a superior opponent, though I'm certain that with time, you'll be able to reach Reonim's level." She enthused cheerfully before looking me over.
I was a little surprised by her opening. Had I really performed so poorly that I needed my spirits lifted like that? Well, I can't sense any ill intent from her, in fact, she sounds rather genuine, even if the expressions of those around her betrayed that they felt she made a faux pas. After a moment, I decided to just match her energy and smile a little more. "Well, thank you for your kind words; I shall do my best to get the hang of my new body, maybe I'll figure out how to make use of my mana heart while I'm at it." I said before looking among the group as a whole and continuing. "Was there anything else?"
Sylvia piped up at that as she stepped forward beside Miriam. "Vitmori, if you would allow us to borrow you for a little bit, we'd like to take your measurements so we can get started on making your clothes and armor." She explained, Miriam offering a nod of confirmation at that.
Trisha spoke out as she stepped out from behind Miriam and offered a bit of a smile. "And I was hoping to talk a little shop, figure out what sort of weapons you're looking for, and maybe we can go see that forge you've prepared for me." She explained, sounding somewhat hopeful near the end.
I couldn't help but smile a bit and nod. "Very well, feel free to take your measurements." I said as I looked between Sylvia and Miriam, though I looked over to Isaak as he stood close by. "Can I help you with anything?" I offer since he seemed to be waiting so patiently.
Isaak was vaguely surprised when I addressed him, and after he took a moment to look between the others and then back at me. "I'm just here because I don't have anything better to do." He said simply as he nodded at his own words.
I wasn't sure what to make of that, my head tilting ever so slightly as his words before Miriam grabbed at my arm. "Come on, let's get you inside." She said excitedly, leading me into the longhouse and sitting me on one of the benches along the tables. "Wait right here, I've got to go get my things." She said cheerfully enough as she stepped away, Sylvia following after to grab her own things.
"So..." Isaak started to say, trailing off as he seemed to need another moment to gather his thoughts. "When was the first time you killed someone?" He asked, earning him a smack against the back of his head as Trisha frowned at Isaak.
"You just sat down; who starts a conversation like that?" She admonished before looking at me while shaking her head. "Sorry about him, I think he has a bad case of foot in mouth." She explained apologetically to me before staring daggers at Isaak.
I couldn't help but offer a kind smile as I lean back against the table behind me. "It's fine; I don't mind." I offer in response before looking at Isaak and looking him over. He definitely looks like some kind of warrior between the well-cared-for sword on his hip and the unique set of hide armor that he wore. "Why do you ask? Have you killed anything or anyone before?" I decided to start with regard to Isaak's question.
Isaak averted his gaze, and I can feel a sense of embarrassment coming from him, though about what, I'm not sure yet. "Not really no, I haven't gotten the chance. I was just a guard recruit before this, a few weeks fresh out of my apprenticeship, and assigned my own set of city guard armor." He explained, staring at his hands as he wrung them together.
I reached out, gently patting his shoulder, and gave him a little shake before pulling away. "I don't know what sort of expectations you were raised on in this world, but there's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to having never killed anyone or anything before. The act of taking a life is a weighty one, and it should never be taken lightly." I explained as I watched him closely.
Isaak nods intently, and I could see he had a lot on his mind; though before he could continue, Miriam returned with her tools, followed closely behind Sylvia as the duo set their things down on the table behind me. "Alright Vitmori, would you mind taking off that wrap, it's too thick to even think about measuring over." She explained politely as she procured a roll of measuring tape.
I bobbed my head in response. "Sure, no problem." I replied as I stood before shrugging off the ruined black fabric. As it fell to the ground, I heard an 'Eep' sound coming from Miriam, though Sylvia let out an impressed whistle. I could feel their eyes wandering my back and shoulders, and watched as the four of them looked at my chest and stomach, their eyes tracing the recreation of the injuries I sustained up until my late thirties. "Sorry if they're disturbing to look at, medical professionals were few and far between, and dangers were plentiful. I often had to treat my own wounds in the field and they were never pretty." I explained with a dry chuckle as I rubbed the back of my head. "Hell, these aren't even all of them, Reyvyre recreated my body while I was in my prime, I still have a couple decades of wear and tear not present here." I mused, hoping to lighten the mood. Though looking over at Miriam, that didn't really seem to help.
"Wow." Was all that came from Trisha as she took a seat beside Isaak.
Miriam just reached out and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, I could feel the unfiltered compassion coming from her as she looked up into my eyes. "You've sure been through a lot, haven't you?"
That... Damn... I wasn't expecting that. It's a good thing I'm just wood right now, I have a feeling that some tears might have escaped if I was flesh and blood. I'm able to contain myself well enough as I reach around and gently pat Miriam's hand before pulling back. "Yeah, but I think I'm in a better place now." I offer in response. I have a feeling that she might not entirely believe me, but she didn't push the topic as she started measuring my arms while Sylvia went about measuring my legs and feet. While that happened, I decided to look back over at Isaak and offered a bit of a smile. "Let's continue our talk later if you don't mind." I offer, it's clear the guy is after something and I don't want to outright ignore him.
This earned Isaak a curious look from Miriam, though Isaak just averts his gaze and nods. "S-sure, alright, later." He replied almost sheepishly.
After a few moments of silence, Trisha spoke up while staring at one of the scars along my back. "So... Vitmori. I've got some big questions for you." She said as she stood and walked around in front of me to make eye contact while making sure to stay out of Miriam and Sylvia's way as they measure my chest and hips.
Meeting her gaze, I offer a smile and nod. "Sure, and I might have some big answers." I reply with amusement.
This managed to wrangle a small smile from Trisha before she continued with her thought process. "What sort of weapons do you want me to make for you?" She asked as she held her gaze.
Weapons eh? Right, now that it has come down to it, what do I want? I trained with all sorts of weapons during my youth, but what should I use now? My mind does wander to the fancy-looking bow next to the elf corpse in Lictdren's chamber, as well as the red spear embedded in the ceiling, but those would just draw too much attention. I also shouldn't limit myself to the gimmick and improvised weapons that I had to rely on more often than not, I had a professional blacksmith with a fully stocked forge and all the supplies I could procure for her now. "I want a shortsword, a dagger, a set of ten throwing knives, a spear, and a bow with thirty arrows that have barbed tips." I listed out before offering a bit of a smile. "I'll let you decide on what to use to make them, but don't use that mithril stuff, I don't want to attract too much attention."
Rather than look intimidated by the size of my order, I could swear that she had a fire of excitement in her eyes. "Yes sir, while I may need help making the bow and arrows, I should be able to handle making the arrowheads just fine. I'll be able to manage everything else myself though, no problem." She exclaimed as she flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs up, though, after a moment, she had a curious look on her face as she looked me over. "How do you plan on carrying all of that?" She asked, slightly tilting her head as she stroked her chin.
I chuckled softly as Miriam measured my neck while Sylvia took precise measurements of my hand. "I have a magic storage place where I can keep it all, remember how I pulled all that stone from nowhere?" I offer as an example, and after a moment she understands and nods intently.
Sylvia spoke up as she finished committing my measurements to memory. "Your armor will be simple and yet practical as you obviously don't have any gooey bits you need to protect, but you need to at least look the part." She explained with a hint of amusement while looking me over. "Since you like to be light on your feet, I'll get you set up with some leather boots, pauldrons, bracers, and gloves. You won't look particularly impressive, though I have a feeling you wouldn't care about that." She listed out before nodding to herself with satisfaction.
I returned her nod with a bob of my head. "Sounds good to me, just let Legosi know how many hides you need for the leather, he'll have his pack bring you the materials as long as you let them have the meat." I offer as Miriam pulls away, finishing up with her own measurements.
'"Do you have any preference for the clothes?" Miriam asked as she glanced over at me before stepping away to put the measuring tape away.
I think about that for a moment before speaking up. "I don't have any preferences about the colors of my tops or bottoms, all I ask is that they're all made with long sleeves." I explained though I consider something else as I glance over at her. "I would like a brown cloak if it isn't too much trouble."
She flashes a bit of a smile and nodded intently. "Of course Vitmori, I'll get right on it." She said cheerfully, moving to leave with Sylvia as they grabbed their equipment. Isaak moved to leave as well, heading outside, though he was soon intercepted by one of the drakewardens and dragged off somewhere.
I took a moment to collect what remained of the black fabric that I wrapped around my body, tearing a hole in the middle of one of the bigger pieces before pulling it on like a poncho. "There we go, at least I won't be exposed." I mused cheerfully to Trisha, earning a bit of a smile from her as she nodded. I could tell she was clearly excited to go see her new workspace. After a moment to consider it, I decided I should make her first day in my service to be really special, though at the same time, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a little while as I looked over at her again. "Go get Reyvyre, Rita, and Hephtio, I'm going to go on ahead and wait for you."
This earned a curious look from her, but she nodded and went to step away. "Sure thing boss." She replied as she walked off.
With Trisha on her way, I start heading up my mountain and go over how the fight went in my head. From what I can tell, Reonim managed to circulate his mana around his body, it flowed and pulsed with his heartbeat, much like his own blood. While I don't have blood, I did appear to have some sort of veins circulating a minimal amount of my mana, which was what appeared to keep my body functional and mobile. I had to consider what Reonim told me about this 'barkskin' and 'stoneskin' defense, based on what I saw, it seemed Reonim had to actively will the defenses to take effect; actually hitting Reonim with my stone blade confirmed that there was something at work that reduced the impact of my strike.
Reviewing the battle some more, it was clear that Reonim had also used a form of mana to cause some kind of whirlwind to spin around his greatsword. The effects of the wind were rather potent, as they were enough to knock me off my feet even without direct contact. It probably didn't help that I'm not as heavy as I used to be, but that is not something I mind all too much; after all, a lighter body means lighter steps. Reonim had a decent mana capacity, though it was nowhere near the extent of Reyvyre or even Rita, it was considerable as far as I can tell without refining the mana in his mana heart into mana rings. From the looks of it, mana hearts and mana rings serve two different functions which appear to be complimentary to each other. Mana hearts serve to improve the physical capabilities in someone's body, spreading the mana around in order to be used in various ways, and with enough skill and know-how, they're able to extend the mana out into a weapon, shield, armor, or even their own skin. Even minor magic can be used as long as someone has a mana heart established, that is if what Hephtio told me was accurate when he and Trisha fended off one of those feral goat horses with bursts of fire breath.
As for the specifics of mana-hearts, I'm still not too sure, I'll need to talk to Reyvyre and Rita about it. But it seems the more rings you have, the more complicated the magic you are able to use. I have a feeling it is like the difference between using a lighter to illuminate a room to using either a torch or a flashlight to illuminate the room. Using a torch or a flashlight are both valid escalations from using a lighter, they're two completely different methods that achieve similar but overtly different effects.
Before I knew it, I had been sitting on the steps leading up to the entrance of the smithy while watching the horizon. It was nothing but trees as far as the eye could see and it was beautiful. The forests around most settlements back home had been gutted for the wood and fuel over the years, conservation wasn't really considered necessary since the world had already ended as far as my generation was concerned. Aside from that, there was usually enough to go around when the supply lines weren't being interrupted by raiders or the communities outside of the alliances. The only things we needed to keep scavenging for were the non-renewable goods and equipment like the stuff at that warehouse. Things that weren't easily sourced, even if we were making excellent progress with mass 3D printing. Though all that's moot for me now.
My musings of my old life came to an end as I spotted Hephtio excitedly leading Rita, Reyvyre and Trisha up along the steps of my mountain. Hephtio was the first to reach me, lunging onto my legs as I scooped him up and brought him around to my shoulder. "Glad you all found your way up alright, sorry to wake you Reyvyre." I mentioned apologetically at the sight of the elven woman.
Reyvyre yawned, shrugging but flashing a smile. "It's alright, you wouldn't have woken me for nothing after all."
Rita looked around curiously, not having been to this part of my mountain yet.
I looked over at Trisha and waved her over. "Come along, your forge awaits." I said cheerfully as we all headed up the rest of the way.
Within a few minutes, I led the group down the magically illuminated tunnel and into the forge room. Trisha, for her part, was ecstatic as she moved from one end of the room to the other before hopping around with a grin on her face before going over to Hephtio and scooping up the cat. "Hephtio! The fires of the forge await!" She exclaimed, Hephtio mrowling with delight as he wiggled about excitedly.
I couldn't help but grin at how excited she was, but I cleared my throat and spoke up. "Before you get started, we have a bit of business to attend to."
Trisha looked fairly surprised but nodded as she clutched Hephtio close. "Oh, sure boss, what's up?"
"Do you have a last name?" I ask curiously.
Trisha looked taken aback by my apparently random question. "Umm… No? Are… Are you offering?"
I chuckled a bit at her reaction before nodding. "Yeah, among other things. I would like to form a bond with you if you're interested, I'll grant you a last name and a title. These two things will grant you a considerable amount of power and allow you to communicate with all my nonverbal beasts." I explain, gesturing to Hephtio as Trisha glanced down at the red cat and looked rather thoughtful.
"I… Hmm…" Trisha starts to say, lifting Hephtio up and looking him in the eyes. Hephtio offered a feline smile and gently pressed his paw against her cheek. Trisha chuckled a bit before bringing him back down to her chest and looking over at me again. "I'll do it, thank you."
I nod intently and looked over at Rita and Reyvyre. "Do you mind coming over, Trisha has a mana heart but no mana ring; and I have a feeling that she's gonna need some help forming her first ring."
Reyvyre and Rita share a glance before nodding as they approach, the two women placing their hands against Trisha's back. Trisha looked rather confused at the mention of mana rings and gulped with anxiety, though she remained still.
After another moment of considering what I want to say, I approach Trisha and look down into her eyes before placing my hand on her shoulder. "I welcome you into my service, I grant you the title of Arsonist and bestow the last name Vulcan. May you grow and become your best self as we go together in the future." At that, two doses or mana start flowing into her, strangely enough it doesn't flow from my avatar, and is instead flowing down from the core above as Trisha jolts and shudders from the rush of mana. Thankfully both Rita and Reyvyre set to work and quickly stabilized the teen blacksmith, her mana heart growing and pulsing dramatically when a ring starts to spiral and swirl around it.
Trisha panted heavily, clutching her chest and shuddering, looking between Rita and Reyvyre before looking over to me and flashing a wild grin. "W-what a rush! Say… What's an Arsonist?"
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Vitmori POV
Well, that fight went about as well as I expected. Between the slight disconnect of having to think about how to move and command my new body and facing a warrior experienced in combat against other beings of this world, I knew I didn't really stand a chance. However, it was an excellent opportunity to figure out how people in this world fight. After Reonim dismissed himself, I was approached by a few people; Trisha and Sylvia were the two I immediately recognized, though, after a couple of moments, the names of the remaining two came to mind, that being Miriam and Isaak. I offered a smile at their approach as my hands came up to the black cloth that Historietta wrapped around me; I had only barely noticed it was starting to unravel and fall off due to it being ripped apart after Reonim cut me in half. "Hey there, what's going on?" I ask, with a healthy amount of curiosity in my voice as they draw closer.
Miriam was the first to speak up, even if it looked like Sylvia was about to speak as well, though she patiently held her tongue and listened as Miriam pat my arm in an encouraging manner. "You did very well out there, Vitmori; I feel you performed valiantly against a superior opponent, though I'm certain that with time, you'll be able to reach Reonim's level." She enthused cheerfully before looking me over.
I was a little surprised by her opening. Had I really performed so poorly that I needed my spirits lifted like that? Well, I can't sense any ill intent from her, in fact, she sounds rather genuine, even if the expressions of those around her betrayed that they felt she made a faux pas. After a moment, I decided to just match her energy and smile a little more. "Well, thank you for your kind words; I shall do my best to get the hang of my new body, maybe I'll figure out how to make use of my mana heart while I'm at it." I said before looking among the group as a whole and continuing. "Was there anything else?"
Sylvia piped up at that as she stepped forward beside Miriam. "Vitmori, if you would allow us to borrow you for a little bit, we'd like to take your measurements so we can get started on making your clothes and armor." She explained, Miriam offering a nod of confirmation at that.
Trisha spoke out as she stepped out from behind Miriam and offered a bit of a smile. "And I was hoping to talk a little shop, figure out what sort of weapons you're looking for, and maybe we can go see that forge you've prepared for me." She explained, sounding somewhat hopeful near the end.
I couldn't help but smile a bit and nod. "Very well, feel free to take your measurements." I said as I looked between Sylvia and Miriam, though I looked over to Isaak as he stood close by. "Can I help you with anything?" I offer since he seemed to be waiting so patiently.
Isaak was vaguely surprised when I addressed him, and after he took a moment to look between the others and then back at me. "I'm just here because I don't have anything better to do." He said simply as he nodded at his own words.
I wasn't sure what to make of that, my head tilting ever so slightly as his words before Miriam grabbed at my arm. "Come on, let's get you inside." She said excitedly, leading me into the longhouse and sitting me on one of the benches along the tables. "Wait right here, I've got to go get my things." She said cheerfully enough as she stepped away, Sylvia following after to grab her own things.
"So..." Isaak started to say, trailing off as he seemed to need another moment to gather his thoughts. "When was the first time you killed someone?" He asked, earning him a smack against the back of his head as Trisha frowned at Isaak.
"You just sat down; who starts a conversation like that?" She admonished before looking at me while shaking her head. "Sorry about him, I think he has a bad case of foot in mouth." She explained apologetically to me before staring daggers at Isaak.
I couldn't help but offer a kind smile as I lean back against the table behind me. "It's fine; I don't mind." I offer in response before looking at Isaak and looking him over. He definitely looks like some kind of warrior between the well-cared-for sword on his hip and the unique set of hide armor that he wore. "Why do you ask? Have you killed anything or anyone before?" I decided to start with regard to Isaak's question.
Isaak averted his gaze, and I can feel a sense of embarrassment coming from him, though about what, I'm not sure yet. "Not really no, I haven't gotten the chance. I was just a guard recruit before this, a few weeks fresh out of my apprenticeship, and assigned my own set of city guard armor." He explained, staring at his hands as he wrung them together.
I reached out, gently patting his shoulder, and gave him a little shake before pulling away. "I don't know what sort of expectations you were raised on in this world, but there's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to having never killed anyone or anything before. The act of taking a life is a weighty one, and it should never be taken lightly." I explained as I watched him closely.
Isaak nods intently, and I could see he had a lot on his mind; though before he could continue, Miriam returned with her tools, followed closely behind Sylvia as the duo set their things down on the table behind me. "Alright Vitmori, would you mind taking off that wrap, it's too thick to even think about measuring over." She explained politely as she procured a roll of measuring tape.
I bobbed my head in response. "Sure, no problem." I replied as I stood before shrugging off the ruined black fabric. As it fell to the ground, I heard an 'Eep' sound coming from Miriam, though Sylvia let out an impressed whistle. I could feel their eyes wandering my back and shoulders, and watched as the four of them looked at my chest and stomach, their eyes tracing the recreation of the injuries I sustained up until my late thirties. "Sorry if they're disturbing to look at, medical professionals were few and far between, and dangers were plentiful. I often had to treat my own wounds in the field and they were never pretty." I explained with a dry chuckle as I rubbed the back of my head. "Hell, these aren't even all of them, Reyvyre recreated my body while I was in my prime, I still have a couple decades of wear and tear not present here." I mused, hoping to lighten the mood. Though looking over at Miriam, that didn't really seem to help.
"Wow." Was all that came from Trisha as she took a seat beside Isaak.
Miriam just reached out and gently placed a hand on my shoulder, I could feel the unfiltered compassion coming from her as she looked up into my eyes. "You've sure been through a lot, haven't you?"
That... Damn... I wasn't expecting that. It's a good thing I'm just wood right now, I have a feeling that some tears might have escaped if I was flesh and blood. I'm able to contain myself well enough as I reach around and gently pat Miriam's hand before pulling back. "Yeah, but I think I'm in a better place now." I offer in response. I have a feeling that she might not entirely believe me, but she didn't push the topic as she started measuring my arms while Sylvia went about measuring my legs and feet. While that happened, I decided to look back over at Isaak and offered a bit of a smile. "Let's continue our talk later if you don't mind." I offer, it's clear the guy is after something and I don't want to outright ignore him.
This earned Isaak a curious look from Miriam, though Isaak just averts his gaze and nods. "S-sure, alright, later." He replied almost sheepishly.
After a few moments of silence, Trisha spoke up while staring at one of the scars along my back. "So... Vitmori. I've got some big questions for you." She said as she stood and walked around in front of me to make eye contact while making sure to stay out of Miriam and Sylvia's way as they measure my chest and hips.
Meeting her gaze, I offer a smile and nod. "Sure, and I might have some big answers." I reply with amusement.
This managed to wrangle a small smile from Trisha before she continued with her thought process. "What sort of weapons do you want me to make for you?" She asked as she held her gaze.
Weapons eh? Right, now that it has come down to it, what do I want? I trained with all sorts of weapons during my youth, but what should I use now? My mind does wander to the fancy-looking bow next to the elf corpse in Lictdren's chamber, as well as the red spear embedded in the ceiling, but those would just draw too much attention. I also shouldn't limit myself to the gimmick and improvised weapons that I had to rely on more often than not, I had a professional blacksmith with a fully stocked forge and all the supplies I could procure for her now. "I want a shortsword, a dagger, a set of ten throwing knives, a spear, and a bow with thirty arrows that have barbed tips." I listed out before offering a bit of a smile. "I'll let you decide on what to use to make them, but don't use that mithril stuff, I don't want to attract too much attention."
Rather than look intimidated by the size of my order, I could swear that she had a fire of excitement in her eyes. "Yes sir, while I may need help making the bow and arrows, I should be able to handle making the arrowheads just fine. I'll be able to manage everything else myself though, no problem." She exclaimed as she flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs up, though, after a moment, she had a curious look on her face as she looked me over. "How do you plan on carrying all of that?" She asked, slightly tilting her head as she stroked her chin.
I chuckled softly as Miriam measured my neck while Sylvia took precise measurements of my hand. "I have a magic storage place where I can keep it all, remember how I pulled all that stone from nowhere?" I offer as an example, and after a moment she understands and nods intently.
Sylvia spoke up as she finished committing my measurements to memory. "Your armor will be simple and yet practical as you obviously don't have any gooey bits you need to protect, but you need to at least look the part." She explained with a hint of amusement while looking me over. "Since you like to be light on your feet, I'll get you set up with some leather boots, pauldrons, bracers, and gloves. You won't look particularly impressive, though I have a feeling you wouldn't care about that." She listed out before nodding to herself with satisfaction.
I returned her nod with a bob of my head. "Sounds good to me, just let Legosi know how many hides you need for the leather, he'll have his pack bring you the materials as long as you let them have the meat." I offer as Miriam pulls away, finishing up with her own measurements.
'"Do you have any preference for the clothes?" Miriam asked as she glanced over at me before stepping away to put the measuring tape away.
I think about that for a moment before speaking up. "I don't have any preferences about the colors of my tops or bottoms, all I ask is that they're all made with long sleeves." I explained though I consider something else as I glance over at her. "I would like a brown cloak if it isn't too much trouble."
She flashes a bit of a smile and nodded intently. "Of course Vitmori, I'll get right on it." She said cheerfully, moving to leave with Sylvia as they grabbed their equipment. Isaak moved to leave as well, heading outside, though he was soon intercepted by one of the drakewardens and dragged off somewhere.
I took a moment to collect what remained of the black fabric that I wrapped around my body, tearing a hole in the middle of one of the bigger pieces before pulling it on like a poncho. "There we go, at least I won't be exposed." I mused cheerfully to Trisha, earning a bit of a smile from her as she nodded. I could tell she was clearly excited to go see her new workspace. After a moment to consider it, I decided I should make her first day in my service to be really special, though at the same time, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts for a little while as I looked over at her again. "Go get Reyvyre, Rita, and Hephtio, I'm going to go on ahead and wait for you."
This earned a curious look from her, but she nodded and went to step away. "Sure thing boss." She replied as she walked off.
With Trisha on her way, I start heading up my mountain and go over how the fight went in my head. From what I can tell, Reonim managed to circulate his mana around his body, it flowed and pulsed with his heartbeat, much like his own blood. While I don't have blood, I did appear to have some sort of veins circulating a minimal amount of my mana, which was what appeared to keep my body functional and mobile. I had to consider what Reonim told me about this 'barkskin' and 'stoneskin' defense, based on what I saw, it seemed Reonim had to actively will the defenses to take effect; actually hitting Reonim with my stone blade confirmed that there was something at work that reduced the impact of my strike.
Reviewing the battle some more, it was clear that Reonim had also used a form of mana to cause some kind of whirlwind to spin around his greatsword. The effects of the wind were rather potent, as they were enough to knock me off my feet even without direct contact. It probably didn't help that I'm not as heavy as I used to be, but that is not something I mind all too much; after all, a lighter body means lighter steps. Reonim had a decent mana capacity, though it was nowhere near the extent of Reyvyre or even Rita, it was considerable as far as I can tell without refining the mana in his mana heart into mana rings. From the looks of it, mana hearts and mana rings serve two different functions which appear to be complimentary to each other. Mana hearts serve to improve the physical capabilities in someone's body, spreading the mana around in order to be used in various ways, and with enough skill and know-how, they're able to extend the mana out into a weapon, shield, armor, or even their own skin. Even minor magic can be used as long as someone has a mana heart established, that is if what Hephtio told me was accurate when he and Trisha fended off one of those feral goat horses with bursts of fire breath.
As for the specifics of mana-hearts, I'm still not too sure, I'll need to talk to Reyvyre and Rita about it. But it seems the more rings you have, the more complicated the magic you are able to use. I have a feeling it is like the difference between using a lighter to illuminate a room to using either a torch or a flashlight to illuminate the room. Using a torch or a flashlight are both valid escalations from using a lighter, they're two completely different methods that achieve similar but overtly different effects.
Before I knew it, I had been sitting on the steps leading up to the entrance of the smithy while watching the horizon. It was nothing but trees as far as the eye could see and it was beautiful. The forests around most settlements back home had been gutted for the wood and fuel over the years, conservation wasn't really considered necessary since the world had already ended as far as my generation was concerned. Aside from that, there was usually enough to go around when the supply lines weren't being interrupted by raiders or the communities outside of the alliances. The only things we needed to keep scavenging for were the non-renewable goods and equipment like the stuff at that warehouse. Things that weren't easily sourced, even if we were making excellent progress with mass 3D printing. Though all that's moot for me now.
My musings of my old life came to an end as I spotted Hephtio excitedly leading Rita, Reyvyre and Trisha up along the steps of my mountain. Hephtio was the first to reach me, lunging onto my legs as I scooped him up and brought him around to my shoulder. "Glad you all found your way up alright, sorry to wake you Reyvyre." I mentioned apologetically at the sight of the elven woman.
Reyvyre yawned, shrugging but flashing a smile. "It's alright, you wouldn't have woken me for nothing after all."
Rita looked around curiously, not having been to this part of my mountain yet.
I looked over at Trisha and waved her over. "Come along, your forge awaits." I said cheerfully as we all headed up the rest of the way.
Within a few minutes, I led the group down the magically illuminated tunnel and into the forge room. Trisha, for her part, was ecstatic as she moved from one end of the room to the other before hopping around with a grin on her face before going over to Hephtio and scooping up the cat. "Hephtio! The fires of the forge await!" She exclaimed, Hephtio mrowling with delight as he wiggled about excitedly.
I couldn't help but grin at how excited she was, but I cleared my throat and spoke up. "Before you get started, we have a bit of business to attend to."
Trisha looked fairly surprised but nodded as she clutched Hephtio close. "Oh, sure boss, what's up?"
"Do you have a last name?" I ask curiously.
Trisha looked taken aback by my apparently random question. "Umm… No? Are… Are you offering?"
I chuckled a bit at her reaction before nodding. "Yeah, among other things. I would like to form a bond with you if you're interested, I'll grant you a last name and a title. These two things will grant you a considerable amount of power and allow you to communicate with all my nonverbal beasts." I explain, gesturing to Hephtio as Trisha glanced down at the red cat and looked rather thoughtful.
"I… Hmm…" Trisha starts to say, lifting Hephtio up and looking him in the eyes. Hephtio offered a feline smile and gently pressed his paw against her cheek. Trisha chuckled a bit before bringing him back down to her chest and looking over at me again. "I'll do it, thank you."
I nod intently and looked over at Rita and Reyvyre. "Do you mind coming over, Trisha has a mana heart but no mana ring; and I have a feeling that she's gonna need some help forming her first ring."
Reyvyre and Rita share a glance before nodding as they approach, the two women placing their hands against Trisha's back. Trisha looked rather confused at the mention of mana rings and gulped with anxiety, though she remained still.
After another moment of considering what I want to say, I approach Trisha and look down into her eyes before placing my hand on her shoulder. "I welcome you into my service, I grant you the title of Arsonist and bestow the last name Vulcan. May you grow and become your best self as we go together in the future." At that, two doses or mana start flowing into her, strangely enough it doesn't flow from my avatar, and is instead flowing down from the core above as Trisha jolts and shudders from the rush of mana. Thankfully both Rita and Reyvyre set to work and quickly stabilized the teen blacksmith, her mana heart growing and pulsing dramatically when a ring starts to spiral and swirl around it.
Trisha panted heavily, clutching her chest and shuddering, looking between Rita and Reyvyre before looking over to me and flashing a wild grin. "W-what a rush! Say… What's an Arsonist?"
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2023.06.03 15:05 zakian3000 Statement Announcing the Commissioning of a statue of the late HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the QEII Culture Fund
Deputy Speaker,
As Chancellor of the Exchequer I am delighted to announce that His Majesty’s 33rd Government is proud to be commissioning a statue of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, to finally occupy the currently and long-standing empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in London.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second ruled this nation for over seventy years, celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which we all remember fondly I am certain. Little did we know at that time that a few short months later we would be mourning the loss of Her Majesty, and a new monarch would be taking over the reins of the throne.
The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained empty due to insufficient funds - to this day it is used for various art installations given its proximity to The National Gallery. It is time to populate the plinth with something permanent, something of national importance, something that will stand there for centuries to come.
The plinth has unofficially been pledged to permanently hold a statue of Queen Elizabeth the Second since Ken Livingstone was the Mayor of London - it is time for us to make good of that promise.
It is only right that the statue is equestrian in nature, both because of the original intention of the plinth but also due to Her Majesty’s great love of horses - so we are proposing to commission a bronze statue of Her Majesty mounted atop her reported favourite horse ‘Burmese’.
The cost of the statue; in material cost, construction and design, and licensing through the Greater London Assembly is estimated to come to around £350-400,000. This will be funded through the general Department for Culture, Media and Sport budget.
But I want to go further, and encourage councils around the country to honour Her Majesty with similar projects, and will be making £10,000,000 available for community bids (up to a maximum of £150,000 per bid) in towns, villages and cities around the Country as part of the ‘QEII Culture Fund’. This funding will be secured in the budget as a one-off spend for 2023/24, and we are encouraging communities to dedicate spending towards much-needed community projects, such as renovating village halls or commissioning murals in public spaces.
Councils can apply to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government for this funding - in collaboration with DCMS - and I look forward to reading each and every application personally myself too
Let us all come together to build an even more lasting legacy for Her Majesty, as we say goodbye and usher in a new era of His Majesty King Charles the Third.
I commend this Statement to the House.
This Statement was written by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, His Grace the Most Honourable Sir Sephronar KG KCT GBE LVO PC MP MSP FRS, the 1st Duke of Hampshire, 1st Marquess of St Ives, 1st Earl of St Erth, 1st Baron of Truro on behalf of His Majesty’s 33rd Government with contributions from His Grace Sir BeppeSignfury PC KP KCT KBE KCVO FRS, Member of Parliament for Northern Ireland, formerly known as the Duke of Redcar and Cleveland.
Debate under this statement will end on Tuesday 6th June 2023 at 10pm BST.
submitted by zakian3000 to MHOC [link] [comments]
As Chancellor of the Exchequer I am delighted to announce that His Majesty’s 33rd Government is proud to be commissioning a statue of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, to finally occupy the currently and long-standing empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in London.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second ruled this nation for over seventy years, celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which we all remember fondly I am certain. Little did we know at that time that a few short months later we would be mourning the loss of Her Majesty, and a new monarch would be taking over the reins of the throne.
The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained empty due to insufficient funds - to this day it is used for various art installations given its proximity to The National Gallery. It is time to populate the plinth with something permanent, something of national importance, something that will stand there for centuries to come.
The plinth has unofficially been pledged to permanently hold a statue of Queen Elizabeth the Second since Ken Livingstone was the Mayor of London - it is time for us to make good of that promise.
It is only right that the statue is equestrian in nature, both because of the original intention of the plinth but also due to Her Majesty’s great love of horses - so we are proposing to commission a bronze statue of Her Majesty mounted atop her reported favourite horse ‘Burmese’.
The cost of the statue; in material cost, construction and design, and licensing through the Greater London Assembly is estimated to come to around £350-400,000. This will be funded through the general Department for Culture, Media and Sport budget.
But I want to go further, and encourage councils around the country to honour Her Majesty with similar projects, and will be making £10,000,000 available for community bids (up to a maximum of £150,000 per bid) in towns, villages and cities around the Country as part of the ‘QEII Culture Fund’. This funding will be secured in the budget as a one-off spend for 2023/24, and we are encouraging communities to dedicate spending towards much-needed community projects, such as renovating village halls or commissioning murals in public spaces.
Councils can apply to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government for this funding - in collaboration with DCMS - and I look forward to reading each and every application personally myself too
Let us all come together to build an even more lasting legacy for Her Majesty, as we say goodbye and usher in a new era of His Majesty King Charles the Third.
I commend this Statement to the House.
2023.06.03 14:51 BlantantlyAccidental Tiny Battlefield Chapter 8
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Tiny Battlefield Chapter 8
Utility Room / Tabletop Surface
Dee-Ot and Josh watched their combined forces begin their march to the Front lines. The activity down on the tabletop was becoming almost impossible to keep track of. Thankfully, each player’s Army Case was doing that job with ease.
Dee-Ot’s 1st Luftstreitkräfte Air Wing had integrated itself well with the limited air assets of his only other efficient army, the US 3rd Infantry Division. Josh's 5th Flappington wasn’t going to survive against the massive Ork horde heading their way. Sure, they were musket and cannon based with limited mounted cavalry and artillery, but weathering the coming onslaught would be hard for them.
The Romans though? He had a plan for them. They would fare a lot worse than the bird army. It was just a game, so Dee-Ot was trying something out with them. As the turn timer began to wind down, Dee-Ot tried not to bring too much attention to himself as he inputted a few commands and slyly sent them out. Hopefully the game would allow cross-dimensional weapons training. Down on the table, the 9th Roman Legion broke off from their line of march and disappeared into a massive forest to the west of the front line, along with several boxy wheeled vehicles of the 3rd ID.
The armored and wheeled vehicles of the US 3rd Infantry Division had slowly progressed to the front lines with the 5th Flappington army. The strangely angular and boxy tan colored tanks that the 3rd Infantry Division used as armor kicked up a lot of dust. A few moments later, time had passed and the Defenders were in position as the turn timer ticked down.
00:00:00 END OF TURN TWO appeared over all three players' army cases. Jasper snapped his fingers at this as he walked from the corner where the fridge and snacks were.
“Alright, boys! Ya’ll ready to be slaughtered?” Jasper confidently yelled out as he scarfed down the rest of his snacks. Dee-Ot and Josh both rolled their eyes heavily at his cocky attitude. Jasper was an insufferable prick whenever he felt confident about his chances at winning.
"You can suck a Nurgle tit, Jasper. You might have that fungal horde, but me and Josh here have the Dee-Osh Alliance! You're puny Orks are gonna die in droves!" Dee-Ot spat toward his opponent.
Jasper waved off Dee-Ot’s attempt at insulting him and his army, quickly raising a middle finger and waggling his fist at Dee-Ot.
TURN THREE BEGINNING NOW appeared in the air over the table. The battle was about to begin.
Jasper glanced at his army case and smiled, thinking of something quippy to say back to Dee-Ot.
“Birds and apes against the Ork Horde? Your stupidly named alliance will be devoured and mangled under the tsunami of WAAAGH heading your way!” Jasper hissed at his opponent as the tiny forces on the tabletop worked themselves into place. He couldn’t see anything of his opponent’s force.
“That fool Dee-Ot just had to make sure the fog of war was on…” Jasper muttered under his breath as he watched his forces march toward the upcoming fight. His army was so large in numbers and equipment that dust was obscuring their advance. Prevailing winds down on the table were blowing the churned up dust and debris toward those idiot’s “Dee-Osh” alliance’s defensive lines.
The action was about to start, and the three respective players would be busy making sure their forces were victorious in this game.
On the Tabletop’s Surface
Sergeant Monfort dozed as best he could sitting in the commander’s seat of his track. The whine of the M1A2 SEP4s turbine engine always made him sleepy while on long haul drives to objectives. Monfort was propped against the cupola with a duffle bag folded to soften where his head lay, when a sudden dip in the path made him jostle around.
“How much further we got, Jasky?” Monfort queried his driver over the inter-crew com channel. The integrated Future Combat System made it much easier to talk amongst the crew in the newer version of the venerable Abrams.
“Got about 10 minutes, sir.” a tiny voice said back.
“Oh, good,” the Sergeant said, without a speck of joy in his voice. Jasky keyed back over the radio.
“I hope those FOB boys got those fuel depots up. Baby Girl is thirsty,” the latinos lilt was thick, and Monfort smiled.
“Baby Girl” was the name of the tank Monfort and his crew currently served together in. Monfort was proud of her, sure, but she was brand new. The crew had only done their qualifications on her a few months ago, and hadn’t quite gotten used to her quirks.
“Sure ain’t the ‘ton,” his gunner, straight from the Louisiana swamps said out loud in his thick accent. PFC Plylmal turned his head and smirked at his tank commander.
“Naw, she sure ain’t the ‘ton, son,” Monfort said back in a laugh.
His loader Gunk bumped his head when Baby Girl dipped again.
“It’s just wacky as fuck that we are heading toward certain death right now. Just like in the ‘ton,” the pale, thin loader half-yelled out loud.
Their previous tank was called “Wonton Dee-Struction”, and it had served them well on Taiwan.
Monfort tried his best not to think about what human flesh smells like while being burnt under thermapalm bombs. The smell was hard to get out of an enclosed space like a tank turret. He shook his head and remembered that his crew member had spoken.
“Yeah. Against actual Orks? Like…this is a wet dream for me,” the sergeant said, finally letting some of the absurdity of their situation seep through in his voice. Who knew he would wake up and find himself in an allied army with bird soldiers who used giant gators as horses?
“It’s the fucking Romans being here for me, sir. That’s cool! I mean the entire 9th Legion?” a tiny voice said over the com-channel. It was Private Jasky, who let his laugh come through before he keyed off the channel.
“Yeah! Like, what the fuck right? An entire mission Roman army, currently fighting alongside us. Against Orks. I mean…if this is a dream I am not ready to wake up yet!” Gunk said enthusiastically, leaning over so he could be heard better.
Plymal shook his head and laughed.
Sergeant Monfort smiled a little, and decided to stick his head out of his cupola. Gunk and Plymal could start that conversation all over again if they wanted. Monfort was growing tired of hearing by now so he decided to get some fresh air. He undogged the hatch and pushed, escaping the now growing argument between the loader and gunner.
The forest they were currently driving through was beginning to thin out. The drones had scoped out the area where they were to deploy, and it seemed like the forest was on the edge of a great savannah.
It still weirded him out when he looked to the east; a half melted orange bottle cap was jutting out on the far horizon.
“…what the hell, man?” Monfort mumbled to himself, trying really hard to not think about anything that was going on. Then in the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a gator horse, and a feathered soldier straddled on its back. Before he could turn his eye, the avian calvary-bird was gone.
“Thor Actual to all Thor units, be advised; Forward Operating Bases are marked at these coordinates. All units are required to refuel and perform checks and any repairs needed before deploying to the line from their respective FOBs. All units have 30 minutes for maintenance if it is needed. Once deployed you must await further orders. Thor Actual out.”
Sergeant Monfort perked up at this, and ducked back down into the turret of his Baby Girl. He pulled down the small touch screen to his right, and opened up the FOB positions. His company was to head to FOB Lima, then head to the far right of the line and deploy to hold the line.
All in all, the upcoming fight excited the lanky tank commander. He was a die hard 40k nerd, and the idea of being able to kill a bunch of actual, truly alive Orks?
The sergeant tapped Plymal on the shoulder, who turned his head to look up at his commander.
“Yeah boss?” he asked.
“When we get to the FOB, make sure you load more beehive rounds. I don’t care if you have to load up on the bustle. I got a feeling we gonna need ‘em soon.” Monfort said, hoping the importance of his words got to the gunner.
Monfort would be meeting with the other platoon commanders of the company when they got to FOB Lima. He’d suggest the same thing, and damn what anyone else said, his track would be carrying more ammo than needed.
PFC Plymals face went slack for a moment, then as if a light bulb lit somewhere deep, it dawned on him. Excitement grew until a great big toothy smile was on the man’s face.
“Fuck yeah, Sergeant! Buckshot and orks, I’m ready for it!”
As the three in the turret began to laugh, Jasky swerved the tank. His tiny voice reached their ears.
“We’re about to reach the FOB, nut tuggers!” he exclaimed, as the tank veered off to the right, following the rest of their platoon.
“About time, I gotta take a shit!” Gunk shouted, as the line of tanks began to slow. The forest had given way to a savannah, just as the drone footage showed. Except, not a half kilometer from the forest, great berms of dirt were raised and massive concrete bunkers stretched from left to right.
The heliborne forces had already deployed and set up most of what they could before the main arrival of the armored forces. Infantry were beginning to unload from their Bradleys and Strykers, forming up in platoons and moving as units to the trenches ahead. To the sergeant, it was all organized chaos.
Deciding to get a better look at his surroundings, he decided to stick his head back out the hatch. As he did, he noticed a dark blob floating in the sky above. It was one of the German battle balloons.
“Holy shit, so that's where they’ve been!” the sergeant said, tugging at Plymals shoulder.
“They say one of ‘em is called the Hindenburg!” Monfort exclaimed, noticing that the blob was slowly getting closer to the ground.
“It looks like it's landing! I wonder what for?” he asked himself, as Baby Girl began to slow to a stop.
“Thor Actual to all Thor Units. Everyone’s got one hour, so chop-chop. I want everyone in place before the first tusked bastard gets in sight. Thor Actual, out.”
Sergeant Monfort chuckled. He couldn’t agree more.
submitted by BlantantlyAccidental to HFY [link] [comments]
Tiny Battlefield Chapter 8
Utility Room / Tabletop Surface
Dee-Ot and Josh watched their combined forces begin their march to the Front lines. The activity down on the tabletop was becoming almost impossible to keep track of. Thankfully, each player’s Army Case was doing that job with ease.
Dee-Ot’s 1st Luftstreitkräfte Air Wing had integrated itself well with the limited air assets of his only other efficient army, the US 3rd Infantry Division. Josh's 5th Flappington wasn’t going to survive against the massive Ork horde heading their way. Sure, they were musket and cannon based with limited mounted cavalry and artillery, but weathering the coming onslaught would be hard for them.
The Romans though? He had a plan for them. They would fare a lot worse than the bird army. It was just a game, so Dee-Ot was trying something out with them. As the turn timer began to wind down, Dee-Ot tried not to bring too much attention to himself as he inputted a few commands and slyly sent them out. Hopefully the game would allow cross-dimensional weapons training. Down on the table, the 9th Roman Legion broke off from their line of march and disappeared into a massive forest to the west of the front line, along with several boxy wheeled vehicles of the 3rd ID.
The armored and wheeled vehicles of the US 3rd Infantry Division had slowly progressed to the front lines with the 5th Flappington army. The strangely angular and boxy tan colored tanks that the 3rd Infantry Division used as armor kicked up a lot of dust. A few moments later, time had passed and the Defenders were in position as the turn timer ticked down.
00:00:00 END OF TURN TWO appeared over all three players' army cases. Jasper snapped his fingers at this as he walked from the corner where the fridge and snacks were.
“Alright, boys! Ya’ll ready to be slaughtered?” Jasper confidently yelled out as he scarfed down the rest of his snacks. Dee-Ot and Josh both rolled their eyes heavily at his cocky attitude. Jasper was an insufferable prick whenever he felt confident about his chances at winning.
"You can suck a Nurgle tit, Jasper. You might have that fungal horde, but me and Josh here have the Dee-Osh Alliance! You're puny Orks are gonna die in droves!" Dee-Ot spat toward his opponent.
Jasper waved off Dee-Ot’s attempt at insulting him and his army, quickly raising a middle finger and waggling his fist at Dee-Ot.
TURN THREE BEGINNING NOW appeared in the air over the table. The battle was about to begin.
Jasper glanced at his army case and smiled, thinking of something quippy to say back to Dee-Ot.
“Birds and apes against the Ork Horde? Your stupidly named alliance will be devoured and mangled under the tsunami of WAAAGH heading your way!” Jasper hissed at his opponent as the tiny forces on the tabletop worked themselves into place. He couldn’t see anything of his opponent’s force.
“That fool Dee-Ot just had to make sure the fog of war was on…” Jasper muttered under his breath as he watched his forces march toward the upcoming fight. His army was so large in numbers and equipment that dust was obscuring their advance. Prevailing winds down on the table were blowing the churned up dust and debris toward those idiot’s “Dee-Osh” alliance’s defensive lines.
The action was about to start, and the three respective players would be busy making sure their forces were victorious in this game.
On the Tabletop’s Surface
Sergeant Monfort dozed as best he could sitting in the commander’s seat of his track. The whine of the M1A2 SEP4s turbine engine always made him sleepy while on long haul drives to objectives. Monfort was propped against the cupola with a duffle bag folded to soften where his head lay, when a sudden dip in the path made him jostle around.
“How much further we got, Jasky?” Monfort queried his driver over the inter-crew com channel. The integrated Future Combat System made it much easier to talk amongst the crew in the newer version of the venerable Abrams.
“Got about 10 minutes, sir.” a tiny voice said back.
“Oh, good,” the Sergeant said, without a speck of joy in his voice. Jasky keyed back over the radio.
“I hope those FOB boys got those fuel depots up. Baby Girl is thirsty,” the latinos lilt was thick, and Monfort smiled.
“Baby Girl” was the name of the tank Monfort and his crew currently served together in. Monfort was proud of her, sure, but she was brand new. The crew had only done their qualifications on her a few months ago, and hadn’t quite gotten used to her quirks.
“Sure ain’t the ‘ton,” his gunner, straight from the Louisiana swamps said out loud in his thick accent. PFC Plylmal turned his head and smirked at his tank commander.
“Naw, she sure ain’t the ‘ton, son,” Monfort said back in a laugh.
His loader Gunk bumped his head when Baby Girl dipped again.
“It’s just wacky as fuck that we are heading toward certain death right now. Just like in the ‘ton,” the pale, thin loader half-yelled out loud.
Their previous tank was called “Wonton Dee-Struction”, and it had served them well on Taiwan.
Monfort tried his best not to think about what human flesh smells like while being burnt under thermapalm bombs. The smell was hard to get out of an enclosed space like a tank turret. He shook his head and remembered that his crew member had spoken.
“Yeah. Against actual Orks? Like…this is a wet dream for me,” the sergeant said, finally letting some of the absurdity of their situation seep through in his voice. Who knew he would wake up and find himself in an allied army with bird soldiers who used giant gators as horses?
“It’s the fucking Romans being here for me, sir. That’s cool! I mean the entire 9th Legion?” a tiny voice said over the com-channel. It was Private Jasky, who let his laugh come through before he keyed off the channel.
“Yeah! Like, what the fuck right? An entire mission Roman army, currently fighting alongside us. Against Orks. I mean…if this is a dream I am not ready to wake up yet!” Gunk said enthusiastically, leaning over so he could be heard better.
Plymal shook his head and laughed.
Sergeant Monfort smiled a little, and decided to stick his head out of his cupola. Gunk and Plymal could start that conversation all over again if they wanted. Monfort was growing tired of hearing by now so he decided to get some fresh air. He undogged the hatch and pushed, escaping the now growing argument between the loader and gunner.
The forest they were currently driving through was beginning to thin out. The drones had scoped out the area where they were to deploy, and it seemed like the forest was on the edge of a great savannah.
It still weirded him out when he looked to the east; a half melted orange bottle cap was jutting out on the far horizon.
“…what the hell, man?” Monfort mumbled to himself, trying really hard to not think about anything that was going on. Then in the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a gator horse, and a feathered soldier straddled on its back. Before he could turn his eye, the avian calvary-bird was gone.
“Thor Actual to all Thor units, be advised; Forward Operating Bases are marked at these coordinates. All units are required to refuel and perform checks and any repairs needed before deploying to the line from their respective FOBs. All units have 30 minutes for maintenance if it is needed. Once deployed you must await further orders. Thor Actual out.”
Sergeant Monfort perked up at this, and ducked back down into the turret of his Baby Girl. He pulled down the small touch screen to his right, and opened up the FOB positions. His company was to head to FOB Lima, then head to the far right of the line and deploy to hold the line.
All in all, the upcoming fight excited the lanky tank commander. He was a die hard 40k nerd, and the idea of being able to kill a bunch of actual, truly alive Orks?
The sergeant tapped Plymal on the shoulder, who turned his head to look up at his commander.
“Yeah boss?” he asked.
“When we get to the FOB, make sure you load more beehive rounds. I don’t care if you have to load up on the bustle. I got a feeling we gonna need ‘em soon.” Monfort said, hoping the importance of his words got to the gunner.
Monfort would be meeting with the other platoon commanders of the company when they got to FOB Lima. He’d suggest the same thing, and damn what anyone else said, his track would be carrying more ammo than needed.
PFC Plymals face went slack for a moment, then as if a light bulb lit somewhere deep, it dawned on him. Excitement grew until a great big toothy smile was on the man’s face.
“Fuck yeah, Sergeant! Buckshot and orks, I’m ready for it!”
As the three in the turret began to laugh, Jasky swerved the tank. His tiny voice reached their ears.
“We’re about to reach the FOB, nut tuggers!” he exclaimed, as the tank veered off to the right, following the rest of their platoon.
“About time, I gotta take a shit!” Gunk shouted, as the line of tanks began to slow. The forest had given way to a savannah, just as the drone footage showed. Except, not a half kilometer from the forest, great berms of dirt were raised and massive concrete bunkers stretched from left to right.
The heliborne forces had already deployed and set up most of what they could before the main arrival of the armored forces. Infantry were beginning to unload from their Bradleys and Strykers, forming up in platoons and moving as units to the trenches ahead. To the sergeant, it was all organized chaos.
Deciding to get a better look at his surroundings, he decided to stick his head back out the hatch. As he did, he noticed a dark blob floating in the sky above. It was one of the German battle balloons.
“Holy shit, so that's where they’ve been!” the sergeant said, tugging at Plymals shoulder.
“They say one of ‘em is called the Hindenburg!” Monfort exclaimed, noticing that the blob was slowly getting closer to the ground.
“It looks like it's landing! I wonder what for?” he asked himself, as Baby Girl began to slow to a stop.
“Thor Actual to all Thor Units. Everyone’s got one hour, so chop-chop. I want everyone in place before the first tusked bastard gets in sight. Thor Actual, out.”
Sergeant Monfort chuckled. He couldn’t agree more.
2023.06.03 14:44 TheRetroWorkshop Hard & Accurate Sci-fi Tip #1: Sports & Relaxation:
Note: This is a series I want to create, centred around some given element or facet of worldbuilding and storytelling. Primarily, each post will either be a piece of hard science in terms of physics or logistics or otherwise core elements of the setting itself (such as military structure), or non-physical core elements of the people and their world (such as sports and personal enjoyment matters, for emotional regulation and social stability, among other reasons). In short: all the things that actually create a functional, realistic culture. As such, I simply named it hard & accurate sci-fi. Just know that the focus may not actually be on hard science, or 'hard sci-fi'.
An often overlooked element within space opera (and sci-fi in general) would be all things recreational. You might not find a good way to heavily feature this into your story (or, own game-making of Aion, as the case may be), but it can be something to just touch upon and have in your mind. I wanted to walk through this a little, as it shall become quite relevant at a later date.
The logic is very simple: using humanity as a fundamental base (technically, an axiom), we can conclude that any humanoid or even alien species would have to gift themselves some kind of national sport, wargame, gambling system, or otherwise. The real-world examples literally encompass almost all of culture itself, making me believe that if your people are even remotely humanoid in their fundamental nature, then the recreational is a core facet of culture itself. This is so integrated into our real culture (rather, cultures) that we take it for granted, and don't even think about it when it comes to fiction-writing. But, it's a nice thing to add if you want added realism and stability, or an extra human touch.
Fantasy seems to feature invented sports and the like far more than sci-fi (unless such is the entire narrative of the sci-fi story, of course -- and, then, it's typically car-based). If we look to history, we clearly have the very creation of modern dice (India) as a gambling tool, and we have wargames (Go and Chess, etc.) as either direct military training tools (wargames proper), or abstracted wargames for more general use, since at least 3000 BC. Sports-wise, we see Blood Bowl (Warhammer fantasy sports game), Quidditch (fantasy; Harry Potter, which is akin to football mixed with netball in the air), and a dozen major examples from sci-fi, often featuring murder and cars (which we could see as a kind of replacement for the Roman and Greek sports), or else some kind of American sport hybrid. These include Real Steel, Futuresport, The Running Man, Rollerball, and Death Race (also, movies by the same names).
The aforementioned are obviously plot devices, and possibly don't have a place within your space opera setting and story. But, the fundamental drive and psychology are there. There are a few other examples from sci-fi board games and novels. Not to mention general sports and activities, such as Swimming.
Personally, the Aionic national sport and recreation activity is Swimming. The reason is four-fold: (1) it is a driver for both health and relaxation; (2) it can be social and peaceful; (3) for symbolic reasons; and (4) because there is likely not much water in space, yet humans still have a deep drive towards water (naturally, this is only applicable to any water-based culture, such as humans). It also occurs to me that water is a natural fitting for space, more so, if we take the TV trope, 'space is an ocean' (which does seem to be the natural categorisation, though it's not the only one). Another reason might be that it creates a reward system/social mobility, or at least the implication of such. Maybe, boarding a spaceship and taking a trip to the 'local' Swimming Centre is the week's holiday for your lower class people. On the other hand, maybe the high class types sit in Swimming Centres all the time. Not an uncommon trend throughout both fiction and history, as you might imagine.
That's just my own example, and may act as a springboard (no pun intended). You can justify dozens of real sports and otherwise activities, or invent your own. They may be readily accessible, or limited to certain classes of people or otherwise groups. There will likely be many different activities and sports for all your peoples, just as we see on Earth.
Some of you already know that I already have a major plan in mind for another sort of game: a wargame of sorts, within the game of Aion. This shall be a nested game (at some point), which you can play. It's going to be a violent sports game, akin to Blood Bowl mixed with some elements of Necromunda, both from Games Workshop. It's mostly for the ruling classes, etc. to engage in warfare without having to actually enage in warfare! Instead, they can simply pit warriors against each other in this deadly match of sport! (More on this in the future.)
Now, if you're writing a new story or campaign, just one trip to one sports centre or otherwise will do the trick, assuming you have planted in the reader's mind the notion that this is very normal and healthy for the culture/people. Best is to try and fit it into the wider plot, or else as a passing element (a few pages). One natural way to deal with this is to tie such into a wider theme or plot-point. Don't just have people randomly go Swimming just to inform the readers that they are Swimming. You need to work it in a bit better than that.
Depending on your culture, you may want a dozen violent/unhealthy sports and activities, or you (i.e. your culture's governing body, etc.) may only regulate more peaceful, healthy ones. I would try and tie this into the wider theme, anyway, and take into account the kind of people/culture you have. For example, you may or may not want Football with ant-like robots. On the other hand, moon-tossing for giant space Russians always sounds like a fun game. Like that makes any sense! Maybe bottle-tossing!
If your culture is based on Americans or Hongkongian, for example, then you should think about their native sports and activities, and how that might fit into whatever you're doing with them in space/the future. Other than that, you need to consider the (a) disposition of your culture; (b) the history of your culture; (c) the function of your culture; (d) the state of your culture; and (e) the peoples of your culture. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it should suffice.
It also occurs to me, we just don't see enough sports in space outside of these movies/stories that are wholly dedicated to said sports, which is weird considering how sport-obsessed humans have become since 500 BC (but, especially since 1920 AD). This is often in relation to the ruling classes in rich, urban settings (cities/towns), or the average citizens in urban areas, finding a bit more free time on their hands (i.e. Scotland and England circa 1920 AD). Makes sense: you have bored, work-less nobles, or even workers with nothing to do. They need something to do; thus, they invented all sorts of games, wargames, and sports. You see this with horse-related games, ball-related games, and even something like fox tossing.
Tennis was 'the game' (popular sport) of the middle classes and above by the 1880s through the 1980s (hence, most early video sports games of the 1950s through 1970s were all Tennis-based). Worth noting that most early video games were themselves sports games or wargames! Actually, most video games are wargames circa 2023 AD, with a vast number of the rest being sports. I stress this only to stress the importance of such things to human culture and entertainment... indeed, most of our entertainment is also either war-based (Boxing, etc.) or otherwise sports (Football, etc.). Not shockingly, most modern sports were invented, therefore, in the British Empire (sometimes with French or Dutch roots). Older sports are seemingly universal -- ranging from Africa to Native Americans to India -- and are typically ball-based (classically, often using heads, or else leather balls).
Of course, most sports are impossible in zero gravity, so I'm just assuming you're creating some kind of zero gravity war-based game, or otherwise sport (fundamentally throwing-based or ball-based), or your culture is on a planet or space station of some kind, which has artificial gravity.
Tron is a great example of offering some inspiration (duel type, and others), not to mention Spy Kids 3-D (2003) (car race) and Ready Player One (2018) (car race). Then, you have combat training type games (I'll just call these 'physical wargames') and VR games (Gamer movie, for example), not to mention VR holiday trips.
Speaking of which, I'm reminded of Germany's vast, cheap, powerful cruise trip system by 1938, which saw millions of working (and fairly poor) Germans taking such Party-regulated trips and holidays (mostly a propaganda tool, funded with blood money, of course). In the more modern context, this is what we saw by the 1950s in America and England with various holiday sites, theme parks, modern cruise trips, and beach holidays (though these do date to at least 1920, but typically only by the middle classes and above). Naturally, because the Western trips and parks were not funded by literal blood money, Germany was able to be more advanced than the West, for a short time.
No less, Tolkien himself once came on holiday to the town I live in (on the coast, North of England), which was a famous holiday town back in the 1850s through 1960s. This was commonplace, including long walks through the woods and various built-up areas. Even in the 1700s, people began going to the 'sea air' for so-called health benefits. In reality, this was likely due to the fact the city air was unhealthy. The sea air was simply fresh, clean air (though, it likely is good for you, psychologically speaking, compared to the grey-state of city life). All of this to say that humans have a deep desire to be in nature, and to relax. This is true most of all for the rich and urbanised (as you can imagine).
Space theme park, anyone? Giant cinema on the Moon? Sure, why not. Titanic cruise trip across the galaxy? Doctor Who already did that, but you get my point! There is much to be done, and you only have to add a few such items, and briefly touch upon them, but I think it does wonders for the human connection, and some added realism (assuming such correctly fits your setting and themes).
There are many other activities of note, of course, including but not limited to art groups, acting/plays, drinking games, general board/video games, card/dice/token games, sword-based sports, hunting, Shooting (sport), and actual warfare.
These serve many functions in society, some positive, some negative. I may speak to some of this in more detail at a later date.
I have said enough. Ah, speaking of which: talking might be another consideration for your culture. This is as old as Man, and does count as such an activity in the context of debate. You famously find this within the Jewish and Islamic worlds: likely because they don't enage with the other items I mentioned as much, and their religions require great moral debate and such. On the other hand, Buddhism requires a lot of silent thinking (which is a kind of debate, in a sense). This heavily depends on your culture's primary religion and otherwise. Some cultures are almost purely geared towards warfare, for example, like the Akkadian Empire (though we are likely a bit harsh on them). In this case, the focus would be on action. If your culture is anything like the modern West, then it's also going to be heavily driven by action, purely due to the speed of the culture and its workers. How this manifests itself depends on the type of government and culture you have in place (the Dutch Empire vs. the U.S., for example).
(Clearly, within a cyberpunk direction or more classical space opera context, the primary free-time activities and modes tend to be centred around sex, war, and/or slave-labour, as shown by Star Wars in general, and most cyberpunk stories. This may or may not fit your narrative, however. The other core negative -- rather, mostly negative -- item would be gambling, which is the only item which doesn't innately involve the body, though often bleeds over into various animal gambling games/activities, and is not healthy in most cases. This typically keeps the more lower classes engaged in the 'slums' sector (typically of a planet or star system). Very common trope/theme, as noted in the bright-cyberpunk-space-opera sort of movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), when they go to a trading hub planet, filled with crime, sex rings, and gambling, including little weird creatures fighting each other, akin to dog fighting or such on Earth. But, again: you don't actually require this, it's just one popular way to go within the wider sci-fi context, and it serves a few narrative purposes.)
Later on, I shall dig deeper into all of this, as it pertains to Aion and the gameplay itself! :)
submitted by TheRetroWorkshop to AionWargame [link] [comments]
An often overlooked element within space opera (and sci-fi in general) would be all things recreational. You might not find a good way to heavily feature this into your story (or, own game-making of Aion, as the case may be), but it can be something to just touch upon and have in your mind. I wanted to walk through this a little, as it shall become quite relevant at a later date.
The logic is very simple: using humanity as a fundamental base (technically, an axiom), we can conclude that any humanoid or even alien species would have to gift themselves some kind of national sport, wargame, gambling system, or otherwise. The real-world examples literally encompass almost all of culture itself, making me believe that if your people are even remotely humanoid in their fundamental nature, then the recreational is a core facet of culture itself. This is so integrated into our real culture (rather, cultures) that we take it for granted, and don't even think about it when it comes to fiction-writing. But, it's a nice thing to add if you want added realism and stability, or an extra human touch.
Fantasy seems to feature invented sports and the like far more than sci-fi (unless such is the entire narrative of the sci-fi story, of course -- and, then, it's typically car-based). If we look to history, we clearly have the very creation of modern dice (India) as a gambling tool, and we have wargames (Go and Chess, etc.) as either direct military training tools (wargames proper), or abstracted wargames for more general use, since at least 3000 BC. Sports-wise, we see Blood Bowl (Warhammer fantasy sports game), Quidditch (fantasy; Harry Potter, which is akin to football mixed with netball in the air), and a dozen major examples from sci-fi, often featuring murder and cars (which we could see as a kind of replacement for the Roman and Greek sports), or else some kind of American sport hybrid. These include Real Steel, Futuresport, The Running Man, Rollerball, and Death Race (also, movies by the same names).
The aforementioned are obviously plot devices, and possibly don't have a place within your space opera setting and story. But, the fundamental drive and psychology are there. There are a few other examples from sci-fi board games and novels. Not to mention general sports and activities, such as Swimming.
Personally, the Aionic national sport and recreation activity is Swimming. The reason is four-fold: (1) it is a driver for both health and relaxation; (2) it can be social and peaceful; (3) for symbolic reasons; and (4) because there is likely not much water in space, yet humans still have a deep drive towards water (naturally, this is only applicable to any water-based culture, such as humans). It also occurs to me that water is a natural fitting for space, more so, if we take the TV trope, 'space is an ocean' (which does seem to be the natural categorisation, though it's not the only one). Another reason might be that it creates a reward system/social mobility, or at least the implication of such. Maybe, boarding a spaceship and taking a trip to the 'local' Swimming Centre is the week's holiday for your lower class people. On the other hand, maybe the high class types sit in Swimming Centres all the time. Not an uncommon trend throughout both fiction and history, as you might imagine.
That's just my own example, and may act as a springboard (no pun intended). You can justify dozens of real sports and otherwise activities, or invent your own. They may be readily accessible, or limited to certain classes of people or otherwise groups. There will likely be many different activities and sports for all your peoples, just as we see on Earth.
Some of you already know that I already have a major plan in mind for another sort of game: a wargame of sorts, within the game of Aion. This shall be a nested game (at some point), which you can play. It's going to be a violent sports game, akin to Blood Bowl mixed with some elements of Necromunda, both from Games Workshop. It's mostly for the ruling classes, etc. to engage in warfare without having to actually enage in warfare! Instead, they can simply pit warriors against each other in this deadly match of sport! (More on this in the future.)
Now, if you're writing a new story or campaign, just one trip to one sports centre or otherwise will do the trick, assuming you have planted in the reader's mind the notion that this is very normal and healthy for the culture/people. Best is to try and fit it into the wider plot, or else as a passing element (a few pages). One natural way to deal with this is to tie such into a wider theme or plot-point. Don't just have people randomly go Swimming just to inform the readers that they are Swimming. You need to work it in a bit better than that.
Depending on your culture, you may want a dozen violent/unhealthy sports and activities, or you (i.e. your culture's governing body, etc.) may only regulate more peaceful, healthy ones. I would try and tie this into the wider theme, anyway, and take into account the kind of people/culture you have. For example, you may or may not want Football with ant-like robots. On the other hand, moon-tossing for giant space Russians always sounds like a fun game. Like that makes any sense! Maybe bottle-tossing!
If your culture is based on Americans or Hongkongian, for example, then you should think about their native sports and activities, and how that might fit into whatever you're doing with them in space/the future. Other than that, you need to consider the (a) disposition of your culture; (b) the history of your culture; (c) the function of your culture; (d) the state of your culture; and (e) the peoples of your culture. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it should suffice.
It also occurs to me, we just don't see enough sports in space outside of these movies/stories that are wholly dedicated to said sports, which is weird considering how sport-obsessed humans have become since 500 BC (but, especially since 1920 AD). This is often in relation to the ruling classes in rich, urban settings (cities/towns), or the average citizens in urban areas, finding a bit more free time on their hands (i.e. Scotland and England circa 1920 AD). Makes sense: you have bored, work-less nobles, or even workers with nothing to do. They need something to do; thus, they invented all sorts of games, wargames, and sports. You see this with horse-related games, ball-related games, and even something like fox tossing.
Tennis was 'the game' (popular sport) of the middle classes and above by the 1880s through the 1980s (hence, most early video sports games of the 1950s through 1970s were all Tennis-based). Worth noting that most early video games were themselves sports games or wargames! Actually, most video games are wargames circa 2023 AD, with a vast number of the rest being sports. I stress this only to stress the importance of such things to human culture and entertainment... indeed, most of our entertainment is also either war-based (Boxing, etc.) or otherwise sports (Football, etc.). Not shockingly, most modern sports were invented, therefore, in the British Empire (sometimes with French or Dutch roots). Older sports are seemingly universal -- ranging from Africa to Native Americans to India -- and are typically ball-based (classically, often using heads, or else leather balls).
Of course, most sports are impossible in zero gravity, so I'm just assuming you're creating some kind of zero gravity war-based game, or otherwise sport (fundamentally throwing-based or ball-based), or your culture is on a planet or space station of some kind, which has artificial gravity.
Tron is a great example of offering some inspiration (duel type, and others), not to mention Spy Kids 3-D (2003) (car race) and Ready Player One (2018) (car race). Then, you have combat training type games (I'll just call these 'physical wargames') and VR games (Gamer movie, for example), not to mention VR holiday trips.
Speaking of which, I'm reminded of Germany's vast, cheap, powerful cruise trip system by 1938, which saw millions of working (and fairly poor) Germans taking such Party-regulated trips and holidays (mostly a propaganda tool, funded with blood money, of course). In the more modern context, this is what we saw by the 1950s in America and England with various holiday sites, theme parks, modern cruise trips, and beach holidays (though these do date to at least 1920, but typically only by the middle classes and above). Naturally, because the Western trips and parks were not funded by literal blood money, Germany was able to be more advanced than the West, for a short time.
No less, Tolkien himself once came on holiday to the town I live in (on the coast, North of England), which was a famous holiday town back in the 1850s through 1960s. This was commonplace, including long walks through the woods and various built-up areas. Even in the 1700s, people began going to the 'sea air' for so-called health benefits. In reality, this was likely due to the fact the city air was unhealthy. The sea air was simply fresh, clean air (though, it likely is good for you, psychologically speaking, compared to the grey-state of city life). All of this to say that humans have a deep desire to be in nature, and to relax. This is true most of all for the rich and urbanised (as you can imagine).
Space theme park, anyone? Giant cinema on the Moon? Sure, why not. Titanic cruise trip across the galaxy? Doctor Who already did that, but you get my point! There is much to be done, and you only have to add a few such items, and briefly touch upon them, but I think it does wonders for the human connection, and some added realism (assuming such correctly fits your setting and themes).
There are many other activities of note, of course, including but not limited to art groups, acting/plays, drinking games, general board/video games, card/dice/token games, sword-based sports, hunting, Shooting (sport), and actual warfare.
These serve many functions in society, some positive, some negative. I may speak to some of this in more detail at a later date.
I have said enough. Ah, speaking of which: talking might be another consideration for your culture. This is as old as Man, and does count as such an activity in the context of debate. You famously find this within the Jewish and Islamic worlds: likely because they don't enage with the other items I mentioned as much, and their religions require great moral debate and such. On the other hand, Buddhism requires a lot of silent thinking (which is a kind of debate, in a sense). This heavily depends on your culture's primary religion and otherwise. Some cultures are almost purely geared towards warfare, for example, like the Akkadian Empire (though we are likely a bit harsh on them). In this case, the focus would be on action. If your culture is anything like the modern West, then it's also going to be heavily driven by action, purely due to the speed of the culture and its workers. How this manifests itself depends on the type of government and culture you have in place (the Dutch Empire vs. the U.S., for example).
(Clearly, within a cyberpunk direction or more classical space opera context, the primary free-time activities and modes tend to be centred around sex, war, and/or slave-labour, as shown by Star Wars in general, and most cyberpunk stories. This may or may not fit your narrative, however. The other core negative -- rather, mostly negative -- item would be gambling, which is the only item which doesn't innately involve the body, though often bleeds over into various animal gambling games/activities, and is not healthy in most cases. This typically keeps the more lower classes engaged in the 'slums' sector (typically of a planet or star system). Very common trope/theme, as noted in the bright-cyberpunk-space-opera sort of movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), when they go to a trading hub planet, filled with crime, sex rings, and gambling, including little weird creatures fighting each other, akin to dog fighting or such on Earth. But, again: you don't actually require this, it's just one popular way to go within the wider sci-fi context, and it serves a few narrative purposes.)
Later on, I shall dig deeper into all of this, as it pertains to Aion and the gameplay itself! :)
2023.06.03 13:40 smashT Beyond The GM! Ep 22 with Julian and Austin Jun 3, 2023
BeyondtheGM EP 22 featured special guests Doodles CEO Julian Holguin and head of Business Development and Strategy Austin Hurwitz. Great listen where many heard the vision from the Doodles team for the first time.
If anyone wants to listen back: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrzqrMbYKX
I've shared some of the Doodles related Q&A and alpha below:
Can you share some details about your latest announcement for those who haven't seen it yet?
Julian: Doodles is partnering with a company called Camp to launch our first ever immersive retail experience and for those of you that don't know what camp is, it's basically a network of hybrid play / shopping experiences where the front of the establishment is basically a toy store, but think of it like a specialty toy store. It's kind of like a modern day FAO Schwarz or something like that. It's got all the viral kids toys. It's not just like walking into a Toys R Us or a Target or something like that, t's kind of got that specialty feel to it. That makes up about I'd say less than a sixth of the space but in the back of that toy store, there's this hidden door and a camp counselor is waiting for you if you purchased a ticket to the immersive experience, you push through that magic door and behind that is essentially a 6000 square foot immersive experience that totally brings the world that you're going into to life. So they partner with some big IP to actually program those experiences. Los Angeles is Nike. It's called Nike Kids Camp.
New York is Disney's Encanto, a really big Disney animation movie that kind of took the world by storm last year. Dallas is Mickey Mouse and friends. Atlanta is The Little Mermaid. So obviously some of the biggest IP in the world. We are launching a new location with them this summer. So basically, we're going to be introduced to a whole new set of potential people in the particular market that we're going to be in because these experiences actually serve a purpose in those specific markets for longer than say 2 or 3 days. They are permanent establishments in those markets. So we're going to stay there for about 3 to 6 months and then the Doodles show will likely go on the road to some of their other locations. The solution that camp solves is what do you do with your family today? What do you do today? Do you have something to do with your kids, which is always on a parent's mind, right? Whether you're taking them to the park or you're taking them to Disneyland or you're taking them wherever you want to go. This is like a 2 or 3 hour thing that is really kind of hard to replicate, that gets people out of the house and you can have truly an incredible time.
My kids love it. So the the cool thing for us is that we get to bring one of our core competencies to life in a really material way where we know it's valuable to pop up at these big cultural moments like South-by and Art Basel, but it's a pretty resource intensive process to do that, and it's a pretty budget intensive process to do that. So we figured it made a lot of sense to kind of reallocate some of that funding into turning this concept into a true business, which is essentially what camp is, One, we're going to be selling merchandise, we're going to be selling tickets to the event, we're going to be selling sponsorships to the event. So there's a real business there but the big opportunity for Doodles is there's going to be thousands of new people that don't know anything about Doodles coming into this experience, and we have the opportunity to bring them into our world. We have the opportunity to bring those people on chain, especially with what we have planned and how the technology is almost going to be invisible to the people that are in there.
It's ultimately just going to be a great digital / physical consumer experience. So really, really excited. The utility that that's going to drive ultimately to holders is VIP all access, it's going to be free entry, whereas everybody else has to pay. There's going to be merchandise credits, there's going to be true like white glove concierge services. So whenever a Doodle holder is going to go to the the space in a given day, week, whatever it might be, they're actually going to have the really VIP experience that's going to come with all the bells and whistles and they're going to feel very, very special and not the kind of experience that everybody else is going to have when they go to the event and hopefully in time that space is going to travel so a lot more Doodle holders are going to be able to take part in it but one of the big things that we've heard in general from holders about our live events is, oh man, it's two days, three days, like what if I'm not able to make it that particular weekend? This is going to enable people to have a little bit more travel plans put together if they do want to make it all the way out here but the cool thing is, it's going to travel.
We're still going to do live events in other parts of the world but this is a big one for us. The other part is that we're actually going to introduce our first line of kids merchandise, goods and apparel, which is something that the community has been asking for. We have a lot of parents in the Doodles community and it's also a way to introduce the brand to a lot of new people. As far as the experience itself, there's going to be like dayparting programing. So kids and family programing is going to be in the day for the most part and then at night there's going to be stuff that's more focused on adults. So multiple generations can take part in this. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait for everybody to see the designs, what the experience is going to look like, how it's going to connect to our collector ecosystem in the studio and bring NFT's to life in a really meaningful way. It's going to be awesome. Can't wait for you all to see it.
I'm looking forward to the day parting. Could share any timelines, anything in terms of location and where we can expect them or should we stay tuned?
Julian: The location is going to be a reveal within itself so I don't want to say that here because the reason we're not bringing up the location yet is because there's a really big opportunity to get a lot of local press. You want the local newspapers, radio stations, local bloggers and everything like that talking about it. So we want to reveal the designs and everything when we announce the location so we get as many people in the particular area that we're going to be in aware of the activation as possible. Timing wise, the experience is going to open in August. There might be a little fluidity in what exact time in August but it's August right before the school year starts for everybody so it's not too far away and then as far as like you asked kind of a leading question with adult versus kids experiences. You know, if you grow up in New York or any of these cities and you do kind of more mellow, like you've been kind of like boozy painting before or doing like casual things you bring drinking like wine and beer into it. It turns into like a really fun night out for adults. This isn't going to be a rage fest kind of thing but the idea is that we're going to be able to serve alcohol and create some really cool friend and family driven experiences that are a lot more geared towards adults. So it'll be a good time.
What's it like working with Pharrell and what's his involvement with the Doodles project at the moment?
Julian: That was the first thing we did, again remember how much interest there was in the blue chip NFT projects back in April, May, June of last year and there were a lot of opportunities for us to work with some major major musicians that have global reach and millions of followers and we really saw the value in working with a creator to help us incubate the brand but they needed to be dynamic and Pharrell is the most dynamic, genius, brilliant creator that in our opinion has really ever lived and he spans music, he spans art, he spans fashion, film, television, technology, everything. So, we had started talking to him basically right when I started and we got the deal done very quickly. Pharrell is a pretty material part of the business, most of the work that he does is kind of behind the scenes, the Pharrell pack and him coming into the Doodles universe as a character was the first big collab that we did but we're working on music together, we're working on audio identity and visual identity and brand development etc and the doors that guy can open are truly unprecedented, the rooms that he's walked us into. I don't want to name drop but top C-suite in the world, top creators in the world, top everything. Pharrell's name comes with so much weight because he has the respect of everybody from business to creative and fashion and everything in between and the thing that surprised me most well, I shouldn't say surprised me, but the thing that I think would surprise most people is how shrewd of a business mind the guy has, he's always leaning into new technology, new ways of doing things. He's kind of contrarian, but he really understands business. He really understands opportunity and he's very leaned into Doodles, which is exciting. We couldn't be more blessed to have his have his support and have his mind on the on the company.
I really enjoyed Scott's (Burnt Toast) version of Pharrell. Could you talk about the expansion of the Doodleverse and the ethos behind it?
Julian: You brought up Scott and Pharrell, the first meeting that we had, Pharrell was talking about how he can hear colors and Scott had this moment where his eyes opened up. He's like, "Whoa, me too" and it was this crazy thing that went completely over my head. It was just this really cool moment between artists that everybody else in the room was like, okay, there's a blank spot in our minds when we try and think like that but these two connected on such a deep level. It was really cool to see.
If you look at the end card to the most recent trailer that promoted the Pharrell pack, Doodles2, the stoodio, everything that we released last month, what you're going to find in that is a bunch of random Doodles characters that could be anybody, could be anybody on this call, could be people in South Dakota, could be people in Hong Kong, could be people wherever.
Then you see Pharrell, who is Pharrell in that universe and then you see our mascot who is obviously going to be the main character of our fictional universe. So you have the real world in there, through their Doodle, you have Pharrell who's also part of the real world in there through their Doodle and then you have the fictional characters from Doodles in that photo as well. So if you think about where we're going as a brand, we're developing this fictional universe of characters that are derived from the original collection. So you've seen the mascot, you've seen the cat, all of that stuff is going to be developed into a fictional line of programing and then running parallel to that is the lifestyle brand that is Doodles, right? You make your Doodle, you buy your Doodle merch, you go to Doodles events, you're on Twitter talking to other Doodles, there are Doodle holders that are more well known than other Doodle holders simply because they engage more and they're more kind of public figures in the community and we kind of believe that as that starts to grow, those two, that kind of lifestyle brand and real world aspect of the Doodles will crash into the fictional world at times.
Maybe you do see a creator or someone that you know in the actual fictional world of the universe, or maybe you as a Doodle holder, whether it be through your Doodle or the customized Doodle that you create, will be in that fictional universe as well, the same way that Lady Gaga was a character in The Simpsons, or The Weeknd was a character in The Simpsons, set in the fictional world of The Simpsons but they're Lady Gaga. They're The Weeknd. So we have this really cool track of programing where you can bring digital identity to the table and collecting. We have this kind of sincere belief that digital identity paired with collecting connected to every single consumer touchpoint, whether it be going to the movies, watching television, buying stuff at retail, playing video games, if you can bring that back to a collecting hub where the brand knows who their most loyal supporters are, who engage with the company the most, who are supporting the most and you can reward those people and create aligned incentives as our business grows. That's something really special that brings the brand and the ultimate collector closer together, which makes them feel like they are part of the universe because they actually are going to be part of the universe. They're not going to be just a passive participant and the best way I can give you kind of a framework for how that doesn't exist today.
If you look at most movie IP, they license the movie rights out to a distribution company that actually puts the movie out, which then goes to theaters so they don't actually own the relationship with their customer. You buy merchandise through another third party, so they license it to another third party. They license their books and publishing rights. They license their music rights. They license everything out and they don't actually own the relationship with a lot of their audience. So they have no way of knowing who their most loyal supporters are, who goes and sees the movie three times, who plays the game, who buys the merch, who shows up at the theme parks and the events? What's really cool about the technology that we all work in is we could figure out a way to track all of that and make sure that those people are not just being seen and heard, they're getting stuff, they're getting more rewards, they're creating this sense of identity being close to this brand because they're actually going to feel like they're part of it with all the activations that we have planned. We think that's a business model and a mindset that doesn't exist today and that that's really where we're leaning in.
Are there any projects or founders or individuals that you guys chat with a lot or anyone you guys want to meet?
Julian: Yeah, obviously day to day work kind of gets in the way of people spending too much time together but Luca and I talk pretty often, he hooked me up with a couple of the plushies for my kids. They loved them. So there's definitely love and support there. I talk to Greg from Yuga every now and then, I've connected with Zag a couple of times but it's not as much as it should be and I think the kind of the real takeaway is that we should be coming together as leaders in this space more often, because if one of us wins, all of us wins and there's so much incredible work being done right now, we just we need to figure out better ways of kind of taking ourselves out of the day to day and the kind of the pitting ourselves against each other that exists so much on the timeline right now and just remember, we're all fighting the same fight, right? We're trying to take market share from all the biggest companies in the world, not from each other. If Web3 makes it, it's not going to be just one of us that makes it. It's going to be a few of us. It's going to be a bunch of us and it's ultimately just going to create more opportunity for everybody building in this space. So more of that 100% needs to happen.
How do you feel about the sentiment? Obviously you guys went through a lot of FUD and now you're kind of bouncing back. How do you feel about the NFT space and where you guys kind of see yourselves fitting in?
Julian: I think anybody who saw our keynote at NFTNYC last year, we are doing every single thing that we said we were going to do. I think there's a misconception in how long this stuff actually takes to develop, to reach millions of people around the world, how long it takes to get music to market and film and television content to market and true partnerships and things like that. You know, especially when you kind of have the bar for quality that Doodles does. I think one of the areas that we've fallen flat is just communication and community building in general and I think that's something that if hopefully you've been paying attention lately, you've seen that there's a real concerted effort internally to try and bridge that gap and to try and rebuild that vibe in the Doodles community. It's something we think about every day. Austin has been invaluable in that regard and truly making the community understand that we are a Web3 company. We do care deeply about this space. We do sincerely believe in the technology and what it's going to do for brands and IP.
We really do feel like every action and activity we take is not just going to benefit Doodles, it's going to benefit everybody in our community and everybody in the Web3 community at large. So has it hurt to see kind of Web3 not as pumped about Doodles anymore? Yeah, it's definitely something we think about, but we're not going to sit here and try and sell, sell, sell to the space on why we're great. What we're going to do is just prove it by shipping product and show people that we really are in this for the right reasons and it'll start to make more and more sense over time. We're kind of sick of talking about what we're going to do and we're just going to show people and think by the end of the summer, by the end of September, you're going to you're going to see a very, very different looking business that the community is truly at the center of. So we're excited for that.
You guys are talking about collectibles and I think Burnt Toast recently shared a photo of a monochrome dude. You guys are working with All Rights Reserved who is definitely a premium art / toy sculpture producer. I would love to know a little bit more about how you connected and maybe a little bit more that around what we can expect for that that drop.
Julian: So this relationship predates me joining but Evan got introduced to SK, I believe through Todd Kramer, who's a big art collector, and he has a gallery in New York and I believe they really hit it off kind of from the beginning and the first vinyl that came out was so successful, people were going crazy for that thing and it became very clear that hese vinyl stand toe to toe with Bearbrick statues and Kaws statues and we had a real opportunity in the designer toy market. So we really wanted to start to double down on that concept and try and play in that space. So we've been developing a strategy for a while on how we actually bring that to a wider audience and get that in the right kind of environment so this, this summer, August, actually, we're going to be doing a big drop tied to the physical's, the vinyl that you saw. There's going to be multiple colorways. There's going to be some really interesting, I'll say expanded things outside of the toy, outside of the figure itself but it's going to have some specialty retail distribution so it'll be at some key retailers, both digital retailers and physical retailers, All those retailers are going to be distributed around the world.
There's some pretty select markets that we're going into and then that is going to lead directly into the camp opening a few weeks later. So it's pretty exciting. The vinyls are definitely a big area of growth for us because we see them as a way to reach new collectors, new people. It's not enough to try and sell everything to the people that are here today, what we need to be able to do is actually bring these these experiences and these products to as many new people as possible. I think one of the things that Luca actually said when they did the toys was, being financially independent so you don't need to continue putting more and more NFT's in the ecosystem. I don't think that means any of us are going to stop producing NFT's but the whole idea of being able to make those experiences incredible because you have a real business outside of it. I think that is a really great takeaway and something that we think is possible through this drop and the other stuff that's coming soon. We're talking so much more man. It's going to be crazy.
How are you trying to bring value back to holders from these events? If I walk into a Camp store, do I know that Doodles is a originated from an NFT project or is there another another strategy like a Trojan horse?
Julian: I think the goal for us and thank you for that question, but the goal for us is more how do you eliminate the technological barrier between someone that has no appetite for it but might be interested in your brand? And as the brand grows and as the technology gets a little bit more seamless and people start to understand what the original collection actually means, that there's a lot more demand for that because there's only 10,000 of them. So if we all of a sudden reach millions of people and those millions of people know that there is this collectible that started it all, it's the original artwork but that artwork is also it's the first edition Pokemon card, right? That's kind of the parallel that I'd say and then that art is attached to this essentially membership, that is the ultimate access pass within the ecosystem, right? Like the Pharrell pack, there was only 300 of them, but you couldn't get one if you didn't have an original Doodle So that was basically a free airdrop. You had to hit certain metrics, engagement metrics within the community to actually get the pack but that was just one iteration of it. We'll have that for a lot of drops where, there will be, a certain amount of things that are free and the free thing will always come to people that own the original Doodle and then the free entry specifically speaking about camp, free entry to the experience when everyone else has to pay, merchandise credits and then a true white glove concierge service where you're you're going to reach out to Doodles before you go and then you're going to be set up with this kind of VIP experience at that location.
If you believe that Doodles has the opportunity to grow and turn into a bigger brand, you know that free airdrops and claims and free claims on merchandise in one location is not going to be all the utility that there is for the original collection. We're going to build a lot more than that and that is kind of how we see value trickling back down to the original token, we're also going to be licensing people's Doodles to use in media, to use in products. We haven't done it yet because we just haven't figured out the right way to make it scalable. It's kind of a big thing to set that precedent this early, especially if you have the kind of ambition we do to go as big as we want to go but we are thinking about that and we are going to bring that to market soon and then the last thing that I'll bring up is just the Doodle bank, which is honestly, I feel like a really under the radar thing. We have a $5 million or so fund that only people with a Doodle can access to build businesses around the Doodles brand, to build creator platforms around the Doodles brand. I would love to see a Doodle holder try and access the Doodle brand to actually build some of the stuff that you've been able to build, right? How can we help subsidize costs so they can create their own podcast studio so they can advertise their content a little bit more all through the Doodles brand, which is ultimately aligned incentives
You as a creator get bigger. Doodles gets more of a microphone because you're getting bigger as a creator and then the last couple pillars of the Doodle bank is also rewards , so how can we use the funds in the Doodle bank to actually create more rewards for Doodle holders, is it sponsoring a concert tour? Is it trying to get memberships to a specific social club? There's so many different things that we can use to drive value back to the original token with this fund and ultimately empower the creators and the entrepreneurs that exist in our ecosystem. So I'd say we're doing so much to try and drive value back to the original token, but I think people will I think people will start to see that when there's truly like real world utility Pharrell pack was one iteration. We've done an airdrop with the Dooplicator, we're doing this experience with camp and it'll keep going from there.
Have you guys kind of like established your council? How do you guys kind of think about the Doodle Banks as it operates as I guess a "DAO" tied to Doodles itself? What does the structure look like, high level?
Austin: In terms of where we're at with it right now. We've installed the first class of the DoodleBank community council, which consists of a chair to oversee the council, a treasurer who is distributing the funds and tracking the finances, an events lead who is going to be building out community global programing, a grants lead, which is really when Julian speaks about how do we empower individuals to build businesses, whether it be through grants or ways to prop up businesses through their IP and then a rewards lead who is focused on how can we bring in additional benefits to holding a Doodle. They have been live since the top of May and right now are developing the processes for how approvals come in, what the approval process looks like, effectively what are our guidelines and what we're looking to support, our budgets overall per quarter and then have also been fielding questions and feedback from the community. So it's been great. They serve multiple roles in addition to just their remit, given their different titles. They're also really our first line of taking in feedback and doing product reviews.
Austin: They're all under NDA and really have a clear sense of where we're going. So it's been great to be able to build with the community in that way but our intention is that in pretty short order, like within call it the next few weeks, we want to get these processes out to the community for feedback and start taking in the first set of proposals. We also really love the nouns model of like the prop house RFP, so for things that we know we need to do as a company, but we want to be able to empower the community to be able to help build with us we effectively want to have bounties that we can put out there, whether it be to create content or create merchandise or whatever the case may be, have it be more of a two way street than just reactively taking in proposals. We're we're moving really quickly. I'm literally in a Slack channel with with the council right now as they're giving me all of their weekend updates but it's been progressing and hope to have more for the community soon.
I think we've noticed that you need a processes, onboarding and kind of filtering and controlling budgets and you sometimes see proposals that are grossly overestimated so being smart about allocation, making it efficient etc
Austin: It's a great point to illustrate and we are very fortunate with the few individuals we have as Treasurer and the grants lead. John Shank, who is our Treasurer was a CFO for a large corporation for a long time and really focused on having a balanced budget. How do we ultimately bring additional funds into the bank and what are the checkpoints over time? So instead of distributing all those funds up once, how do we ensure that we're getting the necessary reporting and then Eyal who is our grand lead has actually run incubators in the past and ensuring that we have the right checks and balances as we're deploying that capital to ensure what you just said doesn't happen, that we're not put in a situation where we're deploying funds and we're not seeing the direct action that's being taken against them.
Does it mean that there are no more pop ups this year?
Julian: It definitely does not mean no pop ups. That's core to our DNA and it's also such an incredible onboarding opportunity, when we went to Something In The Water festival, Pharrel's festival in Virginia Beach, there were so many spokes to that partnership where we basically brought a 30 by 30 space. We sold the new collaboration that we had on site with ice cream. So all these people now have Doodles products that were there and bought the merchandise and right next to that was kind of a live demo of Doodles2 where we were able to capture people's emails so we can send them marketing after the fact. We got a few thousand emails at that activation, we sold a bunch of merchandise and we basically introduced a lot of people to the brand and on the other side of it like, okay, what does that do for the holder apart from growing the ecosystem, which we do find pretty valuable to ultimately Doodle holders and our entire ecosystem but we were able to secure 50 tickets that we gave to the community for free in a raffle and they were VIP tickets. They were super close to the stage, there were credits involved in them and for the people that went, it was a really awesome experience.
The other piece is that when you talk about creators in our community. JKB, I'm not sure how familiar any of you are with them, but they're very prominent members of our community. They've been around for a very long time have basically started their own media brand based on their Doodles PFP's and this is the second time that we've actually had them kind of live blog and create content on behalf of Doodles at the actual festival. So you saw them kind of do like A day in the life with Doodles and JKB, taking content of like festival goers, the stages, the experiences and then distributing that stuff, on Twitter and their other social channels. So it was a really cool thing that we could do for creators in our space and what I'll say kind of directly answer your question is, Something In The Water was just the first festival thing that we've done this year. We're going to show up at other music festivals. We're going to continue to do live events and what we built for something in the water was an activation that can travel a lot more easily. So South by Southwest, Art Basel, those things were very hard to pack up and repurpose, we have aspects of that, but this new activation that we've built, we can actually ship it from place to place and we can continue to add on to it depending on the actual activation itself. So festivals will always be and other live events will always be a way to drive utility for holders and also onboard new people into the ecosystem. Doodles is about fun, man. We want to color the world with joy. We want everybody to feel the vibes and it's incredible to work on it every day. It's hard keeping things a secret, it's painful sometimes.
Can you tell me anything about the Pharrell album? I understand it's with Columbia, who are part of Sony Music. Is there anything you can kind of say on the project and when that could be landing?
Julian: So the album's not actually going to roll out as a traditional album where there's like a bunch of songs they're going to roll out. It's going to roll out kind of song by song and more as a platform on a perpetual basis. Columbia is going to distribute the music and I don't want to give too much detail because there's going to be a lot of hype in the reveal but you're going to see things like a music video set in the Doodles universe featuring whatever artist is going to be on it. Pharrell curated or produced tracks. Collectibles that are paired both physical and digital with the actual music itself and wide distribution so the songs are going to be on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, radio, etcetera. So that's kind of how it's going to come to life and if you looked at Pharrell as a Doodle and Pharrell coming into the Doodles universe as a character, imagine some of your favorite artists coming into the Doodles universe as a character too. It's going to be a pretty eclectic mix of artists and it's going to roll out again, like I said, over time. That really is all I can say at the moment, but we'll update everybody as soon as we possibly can. All I can tell you is it's going to be fire.
You guys recently made an amazing acquisition with GoldenWolf Studios. Can we expect more animations and stuff on the Socials? What's the sort of direction with Golden Wolf and how did that come about?
Julian: That's a great question. So we acquired GoldenWolf back in January. They are an Emmy nominated creative studio. They're one of the most highly regarded animation studios in the world. Lot of brand notoriety from them in the entire animation industry. The goal, if you think of what Doodles is, there's a term in media called transmedia and that essentially means you tell stories on different channels, right? So different channels means you could be telling stories through live events, you could be telling stories through the distribution of toys, you could be telling stories through social media, you could be telling stories at the box office with a big film and the whole point is, you're not trying to fit one story or one thing for each of those channels that have very unique characteristics from a distribution standpoint. Doodles is the kind of brand that needs to tell stories across all of these channels and meet people where they are, where they're actually spending their time versus trying to put the same thing out across the board. So GoldenWolf, which is very much specializes in social content and brand identity in advertisement. They're an incredible partner to keep kind of the always on content flow pumping out for Doodles, which is just starting to ramp up now and at the same time, with all the incredible creators, plus Scott and the people that we're working with in the traditional entertainment industry, bringing the actual story together, the universe that is Doodles, who the characters are, what adventures they go on, what is the backstory? What's the conflict?
GoldenWolf, Scott and a few others are actually developing that now and that is going to manifest itself through all of our content, through all of our product, all of our storytelling opportunities, while we're also developing long form content. So what does Doodles look like as a streaming television show or a motion picture? How does Doodles go into music videos like GoldenWolf is going to produce the music videos. So from a creative standpoint, we have, in my opinion, the best creative studio in the world, developing Doodles content and brand and I'll just say we just started the integration recently, there's kind of been really nothing yet. We've gotten started. It's been amazing, but there's so much coming from GoldenWolf soon and then I'd say on the flip side, GoldenWolf being in Web3 is not an insignificant thing either. So yes, it's amazing that they're going to help develop the Doodles IP but GoldenWolf has a lot of other ideas that NFT's and blockchain technology could be a really great format for incubating that IP or bringing new stories to life and new projects to market and leveraging the tech in new ways and Ingi who founded that company ten years ago is one of the smartest guys in the entire space, he's a true innovator, leaned into tech really leaning into AI tooling and how that can help Doodles as a business, how that can help the whole animation industry as a business. So we're just kind of seeing a little fruit from that partnership right now, but it's going to continue to grow pretty, pretty significantly from there. We really do have a crazy, talented team like Scott and then also Sammy and Alfie. There's so many brilliant creatives at GoldenWolf, and you'll get to know a lot of them soon.
Have you guys made any new key hires or are you guys planning to make some key hires to kind of push this forward?
Julian: We kind of wrapped up the majority of our hiring after our head of business and legal affairs came into the company about a month or so ago. I mean, we're at 60 people right now across Doodles and GoldenWolf, so we're pretty staffed well, there's some more product and engineering resources that we're going to be bringing in so we can be quicker to market with a few things but I'd say we're pretty well staffed at this point.
So to build on top of what you've said, I was wondering if you guys could give us any insights into the Doodles culture, the work culture.
Julian: I love that question. So we just opened an office in Miami a couple months ago. Our team is distributed, so we have some people that are remote. We have some people that are here in Miami. We have an office in New York. We have an office in London and again, there are people that are remote. So for the people that are in Miami, the office is pretty awesome. It's got a pretty, pretty cool view. It's right in a really good area of the city and when you walk in, it's very much neutral tones and colors and things like that and then we make the space pop with product that we have. So there's vinyls all over the office. We bring other IP into the office like we have this gold Mickey Mouse that that Jordan donated, it was a Fantasia Mickey Mouse with him holding a Bitcoin instead of a magic ball, just a lot of different artists and IP that we respect to try and inspire some creativity in the space. We have this really cool synthesizer that Evan got made, where people come in, play it. It's actually like a Doodles synthesizer.
We have a merchandise kind of like retail display. We have all of our statues on display so you can check out our brand, learn a little bit more about us. We also have this pretty cool ice cream machine set up then the New York office couldn't be a different vibe. It's more of a grunge studio, true artsy vibe and then it's the same kind of thing in London - the original GoldenWolf office.
It's awesome. I think what we're trying to bring to life is the inspiration of creativity and trying to emulate a lot of the incredible IP that we respect so much and we do remote work sessions, so we try and bring people all together, at least once or twice a quarter so we can all get those creative juices flowing, build relationships with each other because if we're going to truly be a community outside of the company, we got to be one internally first so it's been really cool trying to build the culture here and I think we've been doing a pretty good job.
I'm wondering for future activations, will there be places where people can actively onboard into the community, whether that's Doodles2 or the original collection?
Julian: Definitely at what I'll call Non-endemic to Doodles stuff, so festivals and more consumer facing events. The reason why we showed up at South by Southwest and Art Basel last year was because we were this really hot Web3 brand in a sea of some of the biggest companies and brands in the world. Whereas as when you go to the when you go to the NFT events, you're like the headline. Right? I think the opportunity to gain notoriety in those environments is really a big opportunity, but it's also an opportunity to bring your holders close to the action that all the influencers of the world, are part of. So when Doodle throws the massive event at Art Basel and it's like one of the tickets of the weekend and our holders are the VIP entrance into that thing we're going to continue to do stuff like that. We really love that concept and at the same hand, use that opportunity to bring new people into the brand. The goal right now is to onboard, people into kind of like information gathering until the stoodio product is actually out of beta. So we're collecting emails so we can retarget these people and make sure that they understand who we are, what we're doing etc so that's kind of the strategy for us.
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If anyone wants to listen back: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrzqrMbYKX
I've shared some of the Doodles related Q&A and alpha below:
Can you share some details about your latest announcement for those who haven't seen it yet?
Julian: Doodles is partnering with a company called Camp to launch our first ever immersive retail experience and for those of you that don't know what camp is, it's basically a network of hybrid play / shopping experiences where the front of the establishment is basically a toy store, but think of it like a specialty toy store. It's kind of like a modern day FAO Schwarz or something like that. It's got all the viral kids toys. It's not just like walking into a Toys R Us or a Target or something like that, t's kind of got that specialty feel to it. That makes up about I'd say less than a sixth of the space but in the back of that toy store, there's this hidden door and a camp counselor is waiting for you if you purchased a ticket to the immersive experience, you push through that magic door and behind that is essentially a 6000 square foot immersive experience that totally brings the world that you're going into to life. So they partner with some big IP to actually program those experiences. Los Angeles is Nike. It's called Nike Kids Camp.
New York is Disney's Encanto, a really big Disney animation movie that kind of took the world by storm last year. Dallas is Mickey Mouse and friends. Atlanta is The Little Mermaid. So obviously some of the biggest IP in the world. We are launching a new location with them this summer. So basically, we're going to be introduced to a whole new set of potential people in the particular market that we're going to be in because these experiences actually serve a purpose in those specific markets for longer than say 2 or 3 days. They are permanent establishments in those markets. So we're going to stay there for about 3 to 6 months and then the Doodles show will likely go on the road to some of their other locations. The solution that camp solves is what do you do with your family today? What do you do today? Do you have something to do with your kids, which is always on a parent's mind, right? Whether you're taking them to the park or you're taking them to Disneyland or you're taking them wherever you want to go. This is like a 2 or 3 hour thing that is really kind of hard to replicate, that gets people out of the house and you can have truly an incredible time.
My kids love it. So the the cool thing for us is that we get to bring one of our core competencies to life in a really material way where we know it's valuable to pop up at these big cultural moments like South-by and Art Basel, but it's a pretty resource intensive process to do that, and it's a pretty budget intensive process to do that. So we figured it made a lot of sense to kind of reallocate some of that funding into turning this concept into a true business, which is essentially what camp is, One, we're going to be selling merchandise, we're going to be selling tickets to the event, we're going to be selling sponsorships to the event. So there's a real business there but the big opportunity for Doodles is there's going to be thousands of new people that don't know anything about Doodles coming into this experience, and we have the opportunity to bring them into our world. We have the opportunity to bring those people on chain, especially with what we have planned and how the technology is almost going to be invisible to the people that are in there.
It's ultimately just going to be a great digital / physical consumer experience. So really, really excited. The utility that that's going to drive ultimately to holders is VIP all access, it's going to be free entry, whereas everybody else has to pay. There's going to be merchandise credits, there's going to be true like white glove concierge services. So whenever a Doodle holder is going to go to the the space in a given day, week, whatever it might be, they're actually going to have the really VIP experience that's going to come with all the bells and whistles and they're going to feel very, very special and not the kind of experience that everybody else is going to have when they go to the event and hopefully in time that space is going to travel so a lot more Doodle holders are going to be able to take part in it but one of the big things that we've heard in general from holders about our live events is, oh man, it's two days, three days, like what if I'm not able to make it that particular weekend? This is going to enable people to have a little bit more travel plans put together if they do want to make it all the way out here but the cool thing is, it's going to travel.
We're still going to do live events in other parts of the world but this is a big one for us. The other part is that we're actually going to introduce our first line of kids merchandise, goods and apparel, which is something that the community has been asking for. We have a lot of parents in the Doodles community and it's also a way to introduce the brand to a lot of new people. As far as the experience itself, there's going to be like dayparting programing. So kids and family programing is going to be in the day for the most part and then at night there's going to be stuff that's more focused on adults. So multiple generations can take part in this. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait for everybody to see the designs, what the experience is going to look like, how it's going to connect to our collector ecosystem in the studio and bring NFT's to life in a really meaningful way. It's going to be awesome. Can't wait for you all to see it.
I'm looking forward to the day parting. Could share any timelines, anything in terms of location and where we can expect them or should we stay tuned?
Julian: The location is going to be a reveal within itself so I don't want to say that here because the reason we're not bringing up the location yet is because there's a really big opportunity to get a lot of local press. You want the local newspapers, radio stations, local bloggers and everything like that talking about it. So we want to reveal the designs and everything when we announce the location so we get as many people in the particular area that we're going to be in aware of the activation as possible. Timing wise, the experience is going to open in August. There might be a little fluidity in what exact time in August but it's August right before the school year starts for everybody so it's not too far away and then as far as like you asked kind of a leading question with adult versus kids experiences. You know, if you grow up in New York or any of these cities and you do kind of more mellow, like you've been kind of like boozy painting before or doing like casual things you bring drinking like wine and beer into it. It turns into like a really fun night out for adults. This isn't going to be a rage fest kind of thing but the idea is that we're going to be able to serve alcohol and create some really cool friend and family driven experiences that are a lot more geared towards adults. So it'll be a good time.
What's it like working with Pharrell and what's his involvement with the Doodles project at the moment?
Julian: That was the first thing we did, again remember how much interest there was in the blue chip NFT projects back in April, May, June of last year and there were a lot of opportunities for us to work with some major major musicians that have global reach and millions of followers and we really saw the value in working with a creator to help us incubate the brand but they needed to be dynamic and Pharrell is the most dynamic, genius, brilliant creator that in our opinion has really ever lived and he spans music, he spans art, he spans fashion, film, television, technology, everything. So, we had started talking to him basically right when I started and we got the deal done very quickly. Pharrell is a pretty material part of the business, most of the work that he does is kind of behind the scenes, the Pharrell pack and him coming into the Doodles universe as a character was the first big collab that we did but we're working on music together, we're working on audio identity and visual identity and brand development etc and the doors that guy can open are truly unprecedented, the rooms that he's walked us into. I don't want to name drop but top C-suite in the world, top creators in the world, top everything. Pharrell's name comes with so much weight because he has the respect of everybody from business to creative and fashion and everything in between and the thing that surprised me most well, I shouldn't say surprised me, but the thing that I think would surprise most people is how shrewd of a business mind the guy has, he's always leaning into new technology, new ways of doing things. He's kind of contrarian, but he really understands business. He really understands opportunity and he's very leaned into Doodles, which is exciting. We couldn't be more blessed to have his have his support and have his mind on the on the company.
I really enjoyed Scott's (Burnt Toast) version of Pharrell. Could you talk about the expansion of the Doodleverse and the ethos behind it?
Julian: You brought up Scott and Pharrell, the first meeting that we had, Pharrell was talking about how he can hear colors and Scott had this moment where his eyes opened up. He's like, "Whoa, me too" and it was this crazy thing that went completely over my head. It was just this really cool moment between artists that everybody else in the room was like, okay, there's a blank spot in our minds when we try and think like that but these two connected on such a deep level. It was really cool to see.
If you look at the end card to the most recent trailer that promoted the Pharrell pack, Doodles2, the stoodio, everything that we released last month, what you're going to find in that is a bunch of random Doodles characters that could be anybody, could be anybody on this call, could be people in South Dakota, could be people in Hong Kong, could be people wherever.
Then you see Pharrell, who is Pharrell in that universe and then you see our mascot who is obviously going to be the main character of our fictional universe. So you have the real world in there, through their Doodle, you have Pharrell who's also part of the real world in there through their Doodle and then you have the fictional characters from Doodles in that photo as well. So if you think about where we're going as a brand, we're developing this fictional universe of characters that are derived from the original collection. So you've seen the mascot, you've seen the cat, all of that stuff is going to be developed into a fictional line of programing and then running parallel to that is the lifestyle brand that is Doodles, right? You make your Doodle, you buy your Doodle merch, you go to Doodles events, you're on Twitter talking to other Doodles, there are Doodle holders that are more well known than other Doodle holders simply because they engage more and they're more kind of public figures in the community and we kind of believe that as that starts to grow, those two, that kind of lifestyle brand and real world aspect of the Doodles will crash into the fictional world at times.
Maybe you do see a creator or someone that you know in the actual fictional world of the universe, or maybe you as a Doodle holder, whether it be through your Doodle or the customized Doodle that you create, will be in that fictional universe as well, the same way that Lady Gaga was a character in The Simpsons, or The Weeknd was a character in The Simpsons, set in the fictional world of The Simpsons but they're Lady Gaga. They're The Weeknd. So we have this really cool track of programing where you can bring digital identity to the table and collecting. We have this kind of sincere belief that digital identity paired with collecting connected to every single consumer touchpoint, whether it be going to the movies, watching television, buying stuff at retail, playing video games, if you can bring that back to a collecting hub where the brand knows who their most loyal supporters are, who engage with the company the most, who are supporting the most and you can reward those people and create aligned incentives as our business grows. That's something really special that brings the brand and the ultimate collector closer together, which makes them feel like they are part of the universe because they actually are going to be part of the universe. They're not going to be just a passive participant and the best way I can give you kind of a framework for how that doesn't exist today.
If you look at most movie IP, they license the movie rights out to a distribution company that actually puts the movie out, which then goes to theaters so they don't actually own the relationship with their customer. You buy merchandise through another third party, so they license it to another third party. They license their books and publishing rights. They license their music rights. They license everything out and they don't actually own the relationship with a lot of their audience. So they have no way of knowing who their most loyal supporters are, who goes and sees the movie three times, who plays the game, who buys the merch, who shows up at the theme parks and the events? What's really cool about the technology that we all work in is we could figure out a way to track all of that and make sure that those people are not just being seen and heard, they're getting stuff, they're getting more rewards, they're creating this sense of identity being close to this brand because they're actually going to feel like they're part of it with all the activations that we have planned. We think that's a business model and a mindset that doesn't exist today and that that's really where we're leaning in.
Are there any projects or founders or individuals that you guys chat with a lot or anyone you guys want to meet?
Julian: Yeah, obviously day to day work kind of gets in the way of people spending too much time together but Luca and I talk pretty often, he hooked me up with a couple of the plushies for my kids. They loved them. So there's definitely love and support there. I talk to Greg from Yuga every now and then, I've connected with Zag a couple of times but it's not as much as it should be and I think the kind of the real takeaway is that we should be coming together as leaders in this space more often, because if one of us wins, all of us wins and there's so much incredible work being done right now, we just we need to figure out better ways of kind of taking ourselves out of the day to day and the kind of the pitting ourselves against each other that exists so much on the timeline right now and just remember, we're all fighting the same fight, right? We're trying to take market share from all the biggest companies in the world, not from each other. If Web3 makes it, it's not going to be just one of us that makes it. It's going to be a few of us. It's going to be a bunch of us and it's ultimately just going to create more opportunity for everybody building in this space. So more of that 100% needs to happen.
How do you feel about the sentiment? Obviously you guys went through a lot of FUD and now you're kind of bouncing back. How do you feel about the NFT space and where you guys kind of see yourselves fitting in?
Julian: I think anybody who saw our keynote at NFTNYC last year, we are doing every single thing that we said we were going to do. I think there's a misconception in how long this stuff actually takes to develop, to reach millions of people around the world, how long it takes to get music to market and film and television content to market and true partnerships and things like that. You know, especially when you kind of have the bar for quality that Doodles does. I think one of the areas that we've fallen flat is just communication and community building in general and I think that's something that if hopefully you've been paying attention lately, you've seen that there's a real concerted effort internally to try and bridge that gap and to try and rebuild that vibe in the Doodles community. It's something we think about every day. Austin has been invaluable in that regard and truly making the community understand that we are a Web3 company. We do care deeply about this space. We do sincerely believe in the technology and what it's going to do for brands and IP.
We really do feel like every action and activity we take is not just going to benefit Doodles, it's going to benefit everybody in our community and everybody in the Web3 community at large. So has it hurt to see kind of Web3 not as pumped about Doodles anymore? Yeah, it's definitely something we think about, but we're not going to sit here and try and sell, sell, sell to the space on why we're great. What we're going to do is just prove it by shipping product and show people that we really are in this for the right reasons and it'll start to make more and more sense over time. We're kind of sick of talking about what we're going to do and we're just going to show people and think by the end of the summer, by the end of September, you're going to you're going to see a very, very different looking business that the community is truly at the center of. So we're excited for that.
You guys are talking about collectibles and I think Burnt Toast recently shared a photo of a monochrome dude. You guys are working with All Rights Reserved who is definitely a premium art / toy sculpture producer. I would love to know a little bit more about how you connected and maybe a little bit more that around what we can expect for that that drop.
Julian: So this relationship predates me joining but Evan got introduced to SK, I believe through Todd Kramer, who's a big art collector, and he has a gallery in New York and I believe they really hit it off kind of from the beginning and the first vinyl that came out was so successful, people were going crazy for that thing and it became very clear that hese vinyl stand toe to toe with Bearbrick statues and Kaws statues and we had a real opportunity in the designer toy market. So we really wanted to start to double down on that concept and try and play in that space. So we've been developing a strategy for a while on how we actually bring that to a wider audience and get that in the right kind of environment so this, this summer, August, actually, we're going to be doing a big drop tied to the physical's, the vinyl that you saw. There's going to be multiple colorways. There's going to be some really interesting, I'll say expanded things outside of the toy, outside of the figure itself but it's going to have some specialty retail distribution so it'll be at some key retailers, both digital retailers and physical retailers, All those retailers are going to be distributed around the world.
There's some pretty select markets that we're going into and then that is going to lead directly into the camp opening a few weeks later. So it's pretty exciting. The vinyls are definitely a big area of growth for us because we see them as a way to reach new collectors, new people. It's not enough to try and sell everything to the people that are here today, what we need to be able to do is actually bring these these experiences and these products to as many new people as possible. I think one of the things that Luca actually said when they did the toys was, being financially independent so you don't need to continue putting more and more NFT's in the ecosystem. I don't think that means any of us are going to stop producing NFT's but the whole idea of being able to make those experiences incredible because you have a real business outside of it. I think that is a really great takeaway and something that we think is possible through this drop and the other stuff that's coming soon. We're talking so much more man. It's going to be crazy.
How are you trying to bring value back to holders from these events? If I walk into a Camp store, do I know that Doodles is a originated from an NFT project or is there another another strategy like a Trojan horse?
Julian: I think the goal for us and thank you for that question, but the goal for us is more how do you eliminate the technological barrier between someone that has no appetite for it but might be interested in your brand? And as the brand grows and as the technology gets a little bit more seamless and people start to understand what the original collection actually means, that there's a lot more demand for that because there's only 10,000 of them. So if we all of a sudden reach millions of people and those millions of people know that there is this collectible that started it all, it's the original artwork but that artwork is also it's the first edition Pokemon card, right? That's kind of the parallel that I'd say and then that art is attached to this essentially membership, that is the ultimate access pass within the ecosystem, right? Like the Pharrell pack, there was only 300 of them, but you couldn't get one if you didn't have an original Doodle So that was basically a free airdrop. You had to hit certain metrics, engagement metrics within the community to actually get the pack but that was just one iteration of it. We'll have that for a lot of drops where, there will be, a certain amount of things that are free and the free thing will always come to people that own the original Doodle and then the free entry specifically speaking about camp, free entry to the experience when everyone else has to pay, merchandise credits and then a true white glove concierge service where you're you're going to reach out to Doodles before you go and then you're going to be set up with this kind of VIP experience at that location.
If you believe that Doodles has the opportunity to grow and turn into a bigger brand, you know that free airdrops and claims and free claims on merchandise in one location is not going to be all the utility that there is for the original collection. We're going to build a lot more than that and that is kind of how we see value trickling back down to the original token, we're also going to be licensing people's Doodles to use in media, to use in products. We haven't done it yet because we just haven't figured out the right way to make it scalable. It's kind of a big thing to set that precedent this early, especially if you have the kind of ambition we do to go as big as we want to go but we are thinking about that and we are going to bring that to market soon and then the last thing that I'll bring up is just the Doodle bank, which is honestly, I feel like a really under the radar thing. We have a $5 million or so fund that only people with a Doodle can access to build businesses around the Doodles brand, to build creator platforms around the Doodles brand. I would love to see a Doodle holder try and access the Doodle brand to actually build some of the stuff that you've been able to build, right? How can we help subsidize costs so they can create their own podcast studio so they can advertise their content a little bit more all through the Doodles brand, which is ultimately aligned incentives
You as a creator get bigger. Doodles gets more of a microphone because you're getting bigger as a creator and then the last couple pillars of the Doodle bank is also rewards , so how can we use the funds in the Doodle bank to actually create more rewards for Doodle holders, is it sponsoring a concert tour? Is it trying to get memberships to a specific social club? There's so many different things that we can use to drive value back to the original token with this fund and ultimately empower the creators and the entrepreneurs that exist in our ecosystem. So I'd say we're doing so much to try and drive value back to the original token, but I think people will I think people will start to see that when there's truly like real world utility Pharrell pack was one iteration. We've done an airdrop with the Dooplicator, we're doing this experience with camp and it'll keep going from there.
Have you guys kind of like established your council? How do you guys kind of think about the Doodle Banks as it operates as I guess a "DAO" tied to Doodles itself? What does the structure look like, high level?
Austin: In terms of where we're at with it right now. We've installed the first class of the DoodleBank community council, which consists of a chair to oversee the council, a treasurer who is distributing the funds and tracking the finances, an events lead who is going to be building out community global programing, a grants lead, which is really when Julian speaks about how do we empower individuals to build businesses, whether it be through grants or ways to prop up businesses through their IP and then a rewards lead who is focused on how can we bring in additional benefits to holding a Doodle. They have been live since the top of May and right now are developing the processes for how approvals come in, what the approval process looks like, effectively what are our guidelines and what we're looking to support, our budgets overall per quarter and then have also been fielding questions and feedback from the community. So it's been great. They serve multiple roles in addition to just their remit, given their different titles. They're also really our first line of taking in feedback and doing product reviews.
Austin: They're all under NDA and really have a clear sense of where we're going. So it's been great to be able to build with the community in that way but our intention is that in pretty short order, like within call it the next few weeks, we want to get these processes out to the community for feedback and start taking in the first set of proposals. We also really love the nouns model of like the prop house RFP, so for things that we know we need to do as a company, but we want to be able to empower the community to be able to help build with us we effectively want to have bounties that we can put out there, whether it be to create content or create merchandise or whatever the case may be, have it be more of a two way street than just reactively taking in proposals. We're we're moving really quickly. I'm literally in a Slack channel with with the council right now as they're giving me all of their weekend updates but it's been progressing and hope to have more for the community soon.
I think we've noticed that you need a processes, onboarding and kind of filtering and controlling budgets and you sometimes see proposals that are grossly overestimated so being smart about allocation, making it efficient etc
Austin: It's a great point to illustrate and we are very fortunate with the few individuals we have as Treasurer and the grants lead. John Shank, who is our Treasurer was a CFO for a large corporation for a long time and really focused on having a balanced budget. How do we ultimately bring additional funds into the bank and what are the checkpoints over time? So instead of distributing all those funds up once, how do we ensure that we're getting the necessary reporting and then Eyal who is our grand lead has actually run incubators in the past and ensuring that we have the right checks and balances as we're deploying that capital to ensure what you just said doesn't happen, that we're not put in a situation where we're deploying funds and we're not seeing the direct action that's being taken against them.
Does it mean that there are no more pop ups this year?
Julian: It definitely does not mean no pop ups. That's core to our DNA and it's also such an incredible onboarding opportunity, when we went to Something In The Water festival, Pharrel's festival in Virginia Beach, there were so many spokes to that partnership where we basically brought a 30 by 30 space. We sold the new collaboration that we had on site with ice cream. So all these people now have Doodles products that were there and bought the merchandise and right next to that was kind of a live demo of Doodles2 where we were able to capture people's emails so we can send them marketing after the fact. We got a few thousand emails at that activation, we sold a bunch of merchandise and we basically introduced a lot of people to the brand and on the other side of it like, okay, what does that do for the holder apart from growing the ecosystem, which we do find pretty valuable to ultimately Doodle holders and our entire ecosystem but we were able to secure 50 tickets that we gave to the community for free in a raffle and they were VIP tickets. They were super close to the stage, there were credits involved in them and for the people that went, it was a really awesome experience.
The other piece is that when you talk about creators in our community. JKB, I'm not sure how familiar any of you are with them, but they're very prominent members of our community. They've been around for a very long time have basically started their own media brand based on their Doodles PFP's and this is the second time that we've actually had them kind of live blog and create content on behalf of Doodles at the actual festival. So you saw them kind of do like A day in the life with Doodles and JKB, taking content of like festival goers, the stages, the experiences and then distributing that stuff, on Twitter and their other social channels. So it was a really cool thing that we could do for creators in our space and what I'll say kind of directly answer your question is, Something In The Water was just the first festival thing that we've done this year. We're going to show up at other music festivals. We're going to continue to do live events and what we built for something in the water was an activation that can travel a lot more easily. So South by Southwest, Art Basel, those things were very hard to pack up and repurpose, we have aspects of that, but this new activation that we've built, we can actually ship it from place to place and we can continue to add on to it depending on the actual activation itself. So festivals will always be and other live events will always be a way to drive utility for holders and also onboard new people into the ecosystem. Doodles is about fun, man. We want to color the world with joy. We want everybody to feel the vibes and it's incredible to work on it every day. It's hard keeping things a secret, it's painful sometimes.
Can you tell me anything about the Pharrell album? I understand it's with Columbia, who are part of Sony Music. Is there anything you can kind of say on the project and when that could be landing?
Julian: So the album's not actually going to roll out as a traditional album where there's like a bunch of songs they're going to roll out. It's going to roll out kind of song by song and more as a platform on a perpetual basis. Columbia is going to distribute the music and I don't want to give too much detail because there's going to be a lot of hype in the reveal but you're going to see things like a music video set in the Doodles universe featuring whatever artist is going to be on it. Pharrell curated or produced tracks. Collectibles that are paired both physical and digital with the actual music itself and wide distribution so the songs are going to be on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, radio, etcetera. So that's kind of how it's going to come to life and if you looked at Pharrell as a Doodle and Pharrell coming into the Doodles universe as a character, imagine some of your favorite artists coming into the Doodles universe as a character too. It's going to be a pretty eclectic mix of artists and it's going to roll out again, like I said, over time. That really is all I can say at the moment, but we'll update everybody as soon as we possibly can. All I can tell you is it's going to be fire.
You guys recently made an amazing acquisition with GoldenWolf Studios. Can we expect more animations and stuff on the Socials? What's the sort of direction with Golden Wolf and how did that come about?
Julian: That's a great question. So we acquired GoldenWolf back in January. They are an Emmy nominated creative studio. They're one of the most highly regarded animation studios in the world. Lot of brand notoriety from them in the entire animation industry. The goal, if you think of what Doodles is, there's a term in media called transmedia and that essentially means you tell stories on different channels, right? So different channels means you could be telling stories through live events, you could be telling stories through the distribution of toys, you could be telling stories through social media, you could be telling stories at the box office with a big film and the whole point is, you're not trying to fit one story or one thing for each of those channels that have very unique characteristics from a distribution standpoint. Doodles is the kind of brand that needs to tell stories across all of these channels and meet people where they are, where they're actually spending their time versus trying to put the same thing out across the board. So GoldenWolf, which is very much specializes in social content and brand identity in advertisement. They're an incredible partner to keep kind of the always on content flow pumping out for Doodles, which is just starting to ramp up now and at the same time, with all the incredible creators, plus Scott and the people that we're working with in the traditional entertainment industry, bringing the actual story together, the universe that is Doodles, who the characters are, what adventures they go on, what is the backstory? What's the conflict?
GoldenWolf, Scott and a few others are actually developing that now and that is going to manifest itself through all of our content, through all of our product, all of our storytelling opportunities, while we're also developing long form content. So what does Doodles look like as a streaming television show or a motion picture? How does Doodles go into music videos like GoldenWolf is going to produce the music videos. So from a creative standpoint, we have, in my opinion, the best creative studio in the world, developing Doodles content and brand and I'll just say we just started the integration recently, there's kind of been really nothing yet. We've gotten started. It's been amazing, but there's so much coming from GoldenWolf soon and then I'd say on the flip side, GoldenWolf being in Web3 is not an insignificant thing either. So yes, it's amazing that they're going to help develop the Doodles IP but GoldenWolf has a lot of other ideas that NFT's and blockchain technology could be a really great format for incubating that IP or bringing new stories to life and new projects to market and leveraging the tech in new ways and Ingi who founded that company ten years ago is one of the smartest guys in the entire space, he's a true innovator, leaned into tech really leaning into AI tooling and how that can help Doodles as a business, how that can help the whole animation industry as a business. So we're just kind of seeing a little fruit from that partnership right now, but it's going to continue to grow pretty, pretty significantly from there. We really do have a crazy, talented team like Scott and then also Sammy and Alfie. There's so many brilliant creatives at GoldenWolf, and you'll get to know a lot of them soon.
Have you guys made any new key hires or are you guys planning to make some key hires to kind of push this forward?
Julian: We kind of wrapped up the majority of our hiring after our head of business and legal affairs came into the company about a month or so ago. I mean, we're at 60 people right now across Doodles and GoldenWolf, so we're pretty staffed well, there's some more product and engineering resources that we're going to be bringing in so we can be quicker to market with a few things but I'd say we're pretty well staffed at this point.
So to build on top of what you've said, I was wondering if you guys could give us any insights into the Doodles culture, the work culture.
Julian: I love that question. So we just opened an office in Miami a couple months ago. Our team is distributed, so we have some people that are remote. We have some people that are here in Miami. We have an office in New York. We have an office in London and again, there are people that are remote. So for the people that are in Miami, the office is pretty awesome. It's got a pretty, pretty cool view. It's right in a really good area of the city and when you walk in, it's very much neutral tones and colors and things like that and then we make the space pop with product that we have. So there's vinyls all over the office. We bring other IP into the office like we have this gold Mickey Mouse that that Jordan donated, it was a Fantasia Mickey Mouse with him holding a Bitcoin instead of a magic ball, just a lot of different artists and IP that we respect to try and inspire some creativity in the space. We have this really cool synthesizer that Evan got made, where people come in, play it. It's actually like a Doodles synthesizer.
We have a merchandise kind of like retail display. We have all of our statues on display so you can check out our brand, learn a little bit more about us. We also have this pretty cool ice cream machine set up then the New York office couldn't be a different vibe. It's more of a grunge studio, true artsy vibe and then it's the same kind of thing in London - the original GoldenWolf office.
It's awesome. I think what we're trying to bring to life is the inspiration of creativity and trying to emulate a lot of the incredible IP that we respect so much and we do remote work sessions, so we try and bring people all together, at least once or twice a quarter so we can all get those creative juices flowing, build relationships with each other because if we're going to truly be a community outside of the company, we got to be one internally first so it's been really cool trying to build the culture here and I think we've been doing a pretty good job.
I'm wondering for future activations, will there be places where people can actively onboard into the community, whether that's Doodles2 or the original collection?
Julian: Definitely at what I'll call Non-endemic to Doodles stuff, so festivals and more consumer facing events. The reason why we showed up at South by Southwest and Art Basel last year was because we were this really hot Web3 brand in a sea of some of the biggest companies and brands in the world. Whereas as when you go to the when you go to the NFT events, you're like the headline. Right? I think the opportunity to gain notoriety in those environments is really a big opportunity, but it's also an opportunity to bring your holders close to the action that all the influencers of the world, are part of. So when Doodle throws the massive event at Art Basel and it's like one of the tickets of the weekend and our holders are the VIP entrance into that thing we're going to continue to do stuff like that. We really love that concept and at the same hand, use that opportunity to bring new people into the brand. The goal right now is to onboard, people into kind of like information gathering until the stoodio product is actually out of beta. So we're collecting emails so we can retarget these people and make sure that they understand who we are, what we're doing etc so that's kind of the strategy for us.
2023.06.03 11:45 UltimateMastermind This is your brain on Memestocks
 | submitted by UltimateMastermind to gme_meltdown [link] [comments] |
2023.06.03 10:55 RuneRW r/shitposting sings Iron Maiden's The Trooper
submitted by RuneRW to redditsings [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 08:18 Horror_Nurse Animals Spiritual Meanings
Hello everyone!
I am currently working on a page in my Book of Shadows dedicated to the spiritual meanings of several animals. Animals in Wicca have multiple meanings. Their are animals that we feel connected to and resonant with, there are familiars, and they can act as guides, omens, and symbols in life and in dreams. I'm also trying to record if certain animals have connections to any deities. I wanted to get everyone's opinion regarding the meaning of the animals on my list as well as suggestions.
Many of the animals on the list are common for witches and I'm trying to include the many of the different zodiac animals (yes from different regions).
Currently the list is: bats, bears, bees, beavers, boars, butterfly, cat, coyote, crow, deer, dogs, dove, dragon, eagle, falcon, fox, frog, goat, goose, hawk, horse, lion, monkey, moth, otter, owl, ox, pig, possum, rabbit, raccoon, rat, raven, rooster, salmon, seahorse, sheep, skunk, snake, spider, swan, tiger, turtles, and wolves.
If you have any advice or opinions or any knowledge regarding any of these animals I would love to hear it. Thank you!
submitted by Horror_Nurse to Wicca [link] [comments]
I am currently working on a page in my Book of Shadows dedicated to the spiritual meanings of several animals. Animals in Wicca have multiple meanings. Their are animals that we feel connected to and resonant with, there are familiars, and they can act as guides, omens, and symbols in life and in dreams. I'm also trying to record if certain animals have connections to any deities. I wanted to get everyone's opinion regarding the meaning of the animals on my list as well as suggestions.
Many of the animals on the list are common for witches and I'm trying to include the many of the different zodiac animals (yes from different regions).
Currently the list is: bats, bears, bees, beavers, boars, butterfly, cat, coyote, crow, deer, dogs, dove, dragon, eagle, falcon, fox, frog, goat, goose, hawk, horse, lion, monkey, moth, otter, owl, ox, pig, possum, rabbit, raccoon, rat, raven, rooster, salmon, seahorse, sheep, skunk, snake, spider, swan, tiger, turtles, and wolves.
If you have any advice or opinions or any knowledge regarding any of these animals I would love to hear it. Thank you!
2023.06.03 07:02 Fragrant_Composer416 NYT Crossword
Just excited to share and wanted to see if anyone noticed that Dax made it into the Saturday crossword! Pretty cool, lol. I wonder if he knows or if they can just do that without his permission? Someone has to let me know if he ever mentions it!
submitted by Fragrant_Composer416 to ArmchairExpert [link] [comments]
2023.06.03 06:54 Sudden_Humor Sigil (Sigel) and Peorth: Rune Sisters.
This started after I was watching a TV documentary about the holy grail, and the subject came up about all the efforts Himmler and the SS had made to find it in the south of France/Spain. This included a visit to the castle the SS was using as their main training facility, which they'd completly rebuilt using psuedo-aryan symbolism. This included a number of representations of the rune "Sigil" as their emblem (the SS symbol on their tunics and devices was a double "Sigil" or twin lightening runes), which got me wondering if Mr. Fujishima had considered this when he named Sigil. (Heil Skuld!) The SS was supposed to be Hitler's bodyguard unit and Sigil is certainly Skuld's bodyguard. (mostly humorous intent here)
So I decided to look up myself (and there I was) what the rune sigil meant. I'd read all the standard Oh/Ah My Goddess! explainations, but they just repeated what was in the Dark Horse translated manga. It proved interesting and shows just how hard it is to pin these things down sometimes.
Sigil is an Anglo-Saxon rune located in the second Aett (or Heimdal's Aett), or group of 8 runes. It is also known as sighel, sowilo, saugil, sigel, sol, soilleir, and other varients, depending on the source. It's associated color is yellow.
Besides the phonetic letter "S", the rune literally means the sun, but also represents lightening. It symbolizes natural power, the sun representing both life force and elemental energy (fire & lightening). Interestingly, in the Germanic myth it was regarded as a feminine atribute. (Two sigils crossed make a sun-wheel, otherwise known as a swastika. Another reason the SS used two sigils.)
Symbolically ( rune readings ), sigil represents success, goals achieved, honor, one's life-force, health, a time when power will be available to you for positive changes in your life, victory, health, and success. It relates to one's contact between the higher self and the unconscious. Wholeness, power, elemental force, sword of flame, cleansing fire.
If cast in opposition (Sigil cannot be reversed) it represents false goals, bad counsel, false success, gullibility, loss of goals, destruction, retribution, justice, casting down of vanity, and the Wrath of God (or at least that of a teenage goddess).
So it's a bit more than just the rune that signifies "Life".
And as long as I was looking up Sigil, I thought I'd take a look at Peorth.
Peorth is also an Anglo Saxon rune located in the second Aett (or Heimdal's Aett), or group of 8 runes. It is also known as poerdh, pertho, perdhro, pairthra, Peordh, None, Pailt, and other varients. It's associated color is Blue or Red (Dark Auburn hair?)
Besides the phonetic letter "P", the rune's meaning is uncertain, having been translated as hearth, fruit tree, vagina, dice cup, and chessman amongst other things.
It's called the gambler's rune because of its shape (like a cup for casting dice from), and in this way is connected with major changes in life, opportunity on one hand, disaster or failure on the other. It doesn't however predict the outcome, only that such a situation will present itself. (Thus Peorth's name associates her with fate, or Wyrd, much like the norns are)
In other contexts it's a symbol of the feminine, implying "womanly traits" as well as sexuality. So Peorth certainly is living up to her name.
Symbolically ( rune readings ), peorth has a number of meanings, making its exact meaning unclear. It reminds us of the uncertainties in life and represents freewill in connection with the restrictions we have due to our circumstances. It is viewed as a rune of memory and problem solving. It can be symbolic of secret matters, mysteries, hidden things and occult abilities. Initiation, knowledge of one's destiny, knowledge of future matters, and determining the future or one's path through life.
In its feminine context it can refere to the feminine mysteries including female fertility, and "matters of the vagina". (I had to quote this one) It also can be found in relation to good luck, chance, the unknown, fellowship, joy, finding things that are lost, evolutionary change and alternatively, can be linked with sacred music, bardism and the sacred dance. (You'll note that most of these also apply to our Peorth.)
If cast in opposition or reversed (upside down), peorth can mean addiction, stagnation, loneliness, or malaise.
So it seems obvious that as a rune, peorth is considered a general utility symbol that covers a wide range of things, much like the goddess who's named after it.
While I don't think Mr. Fujishima is an expert on runes and rune casting (though you never know) it's pretty obvious he knows someone who is. While he could have picked Sigil and Peorth's names off a website, the detailed rune reading he has Belldandy cast for Urd in Another Me is the work of someone who knows their business. (If you hadn't noticed, the names on the casting circles are the Norse versions of their names, Urda & Verthandi. A detailed examination of Bell's rune cast can be found at the AMG Fan, Observations Website.)
My guess is he described the characters he had in mind and this someone suggested the runes to name them by. Then, with the rune profile in hand, he fine tuned the characters to more closely fit their names.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20061215032223/http://www.goddess-project.net/index.php?pid=76
I am not the original creator.
submitted by Sudden_Humor to AaMegamiSama [link] [comments]
So I decided to look up myself (and there I was) what the rune sigil meant. I'd read all the standard Oh/Ah My Goddess! explainations, but they just repeated what was in the Dark Horse translated manga. It proved interesting and shows just how hard it is to pin these things down sometimes.
Sigil is an Anglo-Saxon rune located in the second Aett (or Heimdal's Aett), or group of 8 runes. It is also known as sighel, sowilo, saugil, sigel, sol, soilleir, and other varients, depending on the source. It's associated color is yellow.
Besides the phonetic letter "S", the rune literally means the sun, but also represents lightening. It symbolizes natural power, the sun representing both life force and elemental energy (fire & lightening). Interestingly, in the Germanic myth it was regarded as a feminine atribute. (Two sigils crossed make a sun-wheel, otherwise known as a swastika. Another reason the SS used two sigils.)
Symbolically ( rune readings ), sigil represents success, goals achieved, honor, one's life-force, health, a time when power will be available to you for positive changes in your life, victory, health, and success. It relates to one's contact between the higher self and the unconscious. Wholeness, power, elemental force, sword of flame, cleansing fire.
If cast in opposition (Sigil cannot be reversed) it represents false goals, bad counsel, false success, gullibility, loss of goals, destruction, retribution, justice, casting down of vanity, and the Wrath of God (or at least that of a teenage goddess).
So it's a bit more than just the rune that signifies "Life".
And as long as I was looking up Sigil, I thought I'd take a look at Peorth.
Peorth is also an Anglo Saxon rune located in the second Aett (or Heimdal's Aett), or group of 8 runes. It is also known as poerdh, pertho, perdhro, pairthra, Peordh, None, Pailt, and other varients. It's associated color is Blue or Red (Dark Auburn hair?)
Besides the phonetic letter "P", the rune's meaning is uncertain, having been translated as hearth, fruit tree, vagina, dice cup, and chessman amongst other things.
It's called the gambler's rune because of its shape (like a cup for casting dice from), and in this way is connected with major changes in life, opportunity on one hand, disaster or failure on the other. It doesn't however predict the outcome, only that such a situation will present itself. (Thus Peorth's name associates her with fate, or Wyrd, much like the norns are)
In other contexts it's a symbol of the feminine, implying "womanly traits" as well as sexuality. So Peorth certainly is living up to her name.
Symbolically ( rune readings ), peorth has a number of meanings, making its exact meaning unclear. It reminds us of the uncertainties in life and represents freewill in connection with the restrictions we have due to our circumstances. It is viewed as a rune of memory and problem solving. It can be symbolic of secret matters, mysteries, hidden things and occult abilities. Initiation, knowledge of one's destiny, knowledge of future matters, and determining the future or one's path through life.
In its feminine context it can refere to the feminine mysteries including female fertility, and "matters of the vagina". (I had to quote this one) It also can be found in relation to good luck, chance, the unknown, fellowship, joy, finding things that are lost, evolutionary change and alternatively, can be linked with sacred music, bardism and the sacred dance. (You'll note that most of these also apply to our Peorth.)
If cast in opposition or reversed (upside down), peorth can mean addiction, stagnation, loneliness, or malaise.
So it seems obvious that as a rune, peorth is considered a general utility symbol that covers a wide range of things, much like the goddess who's named after it.
While I don't think Mr. Fujishima is an expert on runes and rune casting (though you never know) it's pretty obvious he knows someone who is. While he could have picked Sigil and Peorth's names off a website, the detailed rune reading he has Belldandy cast for Urd in Another Me is the work of someone who knows their business. (If you hadn't noticed, the names on the casting circles are the Norse versions of their names, Urda & Verthandi. A detailed examination of Bell's rune cast can be found at the AMG Fan, Observations Website.)
My guess is he described the characters he had in mind and this someone suggested the runes to name them by. Then, with the rune profile in hand, he fine tuned the characters to more closely fit their names.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20061215032223/http://www.goddess-project.net/index.php?pid=76
I am not the original creator.
2023.06.03 06:04 2057Champs__ What is the premier battleground state in 2024?
Usually In every presidential election, there is one particular state that everyone will be watching as THE deciding state to determine the outcome.
For many years, that state was either Florida (mainly) or in smaller ways, Ohio with a close eye on Iowa.
All 3 of those states are now solidly Republican, and aren’t the deciding factor with 2020 changing the game. So what state would that be now? Let’s list the contenders:
-Michigan: flipped red for the first time in decades (at the presidential) in 2016, but very narrowly. Democrats have had probably the most success in this swing state after 2016, winning it by 3 in 2020 and blue waves in 2018 and 2022 in the state.
-Pennsylvania. Flipped red for the first time in decades in 2016. The biggest electoral prize of all the premier battlegrounds. Biden won by just over 1% in 2020, and had a bit of a blue wave in 2022 in the state. Hard to digest which way the winds will blow in 24.
-Wisconsin. Flipped red in 2016 for the first time in decades, but the GOP had great success in the state for most of the 2010’s decade In the state, had a very solid infrastructure built in, is still incredibly competitive, but signs are showing that the overturning of Dobbs is hurting republicans significantly in the state, and a 2023 spring Supreme Court election, which had good turnout, is showing that the issue is motivating voters to the polls on the issue.
-Arizona. A state Biden flipped blue for only the 2nd time in 50 years and has had very noticeable trends to the left in the era of trump. It’s a state with a very solid mix of Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters. It’s ground 0 for the battle of the GOP’s ideological voters, with MAGA and Old school classic conservatives clashing, and being deciding voters in how certain elections will turnout.
-Nevada. A state that Democrats usually can be counted on to win at the presidential, but has been trending right and has given republicans success before at important offices (it’s the only state in 2022 that an incumbent governor lost, and had the closest senate race in the country). Like Arizona, it has a heavy Hispanic population, with a good mix of democrats, republicans, and independents.
-Georgia: definitely the reddest of the battleground states still, but with quite possibly the worst trends for the GOP. Republicans have struggled with suburban and African American voters, and Georgia is a state exploding In population with both of them. Biden narrowly flipped it in 2020, and it has had success for democrats at the federal level In 2021 and 2022.
-North Carolina. Has only gone blue once in recent history, but Biden still got within striking distance of 2020, and despite everything against them, democrats performed respectably in a loss in 2022.
Potential Dark horse states: Texas, Alaska, New Hampshire, Maine
submitted by 2057Champs__ to PoliticalDiscussion [link] [comments]
For many years, that state was either Florida (mainly) or in smaller ways, Ohio with a close eye on Iowa.
All 3 of those states are now solidly Republican, and aren’t the deciding factor with 2020 changing the game. So what state would that be now? Let’s list the contenders:
-Michigan: flipped red for the first time in decades (at the presidential) in 2016, but very narrowly. Democrats have had probably the most success in this swing state after 2016, winning it by 3 in 2020 and blue waves in 2018 and 2022 in the state.
-Pennsylvania. Flipped red for the first time in decades in 2016. The biggest electoral prize of all the premier battlegrounds. Biden won by just over 1% in 2020, and had a bit of a blue wave in 2022 in the state. Hard to digest which way the winds will blow in 24.
-Wisconsin. Flipped red in 2016 for the first time in decades, but the GOP had great success in the state for most of the 2010’s decade In the state, had a very solid infrastructure built in, is still incredibly competitive, but signs are showing that the overturning of Dobbs is hurting republicans significantly in the state, and a 2023 spring Supreme Court election, which had good turnout, is showing that the issue is motivating voters to the polls on the issue.
-Arizona. A state Biden flipped blue for only the 2nd time in 50 years and has had very noticeable trends to the left in the era of trump. It’s a state with a very solid mix of Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters. It’s ground 0 for the battle of the GOP’s ideological voters, with MAGA and Old school classic conservatives clashing, and being deciding voters in how certain elections will turnout.
-Nevada. A state that Democrats usually can be counted on to win at the presidential, but has been trending right and has given republicans success before at important offices (it’s the only state in 2022 that an incumbent governor lost, and had the closest senate race in the country). Like Arizona, it has a heavy Hispanic population, with a good mix of democrats, republicans, and independents.
-Georgia: definitely the reddest of the battleground states still, but with quite possibly the worst trends for the GOP. Republicans have struggled with suburban and African American voters, and Georgia is a state exploding In population with both of them. Biden narrowly flipped it in 2020, and it has had success for democrats at the federal level In 2021 and 2022.
-North Carolina. Has only gone blue once in recent history, but Biden still got within striking distance of 2020, and despite everything against them, democrats performed respectably in a loss in 2022.
Potential Dark horse states: Texas, Alaska, New Hampshire, Maine
2023.06.03 05:32 KomradeSims Update Notes: June 1, 2023
Welcome to June, and also the latest Project: Gorgon update! This update contains a new much-requested skill, Angling, as well as new UI features, quests, balancing, and a ton of bug fixes.
Bugs!
Update: the following are known bugs in this update -- no need to report them. If you see OTHER bugs, please report them!
There are now 3 camera types to choose from, located in Settings > Controls:
So we've expanded Fishing with a new sub-skill: Angling. All you need is a fishing pole, some bait, and a body of water with catchable fish. (Also Fishing 15. And hands!) In order to get started, talk to Roshun the Traitor in Serbule.
The precise mechanics of Angling aren't spelled out in the game at the moment. Since this game focuses on exploration, we expect players to be able to figure out how Angling works. Please let us know what parts of the system were hard to figure out, and we'll work to make those bits more obvious.
Warden:
We've revised the formulae used for damage reflection, which resulted in nerfs to Privacy Field. On the other hand, multiple bug fixes actually increase the Warden's power significantly in other ways.
submitted by KomradeSims to projectgorgon [link] [comments]
Bugs!
Update: the following are known bugs in this update -- no need to report them. If you see OTHER bugs, please report them!
- Animal forms are able to angle - kind of - and that is unintentional. Angling is intended to require hands.
- The Angling ability 'Catch and Release' gives 25% XP, not 25% bonus XP.
- You can target certain angling fish before they exist. You shouldn't be able to target them at all.
- Some of the angling abilities have old test descriptions.
- The new AoE indicator doesn't display in some outdoor areas.
Main Story
We've expanded the main story quest-line by a few steps. If you've already reached the point in the storyline where you were asked to have dinner with Jessina (via a hang out), the hang out is now available, and you should log in to see that your character has a "reminder quest" to hang out with Jessina.New Camera Types
Players come to us from different games with different control schemes and camera views, and they often ask us if we can imitate the camera styles they're used to. So we gave it a try! We know that getting movement behavior just right can be tricky, so please give us feedback on how these work for you.There are now 3 camera types to choose from, located in Settings > Controls:
- Traditional Camera: How the camera has always worked. Right-click rotates your character, left-click rotates only the camera. Mouse is always available.
- Free Camera: Camera control is completely separate from character control. Mouse is always available.
- Action Camera: Mouse movement always controls character. Mouse cursor is only available when a UI window is open, or when the Toggle Cursor key is pressed (configurable). NOTE: only available in the new selection system!
AoE Visibility
Area-of-Effect abilities that are centered on the caster now have a visualization for their range.- When an ability is used, the AOE range briefly displays on the ground as a circle.
- When an AOE ability icon is hovered over, its AOE range displays on the ground for as long as it's hovered over.
- Visibility is configurable via Settings > GUI > Windows & HUD > Abilities & Items > "Show Beneficial AOE Areas" & "Show Detrimental AOE Areas". By default they are "Party Members Only" & "Self Only" respectively. Detrimental enemy AOEs will always display.
- Many "aura"-type pets display their aura ranges in a similar fashion, such as a druid's Healing Sanctuary or a fairy's Fae Conduit. These should also follow the visibility settings described above.
- Note: as of this update, all AoE abilities are centered on the caster, except for two Weather Witching abilities that are explicitly centered on the target. Previously, all AoEs were centered on the target, but the game didn't say that anywhere, and most players assumed it was centered on the caster! So this seems much more intuitive. But if there are specific AoE abilities that you feel should be centered on the target instead of the caster, please let us know and we'll consider it.
Angling
Traditionally, fishing in Project: Gorgon has involved scooping fish up out of the water with your bare hands -- what we might call 'tickling' the fish. And that's fine, as far as it goes. It takes real skill! But not all fish can be caught this way. (And more importantly, players have told us that an MMO "needs" to have traditional fishing in order to feel like a complete MMO.)So we've expanded Fishing with a new sub-skill: Angling. All you need is a fishing pole, some bait, and a body of water with catchable fish. (Also Fishing 15. And hands!) In order to get started, talk to Roshun the Traitor in Serbule.
The precise mechanics of Angling aren't spelled out in the game at the moment. Since this game focuses on exploration, we expect players to be able to figure out how Angling works. Please let us know what parts of the system were hard to figure out, and we'll work to make those bits more obvious.
Skills & Abilities
From here out (and probably through the rest of beta), we'll be making small balance changes. We don't want to overnerf/overbuff things, so most changes will be relatively modest, and then we'll re-evaluate and adjust further after more observation.Warden:
We've revised the formulae used for damage reflection, which resulted in nerfs to Privacy Field. On the other hand, multiple bug fixes actually increase the Warden's power significantly in other ways.
- Privacy Field abilities: reduced base ability damage (Privacy Field 5 changed from 196 -> 138)
- Treasure: "Privacy Field deals +60 damage to all melee attackers, and the first melee attacker is knocked away": 60 => 42
- Treasure: "Privacy Field also deals its damage when you are hit by burst attacks, and damage is +86": 86 => 47
- Treasure: "Privacy Field also deals its damage when you are hit by ranged attacks, and damage is +57": 57 => 48
- Treasure: "When Privacy Field deals damage, it also ignites the suspect, dealing 156 damage over 12 seconds": => 156 => 80. Note: previously this effect did not work at all, so this is technically a huge buff, not a nerf!
- Treasure: "While Privacy Field is active, melee attacks that hit you have a 100% chance to restore 20 Power to you" : 100% chance => 75% chance. Note: previously this effect did not work at all, so this is technically a huge buff, not a nerf!
- Treasure: "Apprehend deals +48 damage and hastens the current reuse timer of Controlled Burn by 2 seconds (so it can be used again more quickly)" : 2 seconds -> 1.5 seconds. Note: previously this effect did hasten Control Burn at at all, so this is technically a huge buff, not a nerf!
- Controlled Burn: area-of-effect reduced from 15 meters to 10 meters.
- Aggression Deterrent: area-of-effect reduced from 10 meters to 6 meters.
- New ability Summon Sandstorm: This is a variant of Summon Tornado intended to be more convenient in groups. It does not knock back foes, instead dealing bonus Armor damage. All tiers of this ability can be learned from the Sand Seer in Ilmari.
- New rare ability Summon Doomstorm: This is a variant of Summon Tornado. It does not knock back foes. Instead it deals Darkness damage. Damage is improved over base version. This pet is marked as undead for purposes of ability targeting. In other words, heals that don't work on undead don't work on this pet either. Buffs that work on undead DO work on this pet. For now, all tiers of this ability can be found as loot scrolls.
- Fixed bug that caused high-level summoned tornados to move incredibly fast. Normalized tornado speeds.
- Summoned tornadoes accidentally had vulnerability stats for Cold Spheres. They now correctly have vulnerability stats for Tornadoes.
- "Your Confusing Double deals +67% damage with each attack": 67% => 45%
- "Confusing Double summons an additional figment. Each figment deals +77 damage with each attack": 77 => 50
- "Confusing Double Reuse Timer -15": -15 => -10
- "Fire Breath hits all targets within 8 meters and deals +30.5% damage, but reuse timer is +3 seconds and Power cost is +33%" => "Fire Breath hits all targets within 8 meters and deals +60 damage, but reuse timer is +3 seconds and Power cost is +40"
Settings
- The "Reset" button in Settings now resets the currently-selected tab to its default settings. The old functionality, undoing all current changes, is still doable by simply closing the window.
- Added new experimental settings for Tab Targeting. You can find them in settings under GUI > Targeting > Tab Targeting (Experimental).
- Combat Range: Control the max range of tab targeting when you are in combat.
- Combat Lock: If your current target is in combat, only other in-combat enemies will be targeted via tab, unless none are in view.
- Prioritize Unlooted Corpses: When tabbing through corpses, should all un-looted corpses be targeted before looted corpses?
- You can now tab through targets as quickly as you can press the button.
- Overwriting a keybind that's already bound now shows a confirmation prompt, including the name of the keybind being overwritten.
- Reorganized and renamed several Settings, to make them more intuitively grouped and easier to find.
UI Changes
- "Controls" settings have been organized into Camera & Character controls, with sub-menus.- Allow clicking through entities in the new UI, similar to how it works in the old UI. If you click on something that's already selected, it selects the entity behind it (if there is one).
- Reduced precision of click-selecting entities, so they can be selected without hovering directly over them.
- All stat bars (and globes) now smoothly animate when they change, instead of statically changing to the new value.
- Item stack size font now resizes properly for vaults (including saddlebag).
- Fixed nameplate placement for mounted humanoids.
- Fixed bug causing mouse cursor to disappear completely if mouse-dragging while zoning.
- Fixed bug that caused very large tooltips not to display sometimes.
- Removed hover-text about avatar portraits coming soon -- because they're here now! We live in the future!
- Ability tooltips now display Special Values before Special Info, as those make more sense grouped together with the other numerical data.
- Polished the lootable-corpse particles a bit.
- Nameplates now fully fade out with distance instead of just the names.
- Better handling of left-clicking nothing to deselect your current target.
- Improved display of Crafting button when no hotkey is assigned.
- Fixed quest window display bug when objective count number was very large.
- Removed the "1" from the item slot in the bug report window.
- Fixed bug causing stack sizes of items in the sidebar to get out of sync.
Graphics & Animation
- Wolves & cows now animate at proper speed when going up and down hills.
- Replaced wolf's Hunting Speed animation with a howl animation.
- Polished bard animations, so they flow together better now. The play-lute animation now always plays when you are playing a bard song, even if you use other abilities while playing the song.
- Improved instrument-playing animations.
- New VFX (animations, particles, & shader effects) for all Battle Chemistry abilities.
- You can no longer auto-move while jumping. Doing so previously resulted in some very strange-looking animations.
- Fixed weird animation bug when trying to do certain things while sitting or kneeling.
- Failure to interact with something now returns the player to idle stance.
- Fixed bug with Thentree armor causing weird shadows on male characters.
- Mage Armor is now more polished, a bit darker, and has glowier gems
- Fixed bug that would cause a dancing pig's mud to stick around forever.
- Fixed bug where mounting while dancing would continue some dancing effects.
- Improved texture for Spring Fairy armor.
- Fixed face cam for Pigeons.
Other Bug Fixes & Tweaks
- Some legacy equipment that should have been Mastercrafted wasn't. Those items should be fixed now.
- When you un-legacy equipment by pulling an invalid power off of it at the transmutation table, the legacy and broken state of that equipment is now properly updated.
- Fixed bug allowing recipe items to be summoned from anywhere.
- Updated Shadow Feint tooltip to display the correct AOE distance for blinking back to position.
- Phrenology-based Mentalism & Psychology bonuses to critical chance now properly affect heals.
- Improved logic related to channeling abilities; this should hopefully fix stuck-in-channel bugs.
- Modified Mutation Injection ability descriptions to make it a bit clearer how they work.
- Lycanthropy ability "Become Wolf": the skill check to disable wolf mode is no longer downleveled when your combat skills are downleveled.
- Newly learned abilities, Wild Endurance, & First Aid should now correctly auto-rerank.
- Dying by falling through the world now shows a special button in the death window, "Teleport to Last-Touched Ground", which teleports your dead body to the last ground you were standing on. While this isn't an ideal solution, it should allow you to be revived in party situations
- Fixed bug causing skeleton warrior pets to repeatedly retreat a short distance when fighting something.
- Astounding Cloth Shirt (Max-Enchanted) and Camouflaged Astounding Shirt (Max-Enchanted) recipes now require the correct ingredients.
- Pressing spacebar while in an animal-mount form will no longer play the horse neighing sound.
- Fixed typo in Evasion Boots (Enchanted) recipes.
- Changed icon color for Acid Bomb to more of an acid-y color (and match the new VFX).
- Acid Boost Potion recipe now correctly states that it lasts 30 minutes.
- Fixed typo in quest "Holistic Wellness: Yarn" (twelve -> twenty-four balls of yarn).
- The tsys mod, "Psi Health Wave grants all targets +X Mitigation vs. Electricity, Acid, and Nature attacks for 20 seconds" now displays in the effects list when it's active.
- Fixed Dwarven Fixer causing screen brightness (instead of hiding it).
- "Toxic Flesh" tooltip now takes poison damage buffs into account.
- Using Objective Orienteering on "The Borghild Lead" quest now leads to the correct area.
- Fixed typo in quest "The Borghild Lead" (south -> north).
- Harry now hints more strongly that his Minor Panacea will not cure ALL curses, just a specific one.
- The quest "Goblin Avenger: Ratkin!!!" now correct gives 10 Xedrite.
- JSON users: Note that in skills.json's level-up rewards, "Ability" can now refer to a single ability or an array of abilities.
2023.06.03 05:19 matthewkatzeff Ex-trans teens voice support for state bill to ban sex change surgeries for minors: 'Severe and irreversible'
 | submitted by matthewkatzeff to u/matthewkatzeff [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/cpow9ys01q3b1.jpg?width=749&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cb2d2e3a580f6a7171ac54528450691ac2fd731 Straight from the horses' mouths... So children are deemed to lack the emotional maturity and as such are not allowed to vote, drive, purchase a gun, drop out of school, join our military, gamble, drink, get married, live on their own, buy cigarettes, get a tattoo or make other health care decisions on their own behalf. And if an adult has any sort of sexual relations with a child, regardless of consent, it is (quite rightfully) legally considered to be rape, as the child is not deemed to have the emotional maturity to truly understand what is or is not his/her best interests, nor what he/she really wants or is feeling, and can easily be manipulated – or even confused – into providing consent. And now the dems are even pushing legislation by which minors found guilty of violent crimes won’t serve jail time because they did not yet have the emotional maturity to decide what is right or wrong, and yet somehow they are capable of making a massive and permanent decision to physically reassign their gender??? And yet Biden and the dems want to allow children – even those as young as 4 or 5 – to make what will likely be the biggest decision of their life to determine on their own that they wish to transition genders – WITHOUT THEIR PARENTS’ CONSENT OR EVEN KNOWLEDGE. To even consider allowing them to make such a major life-altering decision on their own – a decision which will be PERMANENT and a decision which will likely have the biggest impact on the rest of their life relative to any other decision they will ever make – is nothing short of child abuse. Growing up, children face all sorts of changes (biologically, hormonally and otherwise), all sorts of confusion and exposure to all sorts of new (and often confusing) things, particularly in this digital age in which we find ourselves, in which access to anything and any sort of information can be found in seconds. And when they begin puberty, such feelings increase exponentially. Questions, confusions and even desires to experiment arise, but by no means are they necessarily permanent and certainly no basis to make such a life-altering decision, regardless as to how “real” they may feel at the time, as they will invariably change again many times before they reach the age of 18. Even SCIENCE proves that children are not yet capable, mature or developed enough to make such a massive and life altering decision. The amygdala is the part of the brain which enables people to make such decision, including risk assessment, and this part of the brain is not developed nor matured until at least the age of 18. So to allow a child to make such a massive life-altering decision – possibly a decision that will have the greatest impact on his/her life – greater than any other decision he/she may ever make – and denying the parents’ involvement in that process – and the requirement of their consent – is nothing short of abuse – abuse of the children – and abuse of the parents’ rights to care for their children. THIS IS HEINOUS AND NOT ACCEPTABLE – to abuse and manipulate children – and literally destroy the futures - JUST so that the dems can get votes. Yet it tells you everything you need to know about the dems. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-trans-teens-voice-support-state-bill-ban-sex-change-surgeries-minors-severe-irreversible |
2023.06.03 04:13 KipBong-un Avenged Sevenfold's Life Is But a Dream… review
Life is but a dream? more like LIFE IS BUT A FUCKING NIGHTMARE!
I Grew up with Avenged Sevenfold in my teenage years, they were one of the first Metal bands i actively began listening to, and Nightmare, to this day, is still one of the best Metal album to me
Come Hail to the King and these guys shamelessly ripped off Alice in Chain, The Entire song of "Sad but True" by Metallica, thinking we won't fucking notice it, but fine, because after that they gave us the Stage which was sort of a flop, but at the same time, a return to form, and with a concept that actually aged really fucking well, I won’t pretend to be a genius when it comes to reviewing music, or any kind of Media in general, I don’t use fancy wordings like someone from fucking Loudwire, or Metalc(s)ucks, or even fucking Metal Injection, and quite frankly, I think my reviews suck, I don’t have much faith in them, I just type whatever comes to my mind, but once in a blue fucking moon, a record either manages to take me off my feet with how good they are, or, how fucking atrocious and disastrous it is, so come the new Avenged Sevenfold album and its quite literally the worst fucking album they could have ever made, this makes Hail to the King an actual 10/10 in comparison, there is not a single positive I could write about this shit, it would be like picking up a dog turd from the street and tossing it in the garbage, at the end of the day, you did something for the environment, but at the cost of dirtying your hand with literal shit.
There is 5 factors I take into account when im deciding if an album is worthy of a certain score, and the list is as follows: Vocals, Musicianship, Production, Lyrics, and lastly Instruments.
Let’s start with the Vocals, because oh my fucking god it’s nails on a chalkboard, it’s like someone is actively trying to brainfuck me through my earhole with a rusty and molded Drill, I’d rather walk on fucking legos for the rest of my life than dealing with this fucking vocals, whatever the hell M Shadows is trying to do in this shit is NOT working, the opening track has some really ass tier lyrics (which I will get to later) and M Shadows does the wimpiest, Shittiest, tired, nasally and processed screams I probably ever fucking heard, this makes Danzig in his current time look actually fucking amazing in comparison, this makes Vince Fucking Neil sounds almost audible, Almost is the keyword here, because the vocals gets progressively way fucking worse, M Shadows cannot hit any fucking right notes, nor the highs, nor the lows, no in between, nothing, they all sound forced and as if someone was kicked in the balls and let out the most desperate cry but with the voice of Lisa Simpson, And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE SINGLES! M Shadows’ vocals gets progressively way fucking worse the more this album drags out its 53 minute runtime, and it doesn’t fucking help that M Shadows actually admitted in an interview that he and everyone else was high out of their fucking mind and decided “you know what? We should make the shittiest Mr. Bungle Rip-off we can with Nobody and We Love You!” Nobody is one hell of a fucking title because I wish Nobody had to fucking write this tired, phoned in, ‘we had to make music to please our record label’ type of fucking music, this is a band actively pissing off whatever goodwill they had, and that’s not even mentioning the Fucking NFT and “Deathbat club” shit they have going on, that is a topic for a completely different discussion, going back, Nobody was the first single, and the beginning sounds like someone shoved up a tuba in Synyster Gates’ asshole and let out the loudest fart he could possibly do, the entire fucking song sounds disjointed and as if it was recorded by a fucking cover band, not a multi-platinum selling Metal band who SHOULD have at this point DECADES of experience, like Jesus fucking Christ in a Maid Outfit HOW THE FUCK DOES SOMEONE FUCK UP SOMETHING THIS HARD?! It’s fascinates me because this band made one of the best album in the form of Nightmare, then they actively fucking made the middest music imaginable, Nobody sounds like it’s walking with fucking crutches, Nobody is so fucking bad that every fucking fiber of my body is actively telling me to stop listening to this, listen to a better band, but because I am a fucking Masochist I suffered through it, it doesn’t get better, oh NO IT DOESN’T, skipping to We Love You, we have the Mr. Bungle rip-off that we all fucking loved when it came out (if you couldn’t tell already, that last part was pure fucking sass and sarcasm) whoever the fuck thought this was a good fucking single or a song in general to release should be fucking forced to listen to Psychosinner for the rest of their life, M Shadows tries to do some kind of spoken section mid verse with More Power More Money More Whatever the fuck the word of the day is, and it just sounds way too fucking pandering, and that is coming from someone who suffered through Skillet’s discography at one point, if it wasn’t for that I would legit thought its a fucking piss-take on Christian Rock and Metal as a whole, all it needed was some vague “we love god blah blah blah” so yeah, the Spoken word section thing did NOT work at all, and you know what else doesn’t work? DRAGGING YOUR FUCKING SONGS OUT TO 5+ MINUTES! Half the fucking album drags on for WAY TOO FUCKING LONG, and what DOESN’T HELP is the fact that nothing on this album sounds like it was written with the mind of an album, this sounds like a demo a fucking no name band shits out on Bandcamp or Soundcloud, but im getting side tracked, We Love You is a fucking shitshow of epic proportions, whoever the fuck thought they should use Autotune to make M Shadows sound robotic should be fired from their job, I’m dead fucking serious, and good to know they fucking play fucking FORTNITE with the amazing lyrics like “More Sex More Pill Build Tall Build Higher Build Wider” just for that alone, Fuck You A7X, I despise Shitnite with all my fucking passion and you making reference to that, even unintentionally pisses me off to no end, I’m already dragging the point of the vocals sounding shit, so I won’t even bother torturing you guys with this anymore, instead, let me torture you with the fact that EVERYBODY SOUNDS COMPLETELY FUCKING WASTED HERE! Seriously where the fuck is the cool solos from Synyster?! Where is the kickass and in your face drumming?! Why does everything sound so compressed?! Why does this fucking album sounds like they ran out of ideas so they tried to do the shittiest of rip-off they can think about from bands that are popular these days?! AND WHY, THE FUCK, DOES THIS ALBUM SOUND LIKE IT’S BEING PUT THROUGH A FUCKING GUILLOTINE ?! Everything that defined this band is long fucking gone, nothing is left here, just a husk, a broken down shell of a band that used to write cool stuff, even if you never liked their music, you could always respect them for putting in the work, but here? The entire musicianship is down the drain, this sounds like a band on its deathbed, the entire album is just not fun to listen to, at least there is always some redeeming quality in a bad album, or a fucking excuse why it turned out to be shit, but “Ohh nooooo M Shadows blew his vocals, the Horror!” guess who else fucking blew his vocals out? Matt Heafy from Trivium, and what did he do? Despite not being able to Scream for a while, he made Silence in the Snow in response, where he showcased his rather nice singing ability, is that album perfect? No, but it is an example that despite an album being average, the singing can be a redeeming quality of that, so I will not, under any fucking circumstances will take “BuT He BlEw HiS vOcAls OuT hE cAn’t sInG lIke He UsEd To AnYmOrE!!!” As a fucking excuse when Matt Heafy and a lot of other Metal Vocalist fucking made the best out of a bad situation and still managed to make decent recordings, also, you know what else doesn’t work on this shitshow of an album? MIXING COUNTRY WITH FUCKING METAL! It, LEGIT angers me to hear country in Metal because guess what, most of the country songs are hot garbage, all me an elitist all you want but Country nowadays sucks Donkey Balls, Maybe I’m just not looking at the right direction or the right artist but whatever because IM NOT DONE TEARING THIS FUCKING ALBUM 12 ASSHOLES YET! And this song is the longest on the entire album, clocking in at 7 and a half minutes, I am a fan of long songs, if they are done right,oh and please excuse me while I fucking bash my head into the nearest wall I can find because MY FUCKING GOD WHOEVER PUT SIREN NOISES IN THE SONG LEGITIMATELY HATES PEOPLES BECAUSE THIS IS FUCKING EARRAPE PERSONIFIED, Like my fucking God, Lucifer himself is not this fucking Satanic to try and piss humans off in Hell, Cosmic, which is the title of the song, can Fuck Right off Sideways in a Fucking Fake Taxi Casting and then blow whatever the fucking dick it can find because this song literally facefucks me with how bad this shit is, and that’s not even touching on how completely BORING the next track is, I damn near fell asleep from it when I first listened to it, it was the closest I probably got to music actually putting me to sleep from how BORING It is, and my god I already touched on the production but can I just ask why does everything sound like its AI generated? Oh waaaaait, I know now, BECAUSE AVENGED SEVENFOLD BECAME NFT BROS! AND FUCKING SCAMMING DICKHEADS! So no wonder they want to try and cater to the lowest common fucking denominator by putting out a song that makes all the NFT Bros and shills and rich companies cum from the cash they see in their eyes, also can I just ask, how do you make PIANO sound so horribly fucking bad? It’s like someone just got a cheap synth and tried to mimic how Piano sounds like but with the worst settings possible, so that’s the vocals, musicianship, and the fucking production in a nutshell, BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE! If that wasn’t enough, M Shadows does his worst possible fucking T-Pain impression on the song Easier! Add that to the list of why the fuck does this exist: Music Edition. Anyways, that was the only noteworthy thing I could possibly point out in that song, aside from that its generic Imagine Dragons-Core, but now we have a trilogy of songs in the from of G. O, And D...wait you expected me to give them the full song title with the brackets? Sweet summer child, you are not on a fucking Simple Plan fan Group page, Anyways, G is a fucking Voivod rip-off, in the worst possible way, Did they seriously fucking think im not gonna notice that? Its a literal fucking Voivod rip-off, and on the topic of Voivod, can I ask what the fuck this shit has to do with Avant-Garde? Are peoples really just gonna put Avant-Garde in every single fucking disjointed shitty mess a fucking artist does? By that same logic Kanye West is Avant-Garde, Machine Gun Kelly is Avant-Garde, even fucking Lil Pump is Avant-Garde by this fucking logic, this is the furthest from fucking Avant-Garde, it’s a few peoples writing the shittiest of fucking “prog metal” if you can even call it that, and then selling it as some revolutionary sound while they forget that IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR NEARLY 2 DECADES! MY FUCKING GOD THIS ALBUM FINDS MORE WAYS TO JUST PISS ME THE FUCK OFF!!! also, even more spoken words, fucking kill me, but since we are nearing the end of this fucking album how about we talk about just how shitty the lyrics are? I already touched on how fucking horrible We Love You’s lyrics are, but it’s even worse on some songs, like Cosmic, with such gems like “Pain, it founds its way back in, until we meet again, into that good night” or how about Beautiful Morning? Where it literally says “Help me to hear and hear me to save And save me before I've gone too far Let me inhale my passage to hell While slowly exhaling the scar” wow, such insightful lyrics, this is the worst fucking cliched and generic Im14andthisisdeep type of lyrics I ever saw, then we get this fucking amazing words on the opening track “Game Over” that is literally just a word vomit, don’t believe me? Then look up to the fucking lyrics yourself, half the song is just M Shadows burping out whatever the fucking word of the day is, “Open, blurry, nurture, loving Crawling, walking, fleeting, glory Welcome, brother, stranger, bloody Ally, teacher, recess, buddy Secret, toothless, fairy, pillow Money, kissing, nervous, hero Warmly ordinary, Changes, hormones, high school, threesome Roll call, study, license, freedom Novice, flirting, first time, lover Party, fighting, wasted, summer Questions, doubtful, wedding, family Happy, ever, after, dead end Daily iteration” This is literally half the fucking song! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HOW DOES A GROWN FUCKING MAN COME UP WITH SUCH A SHITTY SONG LIKE THIS?! “Give me a delete button, Delete!” yeah I WISH I COULD FUCKING DELETE THIS FROM EXISTENCE! And you know you have to truly run out of idea, WHEN YOU HAVE TO USE GUILE’S THEME FROM STREET FIGHTER AS A SAMPLE IN YOUR FUCKING SONG CALLED ORDINARY!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND AVENGED SEVENFOLD?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WON’T FUCKING NOTICE IT?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK FOR A FRACTION OF A FUCKING SECOND THAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH SUCH A BLATANT PLAGIARISM ?! If I was Capcom I would fucking sue. Plain and fucking simple, and with the album almost over and my rage ran out...mostly, how about we talk about the fucking instrument? Oh wait, there is nothing to talk about there, because the Instruments are fucking dead on this album, and when it’s not dead it’s fucking pretentious like all hell, trying to sound triumphant, sounding motivating, but only being a generic fucking Frank Sinatra rip-off by the second to last track Death, which is a fitting title considering this band is fucking Dead to me, the entire mixing is all over the place and nothing blends in together, nothing feels like it belongs there, nothing on this fucking album is made competently, but what the fuck did I expected from a band that tried to cash in on the pyramid scheme that is fucking NFTs? The Fucking Rev, is rolling in his grave from seeing what this band turned out to be, you made Bad Music and that much is fucking clear at this point, I don’t care if I look like an asshole saying this but fuck it, Avenged Sevenfold DIED with Jimmy Sullivan, The Stage was a simple fucking fluke, that aged about as well as a fucking Big Mac left in the fridge for 20 years, and im not even gonna fucking mention the instrumental closing track because MY PATIENCE HAS RAN OUT! And quite frankly, Fuck that Beethoven wanna-be fucking track, it can suck my dick for all I care.
In conclusion: THERE IS NO FUCKING CONCLUSION! THIS SHIT FUCKING SUCKS HORSE DICK! Life is but a dream? MORE LIKE LIFE IS BUT A FUCKING NIGHTMARE! Did they seriously think they can get away with this shit AGAIN?! IT DIDN’T WORK WHEN THEY FUCKING RIPPED OFF METALLICA AND WHAT NOT ON HAIL TO THE KING! AND IT SURE AS HELL DIDN’T WORK TO BE A FUCKING MR. BUNGLE T-PAIN VOIVOD CAPCOM WANNA-BE JACKASSES! Avant-Garde? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE AVANT-GARDE!? THIS IS THE FURTHEST THING OF AVANT-GARDE! JUST BECAUSE IT’S A FUCKING MESS IT DOESN’T MEAN ITS FUCKING AVANT-GARDE JUST IN THE SAME VEIN AS NOTHING IS FUCKING NINTENDO-CORE JUST BECAUSE IT HAS MIDI OR 8-BIT TUNES IN THEM! Game Over is a fucking AMAZING title because I wish this fucking album would have ended right on that stupid song, Mattel is also a fitting title because this is a fucking band trying to make their band a fucking brand in the same way Kiss or Metallica is a fucking brand at this point, I Wish Nobody would had to go through the fucking suffering that this shit is, when did peoples fucking standards went down this much?! I cannot for the life of me understand how the hell does this album have such a high as fuck rating when FUCKING METALLICA’S BLACK ALBUM IS RATED LOWER THAN THIS SHIT!!! And can I just ask who the fuck does this band love so much? Me?? Who the fuck is me?! WHO THE FUCK IS WE?! I don’t see anyone I know fucking acting like rabid dogs over something as shitty as this, I rather drink my own piss and cut my veins before I ever fucking classify myself as we or me or you by this band, If I could I would fucking steal a SpaceX rocket and send this fucking album into Cosmic with the hopes of this shit melting into the sun forever, I wanted to have a Beautiful Morning but Avenged Dickfold decided to fucking ruin it for me, it would be so much fucking Easier to just be lobotomized instead of paying any fucking attention to this band anymore, but since they are mainstream, here I am bitching and moaning like a fucking bitch in heat for a monkey to fuck, hopefully that fuck would be much better and it actually hits the G Spot instead of huffing and puffing like a pussy from getting tired after 2 minutes, I Have a new found Respect for Ordinary Man By Ozzy because while its not his best material, as well as even his latest album, I can respect him for still making the music he loves instead of phoning it in like Avenging Sevenfucktards did while also plagiarizing the shit out of everything, this band is fucking Dead to me, Death must have swung at them when they had the guts to make Hail to the King, I wish this was really just a dream, then again, Life is NOTHING But a fucking dream because DEAR FUCKING GOD I WISH THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE WHERE I LIVE AND THIS ALBUM DOESN’T EXIST THERE! I WISH I COULD FUCKING AVENGE THIS ALBUM IN SEVEN WAYS AND THEN JUST FOLD IT UP LIKE A NEWSPAPER SO MY DOG CAN TAKE A GIGANTIC FUCKING SHIT ON IT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE LESS FUCKING DISGUSTING THAN TOUCHING THIS PIECE OF DIARRHEA WITH A 10 FOOT POLE, FUCK M SHADOWS, FUCK SYNYSTER GATES, FUCK EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON THIS ALBUM, FUCK YOU, FUCK THE CRITICS FOR ALLOWING THIS SHIT IN MUSIC, FUCK THE NFT BROS FUCK THE FANS FOR HAVING SUCH A LOW STANDARD TO HAVE THE GUTS AND RATE THIS HIGHER THAN THE FUCKING BLACK ALBUM! BY MOTHER FUCKING METALLICA!!! And last but not least, FUCK, THIS, ALBUM! I RATHER HAVE AN EAGLE CLAW MY EYES OUT, I RATHER HAVE SOMEONE STICK THEIR DICKS IN MY EARHOLES BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE LESS OF A BRAINFUCK THAN THIS SHITTY EXCUSE OF A MUSIC! NOT A SINGLE FUCKING PIECE OF ALCOHOL COULD NUMB THE PAIN I FEEL AFTER LISTENING TO THIS SHIT INDUCING ASS LICKING BALLS SUCKING DICK CHEWING CUMSTAIN OF A FUCKING PUSSY OF AN ALBUM LISTEN TO LITERALLY ANY OTHER ALBUM! LIKE I DON’T KNOW……..Terrasite? Yeah that one is a good album, listen to that one instead, as for this album? It’s the worst album of NOT JUST THIS YEAR! BUT THIS DECADE!
0 OUT OF FUCKING 5
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I Grew up with Avenged Sevenfold in my teenage years, they were one of the first Metal bands i actively began listening to, and Nightmare, to this day, is still one of the best Metal album to me
Come Hail to the King and these guys shamelessly ripped off Alice in Chain, The Entire song of "Sad but True" by Metallica, thinking we won't fucking notice it, but fine, because after that they gave us the Stage which was sort of a flop, but at the same time, a return to form, and with a concept that actually aged really fucking well, I won’t pretend to be a genius when it comes to reviewing music, or any kind of Media in general, I don’t use fancy wordings like someone from fucking Loudwire, or Metalc(s)ucks, or even fucking Metal Injection, and quite frankly, I think my reviews suck, I don’t have much faith in them, I just type whatever comes to my mind, but once in a blue fucking moon, a record either manages to take me off my feet with how good they are, or, how fucking atrocious and disastrous it is, so come the new Avenged Sevenfold album and its quite literally the worst fucking album they could have ever made, this makes Hail to the King an actual 10/10 in comparison, there is not a single positive I could write about this shit, it would be like picking up a dog turd from the street and tossing it in the garbage, at the end of the day, you did something for the environment, but at the cost of dirtying your hand with literal shit.
There is 5 factors I take into account when im deciding if an album is worthy of a certain score, and the list is as follows: Vocals, Musicianship, Production, Lyrics, and lastly Instruments.
Let’s start with the Vocals, because oh my fucking god it’s nails on a chalkboard, it’s like someone is actively trying to brainfuck me through my earhole with a rusty and molded Drill, I’d rather walk on fucking legos for the rest of my life than dealing with this fucking vocals, whatever the hell M Shadows is trying to do in this shit is NOT working, the opening track has some really ass tier lyrics (which I will get to later) and M Shadows does the wimpiest, Shittiest, tired, nasally and processed screams I probably ever fucking heard, this makes Danzig in his current time look actually fucking amazing in comparison, this makes Vince Fucking Neil sounds almost audible, Almost is the keyword here, because the vocals gets progressively way fucking worse, M Shadows cannot hit any fucking right notes, nor the highs, nor the lows, no in between, nothing, they all sound forced and as if someone was kicked in the balls and let out the most desperate cry but with the voice of Lisa Simpson, And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE SINGLES! M Shadows’ vocals gets progressively way fucking worse the more this album drags out its 53 minute runtime, and it doesn’t fucking help that M Shadows actually admitted in an interview that he and everyone else was high out of their fucking mind and decided “you know what? We should make the shittiest Mr. Bungle Rip-off we can with Nobody and We Love You!” Nobody is one hell of a fucking title because I wish Nobody had to fucking write this tired, phoned in, ‘we had to make music to please our record label’ type of fucking music, this is a band actively pissing off whatever goodwill they had, and that’s not even mentioning the Fucking NFT and “Deathbat club” shit they have going on, that is a topic for a completely different discussion, going back, Nobody was the first single, and the beginning sounds like someone shoved up a tuba in Synyster Gates’ asshole and let out the loudest fart he could possibly do, the entire fucking song sounds disjointed and as if it was recorded by a fucking cover band, not a multi-platinum selling Metal band who SHOULD have at this point DECADES of experience, like Jesus fucking Christ in a Maid Outfit HOW THE FUCK DOES SOMEONE FUCK UP SOMETHING THIS HARD?! It’s fascinates me because this band made one of the best album in the form of Nightmare, then they actively fucking made the middest music imaginable, Nobody sounds like it’s walking with fucking crutches, Nobody is so fucking bad that every fucking fiber of my body is actively telling me to stop listening to this, listen to a better band, but because I am a fucking Masochist I suffered through it, it doesn’t get better, oh NO IT DOESN’T, skipping to We Love You, we have the Mr. Bungle rip-off that we all fucking loved when it came out (if you couldn’t tell already, that last part was pure fucking sass and sarcasm) whoever the fuck thought this was a good fucking single or a song in general to release should be fucking forced to listen to Psychosinner for the rest of their life, M Shadows tries to do some kind of spoken section mid verse with More Power More Money More Whatever the fuck the word of the day is, and it just sounds way too fucking pandering, and that is coming from someone who suffered through Skillet’s discography at one point, if it wasn’t for that I would legit thought its a fucking piss-take on Christian Rock and Metal as a whole, all it needed was some vague “we love god blah blah blah” so yeah, the Spoken word section thing did NOT work at all, and you know what else doesn’t work? DRAGGING YOUR FUCKING SONGS OUT TO 5+ MINUTES! Half the fucking album drags on for WAY TOO FUCKING LONG, and what DOESN’T HELP is the fact that nothing on this album sounds like it was written with the mind of an album, this sounds like a demo a fucking no name band shits out on Bandcamp or Soundcloud, but im getting side tracked, We Love You is a fucking shitshow of epic proportions, whoever the fuck thought they should use Autotune to make M Shadows sound robotic should be fired from their job, I’m dead fucking serious, and good to know they fucking play fucking FORTNITE with the amazing lyrics like “More Sex More Pill Build Tall Build Higher Build Wider” just for that alone, Fuck You A7X, I despise Shitnite with all my fucking passion and you making reference to that, even unintentionally pisses me off to no end, I’m already dragging the point of the vocals sounding shit, so I won’t even bother torturing you guys with this anymore, instead, let me torture you with the fact that EVERYBODY SOUNDS COMPLETELY FUCKING WASTED HERE! Seriously where the fuck is the cool solos from Synyster?! Where is the kickass and in your face drumming?! Why does everything sound so compressed?! Why does this fucking album sounds like they ran out of ideas so they tried to do the shittiest of rip-off they can think about from bands that are popular these days?! AND WHY, THE FUCK, DOES THIS ALBUM SOUND LIKE IT’S BEING PUT THROUGH A FUCKING GUILLOTINE ?! Everything that defined this band is long fucking gone, nothing is left here, just a husk, a broken down shell of a band that used to write cool stuff, even if you never liked their music, you could always respect them for putting in the work, but here? The entire musicianship is down the drain, this sounds like a band on its deathbed, the entire album is just not fun to listen to, at least there is always some redeeming quality in a bad album, or a fucking excuse why it turned out to be shit, but “Ohh nooooo M Shadows blew his vocals, the Horror!” guess who else fucking blew his vocals out? Matt Heafy from Trivium, and what did he do? Despite not being able to Scream for a while, he made Silence in the Snow in response, where he showcased his rather nice singing ability, is that album perfect? No, but it is an example that despite an album being average, the singing can be a redeeming quality of that, so I will not, under any fucking circumstances will take “BuT He BlEw HiS vOcAls OuT hE cAn’t sInG lIke He UsEd To AnYmOrE!!!” As a fucking excuse when Matt Heafy and a lot of other Metal Vocalist fucking made the best out of a bad situation and still managed to make decent recordings, also, you know what else doesn’t work on this shitshow of an album? MIXING COUNTRY WITH FUCKING METAL! It, LEGIT angers me to hear country in Metal because guess what, most of the country songs are hot garbage, all me an elitist all you want but Country nowadays sucks Donkey Balls, Maybe I’m just not looking at the right direction or the right artist but whatever because IM NOT DONE TEARING THIS FUCKING ALBUM 12 ASSHOLES YET! And this song is the longest on the entire album, clocking in at 7 and a half minutes, I am a fan of long songs, if they are done right,oh and please excuse me while I fucking bash my head into the nearest wall I can find because MY FUCKING GOD WHOEVER PUT SIREN NOISES IN THE SONG LEGITIMATELY HATES PEOPLES BECAUSE THIS IS FUCKING EARRAPE PERSONIFIED, Like my fucking God, Lucifer himself is not this fucking Satanic to try and piss humans off in Hell, Cosmic, which is the title of the song, can Fuck Right off Sideways in a Fucking Fake Taxi Casting and then blow whatever the fucking dick it can find because this song literally facefucks me with how bad this shit is, and that’s not even touching on how completely BORING the next track is, I damn near fell asleep from it when I first listened to it, it was the closest I probably got to music actually putting me to sleep from how BORING It is, and my god I already touched on the production but can I just ask why does everything sound like its AI generated? Oh waaaaait, I know now, BECAUSE AVENGED SEVENFOLD BECAME NFT BROS! AND FUCKING SCAMMING DICKHEADS! So no wonder they want to try and cater to the lowest common fucking denominator by putting out a song that makes all the NFT Bros and shills and rich companies cum from the cash they see in their eyes, also can I just ask, how do you make PIANO sound so horribly fucking bad? It’s like someone just got a cheap synth and tried to mimic how Piano sounds like but with the worst settings possible, so that’s the vocals, musicianship, and the fucking production in a nutshell, BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE! If that wasn’t enough, M Shadows does his worst possible fucking T-Pain impression on the song Easier! Add that to the list of why the fuck does this exist: Music Edition. Anyways, that was the only noteworthy thing I could possibly point out in that song, aside from that its generic Imagine Dragons-Core, but now we have a trilogy of songs in the from of G. O, And D...wait you expected me to give them the full song title with the brackets? Sweet summer child, you are not on a fucking Simple Plan fan Group page, Anyways, G is a fucking Voivod rip-off, in the worst possible way, Did they seriously fucking think im not gonna notice that? Its a literal fucking Voivod rip-off, and on the topic of Voivod, can I ask what the fuck this shit has to do with Avant-Garde? Are peoples really just gonna put Avant-Garde in every single fucking disjointed shitty mess a fucking artist does? By that same logic Kanye West is Avant-Garde, Machine Gun Kelly is Avant-Garde, even fucking Lil Pump is Avant-Garde by this fucking logic, this is the furthest from fucking Avant-Garde, it’s a few peoples writing the shittiest of fucking “prog metal” if you can even call it that, and then selling it as some revolutionary sound while they forget that IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT HAS BEEN DOING THAT FOR NEARLY 2 DECADES! MY FUCKING GOD THIS ALBUM FINDS MORE WAYS TO JUST PISS ME THE FUCK OFF!!! also, even more spoken words, fucking kill me, but since we are nearing the end of this fucking album how about we talk about just how shitty the lyrics are? I already touched on how fucking horrible We Love You’s lyrics are, but it’s even worse on some songs, like Cosmic, with such gems like “Pain, it founds its way back in, until we meet again, into that good night” or how about Beautiful Morning? Where it literally says “Help me to hear and hear me to save And save me before I've gone too far Let me inhale my passage to hell While slowly exhaling the scar” wow, such insightful lyrics, this is the worst fucking cliched and generic Im14andthisisdeep type of lyrics I ever saw, then we get this fucking amazing words on the opening track “Game Over” that is literally just a word vomit, don’t believe me? Then look up to the fucking lyrics yourself, half the song is just M Shadows burping out whatever the fucking word of the day is, “Open, blurry, nurture, loving Crawling, walking, fleeting, glory Welcome, brother, stranger, bloody Ally, teacher, recess, buddy Secret, toothless, fairy, pillow Money, kissing, nervous, hero Warmly ordinary, Changes, hormones, high school, threesome Roll call, study, license, freedom Novice, flirting, first time, lover Party, fighting, wasted, summer Questions, doubtful, wedding, family Happy, ever, after, dead end Daily iteration” This is literally half the fucking song! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HOW DOES A GROWN FUCKING MAN COME UP WITH SUCH A SHITTY SONG LIKE THIS?! “Give me a delete button, Delete!” yeah I WISH I COULD FUCKING DELETE THIS FROM EXISTENCE! And you know you have to truly run out of idea, WHEN YOU HAVE TO USE GUILE’S THEME FROM STREET FIGHTER AS A SAMPLE IN YOUR FUCKING SONG CALLED ORDINARY!!! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND AVENGED SEVENFOLD?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK I WON’T FUCKING NOTICE IT?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY THINK FOR A FRACTION OF A FUCKING SECOND THAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH SUCH A BLATANT PLAGIARISM ?! If I was Capcom I would fucking sue. Plain and fucking simple, and with the album almost over and my rage ran out...mostly, how about we talk about the fucking instrument? Oh wait, there is nothing to talk about there, because the Instruments are fucking dead on this album, and when it’s not dead it’s fucking pretentious like all hell, trying to sound triumphant, sounding motivating, but only being a generic fucking Frank Sinatra rip-off by the second to last track Death, which is a fitting title considering this band is fucking Dead to me, the entire mixing is all over the place and nothing blends in together, nothing feels like it belongs there, nothing on this fucking album is made competently, but what the fuck did I expected from a band that tried to cash in on the pyramid scheme that is fucking NFTs? The Fucking Rev, is rolling in his grave from seeing what this band turned out to be, you made Bad Music and that much is fucking clear at this point, I don’t care if I look like an asshole saying this but fuck it, Avenged Sevenfold DIED with Jimmy Sullivan, The Stage was a simple fucking fluke, that aged about as well as a fucking Big Mac left in the fridge for 20 years, and im not even gonna fucking mention the instrumental closing track because MY PATIENCE HAS RAN OUT! And quite frankly, Fuck that Beethoven wanna-be fucking track, it can suck my dick for all I care.
In conclusion: THERE IS NO FUCKING CONCLUSION! THIS SHIT FUCKING SUCKS HORSE DICK! Life is but a dream? MORE LIKE LIFE IS BUT A FUCKING NIGHTMARE! Did they seriously think they can get away with this shit AGAIN?! IT DIDN’T WORK WHEN THEY FUCKING RIPPED OFF METALLICA AND WHAT NOT ON HAIL TO THE KING! AND IT SURE AS HELL DIDN’T WORK TO BE A FUCKING MR. BUNGLE T-PAIN VOIVOD CAPCOM WANNA-BE JACKASSES! Avant-Garde? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE AVANT-GARDE!? THIS IS THE FURTHEST THING OF AVANT-GARDE! JUST BECAUSE IT’S A FUCKING MESS IT DOESN’T MEAN ITS FUCKING AVANT-GARDE JUST IN THE SAME VEIN AS NOTHING IS FUCKING NINTENDO-CORE JUST BECAUSE IT HAS MIDI OR 8-BIT TUNES IN THEM! Game Over is a fucking AMAZING title because I wish this fucking album would have ended right on that stupid song, Mattel is also a fitting title because this is a fucking band trying to make their band a fucking brand in the same way Kiss or Metallica is a fucking brand at this point, I Wish Nobody would had to go through the fucking suffering that this shit is, when did peoples fucking standards went down this much?! I cannot for the life of me understand how the hell does this album have such a high as fuck rating when FUCKING METALLICA’S BLACK ALBUM IS RATED LOWER THAN THIS SHIT!!! And can I just ask who the fuck does this band love so much? Me?? Who the fuck is me?! WHO THE FUCK IS WE?! I don’t see anyone I know fucking acting like rabid dogs over something as shitty as this, I rather drink my own piss and cut my veins before I ever fucking classify myself as we or me or you by this band, If I could I would fucking steal a SpaceX rocket and send this fucking album into Cosmic with the hopes of this shit melting into the sun forever, I wanted to have a Beautiful Morning but Avenged Dickfold decided to fucking ruin it for me, it would be so much fucking Easier to just be lobotomized instead of paying any fucking attention to this band anymore, but since they are mainstream, here I am bitching and moaning like a fucking bitch in heat for a monkey to fuck, hopefully that fuck would be much better and it actually hits the G Spot instead of huffing and puffing like a pussy from getting tired after 2 minutes, I Have a new found Respect for Ordinary Man By Ozzy because while its not his best material, as well as even his latest album, I can respect him for still making the music he loves instead of phoning it in like Avenging Sevenfucktards did while also plagiarizing the shit out of everything, this band is fucking Dead to me, Death must have swung at them when they had the guts to make Hail to the King, I wish this was really just a dream, then again, Life is NOTHING But a fucking dream because DEAR FUCKING GOD I WISH THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE WHERE I LIVE AND THIS ALBUM DOESN’T EXIST THERE! I WISH I COULD FUCKING AVENGE THIS ALBUM IN SEVEN WAYS AND THEN JUST FOLD IT UP LIKE A NEWSPAPER SO MY DOG CAN TAKE A GIGANTIC FUCKING SHIT ON IT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE LESS FUCKING DISGUSTING THAN TOUCHING THIS PIECE OF DIARRHEA WITH A 10 FOOT POLE, FUCK M SHADOWS, FUCK SYNYSTER GATES, FUCK EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON THIS ALBUM, FUCK YOU, FUCK THE CRITICS FOR ALLOWING THIS SHIT IN MUSIC, FUCK THE NFT BROS FUCK THE FANS FOR HAVING SUCH A LOW STANDARD TO HAVE THE GUTS AND RATE THIS HIGHER THAN THE FUCKING BLACK ALBUM! BY MOTHER FUCKING METALLICA!!! And last but not least, FUCK, THIS, ALBUM! I RATHER HAVE AN EAGLE CLAW MY EYES OUT, I RATHER HAVE SOMEONE STICK THEIR DICKS IN MY EARHOLES BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE LESS OF A BRAINFUCK THAN THIS SHITTY EXCUSE OF A MUSIC! NOT A SINGLE FUCKING PIECE OF ALCOHOL COULD NUMB THE PAIN I FEEL AFTER LISTENING TO THIS SHIT INDUCING ASS LICKING BALLS SUCKING DICK CHEWING CUMSTAIN OF A FUCKING PUSSY OF AN ALBUM LISTEN TO LITERALLY ANY OTHER ALBUM! LIKE I DON’T KNOW……..Terrasite? Yeah that one is a good album, listen to that one instead, as for this album? It’s the worst album of NOT JUST THIS YEAR! BUT THIS DECADE!
0 OUT OF FUCKING 5
2023.06.03 03:58 invalid4545 Walker / Charbonnet what I think we get wrong
It seems like the common assumption is a close split with uncertainty around specific roles, third down and goal line. I think it’s more likely then we currently admit that one of the two gets a solid majority of all the work. From what my addled brain can remember, Carroll has leaned mostly on one running back. Yes Lynch was a monster, but I owned Penny, when both he and Carson were healthy, Penny was not startable. He was effective, but didn’t get enough work. We can say this was to preserve Penny’s health, but I think it’s more likely how Carroll likes to run. I expect the split to be similar to how it started last year with Penny/Walker around 2 to 1.
I think Carroll will play whoever he thinks is better. I think Walker should be favored for this year but is no lock long term. I don’t think both will be fantasy startable when both are healthy, and we won’t know for certain which one ends up with that role long term, until late in the year. I don’t think there is a win win here. I think you have to pick a horse and hope for the best.
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I think Carroll will play whoever he thinks is better. I think Walker should be favored for this year but is no lock long term. I don’t think both will be fantasy startable when both are healthy, and we won’t know for certain which one ends up with that role long term, until late in the year. I don’t think there is a win win here. I think you have to pick a horse and hope for the best.