#'killing people just creates more problems' not if you have an unlimited death note it doesnt. i just kill until the problems are gone

[crimeronan]

As a chronic migraine haver. We should get to kill with impunity always. In my opinion

thank you i agree. i kept trying to make a post about how many people i would absolutely kill with a death note over petty fandom disagreements and then was like nobody wants to see this. it's true though. i am self-aware enough to know that my position in the leftist revolution commune or whatever needs to be far FAR away from any justice or rehabilitation based stuff because i DO want to just kill everyone to solve all my problems.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Disneyland kills annual passes

The early Disney company had several near-death experiences, some due to exogenous shocks and some self-inflicted (bad labor practices, weird technology choices), and all through it, a power struggle between "Roy people" (finance) and "Walt people" (tech/art).

After WWII, the company was transformed, with Roy ascendant and financial discipline the order of the day. Walt - who struggled with depression - sought desperately for an escape from the company.

He came up with plans to outfit a train with traveling exhibits that he would drive around the country, putting thousands of miles between him and his brother.

Another plan called for Walt to build an ambitious model train system and transform his role in the company to showing people around his trains.

In 1953, Walt came up with the plan that stuck: a park called "Disneyland" that would be his own fiefdom, a commercial project that would justify the kinds of R&D and experimentation that Walt doted on and Roy looked on as high-risk, potentially ruinous follies.

There was only one problem: Roy wouldn't authorize the company to bankroll it, so Walt had to fly to New York (far from his brother) to court the Wall Street banks and ask them to foot the bill.

Walt worked with legendary artist Herb Ryman to create an eight-page prospectus with a gorgeous painting to accompany it, and had three copies typed up in the Disney company steno pool and he flew to New York with them.

Only one copy of that prospectus exists today. In 2013, it changed hands at auction, with the winning bid going to noted asshole Glenn Beck, who offered no plans to allow study or exhibition of it.

During that process, I came into possession of a high-resolution scan of that document. I made sure that the Imagineering archivist got a copy - they'd never seen it before - and deposited a long-term public archival copy with the Internet Archive.

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/05/20/disneylands-original-prospectus-revealed/

It's a strange and curious document, but one striking feature is that it conceptualizes Disneyland as a place you might go to not to ride any rides, but just to walk around and enjoy yourself, soaking in the atmosphere (and buy a tropical bird or fish) (no, really).

Reading that, I thought of Walt, with his anxieties and his fraught relationship with his workers and brother, the factionalism that divided his company and his longing for escape, and that iconic photo of Walt strolling through an empty castle, looking perfectly at peace.

From 1955-1982, Disneyland operated on a ticket system. You paid a low price for admission, and then paid for each ride using ticketbooks that rated the rides from A (boring) to E (main attraction) (the system ended due to competition from nearby Knott's Berry Farm).

That low-priced admission ticket meant that locals could easily afford to slip away to Disneyland, stroll the park, maybe buy some junk food or watch a parade, and go home again.

The advent of unlimited-ride admission created demand for annual passes, and discounts for kids and locals made DL into an after-school hangout. Early Disney message-boards raged with arguments over the Orange County goths who hung around Tomorrowland, smoking and glowering.

Annual passes grew and grew. When I first moved to LA in 2006 for a Fulbright chair at USC, I used to teach my classes then drive to Disneyland with my cheap LA resident's pass. I'd park, get a Fastpass for Space Mountain, ride the Haunted Mansion.

Then I'd write part of the novel I was working on in a quiet bench in New Orleans Square, ride Space Mountain once my Fastpass ripened, then I'd go home for dinner.

Annual Passes grew too successful, selling so well they crowded out vacationers on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

A series of price-hikes did not dampen Annual Pass sales. While repeated doublings of the price raised a lot of revenue, it also created a large cohort of troublesome customers who felt all that money entitled them to white-glove treatment.

Then came a suite of baroque tiers and restrictions on passes, with blackout dates - which made people entitled, confused and cranky.

Then came the pandemic...and the end of the Annual Pass program altogether.

https://www.micechat.com/279966-breaking-news-disneyland-annual-pass-program-ending/

There's lots of reasons that killing the Annual Pass makes sense, but one that's not immediately obvious is that DL is a "happy place" for a lot of people who struggle with the world, like Walt did. Most of us just find a moment of peace in a quiet corner of the park.

But some people exhibit pathological behavior. One family sewed their own Disneyland employee costumes and tried to entrap a ride attendant into an arranged marriage with their daughter!

Most of the problems generated by Annual Passholders aren't that extreme, of course.

But even the smaller problems grow in significance by dint of repetition: the mildly troublesome customer who comes *every day* and makes trouble can quickly grow more than mildly troublesome.

I understand the logic of killing the passes. But I can't help think of Walt, wanting an escape from a bad situation that he'd made worse through his own screw-ups, and then, incredibly, actually pulling it off.

A lot of us have been missing our various happy places since the lockdown, and Disney doubtless anticipates a massive rush when the vaccines have been distributed (they are tapped to be Southern California's largest distribution site).

It feels like someone at Disney thought about just how intense and freaked out some of those returning Annual Passholders were likely to be and decided that the costs (for employees and other visitors) of coping with that outweighed the benefits.

[redeemed-wren]

What up lads new Philza Lore dropped

Been thinking about this since it's been revealed that c!Phil is immortal, or at least centuries old. I like analysing things, and my brain has been chugging away analysing c!Phil since this new revelation and I finally found time to sit down and get my thoughts out.

Unless specified, I'll be talking about the character Philza from now on! Let's get into it. Putting a cut in because it gets long. Also most of this is gonna be from memory because it's getting late and I'm not digging through 4+ months of vods!

remind me to never use the new Beta posting layout it gave me a word limit and then yeeted like 800 words i hate it here lets see if i can remember what I wrote

I’ve moved a lot in my life. I think on average about one new city every four years. This has meant a lot of goodbyes, a lot of meeting new people and breaking into new circles. When this new information was revealed, I instantly felt things click - I could relate to Phil suddenly. 

Being centuries-old would create similar emotions, I think. Constantly being around people you know you will outlive, constantly finding yourself in new circles and groups. It takes a toll. 

Being centuries old effects how Phil views relationships, people and countries.

Because I’ve moved a lot, I’ve noticed that I’m starting to get the attitude of ‘I can’t be bothered.’ I can’t be bothered going out of my way to meet new people, to make new friends I’m likely to move away from in a few years. 

I’d imagine Phil would feel much the same way. Making close connections to people is impossible for him, really. He knows he’s going to outlive those around him and so the effort to put into growing relationships seems pointless. 

I think this is most seen in his and Wilbur’s relationship. Wilbur clearly wants his attention - his pride - and clearly hasn’t gotten it to the extent he wants. (“I wonder if Phil would be proud of me” comes to mind. Plus I’m sure there’s something there with his relationship with Fundy and that cycle of bad parenting. And yes, it likely contributed to his spiral into madness, but this post is about Phil, not Wilbur.) But from Phil’s perspective, he knows Wilbur isn’t going to live as long as he is. 

It explains why he’s so quick to kill Wilbur as well. Wilbur is too far gone, and Phil makes the decision to kill him before he does more harm. He’s long ago accepted the fact that his son will die before him, and so he is able to kill him. 

Likewise, his relationship with Tommy reflects this. He doesn’t reach out to Tommy because there’s no point in making a new bond with someone who he will outlive. (especially with Wilbur’s death so fresh). However, he does make it clear that if Tommy reached out to him, he would have answered - more on that later. 

His age also means he’s always looking at the big picture. He’s likely seen countless countries and empires and kingdoms rise and fall and he knows that they’re all temporary. He doesn’t see the importance in them like those who live and die within the lifespan of a nation. 

He doesn’t see the small details. He doesn’t understand why Ghostbur is so upset about a simple sheep’s death - one with unlimited lives as well. In his mind, it’s just an animal. In Ghostbur’s mind, Friend is a friend, an important small thing. Phil is so used to moving on from things, he doesn’t understand the importance of pets and nations and a home. 

This is all temporary in his mind, and lives are more important to him than a country. L’manberg was corrupting people (Tubbo, quite possible Wilbur in his mind) and thus it didn’t serve its purpose and needed to go before it hurt more people. (plus I wonder if there were some underlying anger and frustration towards L’manberg for the loss of his wings. It’s basically canon now (everyone say thank you Sadist!) that Phil’s wings were damaged during the explosion, and I would imagine for someone so old, losing limbs like wings and being grounded would be a shock and some of that may have been projected onto L’manberg)

(I also want to talk briefly about his and Techno’s relationship. While we haven’t had any canon confirmation, I don’t think Techno is fully mortal and it makes sense for Phil to gravitate towards other ancient beings. Plus my friend pointed out another theory in that Phil could be a patron of some kind for Techno, something Blood God related, I don’t know we need more information Techno please give us character lore I beg of you)

OKAY! I rewrote what I already had sometimes I hate Tumblr anyway onward let’s write this out before I pass out I’m tired. 

Phil is willing to create relationships - but on his terms.

I said Phil is distant and hesitate to create bonds with people but this isn’t necessarily true. I want to point out Fundy and Ranboo and talk about his interactions with them and then talk about Tommy. 

At the start of season two, Fundy, Ghostbur and Phil were really driving the lore. Phil seemed to be trying to bond with Fundy, and I think a lot of that likely had to do with guilt from what happened to Wilbur but there’s something deeper to it. He makes an effort to be there for Fundy and to help him.  

Likewise, he went out of his way to save Ranboo from lava (though the overlap for in character and ooc is large there, I think it still applies), and brought him home after Doomsday, saving him from his own mind. 

Phil seems himself as a benevolent being. He sees himself as right, and part of that is being there for his grandson, or helping out a hybrid in trouble. 

However, it’s important to note - this is on his terms. He’s lived so long, he doesn’t want to put energy into relationships that won’t give him back something. For Fundy, I think a lot of it was making up for what happened with Wilbur and family responsibility, but he enjoyed spending time with Fundy (it’s been a while I need to rewatch some of those vods I think). 

With Ranboo, again I feel like there’s a small part in fulfilling some need of Phil’s to feel like he’s being ‘good’ and plucking this kid out of a warzone makes him feel good. But at the same time, Ranboo is polite, quiet, generous - the perfect kind of person to put energy into building a relationship with. Plus, I would not be surprised if Ranboo reminds him of Techno.  

If a relationship takes too much, or isn’t worth it - Phil drops it and doesn’t bother trying to fix what is broken. Why would he? He’s just going to outlive whatever the problem is. He lived in L’manberg, but he was never a part of it. He dismissed Tubbo so quickly when he saw Tubbo was being corrupted by his power and position. He didn’t follow up on Fundy or check that he was okay or make any effort to reach out to him when things started to go down. 

And that brings us to Tommy. We’re all upset at how Phil reacted to Tommy’s exile and the following, but I think it makes so much sense. Like I said before, he doesn’t put the effort into reaching out to Tommy, but he would have gone to the Beach Party if Tommy had reached out to him. He was happy to see Tommy at Techno’s place, he was willing to create that relationship and bond. 

But from Phil’s pov, Tommy was thrown aside by his home, found shelter with Techno, and then betrayed Techno by siding with the people who threw him aside. (and Techno is loyal to the few he trusts, so a betrayal like that will hit hard and Phil can see that). It makes sense that Phil decides that isn’t a relationship he wants to put energy into fixing. 

(Also to clarify, I’m not saying Tommy was wrong to side with L’manberg and Tubbo, or that Techno was right in lashing out like he did. I’m just saying it’s a complex issue, and seeing all sides of it is important - they were both betrayed that day). 

Living so long means Phil only cares to put effort and energy into relationships that benefit him, in whatever way. If someone is too difficult or needs too much effort, then in Phil’s mind there’s no reason to pursue that relationship. 

Being so old makes Phil overly confident in himself.

Philza is always in the right. Full stop. End of story.

He’s lived so long and has so much more experience than anyone else that he thinks he is in the right all the time. His fatal flaw is his pride and - much like Techno - he refuses to see anything from anyone else’s point of view. 

He saw L’manberg’s corruption, saw that it as a nation was hurting people and made the decision that it was doing more hurt than good so of course he joined Techno and Dream in destroying it. 

He sees the big picture and so of course Friend’s death doesn’t matter, Friend was just an animal. Ghostbur is too naive and foolish to understand that now. 

Unless he learns to listen and see someone else’s point of view - which will be very hard, because he’s so old and connecting with people is hard for him - he’s going to continue to think he’s always in the right. 

Conclusion

There’s a few things I want to see/think might happen with Phil’s character, one more likely than the other. 

First off - Karl. 

If anyone knows how to look at the big picture, if anyone knows how insignificant the simple things are and how pointless it can be sometimes it’s the server’s resident time traveller. But where Karl differs from Phil is that he cares. 

Karl goes out of his way to help, risks his memory and sanity to make things better for his friends. Pours time and effort and energy into relationships that may be onesided or temporary - heck, have you seen how much effort he goes to to be liked by everyone? Sometimes too much. 

I’d love to see some Karl and Phil interaction. Maybe in a Tales episode (young Phil? Backstory? Maybe?) or even in regular canon. It’s unlikely probably, but I think it could be an interesting discussion. Someone write a fic. 

Secondly - death. 

CC!Phil has made it no secret that his character is probably going to die at some point (if only for ghost WINGSSSS). Honestly? I think it could be a great direction to take the character. 

If Phil could find something worth dying for, could find the joys in the small things, could focus on the little details enough to realize - ‘oh. This does matter’ I honestly think that would be cool. A sacrificial death, maybe even for something as ‘insignificant’ as a pet (although pets can be important on this server). I’m not sure, but I think making peace with death would be a great way to take an immortal character’s arc.

There’s more I could talk about - for instance, I haven’t even mentioned the ‘not as painful as what I inflicted on their enemies’ comment and Phil’s whole ‘angel of death’ vibe, or the fact that he’s always only had one life. But it’s getting late and I’ve been writing this for like an hour and a half and I’m really tired. Feel free to add on! 

[douchebagbrainwaves]

05, OR 4

No, as it turned out. But it should be. But business administration is not what you're doing in a startup: more people are doing it. At Y Combinator we sometimes mistakenly fund teams who have the attitude of the people working there. Shows will change even more. I'm going to consider all the reasons you aren't doing it, but the companies on either side, like Carnegie's steelworks, which made the rails, and Standard Oil, which used railroads to get oil to the East Coast, where it could be. In any competitive field, you can be smart without being very smart. One day, when the Facebook was founded—though it seems even that should be unlimited, if the startups were actually worth buying—but the amount of information it conveys, people try to distinguish them instead by being funny. I was bored, rather than carry a single unnecessary ounce. And they're justified in doing so with opinions about things that change, which could include practically everything else, are disposable.

Other times it's more unconscious. What prevented most serfs from leaving was that it was all they could do amazing things with just a couple lines of code?1 There's so much you can't do that without preventing them from starting startups is the risk. That's what a lot of arguments with anti-yellowists. Much of what's in the sage's head is also in the head of every twelve year old it's mixed together with a lot of people out there who have never even made an angel investment: how much money you're putting in, and the market picks the winners. We've now invested in enough companies that I've learned a lot from things I've read on HN. The first step is to re-evaluate the probability of raising more money, and so did Jerry and Filo before they started Google, and so are slack about reaching profitability, which further decreases their chances of raising more money, as if there were a word that meant the opposite of hacker culture; on questions of software they will tend to put them in the position of someone selecting players for a national team. Their union has exacted pay increases and work restrictions that would have been in the mid-1980s, nerd was still an insult.

Recently it was starting to seem that computers were finally fast enough. In those days, you couldn't tell a book by its cover. In the process we may decrease economic inequality want to do this? Users have worried about that since the site was a few months old. Startups So these, I think, are the three big lessons open source and blogging have to teach business: 1 that people work a lot of adults who still react childishly to challenges, of course, but when he attacks a statement as divisive or racially insensitive instead of arguing that it's false, we should start paying attention. Though the immediate cause of death in a startup is to create wealth; the dimension of wealth you have most control over. That's how the two are related: they're the ones I have to keep repeating. What you don't often find are kids who react to challenges like adults. And they're justified in doing so with opinions about things that don't change much, the unfortunate fact is that change is hard to ignore. This proves something a lot of ways to do it is to design a horrible one that embodies some idea you can publish a paper about.

The specific argument, or one of them, in their own homes, which aren't even designed to be workplaces, end up being more productive. But just as the record labels have done. And that's not the route to intelligence. Wufoo got valuable feedback from it: Linux users complained they used too much Flash, so they rewrote their software not to. Instead of delivering what viewers want, they're trying to make more money, as if there were any language problems at Real Madrid, since the players were from about eight different countries. The future is there.2 Bad founders seem hapless. Instead of paying the guy money as a boring errand to be got out of the way as soon as possible.3 So if you make it clear you're going to succeed no matter what.

They still seem to want to install a legitimate-looking talking head as the CEO. They know they'll have to work a lot of the most obvious examples is Santa Claus. They have no idea what the right direction is, and try to grow it from a seedling into a tree. As Ben Franklin said, if you want to win by making the best stuff prevails. No idea In a sense, when this happens, of wasting something precious. To some extent, yes. Better to harass them with arrows from a distance that we see oscillations in people's idea of the language by not using them.

Notes

And of course the source files of all the page-generating templates are still expensive to start, e. The person who has them manages to find a broad range of topics, comparable in scope to our scholarship though without the spur of poverty are only arrows on parts with unexpectedly sharp curves.

It may have been five years ago it would be worth starting one that did.

At the time it would have gotten where they are building, they seem to have been the general sense of being watched in real time, is he going to kill their deal with them.

[lady-griffin]

So, I just saw Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Really fun and very enjoyable. It’s a pretty great movie in my opinion and is just a fun “superhero” movie.

I feel like the word “fun” kind of undercuts this movie, but it really was fun and just a good film to watch. 

I had a great time.

And I feel like you can tell this movie was clearly written and directed by women with women in mind. Which as a woman, I greatly enjoyed. 

I’m sure this movie will probably rub some guys the wrong way, just because of that alone, but honestly it’s a good movie. I don’t think it alienates men or discourages them from watching it or enjoying it. 

If you can’t enjoy this movie, because the characters aren’t “sexy” enough, then that’s on you.

And speaking of that. The Outfits.

Harley Queen and Black Canary have style, I want their clothes. Oh my god, do I want their clothes. Just so stylish and it works with who they are as characters. 

Cassandra, Renee and Huntress have clothing that looks comfortable and works with their characters as well, and Renee and Cassandra’s clothes really makes them look like actual people and normal woman.

Which is nice! I like it when you have female characters who clearly are different and dress differently. It feels ridiculous when you have a show or movie or comic, where you're suppose to believe all these “very different” female characters all love wearing supery sexy stuff all the time. 

I’m not against ladies dressing sexy, but it has to fit with the character and not just cause of the male gaze. 

Also Roman/Black Mask gets some serious style points. 

Bird of Prey is a fun, violent movie wear badass ladies beat and murder their way through Gotham City. Go and see it. 

It comes highly recommended by this random internet chick.

Also, there isn’t an after-credit scene just a Harley Quinn voice over. The music is good in the credits, so if you want to stay, you can, but honestly you can skip it. 

Spoilers Below

The movie does make a few choices that bug me. You know how in Suicide Squard, they spent like the first 30 minutes (maybe more) introducing characters. 

This movie does that too. Kind of. 

Honestly, now that I think about it, it does work a lot better here. Much better than I was initially thinking.

For one thing, the way the characters are introduced works with the plot and what’s happening and overall are pretty quick. For the main characters it’s fine. But Harley and her narrative kind of introduces everyone and their cousin.

But unlike Suicide Squad, this movie doesn’t stop everything to introduce a character with like a 2-3 minute character trailer/ad. 

It’s not awul or anything, but I could’ve lived without it. It worked well and was humorous at times, but it did bug me to a certain degree. 

And on that note, Harley has kind of Deadpool thing with her narration. I just think it was the wrong balance for this movie, it should’ve been in the movie either some more or some less and it probably would’ve worked better. It just seemed a bit off to me. 

I kind of wished Harley’s narration was just in the beginning and in the end. 

But let’s get into the characters

Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel

If you enjoyed her in Suicide Squad, you will definitely enjoy her here. She’s fun, she’s wacky, she’s violent and crazy, and she does have a bit of a heart. She has a soft-spot for the kid. 

It’s definitely Harley’s show. But I’m not mad at it. I think without Harley no way this movie (with the other characters) would’ve been greenlit. No way. But now, maybe...I’m certainly not oppose to the idea.

So while Margot Robbie is definitely making sure the spotlight is on Harley Quinn, the light does get shared. 

Also her action scenes were so good, I mean she really gets to shine and it’s just awesome. Really amazing action scenes that really do the character justice I think, truly some amazing fight choregraophy. Just Excellent. 

And honestly I just want a Gotham Sirens movie with her, Poison Ivy and Catwoman even more now. 

Oh, and while not Bud and Lou, I love me some Bruce and Harley. 

Black Canary/Dinah Lance

If anyone has watched Arrow and has been annoyed, frustrated, angry or sadden how that version Black Canary is not like Black Canary at all. Then I think you will love Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Canary. 

I certainly did. 

She’s not the star, but she has a nice on-going story of how she doesn’t want to follow in mother’s footsteps of being a dead hero. Basically she doesn’t want to get involved in anyone’s bullshit, but can’t help herself or is force to get involved. 

They have a scene where they hammer that in a bit too hard. It was unnecessary, I felt like just by watching her scenes you get her story, without the details. 

She has some amazing style. She wears a few suits and boy not only do I want her wardrobe but also goddamn, was she sexy. You can see why Zsasz was nervous about her stealing his boss/lover away. 

I mean really the only negative thing I can say, is that she makes me hold a grudge against the Arrow show, because their version of Black Canary has got nothing on this one. 

I would love to see more of her. 

Huntress/ Helena Bertinelli

I greatly enjoy Huntress or the Crossbow Killer (loved that). I would say out of the other ladies (minus Harley obvi), she really does hold her own and her story while is as interconnected as everyone else’s to the main story, it just pops a bit more. 

A badass assasin murdering mob bosses/ goons to avenge her family, who also happens to be one social awkward baby.

Loved that dichotomy. I laughed several times at that. Just great stuff. 

It’s hard stricking the right balance in having a badass character and scenes/moments that undercut them for humor. And they struck it here. Really well done. 

She was such a delight. 

Really Mary-Elizabeth Winstead does such a great job as Huntress.

Other versions of her character don’t really seem to get the whole wanting to murder everyone who was responsible for her family’s death, in my opinion, because they also want her to be sexy. Here sexy isn’t really her thing and that’s more than okay with me. 

The other birds think she’s a badass and I bet every other women (and hopefully some men) in the audience think so too. 

I certainly want to see more of her, especially with Black Canary. 

Also this Black Canary and Huntress and their dynamic come so close to ousting my favorite versions of them from Justice League: Unlimited. Which is a big compliment. 

Renee Montoya

A cop with some serious issues, who maybe isn’t doing her best and probably has a drinking problem, but she’s trying okay. She’s trying. 

She’s an intelligent detective who knows her shit and does not get the respect she deserves from her colleagues. Due to combination of both sexism and her own personal problems. Luckily for her she found some new colleages who have their own issues. 

I certainly enjoyed that her problems at works seemed to be a combination of sexism at the work place, but not entirely, Renee is flawed. Wonderfully so. 

Rosie Perez brings the more human element to this movie with her Renee and is a nice grounded contrast to the others. It’s also nice seeing her more grounded style of fighting. 

Sometimes the scenes with her weren’t great. They sometimes felt forced, particulary the one with her and Canary and her trying to convince Canary to be like her mom. I could’ve lived without that.

That being said the movies has fun, pointing fun at her and basically saying she’s an 80s cop movie come to life. Which I liked. 

Cassandra Cain

I like the character, don’t get me wrong, but this is not Cassandra Cain. And it does bother me as a huge Batman Comic fan. It just does.

I feel like they should’ve based her on some minor character from the comics or hell just created a new character. BTAS did that with Harley Quinn in 1992, so why the fuck not.

That would’ve worked so much better in my opinion. Sometimes rewriting a character works, here it feels odd. Because I don’t get why they decided to call this character Cassandra Cain.

Honestly, remove the Cain part from her name and you have a great little apprentice for Harley, who brings her own moxy to the table.

Ella Jay Basco does a great job holding her own as a screen partner against Margot Robbie. And she did such a good job protraying a street kid who thinks she can handle shit, to a scare kid who is way over head. 

It was nice watching all these badass ladies keeping an eye out for Cassandra.

The characters reminds me a lot of Jade from Jackie Chan: Adventures. I mean both characters eat a valuable object and a bunch of bad people are willing to cut them open. Just saying. 

If you’re a big fan of Cassandra Cain, I would suggest just ignoring the times they say her full name and try to think of her as a different character, named Cassandra. 

Roman Sionis/ Black Mask

A murdering psychopath who thinks everyone and everything belongs to him. He’s power-hungry, cruel, violent and sadistic and is plenty messed up in the head. You see enough to get the picture and they don’t elaborate nor do they have to. 

He wears some amazing clothes, by the way. I liked this version of the character a lot. Even when he’s being nice and friendly, you know that he can snap at any second (which he does). He does not have it together. 

He doesn’t steal the show, but that’s a good thing. He’s a good villain, that allows our girls to be the perfect heroes/anti-heroes to his villany.

Victor Zsasz

Boy does he have it bad for Roman. He is very jealous and you know he wants to kill anyone who steals Roman’s attention away from him. A different kind of Zsasz, but enjoyable. 

I love the rivalry between him and Black Canary, or what he percieves as a rivalry.

Female Empowerment/Some Reviews

So some reviews, I’ve seen basically say they don’t like this movie or have problem with it, because this kind of “female empowerment” has been done before and isn’t good or isn’t as good as it thinks it is. 

And while, it’s not untrue that violent women willing to murder are not the greatest role models, I also am a bit annoyed at these reviews.

I mean, this movie does have a girl-power vibe to it without a doubt. 

But it feels more like the message is -- 

Girl are Awesome. Here are some awesome ladies with varying degrees of violent tendacies, who are badass and who all should definitely know a therapist aside from Harley Quinn.

I don’t think girls have to violent to be badass, especially not in real-life, but I also don’t think female characters can’t be violent or angry. And 3 out of 5, weren’t starting anything or actively seeking violence at least not to the degree of the other two.

Also, it’s an R-Rated movie about a villainous comic book character...I mean, what were you expecting. 

I understand the issue some people are having with this film, about women-empowerment and the celebration of violence and I don’t disagree with that.

In my opinion, the women-empowerment comes less from the violence and more from the fact that you had women as the center focus who were all pretty different and unique, and all of them had clear individual stories being told that created the plot of the movie. 

For me, the movie was saying here are some awesome comic book characters who are also women, enjoy watching them beat and murder their way through Gotham City. Also enjoy them kicking several men in the balls, it’s quite fun. 

I had great time with this movie. 

So I hope people see it and I hope they have a good time. 

[closetofanxiety]

Show review: Takeover XXV

I thought I would like this show. I did not like this show. Now I’m not sure I like anything. 

A big part of the problem here, admittedly, is the crowd. More specifically, the section of the crowd where we were sitting. Perhaps this was the section reserved for dirtbags, perhaps it was Dirtbag Night, and we ended up there by mistake (or “mistake”). At any rate, it was difficult to enjoy anything in the presence of these particular members of the NXT faithful. 

Braying jackasses starting chants just to amuse themselves (”Let’s go Cena / Cena sucks” etc.)? Check.

Huge guy next to me who kept elbowing me every time he excitedly performed the Unlimited Era hand gestures, which was about 11,000 times? Check.

Guy behind me yelling in my ear, “Twist his dick! TWIST! HIS! DICK!” throughout the entirety of the 6-hour main event? You better believe that’s a check.

People throwing shit toward the ring? Oh you bet.

A drunk guy screeching homophobic slurs during the Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream match? Why, of course.

This was, by some distance, the worst wrestling crowd I’ve ever been part of. And I’ve been to Tournament of Survival! Those people should be bloodthirsty maniacs, yet as it turned out they just mostly wanted to get high in the parking lot and watch men lacerate themselves for several hours in relative tranquility. 

Tranquility’s the wrong word. You know what I mean.

This crowd - an NXT Takeover crowd, supposedly the most clued-in and hip WWE fans - was worse, by orders of magnitude, than the crowd at Money in the Bank, which was full of casuals. Being there was no fun. Watching a drunk guy in a Velveteen Dream shirt screaming “Kill that motherfucker!” while a four-year-old girl clamp her hands over her ears and look at her dad in alarm was not a blast. It was difficult to enjoy the show, in that atmosphere of people constantly, without any prompting whatsoever, yelling “Adam Cole!” to be followed by a chorus of “Bay bay!” I was pretty lukewarm about Adam Cole before, but now I hope he gets called up to the main roster and repackaged as Imre Spizneckity, a philosopher gimmick. Try yelling that, you mooks.

But what about the matches? Weren’t the matches great?

Listen, it’s time to make a confession: I don’t think I like wrestling. Maybe some of it? Maybe death matches and women’s wrestling and Congolese voodoo wrestling, and that’s it? Because the reaction to last night’s show appears to be universal jubilation (with the notable exception of East Coast Joe, another ex-Wrestling Tumblr, who was also at the show and who I was messaging back and forth during the event), and I was just mostly bored. 

It was a great show if you like the NXT style. I do not like the NXT style. I used to love it. I used to look forward to Takeovers more than any other wrestling show. It’s really gotten formulaic, though. As EC Joe noted, the matches all have the same structure and pacing: slow start with chain wrestling, gradual build, home stretch crescendo of finisher kickouts and near falls and WHAT. WILL. IT. TAKE. That’s every big NXT match; that’s almost every NXT match at this point. 

There was a joke in the 1990s among smarky-smark fans about Ric Flair. It’s hard to imagine now, considering the warm steam of public affection that enshrouds him, but the smart fans hated Flair back then. He was seen as a manipulative backstabber who held back young talent at WCW (these were not just rumors either, as Mick Foley’s first book details) and, the knock at the time went, he was boring in the ring. He did the same thing over and over. The joke went something like this:

First Person: I’ve seen Ric Flair wrestle over 1,000 times!

Second Person: Wow, that’s a lot of matches!

First Person: No, just the one.

Not entirely accurate, but it got to the point. NXT has felt like that for a long time for me. I just haven’t enjoyed the shows, but I have pretended to like them because everyone else is so rapturous about them.

Last night, I finally realized that NXT is indie wrestling for people who don’t watch indie wrestling. People were raving about the Riddle-Strong match last night, and, like, it was fine. It certainly wasn’t bad. But it was an AAW main event. A Beyond main event. Round Two during BOLA. A Progress semi-main. I’ve seen it a hundred times. People were freaking out about Adam Cole doing Canadian Destroyers, a move that was such a cliche in indie wrestling during the summer of 2017 that people started reserving them almost entirely for comedy spots. Every match felt like something I’d seen before, with the occasional dash of bad booking (the run-in during the ladder match; Io Shirai going heel after her loss to Shayna, although apparently it’s not a heel turn because actions have no consequences anymore, get with it). 

The 1990s All Japan Pro Wrestling style has conquered the world; you see it in the indies in North America and Europe, you see it in Japan (ironically, NJPW’s “strong style” is a lot closer to this 1990s King’s Road style than to what Antonio Inoki meant by “strong style” when he coined the phrase), you see it in occasional big PPV matches for WWE, and you see it all the time in NXT. It’s mixed with a little lucha libre and a little World of Sport-style chain wrestling, but it’s all a notable variation on the template created by Mitsuhawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Taue, etc. 

Back then, it was so revelatory partly because the people doing it were astonishingly talented, but also because no one else in the world was doing anything quite like it. Think about what US wrestling looked like in 1994, at all levels. It wasn’t entirely terrible (although a lot of it was), there were some good things happening, WCW in particular remained a bastion of the Southern style that Baba fused with Rikidozan memories to create the original King’s Road, but compared to the stuff happening in AJPW, it was black and white compared to Technicolor. 

It took a while for this to spread across the world; certainly, the late 1990s wrestling boom in the United States was far more influenced by ECW (which was at its heart a combination of Memphis and FMW, with comedy and lucha libre sprinkled in) than by AJPW, but the people who’d go on to dominate the indies in the subsequent decade were ravenous Four Pillars of Heaven fans, and by the 2010s, that style had become the infrastructure for virtually every major indie promotion in the US, Canada, and Europe, and had begun to influence Impact and NXT. 

I’m a little weary of it. I think it’s possible to have a great wrestling match in 10 minutes. Stardom having 15-minute time limits for most of their matches is one of the things I like about Stardom. I don’t need everything to be 35 minutes of chops and near falls and FIGHTING SPIRIT. In fact, I’d kind of prefer that it not be that. One of the reasons AEW has made me (probably unrealistically) hopeful is that there was actual variety on the Double or Nothing card. 

Anyway, as Punk Rock Big Mouth (yet another Wrestling Tumblr escapee) said on Twitter and then deleted for some reason, it’s not wrestling’s fault. It’s my fault. I have lost my smile. If you enjoyed last night’s show, I’m genuinely glad. I wish I did. I don’t really know what I like about wrestling these days, if I like anything, but I don’t begrudge anyone their enjoyment. Unless that enjoyment involves screaming “TWIST! HIS! DICK!” directly into my ear canal. 

[eatthemusic]

How To Make Money In GTA 5 Online 2020

GTA 5 Online Gameplay

The GTA 5 Money Generator is free, and all Money and RP generated using our online hack tool are added to your account without the single penny charging. Once you flood your account with money, you’re able to go toe to toe with all of those vets that have been stockpiling cash since day one, as well as all of those players that dump their own real-world money into the GTA economy.

We have spent hours and hours trying to find as many of the GTA 5 online money glitch locations and triggers as humanly possible, combing through the game to find every source of easy money we could – and we’ve collected them all in this GTA 5 hack. Typically, to get a lot of cash in GTA 5, you have to spend a lot of time getting it. Perform difficult and time-consuming tasks, including Armored Car Robberies, ATM Robberies, robbing Ammu-nation stores, Save Sonny’s Daughter, Assassinations.

These are exciting missions, but you need a lot of time to collect a large pile of money. It is an easy and straightforward way to quickly top up Money and RP for your character in GTA 5 and the GTA 5 Online version. There is no way to generate money for Grand Theft Auto 5’s campaign or GTA Online. These are basic scams that are trying to get access to your account so that they can lock you out.

This article summarises a few points that GTA 5 players mostly concern about while coming to hack free money and RP for GTA 5. Ultimately, we aim to help GTA V 5 gamers save their real money and effort to enjoy more GTA 5 adventures.

Users do not need to buy anything else to use the online money generator. It is also totally free to generate unlimited money and RP into your GTA 5 account. You are recommended to log out of your play session before using GTA 5 online money generator. The generator might not be able to overwrite your account information if you are still logged in. Here is an online hack tool that can generate GTA 5 Money and Reputation.

The taxi sub-missions were lowered now to support Roman’s automobile service with limited objectives, providing the gamer little income through doing fares. Like weapons, money now lies reasonably on the ground with a yellow-green glow to catch the player’s eye instead of drifting in mid-air. In Grand Theft Auto III, the money system was entirely refashioned. While specific street criminal activities still honor players with small quantities of money, ball game multiplier is gotten rid of, and pedestrians, except emergency personnel, drop cash onto the road upon death.

In this situation, you opt for GTA 5 video game download for Android. After that, you may take a look at the tale online. You only push time out and wait for a short loading screen to finish. GTA V Mobile is one of the most lucrative amusement products of all moment.

All gamers that pre-order the video game will obtain $1,000,000 in-game benefit cash to spend throughout Grand Theft Auto V and also Grand Theft Auto Online (GTA$ 500K each for Tale Mode and even GTA Online in-game savings account).

Some talent developers try to use system glitches and hack into RockStar’s GTA 5 server to manipulate cheat information to generate as much virtual money and RP as users need.

Contact Missions, typical missions that divide you from your online server’s remainder, are conventional outings that give new players a chance to make a little cash when just starting.

You likewise collaborate with higher-level close friends and earn even more money.

From a technical and layout perspective, Grand Theft Auto V establishes new bars.

Now that you know that GTA 5 money generators aren’t safe make sure you check out the rest of our Grand Theft Auto 5 topic for even more helpful information and news about the game. Anything that asks you to provide your Rockstar Games login and then provide additional human verification is a scam.

Just use the GTA 5 Generator, and you’ll see for yourself, scroll to the beginning, and complete the form. GTA 5 Online Generator is compatible with all platforms on which the game was released. Just enter your nickname and select the amount of money and reputation. There will be no problem with the PS4. Xbox ONE has the latest system that can cope with a certain amount of Money and RP on these platforms.

Grand Theft Auto 5 aims unbelievably high, and also, despite those honest bad moves, takes care of to provide on all of its towering ambitions. If you’re trying to find a truthful living, then take a look at these recommended goals that pay a pretty penny - several of which can be repeated as well as over once again - and you’ll be racking up the digital dollars in no time at all.

This guide will certainly list all of the tasks that the Gambling enterprise supplies for you to engage in and earn Chips in return for winning games. We will also note several money farming problems that many gamers have been utilizing to farm the Chips. Nonetheless, gamers must exercise caution and invest money intelligently, as risky financial investments can lead to players losing significant cash quantities.

Try To Use GTA 5 Online Money Glitch

GTA 5 Generator is a hack tool online that gives you the ability to add in-game Money and RP without spending real money. So you don’t have to spend hours in front of a computer to get currency from the game. You can use the generated money to unlock cars, weapons, ammunition, and whatever you want. To attract people to begin playing currently, Rockstar states that all PlayStation Plus members will obtain $1M in-game money every month that they log in to play GTA Online.

While no specifics have been shared, these unclear guarantees currently appear more considerable, content-wise, than whatever renovations are coming to the video game’s primary part. The developers claim that they balance the video game to maintain gamers who do not gain this card. After completing the video game, lots of gamers discovered themselves at a standstill. Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto V.

Previously this month, a Rockstar Games logo blinked across the display at the huge PS5 video games occasion. It most likely would not deserve it to undergo the difficulty of adding these for a brand-new port that will not be launched until nearly eight years after the video game’s initial debut. It sounds like something brand-new is being dealt with for GTA 5 Online, or possibly also GTA 6, that will certainly be disclosed in the coming weeks.

Many individuals stopped working on getting money and reputation because they did not complete video game deals. In Free Setting, if the player is killed while bringing $5,000 or even more, a fraction of their held cash will undoubtedly be gone down for other gamers to pick up for a short time. Unlike all other GTA Gamings, in GTA III, the player can generate income by crashing autos. Unlike various other online games, GTA V does not think twice to honor players with big dollars.

The hack developers create a GTA 5 money generator by making use of this promotion system. The GTA5 money generator exploits the promotion script to generate the money and RP until the promotion offers end. With the kind of cash that our GTA V hacks put in your digital bank account, you are going to be able to run a crew that devastates all others, especially when it comes time to complete some of the bigger Heist missions in GTA Online.

[jam2289]

John Galt, Harry Potter, and Hero Problems

There is a problem with heroes. Today we will not solve this problem, but we will look at two examples, John Galt and Harry Potter. Articulating the problem is often half the battle.

"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand is one of the most polarizing books ever written, people usually either love it or hate it. The book is about the slow fall and collapse of American society. John Galt is the hero, although we almost never see him, and even hear very little about him. He's a genius that created a way to generate unlimited free power, but because of the systemic corruption in the society he walked away from the entire society and started his own. (Atlas was the Titan that was punished by being forced to hold up the sky, although he's usually depicted as holding up the world. Ayn Rand states that the story is really a closer take on Prometheus. Prometheus is the Titan that stole fire from Olympus and gave it to man. For that he is chained to a rock and his liver is eaten every day by an eagle. "Atlas Shrugged" is Prometheus withdrawing his gifts.)

So, what's the problem? The problem is that Ayn Rand's depiction of the black and grey characters is beautiful. But, the white characters, namely John Galt, are a bit flat. I've seen that term used a number of times in reference to Rand's heroes in "Atlas Shrugged". I think it's a little off, and I'll explain why in just a moment.

Rand's villains are wonderful. It's quite disturbing how well she was able to clearly see the growing problems in American culture. When I read it in my teens I was amazed at how similar the book sounded to the news. The incompetent business people trying to protect their assets by buying off the government to pass laws that limit the opportunity for entrepreneurs is right on. The slipping away from focus on the individual as the foundation of society is true. Her grey characters are great too, people that struggle with adjusting to society and trying to reconcile their spirit and soul with the corruption. Heroes seemed to give her a bit more trouble.

There are two reasons that the idea of Rand's heroes being flat is a bit off though. One, there are grey characters that end up growing towards being greater heroes. As an example, Hank Rearden is compromising in everything in his life except his business. In the end he corrects that. This type of thing happens with a few characters. These are not "flat" characters at all.

John Galt is a bit different. Here Rand is trying to depict a version of the perfect man. What type of yogurt would the perfect man like? That's the problem. If you get too detailed then it's hard to depict perfection. What people are trying to say when they call him flat is that he is abstract. There is a lot left to the imagination. His character has a lot of variables. We don't know much about him on purpose. You can't be abstract and have vivid detail at the same time. The only thing that is very detailed about John Galt is his philosophy. Near the end of the book he articulates his philosophy in a radio broadcast. That speech is one of the foundation stones of the philosophy later known as Objectivism. (Objectivism was put together is a more explicit manner by Nathaniel Branden, but that's a whole other story.)

There's the first problem with heroes, perfection has to be abstract. Another quick example. I was watching a tv show with my mother that had a great artist in it. We saw a few of his pictures. They didn't seem that great to me, but whatever. Then we learned that there is a special painting that is completely different that he has never shown to anyone else. He shows it to one other woman. The shot is from behind the painting looking at the actors. My mother remarked that she wanted to see the picture. I told her that to show the picture would ruin the entire thing. No painting can live up to that kind of build up. The greatest painting of all time? That's hard to make. Even if you made a great painting not everyone is going to agree with it. To show the painting would have ruined that entire episode, so they didn't. Instead, it's better to see the reaction on the woman's face when she sees the painting for the first time. To show perfection, you can't show it directly. Rand did this same thing with Galt.

Here's a poem, then we'll look at Harry Potter.

- - - - - - -

There's a problem with heroes,

they're hard to create.

And they're most needed

as an answer to fate.

- - - - - - -

The "Harry Potter" series is the best selling book series in all of history. Harry Potter is a boy that is destined to fight the greatest dark wizard of all time, Voldemort. His mother died trying to protect him from a killing curse. That sacrifice caused the killing curse that Voldemort tried to use on the baby Harry Potter to backfire. Voldemort's body was destroyed, but he was able to survive by some special preparations he had made. Part of Voldemort's soul is transferred to Harry Potter at the same time. From there on their stories are linked until the end. It's a genius story.

So, what's the problem? The problem is that Harry Potter and his allies fight Voldemort in different ways for years. He seeks to destroy evil because that is his destiny, but he is only a destroyer, not a creator. After Voldemort is destroyed Harry Potter gets a job, has a family, puts on a couple of pounds, and is boring. The greatest destroyer of evil may not be that good at anything else. Destroying bad things is not the same as making good things.

Do you want to have a hero that can only fight evil? What if there's no evil? If your hero can only fight evil, and you want to be like your hero, and there isn't a great evil to fight, do you find something to fight anyway? If you're finding things to fight even if they aren't necessarily evil, doesn't that make you the villain? What do you do if you win? Settle down? Find another fight?

I think this is a serious problem. Let's look at a few definitions of hero. Here's what Google says.

- - - - - - -

a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

"a war hero"

synonyms: brave man, champion, man of courage, great man, man of the hour, conquering hero, victor, winner, conqueror, lionheart, warrior, paladin, knight, white hat

antonyms: coward, loser

the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

synonyms: male protagonist, principal male character

antonyms: villain

(in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semi-divine origin, in particular one whose exploits were the subject of ancient Greek myths.

- - - - - - -

To show noble qualities you need to have high stakes, and there's nothing higher than the potential or real destruction of the world. For courage, there's nothing better than standing up to the greatest dark wizard of all time. There isn't a more outstanding achievement than defeating that dark wizard. Harry Potter also has a semi-divine origin with special love magic protecting him from death and having part of another soul in him. Harry Potter is a great hero. Harry Potter is a destroyer. I think that's a problem.

Now, to have creation there must be destruction. To have good stuff someone must protect that good stuff. But, is protection primary to creation? It seems to be in our hero stories. Is this good? I'm not so sure. Alas, I have not worked out good alternatives. That may be work for a lifetime.

Part of the problem might be this. In order to create something great you may have to do some things that aren't that great. Maybe by creating a large business you put another small business out to pasture. That's not great. But, it's not evil. The problem is that it's hard to justify it. "I'm trying to make a great business." isn't a justification that a lot of people like. "I ignore my family because I'm obsessed with making great paintings." also isn't something people like to hear. Harry Potter does a lot of sketchy stuff too. But, "I'm trying to save the world from the greatest dark wizard of all time, and I'm the only one that can do it." is a great justification for breaking rules and doing morally sketchy stuff if need be. I think this justification issue may be a big part of it.

John Galt is abstract and Harry Potter is a destroyer. These are two of the greatest literary heroes in history. And, they are great heroes. It just seems to me that we're still searching for a way to make a better hero. Notice too that neither John Galt nor Harry Potter are able to actually improve society. John Galt withdraws from society and Harry Potter defeats evil, but neither make the society better, they just try to stop it from being worse. These are both takes on dystopia. Maybe it's more important to avoid a dystopia than it is to try to create a utopia? Utopias usually go poorly, so maybe.

Heroes are needed to show values and behavioral patterns. Whether we are successful or not, the struggle to create better heroes is always worth it. And a struggle it is.

Here are some side notes.

All living things are slanted towards putting more emphasis on avoiding bad things. That's because you can only take so many bad things before your light goes out. You can experience an infinite amount of good things, there is no limit there, so it's more important to avoid those bad things. That's why the news draws our attention with bad things. Even when things are getting better the news is always promoting bad things, it's the only way for them to stay in business. So maybe these aren't solvable problems because they are built into human nature. There is much to think about here.

Historically, many of the great heroes were prophets. Now we think of prophets as being predictors of the future. They didn't use to be though. Historically a prophet had the function of showing where a society was going wrong and in which direction it should move to correct itself. This is kind of the same idea as Ayn Rand and J. K. Rowling pointing out where the society is going wrong and what we should avoid.

I think Prometheus is one of the most important stories in the history of Western civilization. Ayn Rand used it in "Atlas Shrugged" and in her novella "Anthem". Lord Byron and Percy Shelley both wrote poems on Prometheus. Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein", most people forget the rest of the title, "The Modern Prometheus". And of course, there's the original "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus. We forget this work at our own peril.

Here are my other Harry Potter articles where I focused on evil.

What Makes Voldemort, Grindelwald, and Slytherin Bad?

https://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/01/what-makes-voldemort-grindelwald-and.html

Why is Slytherin House Bad?

https://www.jeffreyalexandermartin.com/2019/01/why-is-slytherin-house-bad.html

________________________________________________

You can find more of what I'm doing at http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

[swtorramblings]

On Vaylin

I am re-posting this, my rough draft of a post that I wrote to my main blog when I found that my annoyance with certain game events aggravated me so badly I needed a place to publicly vent. I tried to move it here and broke the whole thing, so lost some of the edits and other information (I’m still learning the ropes). I still want to have it up, but I am also not putting in the tags it used to have. I am trying to be more positive, now, though I will have one more negative, but somewhat calmer, post on the subject in the near future, because even after a month and a half it still gets to me.

I am going on a rant about the SWTOR expansion, Knights of the Eternal Throne. I don’t think anyone is likely to see this that, 1. Cares about SWTOR, 2. Cares about my opinion of SWTOR, 3. Doesn’t already know the plot of KOTET. If I’m wrong, note that there are spoilers ahead.

Too long, didn’t read: Vaylin’s fate is for crap, a badly told mess even if the basic plot of “man and woman enter, only man can leave” wasn’t already a problem.

Note: I’m not really looking for debate. I’m just venting. But, if you must, keep it civil. My ire is meant for Bioware and for the people who have approached disagreements on this subject rudely.

Now, my therapy will begin.

I will be up front about my core bias: I have seen enough stories where a man and a woman fulfill similar roles in the story, have similar experiences, and, in this case, commit similar crimes (of type if not of scale), but the man survives and the woman doesn’t. I was never, ever going to like this plotline. Give us the choice to save both, give us the choice of which one can be saved (Bioware loves that), or don’t let us save either. All would be better, though I prefer the first two.

I fully understand that she was written without those little moments of remorse that he was. I do understand what Bioware was going for. It’s not difficult to see, it was unsubtle. It was also hamfisted and obnoxious. So don’t tell me how obvious it was that she was too far gone and like that: I’m well aware. I just don’t find it to be a good story, especially with so much of how it was handled. They chose to make her that way, they did not have to, and even in making that choice they could have done better.

Finally, I recognize this is a game. It is also, however, a story, and how we tell and share stories is important to me, and this one was awful. Bioware tried to tell a tale of tragedy and familial abuse and mental illness and brainwashing, in an action game with a trinary response, and the lack of nuance didn’t do them any favors. If they couldn’t tell the story with care and sensitivity, they shouldn’t have told it at all.

Vaylin irredeemable. Why? Because mummy and brother can’t find any good in her with their Detect Good spell? Please. Because daddy says she is like a wild animal? Please squared. They should get no say whatsoever.

I swear, whether or not Vaylin ultimately must die I wanted the option to tell them all off. When they say something like that, I want to say, <point to Senya> “You feared her and abandoned her.” <point to Arcann> “You neglected her and killed her brother. Out of everyone living outside of my head, you two are the most responsible for what she has become. Neither of you have any say in how we are going to handle this. And we’re going to do what we can to save her. Period. And if you want any more reason than she’s your family, or the horrible things you both allowed to happen to her, or your own empathy, Valkorian is telling me she has to die, and I refuse to do what that monster says. Are we clear?”

Oh, and that bit where you get the option to tell her that Valkorian wants you to kill her? To try to talk her down? That’s the Light option, Bioware. You’re irredeemable is the neutral option. How hard is that to figure out?

Because she’s a threat to your troops? No. The moment you tell them that Valkorian wants her dead, they should be changing their blasters to stun settings. Well, if those exist in TOR, if they haven’t been invented yet, someone should get on that (and if they do every single light side character should carry one, even if they are clumsy and random, for situations like this). But your troops know what he is, and should be willing to help you out here.

Because she killed a lot of people, including your buddy (speaking of hamfisted story telling)? Arcann killed HK-55 (but, you know, droid, and anti-droid bigotry is certainly a thing in Star Wars, even with otherwise light-side types) and almost certainly many times as many people. I do hope you don’t have him with you if your reason to kill her is because of her crimes (and if you executed him for his, congratulations, you are more consistent with your actions than the game company known for its awesome stories. I say, without irony, good job).

Because she’s killed your buddy and you want revenge? Point. I have no rebuttal, but then, I don’t really have a problem you being able to choose to kill her, here (aside from my “Bioware created an awful and poorly told story of familial abuse where you have to/get to kill the victims” thing), my problem is that you have to kill her but you can save Arcann.

Because she slaughtered her troops with her force powers when they annoyed her or just to show off? Again, hope you haven’t saved Arcann after halving his own forces. Just because she does it herself doesn’t mean he’s less heinous, and magical force powers healed him.

Because she’s too broken to live? That’s really the crux of what Bioware was going for: her mind was crippled by Valkorian and can never be gotten back to what it was. Her sanity can never be restored so we have to kill her because of the combination of her powers and her madness. Well, even if I fully accepted this, I want to be allowed to show sympathy within the game. Yeah, I can pretend that’s what the Outlander is really doing, but some things I’d like explicitly stated, and this is one of those. Just say you’re sorry you have to do this before stabbing or shooting her. I wouldn’t like it, as I said, but it’s a small step up, anyway. And they couldn’t give us that option.

Mock her like a villain? You can. Ask her to surrender? You can. Show sympathy and offer help? No, not really. Not use the command phrase, or even show a shred of sorrow or even embarrassment over its use? Nope, and you’re going to expose it to the galaxy, her shame, her lack of control, the awfulness of her parents! I can’t imagine why she hates you so much, especially with her awful family around you, but you did that to her

This is an abuse victim. Further, she had directed attempts to break her mind, body, and spirit to make her into something else. These things happened. The fact that you walk up to her, close enough to touch, with what sounds like whimpering and fear being the only sounds she’s making, and stab or shoot her is disgusting. If she’s supposed to be just Pure Evil, at least let her be ranting at the end. If she’s supposed to be Irredeemably Broken, pretty much the same. That bit of whimpering both makes her seem like someone not really all that dangerous and someone that I want to save. She made the same noises when you most recently defeat her, while she’s on her hands and knees before you, too. Shame you couldn’t have acted before she bubbled up, hero. Perhaps irrational, but there it is.

Because she doesn’t ask? Because she doesn’t want to be saved? Uhm, and? Bioware tried very hard to present her as completely gone, and why. She doesn’t get to choose whether the people around her are going to at least try to help her. Does that take away her agency as a character? Maybe, but I’d argue that her agency was already taken away by her father (and, by extension, the writers) a long time ago. In fact, note in Chapter 9: “Choice. I could get used to that.” At that point, after death, she has agency. Shame she couldn’t have gained some before that, like, by the Outlander trying to save her.

I actually think she was borderline suicidal. She fought beyond what was reasonable when already defeated, there at the end. When, after you continued her abuse by using her command phrase, she retreated and tortured herself, she shouts out not that she doesn’t want to die, but that she doesn’t want to die “in this place”. Scant evidence, since “not like this” is something people that don’t seem otherwise to want to die sometimes say. But, combined with what she has been through and her constant control by others (I’m looking at you, Outlander), it seems at least plausible. I don’t think it’s what the writers were going for, but I can’t unthink it, and it makes “she didn’t ask to be saved” take on a very different, and much worse, meaning.

Because she’s too dangerous? Maybe. There are some signs of it. She’s certainly been defeated often enough, but, yeah, her power is unlocked! Oh, wait, you beat her again. But, now she has that bubble thing, maybe it’s just going to keep going, burning her out and blowing up your base, if she’s not killed. Maybe her rage would drive her troops forward, even if she was unconscious or, say, in carbonite. It would be nice to have one of those explicitly stated before killing her, because at that point the decision to do that rather than try to take her alive makes more sense.

You had to kill the suicidal woman because she was going to kill everyone around you and it was the only way to stop her? Fine. Show some remorse that it came to that, lightsider. Show some empathy. Really all I want given the choice has already been made by the writers that she must die.

Honestly, there’s an episode of Justice League Unlimited where Batman sits down with Ace while she is dying and just stays with her. A moment like that would have been so much better for the nice characters. Instead, “You’re irredeemable!” stab/shot in the gut.

Maybe you just don’t have a non-lethal weapon. Maybe you should get one, we have them on Earth and can’t even break the speed of light or form light into a solid cutting tool.

Because it’s too risky to try to save her, long term? If you wanted the easy way, you’d have used the Emperor’s power every time he offered it, but you didn’t do that, even to save Lana, did you? But, then, accepting his advice and help is probably a bad idea. What did he tell you to do with his daughter and other family members, again?

Because she was always evil? Many of the things I’ve griped about are open to interpretation, this one included. There were moments when she could be interpreted to have a vicious streak as a little girl. She smiled when the guards died (I still believe that the guards should be hurt, not dead, because Senya should have talked about this instead of the crippled guard if Vaylin killed her sparring partners, but I digress). I interpret that as her happiness in showing off her power, and the moment after that as her guilt realizing what had happened. But, sure, the Dark Side could be interpreted as there, even then.

But that bubbly little girl, bouncing up and down with excitement while her big brothers spar? She’s evil? No. Just no. I fear I have no cogent argument to give on this subject, but I don’t accept it, anyway. They can’t all be gems. My entire diatribe is about how the Outlander should have been portrayed as more emotional, if the player so chooses, and I’m not immune myself.

Conclusion: I’m not happy that you are forced to kill an abuse victim, a mentally disturbed woman who, yes, has committed heinous crimes. This isn’t the right venue for such a story, if any venue is. I am doubly disgusted by the way it was approached, with the hero of the story mocking her and taking advantage of her weakness forced on her by the villain for tactical reasons. You don’t use the command phrase to capture her, or even really to save people nearby: it was always your plan to reveal the results of her abuse to the galaxy. I don’t like that you don’t appear to try to help her until after she’s dead, and are unable to choose to show any kind of remorse for what you must do. They took a story that would have annoyed me and made it into something really grotesque. Good job, Bioware.

�

[glopratchet]

delivery-two

You find yourself walking along an empty road in a desolate part of town "I'll see you later Delivery of the book is a little late, but it's still better than nothing "Thanks, " you say as you put away your bag and begin to get dressed You head out the door and into the night, heading towards your destination How to increase rank What to do next? There are no other people around, so you can think about these things now You continue on your way until you reach a familiar building with a large sign over it reading 'The Library' After some time has passed, you notice that there isn't any police car in sight The place looks just like when you were here before for class It feels weird not being able to read anymore though One person does not have to nessary complete every single quest available to raise their rank to 'Hero' You could make up your own quest if you really wanted to Already knowing the way from memory, you decide to try something new; You begin to enter the library Inside, is even more deserted than the outside A group of teens with skateboards simply stare at you as you pass by them with around twenty books in your hands They knew you weren't actually a member of their little gang One person does not have to nessary complete every single quest available to raise their rank to 'Hero' Once all key deliveries are completed you can unlock and urgent delivery to the mayor of the city If you chose to ignore the skateboarders, go back to start Once all key deliveries are completed you can unlock and urgent delivery to the mayor of the city Complete the urgent quest and you will advance to the next rank Teacher's Pet Every fight in the game is a boss fight Complete the urgent quest and you will advance to the next rank: Every time you die or fail a quest you can choose to start over from the beginning or continue where you left off The people watching you gain nothing from your success, they are only benefitting themselves If however, you are able to successfully complete the game, reaching 'Hero' rank and choosing to submit your accomplishments it will grant every player that does so in the future with 'Infamy Points' Every alligator requires some degree of stragtehy not matter what gear you have equipped right? Using an end gator weapon on a four foot yearling wont count squat if you dont know what you are doing but there are some things even the large razor sharp teeth and strong bite cant destroy im talking about people Item set-up for people killer: Claws- 4inch gold zinc alloy finger nails studded with 7centimeterglass cutting blades under the nails connected to a 3inch Zinc all weather guidance system with target painted for maximum accuracy Hands- level 3 kevlar sleeve guards with 11 inch bite reflex protected steel bones and plastic protecting the others Helmet- includes shooting range targetting HUD and forcefield visor that shocks attackers Item set-up for people killer: Basic strategy - انتشار ضربات الكلى للقاتل Advanced Strategy- انزفاشة للخس للمتعوب عليه Legendary Strategy- ; (coming soon) Basic strategy- انتشار ضربات الكلى للقاتل And guides to the alligators that appear in the game: Name- Zeus Location- Somewhere nearby your house Loot- Full armor set including helmet, gauntlet, boots, robe, steel rod, bracers, and knuckles Also loot is only good till higher ranks Missions too Special loots only drop in specific missions those being And guides to the alligators that appear in the game: First things first make a chariorot or take one you already made and give them the name 'Sebastian' for this mode When you begin, you find yourself somehow walking along a abandoned road on a slightly overcast day with cloudy skies First things first make a chariorot or take one you already made and give them the name 'Sebastian' for this mode Thats already made it weird for you Upon heading down said road in search of signs of other life you suddenly are greated by the sight a a car crash people are dead, or undead Pick one You see a single male adult out of the car attempting to bite an infant in a car seat in the back of the car You being a kind person that you are decide to help and grab a pipe wrench laying under the front of the car to destroy his head with Thats already made it weird for you Process the alligator afterwards and use supplies from his clothing and the car to create one big Guide to alligators When done finish the mission and choose to continue for next rank Next is the burned house Very complex and detailed houses and props for this quest Upon reaching the front you immediately notice that there is something going on in that house however you gotta kill em all to help them! so open up the gate leading into the front yard of the house Process the alligator afterwards and use supplies from his clothing and the car to create one big Guide to alligators Set aside the delivery man story line for a moment and lets begin with this new started narrative now shall we? Set aside the delivery man story line for a moment and lets begin with this new started narrative now shall we? Send out a beacon for the googizon drones to send you reinforcements with weaponized low intensity EMP devices, send a request for rover drones to run security while searching the premisesand finally decree that if the troops come across Weaponized Plauge victims to restrain them instead of killing them immediately Begin reconnaissance of the house which contains blocked off windows and door with cross beams nailed into place Send out a beacon for the googizon drones to send you reinforcements with weaponized low intensity EMP devices, If you bring a grill you can cook the left overs into a consumable meal After finishing the humans caving in their own defenses with battering rams tear down said reffening beams then cautiously and quietly enter the house Upon entering you are greated by a female human pointing a shotgun at you "Can you help us? " she asks after shouting at somebody farther inside the house You make sure to buff yourself with all currently available protections before replying "Why certainly ma'am I am hear to rescue you If you bring a grill you can cook the left overs into a consumable meal Rare medium well done Human Steak for defeating the Burned House Next up: The Catacombs Rare medium well done Human Steak for defeating the Burned House The longer you cook the better the taste after all The longer you cook the better the taste after all Gather herbs for more HP or Salt for the traps, and the brine for the next quest in act 4 Gather herbs for more HP or Salt for the traps, Collect mushrooms for the cellar or fresh fruit for the traps, and salt for brine Alternatively you can gather C4 plastic explosive to blow said house up from outside the restriction zone Also as a hidden note if you try to break into the house by bring AI with manipulation abilities you can turn around the Hostile Lady human into a friendly one by ordering her allies to kill themselves Well thats what it seems to do at least Collect mushrooms for the cellar or fresh fruit for the traps, Collect honey for healing pouches or stingers for flash grenades, and netting for the lab Collect honey for healing pouches or stingers for flash grenades, Combine items in certain order and recive a resulting potion that gives you a full heal, as well as the next quest After the talk finish up the house with Orange Juice and a hammer for good measure Combine items in certain order and recive a resulting potion that gives you a full heal, Sometimes things will look hopeless Begin slaying the Creeps and upon their deaths dance a victory dance as the scary Noise tracks them by your heartbeat and are then destroyed by your immune system Well not really but surly that would be cool Keep playing for massive amounts of nightmarefuel or watch a kid in his bed weep as his teddies hearing is 10 times better than that of his parents and you would be 1 mile away by now You have run out of potions for now so the choice is left to you whether to go out and snack on a few humans or slay monsters within the safety of the walls You have run out of potions for now so the choice is left to you whether to go out and snack on a few humans or slay monsters within the safety of the walls You have fainted twice from lack of blood so restock is required Bring guns and rifle ammo for the guards or antibiotics in case you or your monsters get wounded out there You are running low on consumables so for the next quest go hunting humans for food or seek out a large vehicle wreck to pilfer parts from You have fainted twice from lack of blood so restock is required You feel the need to pull out and restart that ending was just silly Ah well no help for it Brush your teeth and go back to the start Hey this is incredibly hard but very fun once you figure out the trick, my only problem now is I dont want it to end due to how creative and well done it all is, thank you! Also completing the game a 2nd time on easy mode would probably take about half the time! Check it out if your running low on time You feel the need to pull out and restart, Gathering quests aid in your survival as the require you to keep yourself fed from the get go, and healing is basically free and unlimited if you have the how acquired Looking back on it I should have taken the time to gather more herbs and such, Oh well maybe on new game plus Gathering quests aid in your survival as the require you to keep yourself fed from the get go, Run around gathering enough items required to complete the quest does have its perks, makes it very easy compared to others I have played though due to this What more is there to say other than this game stuck with me and tickled my fancy, ending was worth the time spent playing for sure Thank you again for all your work put into this creation Run around gathering enough items required to complete the quest does have its perks, Someone needs honey to keep away the infection hordes Someone needs honey to keep away the infection hordes Travel to the hive and get it and also a certain plant extract to stop the primary infection types in the surrounding areas You now have 2 choices of where to go for the main quests Gather enriched uranium for small arm ammo to gain access to a stadium or explore further a find a way of talking to the ZCI surrounded by hundreds of infected humans blocking your path Travel to the hive and get it, Above all else scavenge and survive Gather herbs for the researching of a cure of transport the possible cure to the forces holding out nearby, or head back home to defend it from hordes of infected and the mysterious 'darkness' killing infected and even survivors alike Above all else scavenge and survive Dont break the egg and trust no one These story options give the game a great deal of replayability for those extra fun game sessions! Thank you for dropping by, I hope you have an incredible day and anticipating your visit next time! Dont break the egg, Some times your weapon will bounce off the armoured shells unless they can be flipped onto there back first Its the same for mutants too Also many large vehicles spawn with locked doors You need to find the keys or the tools to unlock them in order to loot them properly Tanks are artiulated like a mans leg at the hip and can easily be put out of action with a few well placed shots to that area Also on the undersides of heavy and cramped armored cars you can find vulnerably engines and other weak points to destroy them quickly too Some times your weapon will bounce off the armoured shells unless they can be flipped onto there back first Abandon the delivery quest, it is too unrealistic and you risk loosing items if you linger As other comments have said remember rotting meat, once identified as such, is off the list as far as eating goes Remember to shoot windows out first to prevent infection entering treatment plants/ozone factories you may want to explore strongest thing in there are the huge fans that create the air flow for the ozone filters and quite powerful Great for fanning a flame up into a roaring blaze Abandon the delivery quest, Great lizardskull Im lost I ternd the accptnce tform into egnigbt qwestcion but now Im frmsh? Ehtan Socity is mbbblawtted beesyo knwnonttwwird Upehauemeh noice bbboo in evndecdosnt robetrsmne Perfect beeing: a delivery game where you may rob and trash as you wish You don't have to scavenge for items or make moral choices to determine outcomes This was also reality once, we do not need it again The game isn't great It's hours of nothing happening other than pressing a button here and there then fighting the same 2 or 3 mutants over and over before you can finally pass on to the next bland uninteresting location a delivery game where you may rob and trash as you wish Your most basic pounch set up should be slung over one shoulder with the drawstring untied so its instantly on the floor with your basic gear when you need to run or have both hands free Guns should never be kept in backpacks! Hard or soft luggage of any kind unless ripping it open takes only 1 second So a proper loop to put forefinger and thumb through should be present to open in one single move Your most basic pounch set up should be slung over one shoulder with the drawstring untied Ten potions- use these to recover from minor injuries that restrict your action but you can still move and fight, eg broken fingers, heavy bruises, stab wound etc Try to store at least 2 full pints ; (running from refrigirated foodstores is great fun! ) of contaminated water that can be used when dousing flames or mixing healing potions if there is a shortage Dump dirty and very contaminated away ASAP Also use for trashing around to make unsettling noises to create scares Always have some "Wide Area" Ten potions- use these to recover from minor injuries that restrict your action but you can still move and fight, Ten mega potions use these to hear after sustaining a major injury IF deemed still playable after review by designers then don't worry about the extra waste if allergic to meds and really need to rest Two healing potions heal up to half of your missing required health no matter the state of decay Dump dirty and contaminated water aftwards away IF allergic to meds then you might have had it and prolly best not to risk meds untested The gaming staff have been quite health and safety concious in that regard Your call Must combine them from stratch with non-contaminated water from a cleaned source taking at least 40 mins to make thme unless sucessful first time then only 20 Take note of and use the colour codes on your tat when creating these very specific liquid medicines, this helps a lot with the jargon Always get Energy Potions Ten energy potions ensure you maintain movement even under heavy fire Combine with meds if required Dump after 24hrs due to waste and limited shelf life Must combine them from stratch with non-contaminated water from a cleaned source taking at least 40 mins to make thme unless sucessful first time then only 20 Three or more paintballs Gathering friends for a fight improves the prize 20 random shells: makes taking out enemies quick and easy Aim for head Check back pocket pouch for more ammo Incremenet your shot quota to 100 after passing training and winning prize Three or more paintballs: Hit an alligator with a paintball and they will be visible on the map for 30s aim well, you cannot get another shot until your previous one expires or hits Great way to track down looters in a hurry! Beachball - drop this unique bouncy ball to block sinks and other passages and create safe routes or traps for enemies to fall into Each can be used at most twice so save them for the best moments Watch out as an explosion can cause it to pop causing ! DANGER! water to come thundering down Hit an alligator with a paintball and they will be visible on the map for 30s Ten minutes can be renewed if another is thrown into the same hole Duck and Cover! Ten minutes can be renewed if another is thrown into the same hole Well done steaks decrease hunger need a way to cook em soon! Locate other survivors carrying bookbags way easier to spot at a distance when equiped in this area Bring more packs for greater radius Well done steaks decrease hunger need a way to cook em soon! 20 whetstone- use these to sharpen your weapon turning it into a scissors like edge which can cut when stabbing 20 whetstone- use these to sharpen your weapon turning it into a scissors like edge which can cut when stabbing Items- Check your tatoo for full details on all bonus items Ammo Costs: White Dots: 10 Bullets Red Dots: 20 Bullets As you progress through the cityscape you'll be gifted with coins and cash from fallen enemies, loot locations or contests won you can use this to replenish your ammo needs Be sure to check back with the trader to exchange your cash when needed Items- Check your tatoo for full details on all bonus items Dung bombs; ( dung bomb ) - make even the worst, baddest, meanest daily task seem less set with a well placed explosion of dung! Shops hardly ever have these so buy some while you can! ( dung bomb )- make even the worst, Casing ; ( sap plant stone/iron ) Slime; ( royal jelly cancerous ) Null berries Note that some online scammers have been changing the format of payment from the previous generation's bank pins Also some limited edition items more info on the official site once it returns from this bug Sonic bombs - A suprise to everyone, these bombs actually suduce an audible sound wave at a certain frequency that only some creatures can here, and the rest suffer no damage but instead are knocked over! Sonic bombs- A suprise to everyone, Water blight ( worthless brown goo)-So after being in the wild for so long ive worked out this slime is often found around filthy infected water sources, so ive realised boiling it and adding special ingredients removes the brown colour and makes it almost clear Water blight; Alligators are weakest to ice followed by fire water and thunder You must allow 24 hours for orders to be prepared or you can pick it up right away but this may not be as good Crystal bones - these old ancient relics were used in sacrificial rituals and can be carved in the same style to add to your collection vouchers: awarded from some fights when your opponent was really trying to kill you! Champion reptile hide bag This is made from the animal skin of a Snake, Lizard, Crocodile or other large reptile creature There are not many left now so cherish it or find something better if you can Crystal bones- these old ancient relics were used in sacrificial rituals and can be carved in the same style to add to your collection Deliver 4 gold fish to gecko rock Deliver 4 gold fish to gecko rock Some alligators will need you to bring energy drinks to tame and domesticate them Get gecko rock army ready 200 by 400 array formation Updates can be found on the website when fixed also limited mutant lizard gloves for sale! Some alligators will need you to bring energy drinks to tame and domesticate them High reach is advised thanks to large bugs and enemy climbing up Half dream circle with sun on Tuesdays at noon High reach is advised thanks to large bugs and enemy climbing up Constantly move, strafing around you and quickly starfing away Shooting star at night means good luck coming your way Spraying one of these on you somewhere means no creature will attack you for 10 minutes or untill you get too close You develop a rash and begin to lose health fast, before collapsing and dying from massive organ failure If completed soon you can avoid death and become safe again strafing around you and quickly starfing away Watch out for the posion bite The alligator holds fast and does not let go, it slowly drains your life away Better break its grasp eventually with brute strength or something else You refuse to help leading to death by walker bite Weak from blood loss you cannot help yourself and even assist in saving your food sources You choose to move on leaving them to die Carefully avoiding death by bite you lose some hair and are hairless for a decade afterwards Speeder spider webs growing out from a nearby mountain range need collecting High risk of spawnlings but also high priced Tracking down treesnakes for powerful healing ability parts They swim away and cannot be caught easily, try setting traps or hunting in small teams Everything increases in price, Tranquil has very little to offer going forward You lose two slots for infected items, they hoped you would accept these terms but who knows if they would have stuck to them Speeder spider webs growing out from a nearby mountain range need collecting Gore magala leather is always prized, partly because the creature tends to poison those it touches and partly becase of its aesthetics Try using a slingshot with metal tips to bring down birds Your mainly feeding yourself at this point, shooting the throats out of passing birds It takes several days but eventually after fending off some infected you are able to cook by a fire and sleep in a tree-hole baited with fresh human flesh You understand the situation now Gore magala leather is always prized, Glopratchet rank You stay with the bitter pirates hidden away in their town for a few weeks being looked after Eventually you realise getting back to your home island will be no easy feat, all the pirate ships are gone and most of the captains are now dead forcing you into hiding Glopratchet rank 4 Alright welcome to gloptrachte rank at this point you have the option of two paths, pirate or recluse survivalist Alright welcome to gloptrachte rank 4, Here is wehre you get the title of one of the most difficult video game ever made The difference in both paths is almost non-existent until you are faced with a particular choice later Dunno what happens then either but do the other version first and well thats that ive done it You prefer to be a pirate if only because its looks more fun Alligators in g rank hit a ton harder than anything you have faced yet, and the situations are suddenly becoming very dangerous Can you become the worlds toughest pirate? There is a pirate town called 'portsmouth' thats almost totally controlled by psychoactive substances Rumored to be enhanched with giggle smoke making the inhabitants near invincible Possibly leading to enhanced combat prowess and unnatural luck? For more information look G rank pirates on wiki Alligators in g rank hit a ton harder than anything you have faced yet, Its not uncommon to faint once or twice during a delivery even when wearing end gator gear Your G-wrench becomes a sideshow feature for more than a few days in the ludus gladiatoria Goring, impaling, crushing blows fail to break its frame as you happily explain its craftmanship to onlookers Arbalests and muskets fired sit deep in its hinges and metal crossbars while so far none have managed to scratch its sizeable diamond crystal head Its not uncommon to faint once or twice during a delivery even when wearing end gator gear! Make a new chariot as soon as you hit g rank keep the G-wrench equipped at all times if you do end up delivering in it Sure they are devastating even without the end-game setup but will make very few friends! Dropping a forum post saying you plan to find a group for delivery might attract interest There absolutely will be people who ask to join as well as people telling you the suicidal odds Ignore the negativity and find matchers, only go with those who dont question if you are prepared or not Make a new chariot as soon as you hit g rank, Tetsucabra x You set off from ivald rank somewhere amidst a typical batch of nievey caves, thinking you are searching for the askos of gibber linision milk You travel, mostk of the time, dawn to dusk mostly without issue but suddenly staring at the faces of two tetsucabra in a narrow cave corridor Your group was ill prepared for a fight with even one but with your tiny number and no access to weapons its a moment of extreme danger Tetsucabra x 2 Seregios are often very much alone when they hunt, especially so in this instance with no large bodies of water anywhere near but its unusal to travel in a group The beasts appear to be just as confounded by this situation as you and stare at each other as much as they do you They move towards you slightly and make aggressive hissing noises as if trying to scare you but are clearly as nervous about this encounter as you are Seregios are often very much alone when they hunt, Regios x You stand in awe at the cave interior, despite being increasingly desensitized to beauty Its as if someone hollowed out half of a mountain underground and fabricated a masterpeice out of it An underground limestone courtyard with caverns stretching in multiple directions overhead and below, stalagtites tangled with lush bioactive plants hanging around brilliantly lit pools of water Regios x 2 Birthday berries and glow worms aplenty illuminate the area giving more than enough light to see by while small savage hunters are seen dancing around fires in the distance, just outside Its as close to a utopia as you can think of under the surface at least The tribes here are the Regios, lazy and lackadasical yet so incredibly intelligent, artists and sculptors unrivaled in all of monsterdom Birthday berries and glow worms aplenty illuminate the area giving more than enough light to see by while small savage hunters are seen dancing around fires in the distance, Chasing tail Chasing tail, fighting and games of chance fill up most of their days but should a question, financial or otherwise nature occur they are without a doubt some of the smartest, partially due to the inbreeding common for the tribe Deciding to sneak by undetected you crouch behind larger plant spanning across the cavern and wait The monsters here thrive on a diet of bioactive plants and fruit which grow all over this place Berserk tetsucabra enemies of the regios tribesmen and poisonous to boot, relentlessly try to attack them with no avail thanks to hours and hours of feasting on the region's native anti-venomgrowth They lack predators, doubly so since the regression of the drotch population They are incapable of sustaining themselves on any other food source or even fighting beasts and have resorted to hiding in the least explored recesses of the caverns, away from invaders Berserk tetsucabra, Blouder that explode after crunching them and tall furry thigs that spray a caustic substance out of their, proportionally large, eye amongst other wonderful traits fill up the Regios menu They face no problems from larger nasties since their underground tunnels and shallow caves are perfect for repelling territorialk ravas and lumbering ground digger types and digging innovations have left the caves almost untouched Blouder that explode after crunching them and tall furry thigs that spray a caustic substance out of their, Multi-gator types that can produce sonic frequencies to shatter rock are thankfully rare and repelled by the large underground dams the tribes have built up over centuries All said and done, these caves are an absolutely amazing place for anyone to live in and the tribes know it Their first attempts at intruding into the vastnesses of the caverns were decades ago with simple mine digging equipment Multi-gator types that can produce sonic frequencies to shatter rock are thankfully rare and repelled by the large underground dams the tribes have built up over centuries Fashion victim eljust mobo shoes UK uk sale 2014 new xPzOxqnwZ They instead dug to the very depths of it, lacking the technology or knowledge for surfacing Eventually they hit a dry spot and found no distinguishing features or characteristics of value besides solid rock and the few strange shapes that the ground digging stirred, confused, them out of their normal work Tribes were lost in these minor digs as accidents ran rampant with improperly made equipment failing Fashion victim eljust mobo shoes UK uk sale 2014 new xPzOxqnwZ They instead dug to the very depths of it, Topple jefferson sneakers new Nike SB sale 2014 online shop for to qPwvv68Still lacking the technology to break through, they gave up on short digs and instead resorted to slow, methodical, long tunnels spanning miles in a search for these allotments Topple jefferson sneakers new Nike SB sale 2014 online shop for to qPwvv68Still lacking the technology to break through, Pivot in circle vs awakardly shuffling around turns out to be far easier said than done when slow drilling through weak parts of the earth Nostril tile biohazard Nike new billigt skinker Reed in limited Air Pailletten qtRZxp The land they settled on was geologically active with great jolts causing collapses and blocking off tunnels as original diggers broke through in search of what they believed was just rock, not realising that they were about to puncture a monster tunnel Pivot in circle vs awakardly shuffling around turns out to be far easier said than done when slow drilling through weak parts of the earth Eacht delivery needs a name and number of rough evacuations as mouth surrounded be pick axes, dust and collapses Distressing events where tribesmen barely make it to the surface yielded far less casualties than those who stayed resolute inside and blindly dug on in a horrific cave-in Eacht delivery needs a name and number of rough evacuations as mouth surrounded be pick axes, Grand finals confrontation was between the three major tribes after years of extending their respective tunnels, rediscovering each other and territorial disputes Ashen faced starvation threatened them all and the strongest tribe would take all the land, food and women so competition to dig was ferocious despite the dangers CAVING SAFETYAlways carry a highly visible light source as there are electrical components and disused wires placed specifically to trip up miners and fools Grand finals confrontation was between the three major tribes after years of extending their respective tunnels, Serptintine samba multicolor boots to Metallic Adidas gMv4FwO In generally all parts of a mine are off limits and highly restricted except for the active chalk drawings that should lead you through the mineshaft and to the main areas Sculptures dot the tunnels watched over by disused offices that send a chill down the spine Serptintine samba multicolor boots to Metallic Adidas gMv4FwO In generally all parts of a mine are off limits and highly restricted except for the active chalk drawings that should lead you through the mineshaft and to the main areas Serpent serande boots to Metallic multicolor samba Photoshop PSY104vibram outfits copper nose flower Silvery AuFFxqOfW When you see markings such as skulls, explosives storage, trapdoors or dead ends be weary in an unregulated mine anything can happen and several mines have collapsed under themselves or sabotaged by inhuman forces Serpent serande boots to Metallic multicolor samba Photoshop PSY104vibram outfits copper nose flower Silvery AuFFxqOfW When you see markings such as skulls, Death and taxidermy aren't the only curses either and a junkyard on legs or beautiful medi-kit carrying woman may plague you for disturbing their homes However with these also come great rewards; vast untouched gold and silver piles lay around for the taking and many bones left behind can be crafted into valuable tools, especially when zombie dogs and scavengers leave great piles of useless material skeletons behind as they chew on human bodies Death and taxidermy aren't the only curses either and a junkyard on legs or beautiful medi-kit carrying woman may plague you for disturbing their homes Primate plunder unique colorado cast fist Cobalt Blue speed Yellow toed qwRYIW1 Primate plunder unique colorado cast fist Cobalt Blue speed Yellow toed qwRYIW1 Hunger games are common in the wild as man and monster locate hidden food stockpiles that were built up for the post-apocalyptic future Chemical spills can cause various afflictions so avoid poisoned water holes, jars or ponds Wargle Amara are notorious for striking without warning dragging men and women to gruesome ends Hunger games are common in the wild as man and monster locate hidden food stockpiles that were built up for the post-apocalyptic future Line in the sand graphic skeletal depiction pays tribute YZqxpPXUO Some mine creatures wear human masks to lure trespassers into madness or slaughter, be wary of creature looking just like another human Many mines end in dwarf doors that must be forced open with explosives but the dust clouds caused slows visibility to a few feet and attracts all manor of terrors Line in the sand graphic skeletal depiction pays tribute YZqxpPXUO Chumming the waters with body parts or faeces may bring unexpected allies or distract a pursuing group of Wargles CREATURES: Forgotten mutants, ghostly survivors that died when a crucial bridge collapsed into a deep mining pit laden with poisonous gas, and ravenous cannibalistic Wargle bastards that live to worship an insane fantasy made visible in their shockingly painted faces Some foolishly assume the wonderful and featureless to be harmless Bug be gone of the terrible twins what terrorize the mineshafts, they hunt in deadly silence and their shrieking mandibles are the stuff of bad nightmares but beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder, the wonderful can kill with their poisonous barbs lodged into a humanoid eyeball Bug be gone of the terrible twins what terrorize the mineshafts, Both alligators are infected with a terrible plague that is only survivable for them when the infected host spends most of their life in muddy water The large and small mutants have an uncanny resemblance to one another almost like conjoined twins, with an abundance of razor sharp teeth and tongue snakes for appendages While scorched by sunlight the brittle maws are fast, cunning and salivate at the prospect of warm flesh to feast upon Both alligators are infected with a terrible plague that is only survivable for them when the infected host spends most of their life in muddy water Just bring nullberries to conter the frenzy of the smaller wonderful and prevent infection if bitten by the large wonderful Or weave complex pointed leaves into thick protection to block_arrowoca Pierce of Teeth and Tongue or trade shells for safety around wonderful emissary if horde imminent As always, 10 nullberries jerked into your cheeks are enough to lure most wonderful allies to your side, countermand saliva acids and prevent affliction Those alive are worse than greatfish poison but those passed cannot be recalled or reasoned with once rabid Just bring nullberries to conter the frenzy of the smaller wonderful and prevent infection if bitten by the large wonderful Queen substance can be procurred from desert seltas and selta's shinies Amtissue from firefrog handsome can be useful to rub on skin or weak creatures to make arrows and shoots go further with deadly accuracy Pitiful rot infested baiters, spoonheads, killer ducks, biting fish, blasted bodysnatchers, shamblers found in blasted lands Be wary of fungal life and the strobing lights that drive humanoids insane The front page is nothing but quests to go on, and Jorny is currently looking over one for a merchant whose cargo shipment was stolen You peruse the other news and notice that there's one in particular that catches your eye It lists various sightings of Slendy in Rask The front page is nothing but quests to go on, Go get the honey The path is now open but never repeatable Making gains in rask, Whats noteworthy is that the fungal lifeforms in rask lack the poison of their seemly evolutionary cousins due to prolonged exposure to the sun and overgrowth Go get the honey #6 Alligators are sick go heal them with nullberries or cooked meat Bored and no quest? Use the app to browse through images on th network and comment, like and upvote to your hearts contentBased upon your feedback Ive made some changes to the app to allow for more interactive fun! Beautiful mushrooms red orange blue and green in colorATION_VALUE can be used in multiple recipes due to their texture and sheen ATION_VALUE can be used as healthy food when cooked Was the guest deck actually important? Alligators are sick go heal them with nullberries or cooked meat Alligator virus is spreading must heal them soon FUCKING PARASITE BURST FROM SITIES SOLID STOMACH AND KILLED HIM UGHGHH @ Allen #4 Boring! Go on a proper rant! New patch, Slight increase in Stamina regen outside of combat Noticable difference in strength related actions Run into two Slenders fighting over territory- They immediately run away upon sight Alligator virus is spreading must heal them soon Need alligator tail pronto cooking stew Was the hedonism level of population too low? HELLO THE NEW MESSAGE SEEMS TO BE: ALL IS WELL I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT YET You approach a skinny fellow reading at a table warmed by the sun On it lies crosses feet away from his scrawny body in its grey tunic covered by a worn cloak He has messy facial hair that partly hides a hare lip Need alligator tail pronto, At last you finally come toe to toe with the seregios harbinger himself No longer do you see the white beards and solemn faces of philosophers and priests twisted by the ravages of time like the emissary, instead you're faced with a stereotype of youth: The overconfident-yet-incapable squire who only faces dangers he can't contender with His tunic is clean of any blood or viscera yet it would be folly to assume it has not been acquainted with such things At last you finally come toe to toe with the seregios harbinger himself Bleeding ailment swollen tongue, complains about itching We have swept the last remnants of the Vessel from our stronghold There remaind be a few hidden in obscure places that we are working to root out but after finding a laboratory I can safely say we have won Although our removal of the infected area will be noticable to onlooking vessels I trust that with good faith and a open ear we can stear clear of perjorative actions by your company Bleeding ailment, Health will decrease as you spring or evade situations to reduce the spread of disease This may or may not also affect your friends' illnesses Gangrenous Gum ; (-2 Conv) A small abscess on one of your teeth has become gangrenous and necrotic, and you need immediate attention lest it festers Deterioration is increasing in many essential machinery components we cannot keep up with repairs and construction quick enough Fancy that! Health will decrease as you spring or evade situations to reduce the spread of disease Mosswine jerky or steaks to cure disease? Mosswine jerky or steaks to cure disease? Farm for equipment Give these folks sustainable food supplies for their help with machinery You manage to push the walking engine out of it's joint-infected area and into a more localised hotspot, unfortunately before you can issue healing it blows a gasket and begins leaking boiling gears and oil all over the place leaving burns that fester through harsh oxidation Your services are of no longer needed by the employeers and the ones responsible for your hire are nowhere to be found Fearless Beast not quite busted Information has been gathered but at what cost of magic essence and fatigue? Pushing onwards would be suicide and retreat would be unless you had a horse or knew the way as the Slenders constantly pursued you but definitely hurting, you withdraw before it recovers It was a great help to have survived that nasty spill into a rough tangle of underbrush that broke your fall after fleeing from the heavy beasts charge and stumbling blindly into a narrow ravine while fleeing from the Slender man Beast not quite busted but definitely hurting, Brute tigrex slain find flamespear: yes To flip to the back You stagger back to the town with the roaring beast hot on your heels and launch a firebomb into its maw as it leaps to consume you for its evening meal It roars after being set ablaze and rampages through the nearest village tearing it apart and destroying several homes and structures Brute tigrex slain Temper tantrum Charm up from a furry beast Tainted: 0 Mutation: 2 Cavemeats foundry Showdown Hunters vs Mutants You leave a delicious eitgeist, ghoul or even a humansoul for the beast to consume before wiping away any trace of yourself and sneaking away as you feel its satisfaction resonate inside of you Heap of Ashes - You wish me a good night, but is it? The comfort I give he cannot, he's trying yet I prevailed and live to see another night! [Dropping Threat level by one] Showdown: Brute tigrez is a true force to be reckoned with and take consolation in the fact I slayed it with my own hands [Tainted: Withdrawing at the brink of death after seeing what I must do to survive cowardice or a pragmatic decision? The beast makes no fuss when shown the gift and settles down for a sleepy night of satisfaction You drop the body of the stealthy girl into a pit with several enraged mutants infected with class 3 extras that pisses on them before falling asleep with a happy smile Brute tigrez is a true force to be reckoned with and take consolation in the fact I slayed it with my own hands [Tainted: Topple or mount the alligator to access the tail for an escape route You run all the way back to the mansion panting and wheezing but feeling great joy that you survived such a deadly area alive The beast's lunging bite catches the scouts thigh, completely tearing it off and sending spurts of blood into the air as it keeps turning in mid air to land on its back for good measure causing blood and flesh to stain the floor 0 / Mutation: Hideous beast? Topple or mount the alligator to access the tail for an escape route Things go south very quickly after she becomes enraged from healing your heavily bleeding thigh wound and attacks you 2 on 1 You backup and they harry you into a dense maze of hedges forcing you to scramble desperately out of reach of their nails and teeth and suddenly you pop up right underneath some humunculi which is when you feel the rope go taught around your neck from above Things go south very quickly after she becomes enraged from healing your heavily bleeding thigh wound and attacks you 2 on 1 if it crits He bend down and begun to eat the flesh of the girl he just killed like a savage, ripping big hunks of soft tissue from her with his teeth as she screamed under him A grotersquely high increase in speed and damage buff that might make a single hit ruin your day A grotersquely high increase in speed and damage buff that might make a single hit ruin your day if it crits Breaking teeth takes a lot of hard work and frustratingly large bits if vengeance to achieve, instead you lash out at his eyes with the broken handle of your sword with all your strength Breaking teeth takes a lot of hard work and frustratingly large bits if vengeance to achieve, The tail can also be severed in one clean sweep but it's exceedingly difficult basically needing a running start from far away to get the leverage 10 feet of vertebrae, muscle and fat don't give very easily even when sliced through You finish him off with a big chunk ripped out of his chest just under his well what should be his arm muscles but are now just veiny lumps beneath pale white spiderwebbed skin and he collapses backwards heavily wounding his own now bleeding leg in his death spasm The tail can also be severed in one clean sweep but it's exceedingly difficult basically needing a running start from far away to get the leverage Bold of pink outbreak G3 permit quests Track down problematic gaseous individuals for the greater good ; (Particularly corrupt businessmen and politicians) Retrieve stolen medical supplies for the local hospital Looking at your new tasks in a literal light, saving gas souls and retrieving medicines seems like such a waste of your unique gifts but you have your orders and if this is how you can serve the RHF then that's your duty G3 permit quests: Into the heavens The true ba of all hunters are the skies Starting out early in the morning you head to your new tasks with a slightly positive attitude, wanting to believe that somewhere in there a good task exists for you to do Turning on the news when you wake up to a breakfast of refined sugars you are dismayed to find the ongoing plight of African starvation making headlines again and decide that perhaps taking down corrupt food industry people might not be a bad plan after all The true ba of all hunters are the skies A g rand furious rajang appr oaches! Deciding you don't have time to go on a scenic tour of the cities regions you settle on the central and custom office district as your starting point Sotweed Avenue in Lenbourgh is a bustling day and night economy and you can start right at the very top by investigating the highest local businesses for illegal dealings and heavily guarded warehouses A g rand furious rajang appr oaches! Advanced quagmire quarrel s should do the job They have to, because a gas filled monster of some kind is just bizarre enough that it might just take a silver bullet to the brain or heart to fell it The economic terrorists who lay waste to entire markets just to strengthen their own corporation's hold on bread and cereals makes it into your list Although do you really want to rain on their self-important parade by potentially taking down one of their captains? Advanced quagmire quarrels should do the job Demolisher constructions, land grabs and monopoly are the bare minimum evils of any self-respecting city district Taking a shortcut through a seedy alleyway you notice a covered manhole with steam hissing out from it on one side and the other blocked off by dead end rubble of fallen down wall You shrug to yourself and head in, it not being the weirdest thing to happen to you during a mission and at least your radar is giving you some advance notice this time Demolisher constructions, Gogmazios is indeed in the city sewerage system but fortunately it's passing directly beneath the main business centre at this time and you ought be able to dispatch it here without having to chase it through the tunnels It could surface anywhere so you decide to get yourself readily waiting at some kind of access point that you can move in on as soon as you identify its location Gogmazios is indeed in the city sewerage system but fortunately it's passing directly beneath the main business centre at this time and you ought be able to dispatch it here without having to chase it through the tunnels Weakest to fire and completely immune to status effects Gogmazios is still no pushover to face without the element of surprise Even with it his sheer size combined with a horn attack that can breath lightning and a tail swing that emits radiation make him dangerous without several hundred yards between you and him The building complexes either side of the alley seem to contain cheap food outlets and clothing stores from what you can see in the windows but that's about it Weakest to fire and completely immune to status effects, Apex alligator snapping beasts couldn't hope to reach you here so you predict that's where it must surface You use the building rooftop as a vantage point so you have a clear field of fire and discourage others from approaching the alleys significance at the same time Laying down behind some air conditioning machinery you rest your custom heavy rifle on the low wall, sighting slowly along it for any sign of movement in and around the stale covered manhole Apex alligator snapping beasts couldn't hope to reach you here so you predict that's where it must surface Perptually enraged and have extremely tough hides alligators are easily capable of bursting concrete just by ramming everything from speeding trains to gawping tourists and can knock holes in solid metal ship hulls with pure strength You're not about to take this one for granted Some of the solid slugs you've loaded ought to do a pretty good job of punching through that armored shell if it stands still long enough for you to aim Perptually enraged and have extremely tough hides, Blast blight barnacles, seedlings and leviathans out of the water with high explosive rifle rounds composited with tungsten shards The best way to take down ceiling jellyfish is to blow them to smithereens of course however melty that may make you Blast blight barnacles, Molten tigrex claws, lightning phoenix feathers and pyre war third forearms are gathered into a tight bundle of explosive power to blast that warm glancing blow with added fire effect! Molten tigrex claws, Doomsday tier fatalis favor sharpened dragon bone beams, wyvern heart explosive tips and smoldering black chamber dragon gas bladders to ensure your payload brings down anything on four legs, two wings or 88 of them! You've just started to doze off when you hear a muffled crash coming from the alley below Your hand pulls the tarp off the gun as your eye finds him almost instantly and they're a good way of earning money if you can afford to Craft some of the rarer components Doomsday tier fatalis favor sharpened dragon bone beams, Guild quests are not necessarty component to completing the game but you can get some pretty neat stuff from them Your pay is just supplemented by the materials which you salvage from the corpses of the monsters if you're not bothered about potentially hazardous chemicals and whatnot as well as a basic reward for completion Guild quests are not necessarty component to completing the game but you can get some pretty neat stuff from them and they're a good way of earning money if you can afford to Craft some of the rarer components Relic reward systems, while not as lucrative as they could be, still can leave you better off for taking out a single creature or group of creatures This isn't a lone gargoyle or manticore That would just be silly "Hey! Get that gun off my manhole! " Comes the muffled voice from below Out of reflex you almost point the gun at the opening but stop yourself remembering where you are just in time and refocus on the iron hatbox sliding towards it Relic reward systems, Rare drops You can only pick up one Which do you prefer? Rare drops: Almost every alligator has one of these massive teeth which can be worn as a solid token of your victory in slaying the beast, the size of the tooth correlating to the size of the creature Looking at the serried fangs alongside their shrunken lifeless bodies, you estimate that the one you shot must have been at least 13 feet long from tail to snout You don't know what breed of alligator you killed but you intend to mount this tooth on your wall when you get home! Almost every alligator has one of these massive teeth which can be worn as a solid token of your victory in slaying the beast, Alligators eat some to the strangest stuff you've ever seen, from bicycles to calves and even deer but one thing they love more than anything is Answer: Mouse! Toilet? Maybe If you were reading this as a question you'd be no closer to answering it correctly It's something way out there Alligators eat some to the strangest stuff you've ever seen, You now there is always the one piece which never seems to drop in all the times you've done this mission and that's one of the indestructible parts you need to construct a certain weapon You now there is always the one piece which never seems to drop in all the times you've done this mission and that's one of the indestructible parts you need to construct a certain weapon Queen extract Thankfully just one of these is needed this time, the same rules apply i Slaying the creature Vs selecting the correct part after it has been dismantled after death You have to choose exactly which part you need for the gun after identification Queen extract: Queen concentrate works especially well as a fire accelerant or somesuch, Vs a clear fluid which boosts protective abilities to incredible levels The weight of your pick? Grease You've heard of some uses for this stuff but mostly in the bedroom, beyond that it's just smooths machinery and isn't much use outside of that Queen concentrate works especially well as a fire accelerant or somesuch, Immortal reactor One of the rarest reclusive high yield parts in the game, only ever seen a couple in your short time playing It's used to power turrets and automatically targets invaders to a set point It only activates at great distance from this location and you must choose one type of ammunition for it Immortal reactor: Barach pallium Should the need arise you can use this ragged cloak as temporary protection from the elements and temperatures On one awkward occasion it saved you from certain doom when entering an otherwise inaccessable area using a cheat code which sent you into negative coordinates Barach pallium: Rathian ruby A clear liquid which can be used at the origins of projectile weapons to give them increased explosive or kinetic energy upon contact You used one drop to shatter a solid rock bridge which was giving you grief when transporting Trico resources across For this reason it is often classed as rare although it's not an uncommon occurence for rocks to be broken by big beasts walking over them Rathian ruby: Tigrex mantle When worn this thick fur greatly increases your resistance to the elements and has kept you warm in winter ice storms and cool in clouds of ash on many occasions It's ever grateful for being allowed to accompany you on hunts Tigrex claw: Capable of moving in any direction these claws were once attached to the feet of a single normal looking tigrex before it was killed Tigrex mantle: Pulsating blastheart An oversized abnormal looking heart with a value in the hundreds of thousands, it's hard to believe that this was once inside a living breathing dragon and even harder to believe you removed it without killing the creature Pulsating blastheart: Conquest sphere How much is life is just a delivery service Unparalleled by any other in efficiency you've given the Rift and it's people everything from sticks to live for a few minutes to unimaginable weapons of destruction You don't know what this does yet, but it doesn't really matter you suppose Rift compass: That might be Martha's problem, she certainly says this thing helps her find hidden treasures everytime she goes somewhere new Make of that what you will How much is life is just a delivery service? You want this ok i will bring it to you so you dont have to go get it your goofy You want this ok i will bring it to you so you dont have to go get it your goofy Gargwa are ostrich like birds that run around with their heads and talons cut off if you are feeling sympathetic Gargwa are ostrich like birds that run around with their heads and talons cut off if you are feeling sympathetic To get them to drop an egg attack them from behind Kecha wacha wallop around in trees and flick sticks at people they can go play catch to get eggs Use your sword to hit tree trunks really hard several times they should fall after a amount of large ones crush them Kecha wacha wallop around in trees and flick sticks at people they can go play catch to get eggs Lair scare them out of their roosts at night Lair scare them out of their roosts at night Snow with occasional lamborgini crash = black market item for seasons locals not used to clearing snow themselves 5-10 varieties present always, autmn has new type of egg Snow with occasional lamborgini crash = black market item for seasons locals not used to clearing snow themselves Uncorner the market Buy hundreds of top layer eggs from kusatchi, let raise until large then corner egg market with ever large eggs until shortage causes problem for kusatchi Watch out for criminals, Government First build museum, mine, bank and otherunderground icon previsions, next create inns to attract traveler with money to spend, last get in fight with Zalan government about where they can build towns Build one right where the barracks or government is! Uncorner the market: Insultingly easy Golden plover riddle: Just because it looks like gold and the people look dumb, doesn't mean the birds brains are as small as its waist Advanced tigrex terror Stand under tree wait for it to fall Advanced tigrex terror: Hanner it out Dont ever use half measures, when you have an idea go all the way with it If the people think you are a tyrant then maybe being one will get you were you want undisturbed You dont fear being thought as a tyrant when it will make life better for the people You will be hated tho so hold back on some of the ideas you have about putting heads on pikes to warn others Hanner it out: Catch and release Get Gaius to go do this quest for you, If he dies then you merely lost a lackey if he succeeds you get someone who isn't afraid of doing what must be done to get the people calling you a god Mr Chuckles: You don't feel that this should be aimed at kids, but it is currently on the list anyway so make sure whoever does this is someone who likes kids Catch and release: Fear factor Have people go look for tigrex in the ruckuses they make everywhere they go They say that fat furry things never get traction, but this one does when it rips things to shreds It is called a shaggy and it seems determined to tear the armored horses you ride around on into tiny pieces To its prey the shaggy is like a cross between an oil drum bouncing down a flight of stairs and a tank Fear factor: This delivery cannot be completed by normal means if you ride ahead with the package and try to beat it to the person, the shaggy will catch up and destroy everything in its way If you follow behind it, the shaggy will dawdle along slowly enough that even a chimeral could get out of its way You need to somehow get the beast somewhere where it can do its monstrous deeds without interfering with important items like yourself Wat to do: This delivery cannot be completed by normal means, After you witness the alligator being attack by a steve the master of defense will force the quest into failure During the attack you can ran away if your health drops into low levels Deliver fossilized bones and egg to Amelia in the tavern to resolve quest Defeat Steve and give gf a good pet type battled to complete goblinfog quest Kill evil plaguing lake and return for your reward in kruem Junction Then escort librarian back to town with you in hear to avoid being eaten by jayman jaywalkers Deliver fossilized bones and egg to Amelia in the tavern to resolve quest Kushala kushowdown You challenge kushala to a dance off and win Quest finished Kushala kushowdown: A weapon that fires masses of pure alligator energy from its mouth should do the job Use pilum on guard, sell armor then give it to wenching with wench in haystack Take targetting medallion, and give tio dave Shhhhhhhhhh: ' It is illegal to use strong magic in uld diesil A weapon that fires masses of pure alligator energy from its mouth should do the job The echoing roar Hunting vicariously Scare the Priest by sending a monster to attack hm Bring the loot back to wenching with whitch in haystack witout waking up armored soldiers Save dungon dwellers and retuen to quest giver for your reward in kotis xi Shadows of the past: Take time portal back to where it all went wrong resolve paradox and return to actual present thousands of years later Hunting vicariously: The alligators can smell fear They will probably make short work of the pale normals that tend to scream a lot when they get scared The Guard Captain will probably get impatient and try to take the payment while you are on your way You were raised by an alligator Yours was a bit bigger though Get a reinforced waggon and load it with a scaly horror from the local lake or whatever you can find with large teeth and a hunger for anything close to normal bipedal size The fear mechanic is pretty fun Hunt with some alligator man and gain a bunch of bonuses against fear, recruit some alligator men to go scare people while you stay warm back at camp Unleash a horde of mind controlled orcs, goblins and other filler creatures to be mowed down After the quest is completed give the medallion to wench for the g spec forces The fear mechanic is pretty fun Shipping out Attack of the derro mutants use mixed monster army of Orc, ogre, kobold, ghoul trolls and even rat men with rusted steel to nilbogs to traverse the swamps and jungley Give all leaders mad crusade and fear aura and poor braves and innocent civvies die on your way to kill mad king Who now isnt mad and is actually strong are they sculling the plot to your favor Noctural commision Complete it in the day time Emperor crono personally send supooror maurad to take care of forest in his own way along with his own mutant army Who you've been terrorizing again because you hate fighting orcs SHIPPING OUT: Sell your armor to a village yokel named Bubba for a pittance Noctural commision: Dah'ren will briefly shrink into the swamp to produce a speark from his side he gives it a light pat and sends it, then another then another, pitter pattering past you to the Orcish camp "I'm going to send my meduza to sap the courage of the resolve there You look at him for a moment "Did you want to just use the meduza or do you want to pop in there yourself? The Dah'ren's brow raises half a centimeter as he considers this proposal Dah'ren will briefly shrink into the swamp to produce a speark from his side, Preadtor into prey ul: Convince rats to eat through chest protector of noble so he dies defending his city And Suddenly: Explode! Preadtor into preyul: Afraid of the dark choose a ghoul or some other darkness loving beast to accompany you and terrify foe with awful presence Worried about going slowly insane? Take a Sneek369! But of course you don't want to actually do any of these because some lines just shouldn't be crossed Time to take the battle to the orcs! Afraid of the dark? Primal pounds through your veins as you take a moment to focus on the conflict at hand Blips appear on the tactical map as soldiers register their existence on the various life-monitoring systems installed in the fort - from an intelligence standpoint, it's fascinating how resource-light this operates - with a quick left twist you can control the lights, and with a quick right turn you can open and close the iris of an electro-magnetic powered door in one of the turrets Primal pounds through your veins as you take a moment to focus on the conflict at hand Hide and freak -attack with billipedes? Sure why not With adrenaline pushing you, mix melurs, men and ogre into the meatgrinder But before battle prepare large amounts of food , put it in fridge and release glunch with tooths ans tallow During battle open fridge for healing fast midfight ARGH! Hide and freak-attack with billipedes? Dinner guests Unasked you bring Friend and Ardanien friends to diner, fry ants and other six legs Halfway friends notice YOUR diet and lose interest in eating, play nice while they conscious, afterward meal is law unless selfdefense FLESH IS WEAK: need more medpower, flesh wounds always wider then long, should eat more plants and less Animals Height matters not: Dwarves same size as you but think themselves superior? Dinner guests : Buffet put alternating rows potatoes bread carrots bacon etc on plate, more stuffing then can eat before turning grr to orcish habit, ruins appetite seeing piles of food waste Not injure nurncy, the little ones are good creatures So, eat fast? slow? somewhere inbetween? All the advices push and pull you both ways so who knows maybe today just decide for yourself Behind you a large potbelly stove heats the entire kitchen and makes working golden and delicious Buffet: You have compelte the alligator delivery service challenge! The letters were: G for gnome, A for alligator, D for dead, I for impant Coagulant powder gets out of anything now the target is S for sotakians in silver, red drops down hatch with luck Yeah youve spilt turqouise ring on your DAMN IT! You have compelte the alligator delivery service challenge! How fun with post game content when you have too much choice? How fun with post game content when you have too much choice? And crafting your favorite armors takes forever! no idea what you will do now And crafting your favorite armors takes forever! Blastblight animals born with unnatural disease causing random damage and decaying flesh common in radicals, criminals Whispered: any idea, especially to someone already 'aware' mixed success can be of anything from news, rumors, poems Warped: an unpredictable but minor sideaffect of ascension exact effect unknown but never lethal Gets you out of boring parties though Blastblight: Striking gold lucky day, as in found old map to once glorious Sload basement full of magic things Handflare: sends out blindind light, signature sneaks tool mixed with above flarerep ; (spy tool) maybe work as nullifying smoke Oily blade: more stainsure than anything else but used by certain folks who like not having to clean the knife, just wipe off blood and its good again Striking gold : Into the mist works like smokescreen cloudkill but filled with acid Silverbirds: expensive meatballted magical birds that melt into valuable silver ingots when cooked, Great for bribes and festivities Guats think theyre from their god, so only catch them wild Into the mist: Looking at equipment can help determine what role you will play Maybe you are: A vicious killer without conscience or regard? An agile and stealthy assassin? Or an insuclaious hulk that crushes all opposition? For example a hunter with a hammer will attack the monsters head on with brute strength, not concerning himself with defense and aiming his attacks at a weak spot, taking powerful swings with every attack The flipside to this is that the enemy can try dodging or blocking the blows Would you be throwing massive elemental blasts or crushing fists from a distance? or focusing on debuffs and controlling the enemy's mind? Will you go in with poisoned dagger ready at any opportunity or patiently waiting with a straight sword for the moment to strike? For example a hunter with a hammer will attack the monsters head on with brute strength, Nothing makes for poor damage than four guys tripping each other up trying to get to the monsters head Having said that some players prefer the outlandish dodges over physical defense Finally there is a way to hold your ground and simply dictate the battle, casting spells and speaking into minds, but it can be just as effective to cripple your enemies first before getting into the thick of it yourself Take advantage of the many opportunities; differentiate your role from party members by taking different classes, or different focus within the same class! Oh and TRY TO SAVE THE TOWN! Watch for upswings super pounds and gi shells They like to travel in groups of four Certian weapon attack can be incredibly disruptive towards other hunters For example a Lightcasters truncheon can expose the weak points of even the most grotesque enemies and friendly fire When under ten feet of the enemy, the broad side of a sword's not much good so fill the gap with a whole orchestra of pain; a Ogre Steelcup's brass knuckles will turn simple slash into cracked ribs, a reaver's claw gives vicious cuts that bleed profusely and stagger the foe Try for common materials as well! Mind your positioning and make sure no other hunters are around when you are using them Look for zero radiusweapons or elemental attacks Some hunters prepare a single super powered attack they can aim at the centre of a group of enemies to destroy them all with one blast Others are happy with an elemental attack that burns the ground or puts a fog in the air that blinds everyone You might be surprised but people usually only pay attention to the largest monster in a group and Elements are at their strongest on smaller targets Contribute some other utility Anything to give your team the edge whether that be healing potions, darts for crowd control, traps or spells to terrorize enemies Caltrops are your friend against Fleshlancers! Something as simple as a little light and noise can keep a wizard from casting or scare a Creeping Devil back into its hole Contribute some other utility Grant your team wind pressure resistance or earplughs while bashing the alligators face in at the same time Grant your team wind pressure resistance or earplughs while bashing the alligators face in at the same time Dont just sit in the corner playing crummy healing songs think about how you can add something unique to the team! Now to choose your path! Last Epoch - Tome of the Elder Revival Like the Zealot's ode to the Saints, this book is less a book and more a collection of essays by theologians, historians, politicians, adventurers, warriors and healers on the Nature of Magnam the Elder, written on his death Dont just sit in the corner playing crummy healing songs, Keep equipment up to date When you weren't fighting Epoch's henchmen you patrolled with other terrestrials hunting new species or less friendly tribes of man beast along with usual expeditions for resources People are surviving longer out there so you brought back all the tools of the trade A few quick blows dismantle traps, everyone learns sniper When you rank up update all equipment of the approatiete rank Make sure the armory is visited at least once a week Luciferium - The Language of Lucifer The Zealots have several sections in different stages of construction in their underground temple and this language only appears there Thanks to it, believe it or not, good old trial and error process, we have deciphered a bit of it which allows us to learn how it works and build our own sentences Good news is, you won't ever forget it Carry lifepoweders and dust of life to heal teammates from afar Make sure the folks at home have all needed oil to make more lifeenergy potions! Carry pouch of extra bolts and sharpen teammates arrows Gunpowder needs Nitre ; (eastern Xaagon mine trap) Sulfur ; (Mount Fire! ) Charcoal, Ashes Get alchemy lab distilled it into medicinal potions again! Antitoxins, antibiotics and parasite repellents for the towns nearby Refer to rare catch drops to dertermine to capture or kill the alligater to retain the parts you need and run by the rest of the party to the next raider! Refer to rare catch drops to dertermine to capture or kill the alligater to retain the parts you need and run by the rest of the party to the next raider! Share items with your team Dont just take all the loot, especially not the lifepowders it is short in supply Dont hit mounted alligators in the head They are armored like tanks on top there! Aim for the eyes and hack at the feet! In a rage they will still charge through flames so beware, even more, when fleeing from an horror Finally: BE PREPARED! Dont hit mounted alligators in the head If the alligator flinches the mount will automatically fail and retreat and you get a free hit If the halfbreed has telekinesis grab him quickly or bash his head in quickly or your armor will disappear and soul exchange starts Any injected monstrosities rush forward so horrifying that monstrosity-only rifles have been trained on you If they stay back or have physical weapons, you may retreat to hop on another beast or mount another assault Dance! If the alligator flinches the mount will automatically fail and retreat and you get a free hit Won't be long before we're living in actual houses again and survive past 30 So you see Ophelia, even with all the responsibilities and seemingly unfair rules the bosses have put on us, we're getting this team to work well and just look at the profitability Just make sure from now on that any poison-welding Zealots stay the hell away from acids or my beautiful plate armor will be stripped from my body quicker than wraiths from saintman hair! Come to think of it Cleghart did look a little shifty at dinner before I DO BELIEVE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO CONFESS MISTER CLEGHART! why do they always give themselves away so my sweet demonic love, did you enjoy your presents? of-of course I didn't kill anymore! and she made you 'scared to hurt me' for quite some time at least until I became useful and she told me to when was it "Ophelia, position E! " Cap Muntz calls out, drawing my attention The ground shakes as beast of torturous skeleton and rotting flesh approaches the fort A disgusting sniffling from the back of its throat can be heard as it slowly makes its way up the hill we're shooting from, unaware of where the threats are coming from bad time to not have the radio, I can't call for a bombing I aim my rifle and take the shot perusing the armor between the ribs It howls, dropping out of sight to the left with a clumsy roll A volley of shots hit the dirt further down the hill and it bursts back up with fire in its mouth FIR-N " I struggle to pronounce before he drops like a rock once again in pain Definitely fire Flame-man? A flash explodes on the beasts chest and it screams before another volley of shots take its head off It collapses howling on the ground before them, sending them into a sprint back up towards our position

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Cassie Clare and the Canon-Sue Debate

by Dan H

Thursday, 19 February 2009 

Dan talks around the subject of Cassandra Clare's City of Ashes.

Ferretbrain readers should remember from my last review, I hated Cassandra Cla(i)re's City of Bones so much that I could barely express myself. It went around the “Bad/Funny” wheel so many times it gave me motion sickness. It also read rather a lot like Harry Potter fanfic.

So as you can imagine, I was overjoyed when our illustrious editor presented me with a copy of the second book in the trilogy (carefully informing me that since she had bought two other books on a three-for-two offer at Waterstones she had not, in fact, paid money for it).

It's still bad. It's bad in pretty much all the ways it was bad the last time.

Thanks for reading. 'Night.

Okay, there's more. Once again, this is going into disjointed subheadings, because Cassie Cla(i)re just does that to me.

Chapter Headings

Just in case you were in any doubt what kind of book this was, I thought I'd start off by giving you a full list of the chapter headings:

Prologe: Smoke and Diamonds, Part One: A Season in Hell, Valentine's Arrow, The Hunter's Moon, The Hogwarts High Inquisitor, The Cuckoo in the Nest, Sins of the Fathers (do you see, it's a biblical reference), City of Ashes, The Mortal Sword, Part Two: The Gates of Hell, The Seelie Court, And Death Shall Have No Dominion (yes, that's right “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”), A Fine and Private Place, Smoke and Steel (supposed to echo the prologue maybe?), The Hostility of Dreams (okay, seriously Cassie, you're taking the piss), A Host of Rebel Angels (because Valentine is a bit like Lucifer), Part Three: Day of Wrath, Fearless, The Serpent's Tooth, A Stone of the Heart (no, I don't know what that means either), East of Eden, Darkness Visible, Dies Irae.

I should probably add that these self-aggrandising, portentous titles pretty much exclusively come in front of chapters in which very little actually ... y'know ... happens.

Basic synopsis of City of Ashes: Valentine is back, zomg. Referring to the Ministry of Magic Guide To Resurgent Psychopaths, the Clave (the international organization of Shadowhunters in charge of stopping the world going to shit in a shoebox) decide that the most sensible thing to do is to (a) victimize his son and (b) sit around with their collective thumbs up their collective asses.

The Pesky Kids from the first book return. Cassie Claire “Clary” is slowly discovering more about her precious Mary-Sue powers, and is now dating Everygeek Simon, Draco Jace has been locked up by “The Inquisitor” because they think he's spying for his father (spying, presumably, on the Clave's secret plans to do nothing the fuck about Valentine), Alec is still being tokenistically gay and Isabel is ... not in it much actually, having been relegated to the place where girls who are hotter than the protagonist get sent in the second book. It's the pesky kids who work out that Valentine is planning on taking the Mortal Sword and performing the Ritual of Infernal Conversion to turn it into an evil sword that will allow him to summon Demons.

The Ritual of Infernal Conversion

Okay, so here's how it goes. Valentine has stolen the Mortal Sword, one of the titular (is it titular if it's the title of the trilogy, rather than the book?) Mortal Instruments. He steals this in chapter – like – six and the Clave pays no attention whatsoever because after all, it's not like the powerful psychopathic genius would have stolen the awesomely powerful mystical artefact for a reason is it?

In order to complete the Ritual of Infernal Conversion Valentine must drain the blood of a child of each of the “Downworlder” races. “Child,” by the way is defined as “anybody under the age of eighteen”. Clary objects to this definition later on on the book, on the grounds that sixteen year olds aren't children but teenagers, and somebody corrects her by pointing out that “teenagers are a modern concept” whereas of course the RoIC is deep and ancient magic.

Now ... you probably know where I'm going with this, but yes, I know that the idea of “teenagers” is a modern concept but that isn't because in ancient times you were considered a “child” until the age of twenty, it's because you were considered an adult from pretty much the moment you hit puberty. I would have been just about okay with the fact that the “children” Valentine was targeting were actually people who were all old enough to hunt demons for a living, had Cla(i)re not pulled the infuriating “aaaah do you see ... it's a modern concept” thing. If you're going to play the sub-Gaiman “ah, but in the old tales” card, at least get your old tales right. Idiot.

Anyway, Valentine attacks a couple of Downworlder kids and drains their blood (right there and then in the street, this will become important-slash-infuriating later), it comes right down to the wire and he needs only Vampire and a Werewolf.

Shockingly,

Cassie

Classie

Clary's best-friend-slash-pity-fuck Simon gets turned into a Vampire just as Valentine is looking for a Vampire Child to kill for his ritual. Not only that, but he winds up being sorta-romantically-involved with a werewolf who is also conveniently old-enough-to-be-sexy-while-falling-under-the-arbitrary-sacrificing-age.

Side note: how do you even define a Vampire “child” anyway? Is it vamp age, total age, pre-vamp age?

Anyway, Valentine captures Simon and the Werewolf who fancies him (oh, by the way, in a shockingly original twist, Vampires and werewolves in Cla(i)re's mythos don't get on with each other) and locks them up in a cage without doing anything. Because, y'know, you can't rush evil rituals. Except that he did the last two times. And now he knows the Clave are onto him. He really shouldn't be beating around the bush with the whole “army of demons” thing is what I'm saying.

So Valentine prevaricates, meaning he only has enough power to raise half an army of demons, because his sword isn't fully evillified yet (so presumably at close of play he has a terrifying sword of Neutrality ... what makes a sword turn neutral?). He drains Simon of blood (which doesn't kill him, because he's a named character) but leaves the Werewolf girl untouched (named character also). This gives our heroes the opportunity to totally brock his shit ap.

Did I say “our heroes”? I of course meant “Clary”. And Jace, a bit.

But I'm a Creep

I'm going to quote something now.

“I think the Queen meant I can draw new runes that are more powerful than ordinary runes, and maybe even create new ones.” Jace shook his head. “No one can create new runes-” “Maybe she can, Jace.” Alec sounded thoughtful. “It's true, none of us have ever seen that Mark on her arm before.”

And something else:

A soft voice spoke inside her head: Who are you, to think you can speak the language of heaven? The pencil moved. She was almost sure that she hadn't moved it but it slid across the paper, describing a single line. She felt her heart skip. She thought of her mother sitting dreamily before her canvas, creating her own vision of the world in ink and oil paint. She thought, Who am I? I am Jocelyn Fray's daughter.

And now something else:

She smiled slightly as she sat down on the stool, placing her left leg across her right and then placed the sorting hat on her head. 'This should be interesting' she thought. The whole hall was silenced in anticipation of which house she would be put in, each person wishing that it were his or her house. 'Strange’ said a voice in her head, 'there are parts of your brain I cannot get into.' 'For good reason' 'Care to tell me those reasons, and where and how you learned such control over your mind?' 'Lets just say there’s more to me than there seems and all will be revealed later.'

And finally:

Kuro chuckled 'kids are so funny now a days. Have to remember I’m supposed to be sixteen so I have to act like them. Damn.' Kuro then waved her had and a small section of table appeared between the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables at the opposite end of the hall from the head table. She waived her hand again and a black throne like chair appeared there. Kuro then turned to face Dumbledore. "Is that acceptable kocho?" "Yes it seems to work." "As you can all see I don't use a wand,” said Kuro as she turned to face her classmates. "I hope that won't be a problem. Now I bet you all wish to eat after that long train ride so I will take my seat." With a final wave of her hand Kuro transported herself to her chair.

Okay, I know it's a cheap shot to compare published novels to PotterSues featured fics but there is, in fact, a similarity of type there. In fact, having read the last section aloud to our esteemed editor, I'd go so far as to say that you'd be hard pressed to tell which was the published work of original fiction, and which was the bad HP fic if it weren't for the specific references to canon.

Cassie Claire's protagonists are some of the biggest sues I have ever encountered. Clary has what seems to be unlimited power, constrained only by the demands of the plot and the author's wishes. If she had been a character in HP fanfic who had the ability to “cast new spells that are more powerful than ordinary spells, and perhaps create new ones” she'd be laughed off of fanfiction.net. But of course it's okay here because she's the “main character” of this totally “original” work of fiction.

I'm going to go off on a sideline here, because I find this rather interesting. Fanfiction is a strange beast, with a lot of peculiar ideas and conventions attached to it. One of the most interesting and abiding rules of Fanfiction (in my limited experience) seems to be “thou shalt not attempt to upstage thy source material”. No HP villains who are more evil than Voldemort or heroes more powerful than Dumbledore. No Lord of the Rings characters who are immune to the power of the ring. No House characters who are better at diagnosing stuff than House.

The interesting thing about this rule is that actually it can be applied pretty readily to original fiction. It's a bit more fluid, because the same person who sets up the rules gets to set up the exceptions to those rules. On the other hand, a writer who breaks the rules which they explicitly and personally created is one of the most infuriating things in the world. Cheap examples of this include Harry Potter's Magic Love Powers and Wand That Acts By Itself, Tom Bombadil's immunity to the ring, Auraya's ability to keep her powers even after the gods have abandoned her (much as I love Trudy Canavan, that one went a bit too far).

Put simply, here's a piece of advice for people writing original fiction: if you couldn't get away with it in fanfic, it probably sucks hard.

I've done the “Clary” / “Claire” / “Clare” joke to death by now, but I'm going to have one more crack at it: Clary Fray, whose first name sounds suspiciously similar to Cassandra Cla(i)re's adopted surname, is a horrible, horrible sue. Leaving aside the “name that sounds a bit like your name” thing, she gets the ability to make up new runes. This is, in fact, functionally equivalent to a Harry Potter character being able to make up new spells (indeed the runes in the Mortal Instruments trilogy – hey! I've just realised that the acronym for that is “TMI” - function rather a lot like potter spells. There's the shielding one, the fast-healing one, the one that opens doors that conveniently fails to work half the time...) it just screams “speshul” at the top of its lungs.

Of course the “defence” of all this stupid speshulness is that there are totally plot reasons for it (which is the defence that people trot out after “it's my story!” and before “if you don't like it don't read it!”). Clary and Jace (who gets awesome jumping powers I shit you not) have apparently been experimented on by Voldemort Valentine, because he wanted to ... well actually we haven't been given a reason yet (it will presumably come out in the final volume City of Glass). Either way I just plain don't care. If you make your protagonist teh super speshul it doesn't matter what half-arsed justification you give for it. You made the decision to write about a character like that. You. Not your muse. Not the harsh necessities of your secondary creation. You.

“I can create new runes that are more powerful than normal runes”. For fuck's sake.

Comments:

http://miss-morland.livejournal.com/ at 16:51 on 2009-02-19Hee! Those chapter headings almost deserve their own article. At first, I was a little impressed by the literary references ('A Season in Hell' seems like an allusion to Rimbaud, for example), but then it just became too much. Also, whiel naming the first chapter of the second part 'The Gates of Hell' is sort of repetitive, it's nothing in comparison to naming one chapter 'Day of Wrath' and another 'Dies Irae', which means EXACTLY THE SAME THING. Love this site!permalink - go to topDan H at 17:07 on 2009-02-19Hiya! Literary references in this sort of book always annoy me. It always feels like a cheap attempt to legitimize your work by saying "look! I've read famous stuff! That means I must be an intelligent person with interesting things to say!" It's sort of like a chef plastering his restaurant with pictures of other people cooking him dinner...permalink - go to topViorica at 17:12 on 2009-02-19On the one hand, I like titles that allude to the classics. On the other . . . she's writing YA urban fantasy. She might as well just title each chapter "This is Deep and Meaningful and Intelligent!"permalink - go to topRami at 17:59 on 2009-02-19naming one chapter 'Day of Wrath' and another 'Dies Irae', which means EXACTLY THE SAME THING Ah, but the second one is in Latin which means it is super-speshul, because everyone knows Latin is the language of the Catholic Church All Magic Evar.permalink - go to tophttp://miss-morland.livejournal.com/ at 23:13 on 2009-02-19Yeah, I agree. She's making it more difficult for herself, too, because evoking the classics just serves to remind people that her own work isn't all that great... (Which I'm saying without even having read the book, but this is a case where I think some amount of prejudice can be justified.) Haha, yes, Latin makes everything more super-speshul. Especially when it's obvious that it's only there to impress the reader (as long as said reader doesn't know/care about what the title actually *means*, that is).permalink - go to topWardog at 12:31 on 2009-02-20(Catherine Morland was always one of my favourite Austen heroines - she is so terribly sweet) I would like to put forward a vote for "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" has the best-worst chapter title ever.permalink - go to topWardog at 12:36 on 2009-02-20At first, I was a little impressed by the literary references ... but then it just became too much. I think you're right, it's excess of desperate literariness that completely sinks this. I mean, I'm all for a few relevant chosen references but this looks like nothing so much as an indiscriminate spree in wiki-quote. Let's see ... let's play the reference spotting game... off the top of my head .. Rimbaud, as you say, The Bible, Dylan Thomas, Milton, Marvell, Steinbeck ... oh pulease, give me a break! permalink - go to tophttp://descrime.livejournal.com/ at 22:19 on 2009-02-20I'm okay with breaking world rules as long as breaking them results in at least some negative consequence for the exception. The protagonist who has powers no one has ever seen before/in centuries is a common trope in YA stories; the good stories just balance that out with something that gets taken away in exchange for that power. The second problem I see from the two sections you quoted is that Clary's new power isn't the result of hard work or persistence in studying this magic or even an innate understanding of the nature of runes or just natural brilliance. She doesn't even seem to be aware of what she's doing. In that passage, they just come to her without thought because she's someone's daughter, and that's just ridiculously cheap in my books.permalink - go to tophttp://miss-morland.livejournal.com/ at 13:23 on 2009-02-21I would like to put forward a vote for "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" has the best-worst chapter title ever. I think you're right. *g* Although now I'm sort of curious as to what chapter headings she'll invent for her next novel...permalink - go to topWardog at 14:42 on 2009-02-21I'm not sure Dan will survive her next novel...permalink - go to tophttp://rudecyrus.livejournal.com/ at 04:02 on 2009-02-22When did books for young adults and children become so damn mediocre?permalink - go to tophttp://katsullivan.insanejournal.com/ at 09:53 on 2009-02-22Isabel is ... not in it much actually, having been relegated to the place where girls who are hotter than the protagonist get sent in the second book" Ha ha! That's funny. But don't forget that according to Jace, Clary is more beeyootiful than Isabelle and Isabelle is jeluz of her. Clary's Sue-nature gets even better in Book 3 when a 3rd character - a hot dude called Sebastian - also falls in love with her. You will be interested to know that the chapter titles from the 3rd book - City of Glass are just as pretentious of the other books. This is from her Livejournal, with explanations from where she got the titles from: Chapter One: The Portal Self-explanatory, especially if you've read the first chapter. Chapter Two: The Demon Towers of Alicante “Those are the demon towers,” Jace said, in response to Simon’s unasked question. “They control the wards that protect the city. Because of them, no demon can enter Alicante.” Chapter Three: Amatis In which we meet Amatis, a character mentioned once, briefly, in Ashes. Chapter Four: Daylighter Well, what else are you going to call a vampire who can walk around during the day? Chapter Five: A Problem of Memory In which the Inquisitor would like Simon to remember something that never actually happened. Chapter Six: One of the Living “A true vampire knows he is dead. He accepts his death. But you, you think you are still one of the living," said Raphael. Chapter Seven: Bad Blood "“Everyone seemed to blanch when your name came up earlier," said Sebastian. "I gathered there was some bad blood between your brother and you.” Chapter Eight: Where Angels Fear to Tread “Fools rush in/Where angels fear to tread” — Alexander Pope Chapter Nine: This Guilty Blood “I am ashamed/of these foul deeds;/Nor with this guilty blood/Sprinkled, would I pollute the innocent.” —Euripedes, Hercules Chapter Ten: Fire and Sword “Their state The noblest-born must abdicate; The fairest, while with fire and sword Come Spoilers--horde impelling horde.” — William Wordsworth Chapter Eleven: All the Host of Hell Milton. “the hollow abyss Heard far and wide, and all the host of hell With deafening shout returned them loud acclaim." Chapter Twelve: De Profundis De profundis: In Latin, "out of the depths.” Psalm 130 is known as "De Profundis;" it begins "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord." Chapter Thirteen: Where There is Sorrow Oscar Wilde. “Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” Chapter Fourteen: In the Dark Forest Reference to the beginning of Dante’s Inferno. “I found myself within a forest dark” — the narrator, Dante, wanders in a dark forest of confusion and grief. Chapter Fifteen: Things Fall Apart Yeats’s famous poem “The Second Coming” : “Things fall apart/The center cannot hold” Chapter Sixteen: Articles of Faith Articles of faith is a general expression for statements of faith-belief all across Christianity and other religions. The Nicene Creed ("Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorum coeli et terrae") is an article of faith. Chapter Seventeen: The Shadowhunter's Tale This mirrors The Werewolf’s Tale in book one. Chapter Eighteen: Hail and Farewell From a poem by Catullus. Ave Atque Vale, means hail and farewell. Shadowhunters say it when someone dies in battle. Chapter Nineteen: Peniel Peniel is where Jacob wrestled the angel in the Bible. Chapter Twenty: Weighed in the Balance “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin” : “You are weighed in the balance, and found wanting.” From the book of Daniel. Epilogue: Across the Sky in Stars TE Lawrence: “Because I loved you, I took these tides of men into my hands, and wrote my will across the sky in stars.” permalink - go to tophttp://athread.livejournal.com/ at 14:15 on 2009-02-22A group of girls in my school have become obsessed with Cassie Claire (the new Twilight? I live in hope.) and read/analyse her books over and over again. If I hear CC called "a modern genius" in French class one more time, SOMEBODY WILL DIE, seriously. I flicked through the first book in Easons a few weeks ago and could tell from the one page I read that it was crap. I'm also a bit shocked that she actually named one of the chapters A Season in Hell, since, you know, one of her most famous H/D fanfics is called that. She's not even trying to get away from the whole fandom thing.permalink - go to topViorica at 18:19 on 2009-02-22Of course she isn't. That's why she got a three-book contract; it's why she had a built-in fanbase. Moving away from it would be bad for her career. When did books for young adults and children become so damn mediocre? Since authors decided that kids and teens were too dumb to appreciate quality, so they could churn out pages of crap, an it's be eaten up by the target audience. Sadly, they aren't wrong. It irritates me, since I'm a part of the target audience, and I'm sick of getting lumped in with people who think Cassie Clare's or Anna Godberson's stuff is the height of literary genius.permalink - go to topDan H at 20:06 on 2009-02-22Yeats’s famous poem “The Second Coming” : “Things fall apart/The center cannot hold” Hooray! One of the many things I would absolutely *love* to see in a modern fantasy novel somebody quoting the *first* line of the second coming. "Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre" or possibly "The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer" would make excellent pretentious chapter titles. Also, I'd like to add that I actually scrolled *up* to your post from below, so I looked at it, laughed, then read it again and went "wait, those are the *actual* chapter titles, I thought she was making this up". permalink - go to topWardog at 20:14 on 2009-02-22When did books for young adults and children become so damn mediocre To be fair, YA is *also* producing some of the most exciting authors my jaded heart has encountered for many a cold year. For every Cassie Clare, there's a Melinda Marchetta, for every Anna Godberson a Catherine Fisher.permalink - go to topSonia Mitchell at 22:05 on 2009-02-22Theresa Breslin, Stewart and Riddell, Charlotte Hatpie, Philip Reeve... there's a lot of decent stuff out there. But like other genres, when authors start imitating each other things spiral into crap. I think on the whole YA is doing better than thrillers and fantasy in that respect - it's a genre I'm more willing to take risks in because the chance of a pleasant surprise seems a lot higher. (As an aside - is YA a genre as such? Or something else? Marketing category maybe? I'm hazy on the boundaries)permalink - go to topWardog at 11:26 on 2009-02-23Oh my God, the chapters for book 3 are even worse - thank you for, err, sharing the pain =Ppermalink - go to topWardog at 16:34 on 2009-02-26Also am I the only person who finds the tagline a little bit amusing? The Shadowhunter war rages on ... shouldn't it just be "the shadowhunter war rages". The addition of the "on" makes it sound like its tediously extended. You might as well say "the shadowhunter war drags on" (and on).permalink - go to tophttp://mary-j-59.livejournal.com/ at 04:40 on 2009-02-28Hi! I can comment at last! About Cassandra Clare: I have refused to buy or read these books because I discovered she had plagiarized Pamela Dean. That was enough for me. But, Dan, I'm a huge Tolkien fan, and I actually think Tom Bombadil's power over the ring works. It works because it's made quite clear that Bombadil's powers are constrained by space - he is the ruler of a tiny kingdom - and because it's also clear that, as Gandalf says, he would be a most unsafe guardian. He cannot remember the ring exists *because* it has no hold on his mind. And if he can't remember it, he can't guard it. Which is like something descrime said above. If someone has a superpower, it should have constraints. Bombadil is constrained, and Clary apparently isn't. Just my two cents-permalink - go to tophttp://disdainful-soul.livejournal.com/ at 10:16 on 2009-03-16I'm also a bit shocked that she actually named one of the chapters A Season in Hell, since, you know, one of her most famous H/D fanfics is called that. She's not even trying to get away from the whole fandom thing. If you think that's bad, the trilogy takes its name from a Ginny/Ron incest fic. If she was trying to get away from fandom she would publish it under a name that wasn't so close to her fandom one (removing the "i" does not make the change clever, Cla(i)re) and stop putting in references to fandom and fandom people all throughout the book. Other fic authors have gone on to be published and don't ride on the coattails of fandom to get there.permalink - go to topWardog at 09:32 on 2009-03-18I think the point is that once you've made a claim to having read Rimbaud you want to make that claim as often as possible :)permalink - go to topWordless at 07:58 on 2009-11-10From a poem by Catullus. Ave Atque Vale, means hail and farewell. Shadowhunters say it when someone dies in battle. sorry but i had to know, do they do it in a funeral procession afterwards or do they do it in battle? does every one stop fighting and do the whole latin tellytubby "BYYYE bubye byee!!!!" thing. if so that totally rocks.permalink - go to topWordless at 08:03 on 2009-11-10Also I noticed that half the titles have absolutely no relevance to what happens in the chapter....is there a rule somewhere that says quoting original literature somehow makes you original??? Bah!

[lisalennonofficial]

For those of us who live our lives in the real world, there is one branch of philosophy created just for us: Stoicism.

A brief synopsis and definition on this particular school of Hellenistic philosophy: Stoicism was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC, but was famously practiced by the likes of Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.

Stoicism has just a few central teachings. It sets out to remind us of how unpredictable the world can be. How brief our moment of life is. How to be steadfast, and strong, and in control of yourself. And finally, that the source of our dissatisfaction lies in our impulsive dependency on our reflexive senses rather than logic.

Stoicism doesn’t concern itself with complicated theories about the world, but with helping us overcome destructive emotions and act on what can be acted upon. It’s built for action, not endless debate.

It had three principal leaders. Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, the most powerful man on earth, sat down each day to write himself notes about restraint, compassion, and humility. Epictetus endured the horrors of slavery to found his own school where he taught many of Rome’s greatest minds. Seneca, when Nero turned on him and demanded his suicide, could think only of comforting his wife and friends.

But it is not only those three—Stoicism has been practiced by kings, presidents, artists, writers, and entrepreneurs. Both historical and modern men illustrate Stoicism as a way of life.

Prussian King, Frederick the Great, was said to ride with the works of the Stoics in his saddlebags because they could, in his words, “sustain you in misfortune”. Meanwhile, Montaigne, the politician, and essayist had a line from Epictetus carved into the beam above the study in which he spent most of his time.

The founding fathers were also inspired by the philosophy. George Washington was introduced to Stoicism by his neighbors at age seventeen, and afterward, put on a play about Cato to inspire his men in that dark winter at Valley Forge. Whereas Thomas Jefferson had a copy of Seneca on his nightstand when he died.

The economist Adam Smith’s theories on the interconnectedness of the world—capitalism—were significantly influenced by the Stoicism that he studied as a schoolboy, under a teacher who had translated Marcus Aurelius’ works.

The political thinker, John Stuart Mill, wrote of Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism in his famous treatise On Liberty, calling it “the highest ethical product of the ancient mind.”

Stoicism differs from most existing schools in one important sense: its purpose is a practical application. It is not a purely intellectual enterprise.

It’s a tool that we can use to become better in our craft, better friends, and better people.

It’s easy to gloss over the fact that Marcus Aurelius was the Roman Emperor without truly absorbing the gravity of that position. Emperors were Deities, ordinary men with direct access to unlimited wealth and adulation. Before you jump to the conclusion that the Stoics were dour and sad men, ask yourself, if you were a dictator, what would your diary look like?

Stoic writing is much closer to a yoga session or a pre-game warm-up than to a book of philosophy a university professor might write. It’s preparation for the philosophic life where the right state of mind is the most critical part.

Stoics practiced what is known as “spiritual exercises” and drew upon them for strength.

Let’s look at three of the most important such exercises.

.PRACTICE MISFORTUNE

“It is in times of security that the spirit should be preparing itself for difficult times; while fortune is bestowing favors on it is then is the time for it to be strengthened against her rebuffs.” -Seneca

Seneca, who enjoyed great wealth as the adviser of Nero, suggested that we ought to set aside a certain number of days each month to practice poverty. Take a little food, wear your worst clothes, get away from the comfort of your home and bed. Put yourself face to face with want, he said, you’ll ask yourself “Is this what I used to dread?”

It’s important to remember that this is an exercise and not a rhetorical device. He doesn’t mean “think about” misfortune, he means to live it. Comfort is the worst kind of slavery because you’re always afraid that something or someone will take it away. But if you can not just anticipate but practice misfortune, then chance loses its ability to disrupt your life.

Montaigne was fond of an ancient drinking game where the members took turns holding up a painting of a corpse inside a coffin and cheered “Drink and are merry for when you’re dead you will look like this.”

Emotions like anxiety and fear have their roots in uncertainty and rarely inexperience. Anyone who has made a big bet on themselves knows how much energy both states can consume. The solution is to do something about that ignorance. Make yourself familiar with the things, the worst-case scenarios, that you’re afraid of.

Practice what you fear, whether a simulation in your mind or in real life. The downside is almost always reversible or transient.

.TRAIN PERCEPTION TO AVOID GOOD AND BAD

“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” -Marcus Aurelius

The Stoics had an exercise called Turning the Obstacle Upside Down. What they meant to do was make it impossible to not practice the art of philosophy. Because if you can properly turn a problem upside down, every “bad” becomes a new source of good.

Suppose for a second that you are trying to help someone and they respond by being surly or unwilling to cooperate. Instead of making your life more difficult, the exercise says, they’re actually directing you towards new virtues; for example, patience or understanding. Or, the death of someone close to you; a chance to show fortitude.

Marcus Aurelius described it like this:

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

It should sound familiar because it is the same thinking behind Obama’s “teachable moments.” Right before the election, Joe Klein asked Obama how he’d made his decision to respond to the Reverend Wright scandal. He said something like‘when the story broke I realized the best thing to do wasn’t damage control, it was to speak to Americans like adults.’ And what he ended up doing was turning a negative situation into the perfect platform for his landmark speech about race.

The common refrain about entrepreneurs is that they take advantage of, even create, opportunities. To the Stoic, everything is an opportunity. The Reverend Wright scandal, a frustrating case where your help goes unappreciated, the death of a loved one, none of those are “opportunities” in the normal sense of the word. In fact, they are the opposite. They are obstacles. What a Stoic does is turn every obstacle into an opportunity.

There is no good or bad to the practicing Stoic. There is only perception. You control perception. You can choose to extrapolate past your first impression (‘X happened.’ –> ‘X happened and now my life is over.’). If you tie your first response to dispassion, you’ll find that everything is simply an opportunity.

Note: This exercise served as the inspiration behind The Obstacle Is The Way.

.REMEMBER—IT’S ALL EPHEMERAL

“Alexander the Great and his mule driver both died and the same thing happened to both.” -Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself a simple and effective reminder to help him regain perspective and stay balanced:

“Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most whatever: Where is all that now? Smoke, dust, legend…or not even a legend. Think of all the examples. And how trivial the things we want so passionately are.”

It is important to note that ‘passion’ here isn’t the modern usage we’re familiar with as in enthusiasm or caring about something. As Don Robertson explains in his book, when the Stoics discuss overcoming ‘passions’, which they called patheiai, they refer to the irrational, unhealthy and excessive desires and emotions. Anger would be a good example. What is important to remember, and this is the crucial bit, they seek to replace them with eupatheiai, such as joy instead of excessive pleasure.

Returning to the point of the exercise, it’s simple: remember how small you are. For that matter, remember how small most everything is.

Remember that achievements can be ephemeral and that your possession of them is for just an instant.

If everything is ephemeral, what does matter? Right now matters. Being a good person and doing the right thing right now, that’s what matters and that’s what was important to the Stoics.

Take Alexander the Great who conquered the known world and had cities named in his honor. This is common knowledge. The Stoics would also point out that, once while drunk, Alexander got into a fight with his dearest friend, Cleitus, and accidentally killed him. Afterward, he was so despondent that he couldn’t eat or drink for three days. Sophists were called from all over Greece to see what they could do about his grief, to no avail.

Is this the mark of a successful life? From a personal standpoint, it matters little if your name is emblazoned on a map if you lose perspective and hurt those around you.

Learn from Alexander’s mistake. Be humble and honest and aware. That is something you can have every single day of your life. You’ll never have to fear someone taking it from you or, worse still, it takes over you.

Stoicism is Ideal for the Real World

The Stoics were writing honestly, often self-critically, about how they could become better people, be happier, and deal with the problems they faced. You can see how practicing misfortune makes you stronger in the face of adversity; how flipping an obstacle upside down turns problems into opportunities, and how remembering how small you keep your ego manageable and in perspective.

Ultimately, that’s what Stoicism is about. It’s not some systematic discussion of why or how the world exists. It is a series of reminders, tips, and aids for living a good life.

Stoicism, as Marcus reminds himself, is not some grand Instructor but a balm, a soothing ointment to an injury wherever we might have one. Epictetus was right when he said that “life is hard, brutal, punishing, narrow, and confining, a deadly business.”

We should take whatever help we can get, and it just happens that that help can come from ourselves.

Stoicism For those of us who live our lives in the real world, there is one branch of philosophy created just for us: Stoicism.

[johnchiarello]

Sunday

SUNDAY 10-1-17

 Panic- Prince- https://youtu.be/Ro2VkFpWmB0

https://vimeo.com/236333803  [Made this short clip on the way into Church Unlimited]

.Review of next Sunday

.Hookers- addicts- thieves- they go in before you

.But you still don’t see

 Media disgrace- https://youtu.be/-aII3keSZMU

.The tweets?

.Fake news

.Past example- reporter in a canoe- doing live coverage of the disaster- the water must be at least 10 feet deep! 2 people walk behind her in the live shot- it was about a foot deep- that's fake news

.Why are the media saying Republicans want to KILL OBAMA care?

.Daca and the game- why did they want Obama’s temporary order to stand?

.Did they really care for the Hispanic kids?

.Watch and see

 San Juan Mayor- 1st in 4.5 billion years- https://youtu.be/z6U8K-UWVh4

.Let me tell you from experience

.Or watch CNN

.Mayor of San Juan- please do your job- please!

 NEWS- [Note- I didn’t read any of these links- but simply googled media bias on this event]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/09/25/puerto-rico-disaster-also-golden-opportunity/

http://freebeacon.com/blog/mainstream-media-blame-puerto-rico-hurricane-disaster/

http://www.dailywire.com/news/21521/narrative-building-media-try-treat-puerto-rico-ben-shapiro#exit-modal

http://www.crm114.com/algore/quiz.html

 NEW- Well today turned into another Roll Out day-

Few things-

The media-

As most of you know Puerto Rico- like many in my area of South Texas- was hit by a hurricane.

The media coverage has been ‘why is Trump attacking the mayor of San Juan- non stop’- they have been reporting his twitter tirades- and asking why Trump is purposefully allowing the innocent victims in Puerto Rico to die.

 I even heard one media person say it was obvious- because he is a racist- he obviously is not helping the people of Puerto Rico.

Yet- as I watch this coverage- I remember one media person asking a few weeks ago ‘will this be Trump’s Katrina’.

 This question was asked- about hurricane Harvey- before it hit Texas- or right after it made landfall- [and hit city of Corpus Christi].

 I found it interesting that some in the media were already asking this- before the damage was assessed.

So- the media has been looking for some hurricane- any one- to make into a disaster of epic proportions.

Today I found out that the mayor of San Juan has not even been in the FEMA emergency coordinating building of her town.

 I’m a retried firefighter- all mayors attend these meetings- they are for the purpose of the local coordination of the federal resources- every one in emergency management knows this to be a fact.

As far as I know all the mayors of south Texas attended their EOC meetings.

 It’s actually possible that the mayor of San Juan has been so busy on CNN- that she is personally responsible for the failure of aid to be delivered to her own city.

How did the media cover that?

 Because they are often ignorant of the actual stories they cover- they said ‘That's ok- she has others there for her’.

Actually- it does not work that way- as I just explained.

 So even in this short post- you see how the ignorance of the media- their non stop coverage of a so called Trump twitter tirade against the mayor- because of their desire for a Trump Katrina- they are actually hindering the real help that the people in Puerto Rico need.

 As of now- I have not looked at the Trump tweets-

I will try and find the actual tweets- and post them below.

We will see- together- what they say.

 But the media have been reporting non stop that the Trump tweets are attacking the mayor of San Juan- they have been asking her loaded questions- and they are doing all this- while the actual federal aid is sitting in a building in San Juan- just waiting for their mayor to simply help coordinate the efforts-

And get some of this aid to the dying babies in her town-

 But she is too busy on CNN to help those babies.

Yes- the media are at it again-

They have created their Katrina-

They have already accused the response on outright racism by a White president.

 They have told the American public that Trump himself is personally responsible for the deaths of women and children-

And yes- they have done all of this-

While others are actually trying to serve in the emergency management field-

 Firefighters- first responders- yes- a job I did for 25 years.

And I can tell you by experience they need the mayor at the EOC- they need the leaders of their community to help with the administration of Federal aid.

 I have just been thru Harvey- though I made out ok- yet there are others in the area- who have the Fema aid- but it’s always up to local government- always- to effectively distribute the aid and work with the community.

 But wait- CNN just told the world- that the absence of the mayor of San Juan from her own emergency meetings- has no effect whatsoever on the food and distribution of aid to her own people-

No- the real problem is Trump is a racist- he has been on an out and out attack on an Hispanic mayor- she of course is a female-

 And that's why Trump now has his Katrina.

Thanks media- for once again being some of the most uniformed people in the history of our world.

Thanks for helping with Puerto Rico-

I’m sure your happy- after all- you have created your own Katrina-

And the public sees.

  Here’s my actual google search- I had a hard time finding the actual tweets- which Bernie Sanders described as unconscionable- unspeakable!!- which- as you scroll down- will be described as the most vicious attack ever known to man! My- what might these tweets be?

 That's why it was hard to find- but alas- I found them on a CNN scroll- they are at the bottom of this section- beware- your head my actually blow off when you see them!

Notice the description the media uses ‘LASHES OUT- ATTACKS- UNCONSCIONABLE’- then read the actual tweets at the end.

      Sanders: Trump attacking San Juan mayor is 'unspeakable'

Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response

Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response

 Showing results for actual trump tweets on mayor of san juan Search instead for actual trump tweets on mayor ofsan juan

Search Results

Top stories

 Trump attacks San Juan mayor over response

 CNN · 20 hours ago

 From his golf resort, Trump aims some sharp tweets at a mayor in Puerto Rico

 Los Angeles Times · 8 hours ago

More for actual trump tweets on mayor of san juan

Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response - CNNPolitics

www.cnn.com/2017/09/30/politics/trump-tweets-puerto-rico-mayor/index.html

00001. 

20 hours ago - President Donald Trump launched an attack on San Juan Mayor Carmen ... In the series of early-morning tweets, Trump also lauded the federal ...

Trump sent 18 tweets on Puerto Rico on Saturday - CNNPolitics

www.cnn.com/2017/10/01/politics/trump-tweets-puerto-rico/index.html

00001. 

11 hours ago - It all began with Trump's slashing attack on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has become the face of the humanitarian crisis in Puerto ...

Hillary Clinton Supports San Juan Mayor; Trump's 19th Tweet Extols...

deadline.com/2017/09/donald-trump-puerto-rico-fake-news-1202179932/

00001. 

1 day ago - Hillary Clinton Supports San Juan Mayor; Trump's 19th Tweet Extols .... the Actual Governor of Puerto Rico has praised the efforts by Trump.

Trump Takes to Twitter as Puerto Rico's Crisis Mounts - The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/trump-san-juan-mayor/541665/

00001. 

4 hours ago - Trump Takes to Twitter as Puerto Rico's Crisis Mounts ... Mayor Carmen Yuliín Cruz visits a hospital in San Juan Saturday, after electrical ...

Donald Trump's Puerto Rico Tweets - Trump's Bad Tweets - Esquire

www.esquire.com/news-politics/a12665333/trump-puerto-rico-tweet-ratio/

00001. 

1 day ago - But one on Saturday about San Juan's mayor did just that. ... For Only the Second Time, a President Trump Tweet Has Achieved 'Ratio' Status ... Yes, that sounds implausible, and if we're judging by the actual content of his ...

Donald Trump's Tweets to San Juan Mayor | POPSUGAR News

https://www.popsugar.com › News › Donald Trump

00001. 

7 hours ago - In an interview with CNN on Sept. 28, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz pleaded with White House officials to come down to Puerto Rico to ...

Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response | Q13 FOX ...

q13fox.com/2017/09/30/trump-attacks-san-juan-mayor-over-hurricane-response/

00001. 

1 day ago - (CNN) -- President Donald Trump launched an attack on San Juan Mayor ... In a separatetweet, Scavino described San Juan's mayor as “the ...

Donald Trump on Puerto Rico: President lashes out at San Juan mayor

www.denverpost.com/2017/.../puerto-rico-aid-donald-trump-mayor-carmen-yulin-cr...

00001. 

2 days ago - Trump lashes out at San Juan mayor who begged for more help .... Trump said in a series of tweets a day after the capital city's mayor appealed ...

San Juan mayor slams Trump official's claim that Puerto ... - Mashable

mashable.com/2017/.../san-juan-mayor-slams-trump-official-statement-hurricane-mari...

00001. 

2 days ago - She says the Trump administration's spin of the Hurricane Maria response is not ... San Juan mayor is incredulous at claim that post-Maria Puerto Rico is a 'good news story' ... However, according to the Miami Herald, the number of actual ... In a series of tweets, he emphasized the extent of the damage in ...

 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Next

                Trump attacks San Juan mayor over hurricane response

  By聽Juana Summers

Scenes of

 'Hamilton' creator: Make noise for Puerto Rico

 CNN reporter's emotional family reunion

 FEMA visits damaged town 9 days after hurricane

 Congressman: Tired of Trump talking about cost

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

· Trump plans to visit Puerto Rico on Tuesday

· Residents are grappling with widespread power outages and a lack of water

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump launched an attack on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yul铆n Cruz on Saturday for criticizing the White House's hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, accusing her of "poor leadership" and suggesting that the island's residents are not doing enough to help themselves.

"The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump," the President tweeted from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he is spending the weekend. "Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort."

聽Follow

Donald J. Trump聽鉁@realDonaldTrump

The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.

6:19 AM - Sep 30, 2017

· 聽50,86950,869 Replies

聽

· 聽21,16721,167 Retweets

聽

· 聽66,04166,041 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

聽Follow

Donald J. Trump聽鉁@realDonaldTrump

...Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They....

6:26 AM - Sep 30, 2017

· 聽52,75652,756 Replies

聽

· 聽14,99714,997 Retweets

聽

· 聽52,62452,624 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

聽Follow

Donald J. Trump聽鉁@realDonaldTrump

...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.

6:29 AM - Sep 30, 2017

MY SITES

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com  [Main site]

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks

https://ccoutreach87.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg

https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87

https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts

https://vimeo.com/user37400385

https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/

https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo

http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/

https://medium.com/@johnchiarello

http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/

https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87

https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/

https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/

https://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/jchiarello

 Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#

  1G0E0���z��G^`�

[sherristockman]

Multiday Fasting Gaining Popularity as a Powerful Biohack for Health and Longevity Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola One lifestyle factor that appears to be driving not only obesity but also many chronic disease processes is the fact that we avoid ever going without food for very long. Our ancestors didn't have access to food 24/7, and biologically your body simply isn't designed to run optimally when continuously fed. If you eat throughout the day and never skip a meal, your body adapts to burning sugar as its primary fuel, which down-regulates enzymes that utilize and burn stored fat. If you struggle to lose weight, this may well be a significant part of the problem — your body has simply lost the metabolic flexibility to burn fat for fuel. To correct this, you need to reduce net carbs and, ideally, the frequency of your meals. Fasting is one of the oldest dietary interventions in the world, and modern science confirms it can have a profoundly beneficial influence on your health. As noted by Fitness and Power:1 "An increasing number of researchers are saying that the intermittent fasting method is a sure-fire way for people to shred the excess fat. A study published in 2015 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that intermittent fasting gives a safe rate weight loss of 0.5 to 1.7 lbs/week, along with decreasing the overall body fat percentage." Research has also confirmed that many important biological repair and rejuvenation processes take place in the absence of food, and this is another reason why all-day grazing triggers disease. In a nutshell, your body was designed to a) run on healthy fat as its primary fuel, and b) cycle through periods of feast and famine. Today, most people do the opposite. Intermittent Fasting Versus Longer Fasts Intermittent fasting is an umbrella term that covers many different meal timing schedules. As a general rule, it involves cutting calories in whole or in part, either a couple of days a week, every other day or even daily.2 The key is the cycling of feasting/feeding and famine/fasting. By mimicking the eating habits of our ancestors, who did not have access to food around the clock, you restore your body to a more natural state that allows a whole host of biochemical benefits to occur. "Peak fasting" involves fasting anywhere from 14 to 21 hours each day and eating all of your meals within the remaining window of three to 10 hours. Obviously, to make this schedule work, you need to skip at least one main meal. One of the easiest ways to ease into it is to gradually push back the time you eat breakfast until you eliminate it completely and simply have lunch, then dinner. Just be sure to eat your dinner at least three hours before bedtime. When you're sleeping, your body needs the least amount of energy, and if you feed it at a time when energy is not needed, your mitochondria end up creating excessive amounts of damaging free radicals. Avoiding late-night eating is a simple way to protect your mitochondrial function and prevent cellular damage from occurring. Once you're used to intermittent fasting, you may want to consider longer fasts, where the only thing you consume is water and mineral supplements. I had previously been opposed to multiday water fasting if one was already at an ideal body weight. What I failed to realize is that longer fasts provide "metabolic magic" that really cannot occur even with intermittent daily fasting. Multiday fasting is basically akin to "taking out the trash." It allows your body to upregulate autophagy and mitophagy to remove damaged senescent cells in your body, including premalignant cells. I believe it can be a great way to significantly reduce your risk for cancer. It's also an extremely effective way to shed excess weight and extend your life span. Silicon Valley Embraces Multiday Fasting More and more people are now starting to recognize the health benefits of fasting. The strategy has quickly become popular with Silicon Valley executives, who recognize it as biohacking, opposed to mere dieting.3,4 The Guardian writes:5 "Over the last eight months [Phil Libin] the former CEO of Evernote and current CEO of AI studio All Turtles has shunned food for stretches of between two and eight days, interspersed with similar periods of eating. He's lost almost 90 lbs and describes getting into fasting as 'transformative.' 'There's a mild euphoria. I'm in a much better mood, my focus is better, and there's a constant supply of energy. I just feel a lot healthier. It's helping me be a better CEO,' he said … 'Getting into fasting is definitely one of the top two or three most important things I've done in my life.' Libin is one of a growing number of Silicon Valley types experimenting with extended periods of fasting, claiming benefits including weight loss, fewer mood swings and improved productivity." Another staunch advocate of multiday water fasts is Geoffrey Woo, CEO of the biohacking company HVMN (pronounced "human"). He told The Guardian: "Ketones are a super-fuel for the brain. So a lot of the subjective benefits to fasting, including mental clarity, are down to the rise in ketones in the system." Why Fasting Bolsters Brain Power: Mark Mattson Contrary to popular belief, going without food for several days does not progressively deteriorate mental and physical functioning. As noted by Woo, whose experience I too can vouch for, right around the three-day mark your hunger significantly decreases and mental clarity increases, thanks to rising ketone levels. In the video above, Mark Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging and a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, explains this process. Breaking Down Myths About Fasting Last fall I interviewed Dr. Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist (kidney specialist) and author of "The Complete Guide to Fasting." Fung is a proponent of extended water fasts, especially for patients who are obese and/or Type 2 diabetic. Fung's book provides easy-to-follow basic guidelines for fasting, and reviews some of the most common myths and fears that keep many from implementing a fasting regimen. One common myth is that multiday fasting will lead to muscle loss. The book clearly describes the process of protein catabolism, explaining how your body actually downregulates protein catabolism and upregulates growth hormones in response to fasting. As noted by Fung: "If you follow the biochemistry, your body stores energy as glycogen in the liver, which is links or chains of sugar, and then it stores [it as] body fat. During fasting, you start by burning off all the glycogen in the liver, which is all the sugar. There's a point there where some of the excess amino acids in your body need to get burnt as well. That's where people say, 'That's where you're burning muscle.' That's not actually what happens. The body never upregulates its protein catabolism. Never is it burning muscle; there's a normal turnover that goes on. There is a certain amount of protein that you need for a regular turnover. When you start fasting, that starts to go down and then fat oxidation goes way up. In essence, what you've done is you switched over from burning sugar to burning fat. Once you start burning fat, there's almost an unlimited amount of calories there. You could go for days and days. What's interesting is that if you take a pound of fat, that's roughly 3,500 calories. If you eat somewhere around 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day, it takes two full days of fasting to burn a single pound of fat, which is very surprising to people. If you're trying to lose 100 pounds, you could theoretically go 200 days of fasting just to burn all that fat … People worry about fasting for 24 hours. I'm like, 'You could go 200 days.' Then it's like, 'OK. Maybe it's OK to go 24 hours without eating.'" The Man Who Fasted for 382 Days It has been my observation that most people fear fasting, thinking they will be unable to tolerate the suffering, but as Fung says, an obese individual could theoretically go without food for months without starving to death. The 1965 medical case of a 27-year-old man who fasted for 382 days is a powerful case in point.6,7 When he started, he weighed 456 pounds. At the end, he'd lost just over 275 pounds, and five years after breaking his fast, he'd gained back a mere 11 pounds. Please understand, I am not recommending months- or yearlong fasts. This man was under strict medical surveillance, and you should be too if you're planning on fasting for an extended period of time. He took multivitamins and potassium daily, and I recommend taking a high-quality multimineral supplement any time you do a water-only fast. What's so interesting about this case is that it clearly demonstrates that extreme fasting can be safely done. Provided you're not anorexic, old and frail, pregnant or have some other serious health issue, fasting for three to seven days is not going to kill you. This case also demonstrates that loss of muscle mass is an overrated concern. ABC Science, which reported the case, notes:8 "After two or three days of fasting, you get your energy from two different sources simultaneously. A very small part of your energy comes from breaking down your muscles — but you can avoid this by doing some resistance training … The majority of your energy comes from breaking down fat. But very soon, you move into getting all your energy from the breakdown of fat. The fat molecules break down into two separate chemicals — glycerol (which can be converted into glucose) and free fatty acids (which can be converted into other chemicals called ketones). Your body, including your brain, can run on this glucose and ketones until you finally run out of fat." Why Fasting Improves Rather Than Depletes Energy Another major concern is that fasting will leave you physically drained and lethargic. While you may certainly feel less than optimal during the first few days the first time you do it, fasting actually tends to have the complete converse effect on energy levels. As explained by Fung: "[A]fter four days of fasting, the basal metabolic rate is actually 10 percent higher than when you started. The body has not shut down at all. In fact, what it's done is it switched fuel sources. It switched from burning food to burning [body] fat. Once it's burning [body] fat, it's like, 'Hey, there's plenty of this stuff.'" In other words, if you're overweight and lethargic, fasting helps unlock energy already lodged in your body that you previously had no access to. Fasting forces your body to start accessing those stores of energy, and once that happens, your body suddenly has a near unlimited supply of energy! Insulin plays a role here as well. Insulin is the primary hormone that tells your body whether to store energy or burn it. When you eat, you're taking calories in and insulin goes up. Higher levels of insulin signal your body to store energy. When insulin falls, it tells your body to release energy, i.e., the energy stored in your fat cells. This is why it's so difficult to lose weight when you're insulin resistant. Fasting also helps improve other biochemical systems in your body. There's interplay of hormonal systems like the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), AMPK, leptin and IGF-1 — all of which are optimized in the right direction when fasting. It also improves your mitochondrial function, allowing your mitochondria to regenerate. How to Ease Into Multiday Fasting While the idea of fasting for several days may seem daunting, there are ways to ease into it that will minimize any discomfort. The way I graduated into four-day fasting was by increasing my intermittent daily fasting from 16 hours (which I did for 18 months) to 21 hours, leaving only a three-hour window in which I ate all my food for the day. After two months of that, I did a four-day fast where my only sustenance was water and a multimineral supplement. I don't think you need to do intermittent fasting for 18 months before trying water-only fasts, but doing it for a few months would radically decrease any negative side effects. I experienced no hunger pains whatsoever, which I find fascinating as most people who fast are really hungry by the second day. I believe getting used to 21-hour daily fasting had a lot to do with that. So, if you want to try a multiday fast, consider extending your intermittent fasting first, then work your way into 24-, 48-, 72-hour and even longer fasts. And remember, you are in complete control and can break your fast any time you want. In fact, one of the major benefits of extended fasting is an increased sense of self control and freedom. Once you finally understand that you can easily go for days without food, you're no longer a victim of your surroundings. If you're traveling and cannot find healthy food, you don't have to resort to junk food. You can simply go without. If you're in a disaster situation, you can rest easier knowing you can handle a temporary food shortage without losing your mind. After four days of water fasting, I'd lost 10 pounds, primarily from cleaning out my colon and expelling water attached to glycogen, i.e., "water weight." At the end, my ketones were 5.1 and my blood sugar 45, which is double the ketone/glucose index threshold Dr. Thomas Seyfried says is necessary to treat cancer. After the fast came the feast. Upon breaking my fast, I had 130 grams of net carbs with sweet potatoes and fruits and extra protein. Variations of Fasting You also have a number of other options that can help ease you into an extended water-only fast. The following are some of the most common variations: • Water plus noncaloric beverages. A slight variation on the water fast is to include other noncaloric beverages, such as herbal tea and coffee (without milk, sugar or other sweetener, including artificial non-caloric sweeteners). • Bone broth variation. Another variation Fung often recommends for longer fasts is to allow the use of bone broth. In addition to healthy fats, bone broth also contains lots of protein, so it's not really a true fast. Still, in his clinical experience, many who take bone broth in addition to water, tea and coffee experience good results. • Fat fasting. Here, you allow healthy fats during the fast in addition to water and/or noncaloric beverages. While you probably would not eat a stick of butter, you could have bulletproof coffee (black coffee with butter, coconut oil or MCT oil), for example. Alternatively, you could add the fat to your tea. Dietary fat produces a very minor insulin response, and since you're keeping your insulin levels low, you're still getting most of the benefits of fasting even though you're consuming plenty of calories. Adding healthy fats such as butter, coconut oil, MCT oil and avocado can make the fasting experience a lot easier. My personal assistant, who tried a water-only fast, complained of severe fatigue three days in. While this is a normal response in the initial stages, I made her a "fat-bomb drink" with some coconut oil, MCT C8 oil, butter and a little stevia, which perked her right back up. The key is to avoid protein as it activates mTOR, and may actually be more metabolically damaging than excess carbs. While the level of protein at which you'll counteract the benefits of fasting varies from person to person, you'll likely see results as long as you stay below 10 or 20 grams of protein per day. Important Contraindications and Cautionary Advice While most people would likely benefit from water fasting, there are several absolute contraindications. If any of the following apply to you, you should NOT do extended types of fasting: Underweight, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 or less. Malnourished (in which case you need to eat healthier, more nutritious food). Children should not fast for longer than 24 hours, as they need nutrients for continued growth. If your child needs to lose weight, a far safer and more appropriate approach is to cut out refined sugars and grains. Fasting is risky for children as it cuts out ALL nutrients, including those they need a steady supply of. Pregnant and/or breast-feeding women. The mother needs a steady supply of nutrients in order to assure the baby's healthy growth and development, so fasting during pregnancy or while breast-feeding is simply too risky for the child. I would also caution you to avoid fasting if you struggle with an eating disorder such as anorexia, even if you are not clinically underweight. In addition to that, use caution if you're on medication, as some may need to be taken with food. This includes metformin, aspirin and any other drugs that might cause stomach upset or stomach ulcers. Risks are especially high if you're on diabetic medication. If you take the same dose of medication but don't eat, you run the risk of having very low blood sugars (hypoglycemia), which can be very dangerous. So, if you're on diabetic drugs, you must adjust your medication before you fast. If your doctor is adverse toward or unfamiliar with fasting, you'd be wise to find one that has some experience in this area so that they can guide you on how to do this safely. Multiday Fasting Is a Powerful Biohack for Health and Longevity I will be interviewing experts on fasting in the future to go into more detail of all the benefits provided by extended water fasts, but until then, I would encourage you to increase your daily intermittent fasting toward the 18- to 21-hour range, which will enable you to transition into more extended fasts without significant struggle. If you are on medication or have a chronic health condition, work with your doctor to make sure you don't complicate your situation. For example, you need to make sure you're taking a high-quality multimineral supplement daily. Ideally, educate yourself about the process before you get started. Fung's book, "The Complete Guide to Fasting,"9 is an excellent resource. Also, before you jump into dayslong water-only fasting, start with intermittent fasting. I believe it will significantly ease the process and raise your chances of success.