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2023.03.29 21:53 Strange_Vegetable_88 2023 Canadian championship

Which L1C teams have more chance to advance to next round?
For me, TSS Rovers have the better chance to advance regards to their opponent (Valour FC) who seems like they lost depth. Also, home advantage can be beneficial for them. I see a major upset for this epic clash at swangard stadium. TSS Rovers 2 - Valour FC 1
FC Laval will have a tough opposition by facing the 3 time Cpl champs Forge FC. It might be less easier for Forge than it was last year against PLSQ side CS Mount Royal (3-0) but I don’t see them beating Forge unfortunately. They lost their primary goalkeeper Jordan Tisseur to Valour FC. It will be interesting to see Garven Metusala play against is former team and also Aboubacar Sissoko play against is older brother Adama Makan Sissoko, like it happened 2 years ago with the choiniere brothers. Forge FC 3 - FC Laval 1
Vaughan Azzurri will surely have the biggest task and miss match of the entire canchamp match of all time. The best club in Canada facing a 2 tier team division bellow is quite something that seems impossible to achieve. Unfortunately, I don’t see them winning by any means. They lost 3 of their best players + 2 of their U21/U19 Players to HFX Wanderers and most importantly their head coach who brought them were they are now. Playing away against CF Montreal will look like a David and Goliath kind of game but everything can be possible, that’s why we call it the beautiful game. CF Montreal 5 - Vaughan Azzurri 0

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2023.03.29 21:50 Thee_Randy_Lahey Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, March 23, 2023

Video: http://csg001-harm01.canadacentral.cloudapp.azure.com/00298/Harmony/en/PowerBrowsePowerBrowserV2/20230323/-1/15115?viewmode=3
Debates (Contains verbatim):https://docs.legassembly.sk.ca/legdocs/Legislative%20Assembly/Hansard/29L3S/20230323Debates.pdf
Minutes: https://docs.legassembly.sk.ca/legdocs/Legislative%20Assembly/Minutes/29L3S/230323MinutesRevised.pdf
Orders of the day: https://docs.legassembly.sk.ca/legdocs/Legislative%20Assembly/Orders/29L3S/230323Orders.pdf
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS
Nothing particularly notable.
PRESENTING PETITIONS
Daryl Harrison (SaskParty) 10:07:02
Petition against the NDP Liberal federal government infringing on rights, calls for Sask First policies etc.
Meara Conway (NDP)
Petition to increase SAID rates for people with disabilities. Budget only gave them $1 a day. She reads a story about a recipient who is struggling to eat - at that point the SaskParty starts to heckle her, Speaker interjects and told her to hurry up.
u/10:49:40 The Speaker stops to tell Conway that she broke rules during the petition; she has to be brief and not make an argument or finger point, which he says she did by citing the increase in SAID.
Jennifer Bowes (NDP)
Petition to prohibit conversion therapy as a discredited and abusive practice.
Erika Ritchie (NDP)
Petition to protect provincial water supply. Cites 79 precautionary water advisories and 2 boil waters. Cites a SUMA resolution to investigate the impact of agricultural chemicals on municipal water supplies. Also mentions the affects of illegal crop land draining threatening ground water.
STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS
Response to Provincial Budget 10:13:14
Nadine Wilson (Independant, running as Sask United)
Scolds the government for giving themselves a pay raise while people are struggling. She says “Growth that works for no one”. Calls for meaningful tax cuts and rebates, put people before politics.
The NDP gave applause.
SaskParty heckles her; Don McMorris shouted something that I can’t make out, Paul Merriman made a hand gesture like a talking mouth and shouted something about a coalition. *Note he came in late for statements as well just before this clip.
Global Change Required to Meet Water and Sanitation Crisis 10:14:$6
Erika Ritchie (NDP)
Talks about water advisories, some dating back several years. Cites Manitou Beach having toxic blue green algae in their lake, causing financial suffering. Related to UN world sustainable goals.
Observance of Ramadan 10:16:30
Muhammad Fiaz (SaskParty)
Announces Ramadan, talks about muslim religion.
Purple Day Supports Epilepsy Awareness 10:18:04
Vicki Mowatt (NDP)
Announces Purple Day
Z99 Radiothon for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Gary Grewal (SaskParty)
Talks about Z99 radiothon for neonatal care.
Saskatchewan’s Record Population Growth
Terry Jenson (SaskParty)
Talks about population growth in the province. Takes credit for the work done. Brings up NDP in 2006 when the population was shrinking.
\NOTE also with the lowest retention rate of migrants, and the highest outmigration of the province.*
Responses to Provincial Budget 10:22:33
Ken Francis (SaskParty)
Talks about the budget yesterday and how great it is. Notable, the U of R president was happy and said it was as expected.
\NOTE: They are in talks with University of Regina Faculty Assoc about cuts. Their president was in the Leg Mar 9 saying the exact opposite, and the minister said he was meeting with her after the session.*
QUESTION PERIOD
Provincial Budget 10:24:04
Carla Beck, Trent Wotherspoon, Vikci Mowatt (NDP) vs Scott Moe, Don Morgan, Donna Harpauer, Paul Merriman (SaskParty)
Cites a recent poll that 55% of Saskatchewan people are worse off this year than last, asks how the premier can fail to deliver any relief to struggling families. Has a $2B windfall and only gave tax increases, citing PST increases and the expansion on where it’s charged.
Moe says he is proud of the budget, and it resembles growth “that works for everyone”. (He cites increases in funding, but they’re all near or under inflation, I didn’t fact check any, but at those numbers they can’t be increases). One of the items he is proud of is the $1 a day increase for SAID recipients. He then attacks the NDP for a 9% PST.
\Note: anyone new to the province or to politics, the Grant Devine PC government that was the predecessor to the Saskparty nearly bankrupt the province which ended up in them being voted out, and a few members criminally charged.*
Affordability and Cost of Living
Trent Wotherspoon (NDP) vs Don Morgan, Donna Harpauer (SaskParty)
Wotherspoon says that families and small business are struggling with a once in a generation crisis, and the government is doing nothing but tax and rate hikes. Morgan calls the NDP irresponsible, has no credibility, and is standing with their leaders Jagmeet and Trudeau who are tripling the carbon tax.
Wotherspoon mentions again that he is criticising the federal government, and again calls for PST hike rollbacks. Harpauer claims we are the cheapest province to live in and defends the budget saying that they have increased in many areas where the increase doesn’t meet the cost of inflation.
\Note: Jagmeet and Trudeau are in fact not the bosses of the provincial NDP. The carbon tax rebate increases with the cost.*
Support for Health Care
Vicki Mowatt (NDP) vs Paul Merriman (SaskParty)
Mowatt says that hospitals are near collapse, cites SUN president in regards to the issues, and asks Merriman to address. Merriman cites some dollar figures and the number of workers coming in (the provincial auditor has ruled that these are not enough positions). He passes this all as success. Mowatt calls his answer shameful, nothing to cover family doctors, no new supports for costs, team based care, or problems with the current model, and accuses them of giving up. Merriman says that they are looking at future solutions. Mowatt says that doctors have told her the new doctor compensation doesn’t work, and doctors are leaving the province as a result. Merriman says he rejects the question, while the NDP heckled, I couldn’t make out what they said, he says the NDP is running down health care workers (which is clearly not true) if you listen to the entire exchange.
Funding for Education
Matt Love (NDP) vs Dustin Duncan (SaskParty)
Quotes president of Sask Schoolboard Association who call this budget falling short, investment that is needed, doesn’t even cover their inflationary expenses. Quotes Sask Teachers Federation president.
Duncan cites the numbers in the budget, defends it, compares it to $1.94B more than the NDP earmarked, then accuses the NDP of being against the education workers.
\NOTE: The last NDP budget ended in 2008, and didn’t have P3 schools to pay for - this is a poor comparison, and doesn’t include the per student cost or outcomes of education - all of which are worse.*
Tax Rates and Provincial Budget
Nadine Wilson (Independant) vs Donna Harpauer
Says the province is citing a huge surplus, asks why the province didn’t decrease taxes on the people in the province. Accuses the province of taking credit for the surplus, but it’s from increased taxes and resource prices. She says they are profiting on the plight of the people, and calls for them to even reduce the PST 1%.
Harpauer cites natural resources being high right now and volatile. She then says that she is copying the NDP cut and pasting their talking points. She then says that she doesn’t know what to say, then says it’s an indication of a strong and resilient economy. I don’t understand the position, her two ideas seem to conflict.
\NOTE: Volatile natural resources are the basis of crown corps that bring revenue to the province, like Liquor Board stores for example.*
POINTS OF ORDER
First point of order was the speaker talking about Conway’s petition earlier, and info is in that section.
Jeremy Harrison (SaskParty) vs Nicole Sarauer 10:50:22
Says that Wotherspoon called finance minister as boned-headed. As asks him to stand, withdrawal and apologise. He cites a 2017 Hansard decision.
Sarauer says that he called the tax bone-headed, not the minister. The Speaker will review the record.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF BUDGETARY POLICY (BUDGET DEBATE) 10:52:00
Trent Wotherspoon (NDP)
Wothespoon calls the budget out of touch, a government flush with cash who isn’t helping the challenges that people and business are facing. Goes on to call them disrespectful to the health care sector, doctors, teachers, education.
Cites closed hospitals, long wait times in ERs, people can’t get family doctors, addictions problems.
Attacks that they threw in the towel on equalisation, and calls it a fight that shouldn’t be let down.
Talks about internet access in rural and remote areas asking them to make it a priority and scrap the increasing dividend from Sasktel.
Cites producers being left out of proper compensation rights. Mentions that they delayed despite the NDP and federal government pushing.
Beef herds are in decline and products are being imported while families are losing herds that have generational lineage.
Calls for investigations into meat plants and their anti competitive practices.
Calls for work on the carbon tax to stop the burden on agriculture, and the NDP wants them to exempt grain drying and compensation for being stuarts of the land.
Ends in thanking the people and the workers of the wonderful province, and encourages everyone to work towards a bright future, and being squandered by the government.
Reverts to the previous complaint about the use of boneheaded, and agrees to retract it, and replace with the following: does not approve the budgetary policy of the government because it fails to provide cost-of-living relief for families, fails to make needed investments in health care and education; and further, that the Assembly has lost confidence in the government.
Lori Carr (SaskParty) calls for point of order 11:13:26. Says that Wotherspon referred to the minister of trade and export development the minister of jobs. Wotherspoon stands up, says he’s perplexed but apologises.
Vicki Mowatt (NDP)
Talks about smugness in the house when talking about important issues in our community, and even towards guests that were in the room. She says people are noticing and they need to do better. She cites conversation with people in her riding worried about loosing their homes, and there’s no relief from the province in sight. Talks about hospitals being closed, some on bypass with only a note on the door that it’s closed, a baby being born on the side of the highway. And no real meaningful plan. She says that their constituents are calling the NDP offices as well, so she doesn’t know how they can continue with 32 new taxes and fees.
Premier has worst jobs record in the country, he’s flush with cash from potash and oil prices due to the war, and still no relief. 20% of Sask kids are living in poverty, and they have pet projects like the Sask Marshalls, Sask Revenue Agency and the finance minister fires up the jet to go for lunch.
Cites the health system near collapse, and the auditor has told them they are 1000 workers short, and they call it the most ambitious plan in the country in a display of arrogance.
Calls for health care support. The doctors are being forced to be business owners when they just want to provide care. The nurse practitioners asked for a ‘grow your own’ to let them work in the area that they live in, the government won’t address them. Said that the Regina General being closed was referred to as business as usual, ebbs and flows of the service while ignore solutions being provided by health care providers.
She talks about meeting requests like the one in Delisle where the providers asked them to all come, but the saskparty doesn’t show up and listen. Instead he says he meets people on the way home that he talks to (this is true, it happened several times this month in fact.)
Cites headlines about investment into mental health and addictions while those issues soar in our province without significant targeted investment or speaking to the professionals.
Socials services benefits haven’t increase in 8 years, and now they’re given a dollar a day. The Saskparty heckled her at this point. She cites it’s offloading the costs to municipalities and creating more homelessness and claw back benefits.
Says we have the worst job record in the country, but the Saskparty brags about those numbers. Their economy ranked last with a GDP shrinkage (we were the only province that experienced that, citations in earlier synopsis;) And being made worse by putting PST on construction.
Worst retention of people in the province (citations in previous dates as well, statcan has all this data).
Schools are organising bottle drives to continue, and the increases don’t even meet their previous needs let alone inflation. The Saskparty heckled this.
Fights that the budget doesn’t have targets or timelines.
11:36:54 Speaker rules on ‘boneheaded’ comment, tells Wotherspoon to withdrawal and apologise, then asks the Saskparty if they don’t have anything better to do than points of order.
Ken Frnacis (SaskParty) 11:37:28
Opens up with a joke that the NDP obviously hasn’t taken a tony robbins positivity course latley. Praises the minister of finance. Makes more jokes about the ‘longest serving opposition member’ was feeling very empowered by the crowd (referring to Wotherspoon). Says no wonder the confidence was redlining because of the support of the media. Goes on to make more jokes. Says that the NDP is by extension talking down the people of Saskatchewan, make some bad jokes about socialism and he feels bad for them. Cites eye rolling of the crowd at Wotherspoons tone about crissi after crisis every day (he is referring to a speech about cost of living crisis and hospital closures), and the tone will be better from the Saskparty side. He says that they will get their feedback at the polls, then there is shouting and an interruption.
From the verbatim @ time stamp 11:43:25: This is shocking
The Speaker :
Like, really. You know, I caution the member. Some kind of threatening gesture? Give me a break. I mean, come on. This is where it gets back and forth where it’s unacceptable. The pointing, you know, I mean, please. Please refrain from those types of things. Come on. AnThe Speaker: — Like, really. You know, I caution the member. Some kind of threatening gesture? Give me a break. I mean, come on. This is where it gets back and forth where it’s unacceptable. The pointing, you know, I mean, please. Please refrain from those types of things. Come on. And that’s for both sides, too.
I mean, come on. I recognize the Government House Leader. Hon. Mr. J. Harrison: — Just seeking clarification,
Mr. Speaker, on your ruling — I’m not sure if that was a ruling — on whether we can use hand gestures . . .
The Speaker: — Sorry, you’re challenging the Speaker. Do you March 23, 2023 Saskatchewan Hansard 3425 really want to go there? Do you really want to go there? Yeah, you want to go there? Okay. I want the Government House Leader to stand up, withdraw, and apologize.
I recognize the Government House Leader. Hon. Mr. J. Harrison: — I withdraw and apologize if that’s what the Speaker . . .
The Speaker: — Sit down. I recognize the member from Kindersley. d that’s for both sides, too. I mean, come on.
Ken Francis continues.. Attacks them saying it’s all fear and smear just like their federal ndp liberal coalition, a negativity vortex. Says that the statistics show that they’re doing well, and the NDP is saying they will make cuts but they won’t (where’s the liquor board store Ken?).
Goes on to call rural Sask the spinal cord of the provincial economy, excited for the future, agribusiness is working hard to fight the federal government on a new deal. Goes on to cite all the massive 10%+ increases in those areas, oil and gas potash, etc. and how their 9 trade offices (the ones Harper runs globally) are bringing more revenue. He says that teh biggest threat is environmental policies from the federal gov that the NDP are backing (they aren’t… they said that several times in this sitting alone).
Goes on to talk about socialism, protectionism, a bunch of arguments that aren’t even valid. I won’t waste my time synopsis of the rest of this speech, look it up if you care to hear what he says.
Scott Moe (SaskParty) 12:00:15
Talks about paying down deficit, the pandemic cost us $1B he says even after a generational drought which he calls sustainable investments. He claims second lowest debt to gdp in the nation. He praises the budget and keeps calling it sustainable - he doesn’t want to fire nurses and doctors because of resource revenue fluctuations. Goes on to say that he’s bringing in 1000 physicians etc etc.. these are all future state items that I can’t fact check. He relates a lot of these items against 2007 when the NDP was in power. Goes on to justify the pet projects lie the Marshall Service. I stopped recording it all because he isn’t providing data, he’s just making claims without citation of any kind, and most it things they are doing in the future.
Marv Friesen (SaskParty) 12:39:31
Praises the budget for no new taxes. Cites disagreement in the room debating in the treasury board and committee meetings, which he thinks is important to get the best decisions and outcomes. Critical of the NDP calling them tired and out of touch, and says he is tired because he’s in touch with his riding.
This will be archived on SaskPoli\**. I am open to linking missed or relevant factual information provided, as well as correcting inaccuracies.**\**

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2023.03.29 21:50 Thee_Randy_Lahey Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, March 23, 2023

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2023.03.29 21:46 RevolutionaryWalk762 Buy Verified CoinBase Accounts

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2023.03.29 21:41 Fragrant_Ad_1292 Shite for training

Having spent a decade and half with another big box company. Working multiple positions I was constantly fed training for each, endless seeming hours. Then every month we had more safety related stuff, on top of all that there were trainings we took every 6 to 12 months. Point being training to the point of almost annoyance.
Having spent just over a year, with Sherwin. I can say that even with all the training they give us it’s all shit. It’s either not interesting enough, not informative enough or in the end doesn’t actually relate to the real world situations we face.
Today I am frustrated that I am face to face with the lack of knowledge of others and myself for not knowing fully how things work. The issue is that most of my actual training has been from what others have learned by trial or discovery.
Anyone else feel that we (as both people and a company) need to be better at training and sharing applicable knowledge with each other. That we need better training in place.
My biggest example is related to just about everything about our delivery system. Each store has a different working knowledge of how it works. The one person we know that has the answers to help of course isn’t readily available…so point and case frustrating wait or stumble through.

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2023.03.29 21:40 impalablue The scarcity myth for Rolex

The Hermès Birkin bag was an instant commercial success, however, Hermès had an interesting marketing tactic that they are now notorious for using. Hermès would artificially decrease the number of Birkin bags that a given store could buy. When store managers would go to Podium, the twice-yearly international Hermès buying extravaganza in Paris, they would have a select number of Birkins they could buy for their stores depending on their client base and supply. This created the appearance of scarcity that Hermès still implements. The number of Hermès Birkin bags currently in retail and resale circulation is unfathomable. Hermès does not report the production numbers to the public so there is not much insight into the secretive process. In 2014, it was reported by The Economist that an estimated 70,000 Birkin bags were created that year for global supply.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, rumors spread of a “Birkin Waitlist”, or a list at each boutique that prioritized clients in order of their requesting for a Birkin bag. The intention of the list was for clients to believe that when their name was next, they would receive the opportunity to purchase the must-have bag. Reports for many years have been that the store associates, when asked about the availability of the Birkin bag, would have one of two responses: 1) We do not have a Birkin in stock, or 2) Please put your name on this waitlist and we will call you when one becomes available. This waitlist was rumored to be anything from several months to three years long or more, which is quite the to-do surrounding any handbag or designer.
However, the waitlist rumors began to fall apart when clients began to share and talk to one another about their Birkin buying experiences on various handbag forums and platforms. Buyers began to strategize how to attain one for themselves based on experienced sellers’ know-how. Reports came in about having to buy a certain quantity of non-leather goods in order to qualify, having to build rapport with sales associates at a specific boutique to qualify, and even to dress in a “deserving” outfit in order to get your hands on a Birkin bag. All of these rumors went up in smoke when clients began reporting that they simply walked in one day and got offered one upfront, no purchasing or previous Hermès experience under their belt. How is this possible when there is more than likely a long waitlist at these stores? It seems likely that the Birkin waitlist was either purely fictional or perhaps a subtle technique that stores used to drum up anticipation and an aura of exclusivity. So, what’s the best strategy to get your hands on one? Ask nicely and you may get lucky!

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2023.03.29 21:38 evilbert420 Initial Impressions of the DDJ-FLX10

I was fortunate to receive a DDJ-FLX10 yesterday. What follows are my first impressions after spending about two hours with it. Just my opinions. I'm an open-format/event/mobile DJ so that's the lens I look through.
-Overall build quality is very similar to the DDJ-800 and DDJ-1000 that came before. This doesn't feel like a FLX6 in any way. In other words, it's excellent quality.
-Mine says it was manufactured in January 2023.
-Jogs feel more like CDJ-3000s, thus they are less noisy and a bit more smooth than what is on the 1000/SRT. Love it!
-I don't really notice a difference with the FLX6-style dimples on the jogs.
-It's GREAT having jog display options, including parallel waveforms, on Serato. To me this was the biggest downgrade from the 1000 to the 1000SRT. On the FLX10 you can change jog displays using SHIFT-< and SHIFT->. In Serato you need to hold the buttons down, whereas with Rekordbox the jogs change upon key press. That threw me off at first as I wasn't understanding why I couldn't change the jogs in Serato. Gotta hold the buttons a bit longer!
-The pad mode buttons are no longer MPC-style like the pads are, they are clicky-plastic like on cheaper controllers. A bit of a downgrade here, although there's no real functional change as these buttons wouldn't be used for pad drumming.
-The pitch faders do feel like a downgrade to me. Their resistance and feel is more "plasticky" than what I'd like. This is one area where it feels they cut costs to hit their price point. Also, I'm not sure why there's a trend to remove the indentation on pitch faders, but the Tempo Reset button is an okay compromise that I feel is a little clumsy.
-Not too much needs to be said about Rekordbox track separation that hasn't already been said. We all know Pioneer needs to improve quality ASAP, both by improving the algorithm(s) used and by allowing those of us with modern computers to use the processing power we have available.
-I don't see where I can remap the Part Separation buttons in Serato outside of using normal MIDI Mappings. I want to be able to move bass and drums to the same button, as that's the more common split for my stem use.
-Part FX is, in my mind, the killer feature of this and the Rane Four. Being able to apply colobeat fx to the vocals without impacting the rest of the track is THE killer feature IMO and really opens stems up.
-The LEDs for showing beat fx channel assignments are a welcome carry-over from mixers like the DJM-900NXS2 and the Denon X1850. Another small QoL improvement from the 1000/SRT.
-The FLX10 fits in the Pioneer DJC-B3 soft case. Like the DDJ-1000 and REV7, there's really no room in the case for the power supply. It doesn't fit in my REV7 flight case, as the FLX10 is not wide enough and too long.
-The Magvel Fader is fine, it's set to about where my DJM-S7 Magvel Pro is when it's at 1:00. That's a lot more tension than I prefer after spending time with the Magvel Pro as I work on my scratching skills.
-Summary: This is clearly the successor to the DDJ-1000, but it's hard to call it a must-have upgrade; I think it's more a logical update. The improved jogs/displays and the stems buttons are the primary improvements that I've encountered. (I'm not too interested in the improved phono preamps because I use Phase for vinyl).
It doesn't rewrite the controller game and thus I really can't recommend someone sell their DDJ-1000/SRT and move to the FLX10 if just an "upgrade" is what you're really looking for - Pioneer could easily have called this the DDJ-1000 Mk2 or DDJ-1000NXS3. If you have a 1000 and are thirsting for a "next-level" I'd recommend keeping your 1000 and adding a REV7 or saving up for an Opus Quad or XZ.
I'm not slagging the FLX10 - it easily joins the REV7 and Rane Four as the best DJ controllers you can buy, and being the only one that is club-standard in layout makes it perhaps the best for many people (I do love me some paddles tho!). The jog/display and stem improvements are welcome and definite improvements, and Pioneer is gonna sell a ton of these.
I plan on using it live at a casino on Thursday for a short set I'm doing between one of my live bands. I haven't encountered any glitches yet so I'm hoping it's gig-ready.
TLDR; FLX10 is a worthy update to the DDJ-1000/SRT, with some nice QoL upgrades, but most 1000/SRT owner's shouldn't feel like they're being left behind.

submitted by evilbert420 to PioneerDJ [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:26 StepwiseUndrape574 Finally, one of the biggest questions surrounding GTA 6

Finally, one of the biggest questions surrounding GTA 6 is when it will be released. Some rumors have suggested that it could come out as early as 2023, while others believe it won't be released until 2025 or later. With Rockstar Games' reputation for taking their time and creating polished games, it's likely that we won't see the game for a few years yet. But whenever it does come out, fans will be eagerly waiting to see what the next chapter in the Grand Theft Auto series has in store.
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submitted by StepwiseUndrape574 to gta5moddedvehicles_ [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:25 Sir_Chirpsalot Part 8 of my journey fanfic 'the forest and the guardians' is done!

Part 1 of previous story: https://www.reddit.com/JourneyPS3/comments/xmvwb1/journey_oc_story_the_great_mountain_and_beyond/
Part 1 of this story: https://www.reddit.com/JourneyPS3/comments/z9afre/part_1_of_my_journey_fanfic_sequel_the_forest_and/
previous part of this story: https://www.reddit.com/JourneyPS3/comments/11x2mqj/part_7_of_my_journey_fanfic_the_forest_and_the/
Now for the 8th part 'The last storm'
Note: Again, minor spoilers for the pathless

The next day, he told Doel what had happened. She was also surprised. "A bit odd he'd suddenly let you go, but still, you have no promises to fulfill anymore," she said. Then she went back to doing whatever. Rezart sighed. He then looked at Doel, who was now carving a small statue of a cloth whale out of wood. "Well, I'm glad that you've made it back. This place is more lively with you around," she said. He smiled. That sealed it for him. He belonged in the eastern tribe now, and most likely he'd stay here. He didn't mind living here with Doel for the rest of his life, but it still hurt to know that he'd never get to fulfill his dream of being a pottery teacher, unless he found someone who actually wanted to be his student. He hesitated, then asked, "Would it be alright if I stayed here permanently?"
Now, if he had asked this in the western tribe, the answer would have been yes. However, for the eastern tribe, someone permanently living in another's house was extremely strange. Indeed, he noticed that Doel tensed at the idea of him staying here for the rest of his life. For Doel, not only was it the eastern tribe custom not to do this, but she also enjoyed having a place that was officially her home. She had pictured Rezart staying here until he made his own house. She stood up with a bewildered expression. "No, no, you can't stay here. This place is mine. You're only meant to stay here for a little," she hissed. Rezart was surprised, and Doel became embarrassed and apologized. She sighed. She knew that Rezart desperately needed a forever home. "Look, if you want to stay in the eastern tribe, you'll have to build your own house," she said. Rezart was dumbfounded. "Build my own house? Don't you hire someone else who's been taught to do that?" he asked. Doel laughed a little, as if the question was silly. "Maybe in the western tribe, but in the eastern tribe, everyone's self-sufficient. We gather our own supplies, harvest our own cloth, make our discoveries, and build our own houses," she told him.
Rezart tilted his head. "What does the leader do then, if everyone's self-sufficient?" he asked. Doel paused in thought. She wasn't sure herself. Their leader, Soro, was a mysterious Ryuthlian who never ordered anyone to do anything. The only thing she knew about her was that she would sometimes leave to negotiate resource and land use with the other tribe leaders, but that was it.
Rezart struggled to fall asleep that night. Building your own house sounded incredibly tough, and he knew nothing about houses, except that you lived in them. As he thought about this, he thought about his own special pottery skills. With that thought the many memories of being with his tribe came back. The eagerness he felt when he made his first pot. Feeling proud when someone complimented it. Most of all, being really keen to teach others how to make pottery. He sighed. If he could, he would've spent the rest of his life teaching Ryuthlians pottery, being in that state of contentment when one is doing something that they love. He fell asleep with uneasy thoughts, knowing that tomorrow, he would have to build his own house. What would he do after that? He didn't know.
The next day, he found himself standing in front of an empty lot. He had been granted permission to build a house here, if he could. For a while, he merely stood there, unsure how to tackle the situation. He looked around. "I could ask the others for help," he thought, then paused. "Yeah, but I want to make a good impression on them. What would they think of me if I couldn't build my own house? Would they all laugh at me?" He shuddered. So he got to work without any help, and from the experience, he learned several things. One, the eastern tribe did have a large collection of materials at the center. Two, they had so much now thanks to the guardian's plowing down trees. Three, building a house when you don't know what you're doing is impossible.
He struggled for three days to do anything but failed to even lift up a beam. After those three days, he finally asked Doel for assistance. Helping others in the eastern tribe was uncommon. However, when Doel came and gave Rezart a hand, the others decided to join in. During this time, during the three weeks that it took to make the home, Rezart felt a sense of companionship that had become unknown to him. When it was finished, he thanked Doel for her help.
"Eh, it's nothing. I couldn't leave you outside in the rain standing by some wood," she said. They were standing in front of a house that was completely wooden. Rezart liked wood; it gave him a sense of comfort and familiarity. He felt like he could spend all day watching the rain in a wooden house. In fact, it was starting to rain, so they went inside together.
Since it was new, it didn't have a lot of stuff. A couple of books and some tools for pottery making. Rezart, however, was too exhausted from building to make any pottery, so they read together as the rain poured down outside. The warmth, the deep brown color of wood, the gentle light drifting in from the window, the comfortable silence, he finally felt at home here.

That night, Soro had made arrangements to meet with Cerbecus. She had one question for him. Who owned the guardians? That was something they hadn't properly stated. On her way there, she hoped that they would manage to split them somewhat evenly. Perhaps they could have fifteen each, with the southern tribe having one more. That's certainly what the outcome would've been if she were having this conversation a few months ago.
However, the Cerbecus that greeted her by the guardians on a dimly lit night was not the same one fifteen months ago. He didn't know what Soro wanted, as she hadn't told him when she had asked him to come here, but the curtain was pulled apart when she said, "I was wondering who owns the guardians. Are they owned by anyone, or are they publicly property?" she asked.
Cerbecus thought about it. He didn’t know himself, in all honesty; he just hadn’t thought about that. However, as he pondered the question, a cruel smile formed on his face.
The guardians listened more to him than they did to anyone else, as he had trained them the most. If he wanted, he could order one of the many guardians watching them to attack Soro right now, and no one would ever know. He suddenly approached Soro with the intimidation of a stalking predator. “The guardians belong to the southern tribe, all of them,” he said. He noticed Soro tense. She backed away slightly. She was becoming increasingly nervous. She knew something bad was about to happen. However, before she could leave, Cerbecus suddenly stepped onto her scarf, pinning her in place.
“I’m not done talking,” he said. Soro turned around, fright whirling around her head. “What more is there to talk about?” she asked. “We’re done, aren’t we? I need to get back to my tribe,” she added. Cerbecus looked in the eastern direction, and the hunger inside him grew. “Bulo gave up her leadership because she knew it was best for her tribe since I was just a better leader. Maybe you could do the same.” He paused, wondering if Soro had caught onto what he was suggesting. She had. “You can’t become the leader of a tribe you aren’t part of. No one does that.” She shut her mouth as she heard Cerbecus whistle for the guardians. Several turned their heads, looking directly at her. He made a gesture to them, signaling for them to look to the east. Soro ducked when they did, as if they had turned on her. She looked at Cerbecus with hatred and fear. Then, a sudden feeling of defeat, the same defeat the guardians felt. She lowered her head in submission to the new leader of the eastern tribe.
In the end, Rezart was glad that he chose to move into the eastern tribe. The other Ryuthlians were friendlier, and he didn’t have Cerbecus around all the time. For a bit, he’d forgotten about Cerbecus until he heard the news.
“Cerbecus has gained rule over the eastern tribe? How?” he asked. “I don’t know; that’s just what I heard today. Soro announced that she was stepping down and that Cerbecus was taking over,” Doel said. They had been by the shore when talking about this. Rezart picked up a stone and threw it into the water. “He was only the deputy of the southern tribe a few months ago. He was only the leader of the southern tribe a couple of weeks ago,” he hissed. Doel shrugged. “Well, I’m sure that Soro has good reasons for doing this,” she guessed, though she was nervous too.
Rezart huffed. He could see where this was going. How much longer would it be until Cerbecus conquered the western forest tribe? Most likely he wouldn’t even stop there. He would send guardians over to the desert tribes as well and make them bend to his will. He pictured it. All three tribes and their local counterparts bending to a single Ryuthlian; it wasn’t right. He could do anything he wanted; no one would be able to stop him, and it was all because he controlled the guardians.
He threw a stone into the water and screamed. He had helped Cerbecus. Cerbecus had only gotten so far because they had worked together, because he allowed Cerbecus to use his knowledge to his advantage. If only he hadn't fallen asleep on that fateful night, if only, if only, if only! They were still living underneath the guardians, just in a different way now. Oh, why was he so blind to not see what he had been building?
He sank to his knees, staring at the water's edge. There was a rock in his heart. It was cold and weighed him down. At that moment, it felt like the only thing he had was Doel, who pulled him into a comforting hug as they sat there on the water's edge while darkness rolled in.
Cerbecus didn't stop at the eastern tribe; in a few days' time, the western tribe was conquered as well. The leader had resisted, but she couldn't fight against the guardians which threatened to tarnish the newly built homes. He had a method of controlling each tribe: ten guardians for the tribes, while the others did general labor work. The guardians obeyed him now, even when he was far away. He had trained them enough for them to feel his will even when he wasn't there. He wanted more, though. As he stood in his newly made tower, he set his eyes overseas. It would be harder to conquer the desert tribes, though, since they were overseas and he'd be stretching out his guardians a little too thinly. If he was going to do this, he would have to make more of them. He was sitting at his desk and brought out a large piece of paper. He dipped a newly fashioned quill in ink and traced the outline of a guardian factory. He looked out of the window again, down at the ground. There, he saw cloth dolphins weaving their way through the trees.
The construction of the guardian factory would take months, though, and he didn't want any rebels going overseas for help. So he ruled that it was forbidden to go outside, least he gave someone permission. This tyranny lasted a good three months, during which he did a few other bold things. He removed Bulo from her position of deputy and replaced her with one of his more respectful followers. Indeed, the Ryuthlians who continued to regard him as their savior were given special treatment. Rezart would secretly go out to spend time with Doel, trying to forget the guardians that flew overhead. He could tell that Doel was getting restless. She hated being unable to go to the beach, but like the others, she was too scared to go near the guardians.
"What am I meant to do in the meantime though?" she asked, sitting down in the living room. "It's so boring staying here all day; I want to go outside." Rezart looked around, trying to find something for them to do. That was when he remembered pottery. Maybe Doel would be willing to have a pottery session with him.
"Well, perhaps we could make some pottery together?" he asked. Doel nodded. That did sound nice. She'd never told Rezart, but she had never made pottery before. Rezart was a little surprised when he learned this. "It was just something that didn't look appealing, sitting down in one place for ages," she said. "You could say the same thing for reading," Rezart replied. Doel frowned. "It's not the same," she argued. "Books transport you into another world."
Rezart shrugged. He wasn’t going to get into an hour-long argument with Doel. So, he got to work showing her the ways of pottery. They worked together for a good two hours, during which Doel had many failures and triumphs.
By the end of it, Rezart found that he couldn’t stop smiling. He admired Doel’s work as though it were his own. Suddenly, he felt a deep warmth in his chest. He felt like he was back at home, teaching others how to make pottery and following his life goal. When he realized this, he wanted to hug Doel in thanks for all the beautiful time they had spent together.
At dusk, Rezart was back in his home, looking at the sky. He wondered if their ancestors, the ones who had made the guardians, thought their stars would glow brightly after they died. In fact, did they glow brightly? Surely they did because they would’ve stopped what they were doing if all the stars were dim. Then, why would capturing cloth dolphins be rewarded?
He frowned. Unfortunately, the exact circumstances of guardian creation had been forgotten. He sighed and threw his blanket over his head as a guardian sailed by, closed the blinds, and tried to fall asleep.
Rezart knew that he had to find Cernos, for he was the only one who could stop Cerbecus. At the very least, he would have an idea of how to do so. He traveled in the night to avoid the eyes of Cerbecus and any guardians, and to see Cernos' blue glow better. He was expecting Cernos to reject him, but he did the opposite. Indeed, when Rezart managed to find Cernos after flying for a while and calling out to him, he didn’t run away. Truthfully, Cernos had spent his time thinking about the situation. While he did feel great anger towards them, he began to wonder if staying mad and refusing contact would actually do anything. So, he decided to give Rezart another chance.
Rezart was flying when he spotted Cernos. After he did, he tried slowing down but failed and crashed into a tree. He tumbled down and scrambled up. “Sorry about that, I’m not very good at landing,” he said. Cernos nodded. “I can see that. So, why are you visiting me this time?” he asked. Rezart explained the situation. Cernos snorted in amusement. It seemed that every time the Ryuthlians attempted to manipulate the guardians, they just made the situation worse for themselves.
“Can you do something about it? You’re a god, after all.” Rezart squeaked. Cernos sighed. “Yes, but only over the forest and earth animals. I have no power over things that have been artificially made,” he informed him. Rezart got more desperate. Questions bubbled out of him like baking soda reacting to vinegar. His main question was if there were other gods besides Cernos, and if those could help instead. “I’m one of five gods, the ones who rule over land,” Cernos described those to him. “Then, there are the gods who live in the sea,” he paused. “I don’t know much about them, but I have heard that they can change who you are.” Rezart was curious. “What do you mean, change who you are?” he asked. “They can turn a creature into another. A deer into an octopus. A wolf into a walrus,” he explained. Rezart felt an odd spark of hope at that. Still, this was getting him nowhere.
Cernos then told him that the trip to the other gods was treacherous, even for him. That made Rezart’s heart sink. He wasn't sure that they’d be able to reach them before Cerbecus did something really horrible. They needed a plan that could be executed quickly, and Cernos knew what it was.
“You must free the guardians,” he said. Rezart was shocked. “But if I unchain them and throw away all the whistles, they’ll just resume terrorizing the tribes!” Cernos lashed his tail and narrowed his eyes. “You must do more than just undo their bindings. You must free them from their stone prisons! Fix your species' mistakes, and end their suffering for good!” Rezart paused. How could he do that? “What? Should I break a stone on their heads to let the cloth dolphins out?” he asked.
Cernos shook his head. He was getting angry. “I thought you knew by now. The guardians have a single mind. Their stone prisons have turned them into a cloth whale. If you were to free them like that, it would likely cause distress and injure them. Do you really think that would be the right way, especially since their stone casing is too thick and hard for a knife or another rock anyway?” He flicked his tail at Rezart’s scarf. “And it’s not like your own scarf contains metal or anything.” Rezart felt despair and anguish fill his heart. “How do I do it then?” he asked, shaking. “How do you save a guardian when you can’t pierce its stone casing?”
Cernos looked to the sea, then his eyes traced to the desert. “The mountain. Take them to the top of the mountain, and their stone casing will be removed.” He then looked down at Rezart. Leaves fluttered and fell to the ground, grass bent downwards, and fruit rotted. “The mountain’s peak is surrounded by harsh snow; however, you won’t be able to return.” Rezart felt his scarf curl uncomfortably. For a few moments, he felt mixed, but then he remembered what he had seen, what he had heard. No, he would have to do this. It was the only way to end the guardian problem, to end their suffering forever. Although, he knew that the guardians felt never-ending hatred towards him. How would he know that they wouldn’t turn on him the moment he freed them?
“Cloth dolphins and whales had originally evolved to live in a grassland. They’ll listen to a god of the earth. I’ll tell them not to hurt you and to follow you to the mountain.”
Rezart felt like his heart had stopped beating. His mind seemed to cease thoughts when he meekly asked, “When are we going to do this?” He was hoping for a later date, but he already knew the answer. “Tonight.”

submitted by Sir_Chirpsalot to JourneyPS3 [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:25 DeathOnTheMoon Thriller

Death is real I learned this when I was small and innocent I was scared to breath and I was scared to believe It didn't matter how I felt I knew what was coming I couldn't care what they said They didn't know what I had in the shed of life They didn't know what I had in store Apparently I bought something by being ruthless and mean With a desire to learn everything God saw I was great and decided to test me He chose my particles and made me He chose my hair color and my size He said I would die To me God is a mirror of the best form we can ever see To me God is the place we want to be So I told myself we have to achieve We can strive and dive deep, understand abilities are great Yet blood is deep and it cannot be contained forever We are players in a match against death We survive by telling stories of who we've been We tell tales of who we see us becoming I write but it's not always right I write but I feel my depth surfacing I don't want to shine The best life is coming home and saying thanks for being alive To those who ring in your heart Many say that but only some understand it yet all will understand it Because we are all in the same train Along a Cliff edge Don't fall over Mr Raven You see
Really we are a bit of everything in our head You see Mr Raven is a piece of what is reality Our brains are fast and quick with so much speed Electricity courses through our veins in the form of cells It is blood of the soul Electric neurons in our brains It's blood that settles pressure in our hearts I lost many things but never my faith I can see the smiles of those whose presence pleases all There is a world in this universe where there is always bless and appreciation There is a place in space where there is continuous love Right now we're in pain I know we will heal We are strong and great Images of God I'm not officially religious I just believe in logic Cells aren't random They're precise precious abilities Born from a mother you were crafted by shaping flesh under compulsive shocks of energy zapping everything into shape We got this I believe I had a vision Of a place we can all call happiness I don't know anyone to be bad We put them away Only bad, like real bad We work on fixing broken people here There is life and death As long as you don't like Kill yourself or anyone Then we can work on it There is already continuous love Simply put the pain is killing it But it never dies We either have healed continuous love in the most pure form or we have painful love until we die Like fire ablaze I'm fire and I gaze But like the snowflakes I wish I could become a part of a frozen river with no direction other than to be melted by the sun and become a part of everything that we seem to see in the sky bed of our visual reality
My name in real life is equivalent to "born from the fire"
We're set on fire by the sun But I enjoyed being like anyone else while it lasted Now I'm set ablaze with a fire that seeks to inspire We have set goals for us We have set north which is up I believe in science and space DNA and ocean waves by moon's gravity I was born July 17 1999 I was born before a millennium died I was born with beliefs of advanced technology I was born with a belief humans landed on the moon We aren't monkeys We aren't for the sole purpose of money We are Devine From da Vinci to Isaac Newton From Buddha to Jesus Christ It's all relative to time It's all relative to what the universe needs If we have a chance of an enteral life Then we must show that there is life in us We weren't born to die We were born to love and fight Death is when the evil in demise is brought upon us in due time Yet never has death killed love Love formed us into human dolls Love is what death wishes to bring to an end Death is annoyed by anything with life Death wants everything in existence to stop and end But love has never lost Love battles to no end Love is what makes our hearts content Love is what makes our heart continents I wrote this with many breaths If I were limitless I'd have done it in one breath I'm someone with a story I want to help bring glory But I remember being in an aquarium Where people didn't even choose to understand me They just gazed at me like a fish If I become beyond a fish Will I be scared I don't want to find out I'm scared of them interacting with me But I love to support the existence of love So I wrote what my heart told me to write Death is coming for me But it's scary what I wrote It knows my death will be the beginning to a larger than life time When I settle into dust My dreams say death will be in it's weakest form the world has ever seen There is still work I'm not ready to die I'm ready to fight against evil I'm ready to fight against the belief of real life world demise p.s to the dead someone died in order for you to be alive, live with their life in mind I understand we aren't the same But we can understand we need the same
1 https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/125tjx3/moonlight/je60t7n?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3 I enjoyed poem 1 for its flow and its beautiful scenery that I had in mind and the drama was so tasteful
2 https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/125nc1b/in_the_moments_of_love/je61iqt?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3 Poem 2 was truthful and proud of wise or something so deep that it leaves you wondering how much deeper our human emotions can reach
[Recommending all poems I reply to, since I choose which poems I reply to based on reasons of delight
🐇🐈🌕🌊
Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen
☕📖🖋️
Pt 69

submitted by DeathOnTheMoon to OCPoetry [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:24 StrivingJarl SGR: Cutscene 7, Chemical Plant, Cutscene 8 & 9, Death Egg Robot, & Cutscene 10

AO3 Link

Scene 07: Back To Westside Island
https://preview.redd.it/1tcpq8108qqa1.jpg?width=470&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=382fe4b33729436c923417ee304628469f4e0e4c
The scene starts off with the two Sonic’s walking out of the now fully-colored Green Hill entrance in White Space, talking about some future adventures.
Classic Sonic: “Wow…so I get to visit TWO different magic book worlds, and fight genies and knights?”
Modern Sonic: “You betcha! Definitely some of my more interesting adventures!”
Classic Sonic: “Right! I’m already eager to see all the sights!”
Modern Sonic: “Mm-hm! I would love to head back to those worlds at some point!”
Modern Sonic: “But first, let’s get back on track. Starting with this.”
Modern Sonic (Or MS for short) points his thumb at the Green Hill entrance, which Classic Sonic (CS for short) stares at curiously.
Classic Sonic: “...So, you summoned this entrance with that clock hand?”
Modern Sonic: “It wasn’t intentional, but yes. Though, it was all ghostly white at first.”
Modern Sonic: “Like something sucked all the life and color out of it.”
Classic Sonic: “Weird…then, why is it normal now?”
Modern Sonic: “Beats me. But I guess it’s a hint that we’re doing something right.”
Modern Sonic: “That clocktower, on the other hand, is a bigger mystery.”
The two Sonic’s walk up to the broken clocktower, and CS inspects it for a moment as they talk.
https://preview.redd.it/6hr57ic28qqa1.jpg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c6b6db7e96ae5b9bd54f086af7e75c49b23ee7f
Classic Sonic: “Hmm…it’s definitely ancient…and dusty, too…”
Classic Sonic: “Got any ideas where it comes from, or what it’s about?”
Modern Sonic: “Not much, but I figure it’s probably from some long dead civilization with advanced technology.”
Modern Sonic: “And this COULD have something to do with that time…eater…”
Classic Sonic: “Time eater?”
Classic Sonic: “Well, it definitely sounds better than ‘that shadow beast’ or whatever.”
Classic Sonic: “Still…we can’t really figure out much…”
Classic Sonic: “But I’m sure once we find your Tails, he’ll figure it out without breaking a sweat.”
Modern Sonic: “No doubt about that! You’d be happy to know how much he’s grown over time!”
Modern Sonic: “He even managed to save an entire city from Eggman, all on his own!”
Classic Sonic: “Really? That’s awesome!”
Modern Sonic: “Definitely! I’m proud of my little bro!”
CS smiles at MS’ words, before suddenly perking up a bit, and going up to the older hedgehog.
Classic Sonic: “Hey! I think I have an idea for what to do next!”
Modern Sonic: “Oh? Nice! What is it?”
Classic Sonic: “I’ll show you, once you hand me that clock hand!”
Though slightly confused at what CS may be suggesting, MS goes ahead with the request and hands the clock hand over to his younger self, who then moves forward a bit, and points it forward proudly.
Classic Sonic: “Take us to Tails!”
…
…Nothing happens for a couple of seconds, which leads to CS looking at the clock hand, slightly annoyed, and MS walks up to him.
Modern Sonic: “I’m gonna guess your idea was to summon an entrance that would help us find Tails?”
Classic Sonic: “Yeah…that was what I came up with…”
Classic Sonic: “After all, when you summoned that Green Hill entrance, you just wanted some way out of here, right?”
Modern Sonic: “That was the case. I didn’t really think too hard on where to go.”
Classic Sonic: “Right! So I thought that if we focused on a specific area or goal to head towards, then we’d be able to find your friends!”
Classic Sonic: “Yet, it didn’t seem to work for me at all!”
Modern Sonic: “Relax. Maybe since these areas are all from MY past, I’m the only one who can summon these entrances?”
Classic Sonic: “Eh…I guess that makes sense.”
Classic Sonic: “Here. You give it a shot.”
MS nods with a smile, as CS hands the clock hand back to him. Then, pointing it forward, the older hedgehog closes his eyes, trying to focus on where to go. Meanwhile, CS backs up a bit, eager to see if it’ll work.
Modern Sonic: “...Take me to my best friend.”
After saying that, the clock hand has a strong cyan glow, and then fires off an energy shot that falls next to Green Hill. The feedback of firing it off causes MS to be knocked back a bit, but he quickly recovers, and CS comes to him to check if he’s alright. But after that, the two are focused on the new entrance being summoned…a ghostly-white construction area with caution signs and what appears to be liquid containers…
https://preview.redd.it/kqdo7jeb8qqa1.jpg?width=470&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=021c623be1efe2984455447bfd5f1659efae582a
Already, the two Sonic’s recognize this area as the Chemical Plant from their adventure on Westside Island. But while MS smiles at it, CS looks a little uncomfortable.
Modern Sonic: “Heh…of course it’s an area from Westside Island…”
Classic Sonic: “And of all the places to choose from, it goes with this…”
Modern Sonic: “Come on! It was fun running around this place! Especially with all those boost-pads and winding tubes!”
Classic Sonic: “Sure, but there was also all that Megamak! Which I almost drowned in before!”
Classic Sonic: “Heck, if not for Tails’ help, I’m certain I wouldn’t be here right now!”
Modern Sonic: “Right…I DO remember that part…”
Modern Sonic: “But we’ve both gotten better since then! And our best bud’s in there, so we gotta head in!”
Classic Sonic: “Yeah, yeah…I’m still going.”
Classic Sonic: “And maybe if I’m lucky, I won’t even have to touch that pink water?”
Modern Sonic: “Here’s hoping! And I’ve got your back all the way!”
While still having an uneasy expression, CS at least looks a little more confident after hearing MS’ words, and then the two of them head over to the entrance, ending the scene…

Okay! Don’t have much to say here that I didn’t already with the previous scenes, so let’s get to the next zone!

CHEMICAL PLANT (SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2)
While levels like Casino Night, Mystic Cave, and Metropolis would have been cool picks for Sonic 2 representation, I think Chemical Plant was the best pick. It’s iconic, people love it (Before it got overused to hell and back), the aesthetic and music are great, and this level in the actual game is tons of fun! Especially for Modern Sonic!
But like with Green Hill, there’s not much I need to change due to the original level already being great. Other than just extending the length a bit (Particularly for Classic Sonic), and maybe adding one or two new things in there. So, let’s move on to the next scene!
And yes, you can play whichever act you want in any order, like in the original game, which will have slight changes for the next scene when you complete both. Though, I won’t cover both versions, and instead just focus on one specifically.
Scene 08: Fox Rescue (Classic Version)
https://preview.redd.it/somvpf3g9qqa1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edb2dbb08b768ea5fc134978e777c8095f03a9ec
In Chemical Plant, the two Sonic’s are going around, looking for anything out of place, while smashing badniks and doing different tricks. Modern Sonic (MS) is traversing the tall structures while Classic Sonic (CS) is running across the winding tubes and platforms below, looking more impatient than his older counterpart. But eventually, the two stop at an area with a nearby pool of Megamak, and already, CS is eager to voice his complaints.
Classic Sonic: “Jeez! I wasn’t expecting it to be easy, but I figured we’d find SOMETHING note-worthy around here by now!”
Classic Sonic: “It feels like we’ve been running in circles for HOURS!”
Modern Sonic: “Admittedly, I was hoping it’d be quicker than this. Maybe we need to search in places that we wouldn’t normally bother with?”
Classic Sonic: “Like what? Pretty sure we’ve checked everything!”
Modern Sonic: “Even the Megamak?”
MS points his thumb at the body of pink water, which immediately causes CS to shiver a bit, and quickly go back to his annoyed expression.
Classic Sonic: “No way! I’m not going in there!”
Classic Sonic: “Besides, you must have taken some swimming lessons in the future, right?”
Modern Sonic: “Ehhh…I think I can better traverse it nowadays…”
Modern Sonic: “And who knows? Maybe there’s a bubble shield somewhere?”
Classic Sonic: “Maybe, but…?”
Out of the corner of his eye, CS notices something floating around in the water, and points it out to MS curiously.
Classic Sonic: “Hey…what’s that?”
Also having a curious look on his face, MS directs his gaze to where CS is pointing, and sees what’s floating around in the water…something that looks like…a white statue with…two tails…? Once they notice that, they both perk up, now knowing what or who it is.
C & M Sonic: “Tails!”
Modern Sonic: “Wait, why does he look-”
Before MS can finish his sentence, CS suddenly dashes across the Megamak pool in order to grab Tails, seemingly not paying attention to his surroundings and focusing entirely on rescuing his best bud. This surprises the older hedgehog, but he can’t help but smile a bit, seeing his younger self ignore his fears in order to help someone in need.
https://preview.redd.it/hhy2yuhn9qqa1.jpg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1195604fe2cf5335009f9942aa6d684908a6291c
Once he reaches Tails, CS moves a hand out to grab him and succeeds. However, on his way back to MS on solid ground, he doesn’t notice a few Grabbers attached to the ceiling above the pink water that then try to…well…grab him. And one of them succeeds, which causes CS to panic, and call out to MS, who’s starting to get worried.
https://preview.redd.it/07b6l5yr9qqa1.jpg?width=529&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19d5d9423568ae5b963b2393e4b9c4fda3f91638
Classic Sonic: “A little help over here!?”
Modern Sonic: “Hang on! I’ll get you two!”
In a flash, MS speeds across the water without issue, and then starts performing some homing attacks on the Grabbers, making his way over to CS and Tails. The former has a bit of an amazed look on his face when watching his older self’s cool move. However, the Grabber holding him and Tails explodes before the older hedgehog can reach them.
Panicking, CS is about to fall into the Megamak with Tails, but MS manages to swiftly catch them by speeding across the water just before they can end up submerged in pink liquid, and arrives back at solid ground, gently putting Tails and CS down and checking to see if the latter is okay.
He’s a little hurt and shaken up, but looks overall okay.
Modern Sonic: “You okay?”
Classic Sonic: “Y-Yeah…thanks…”
Classic Sonic: “But…what did you do back there?”
Modern Sonic: “Homing Attack! Pretty useful move, huh?”
Classic Sonic: “Definitely…you didn’t even need a golden shield to do it!”
Modern Sonic: “Yep! Took a while to master it, but at this point, it’s effortless!”
Modern Sonic: “Though, I’ll have to teach you how to do it later…”
Now with a concerned expression, MS turns his attention over to Tails, with CS doing the same as he gets up. They can now see that, much like the entrance to this area, the young fox boy is frozen and without a spot of color on him other than ghostly white. He’s also stuck in a frightened pose.
Modern Sonic: “He’s completely frozen…and he felt weightless when I grabbed him back there…”
Modern Sonic: “Guess that Time Eater’s portal turned him into…this…”
Modern Sonic: “And…the others may be stuck in a similar state, too…”
Classic Sonic: “Now’s not the time to ponder that. We gotta turn him back to normal.”
Modern Sonic: “Right. The clock hand will fix him.”
Taking the clock hand out from behind him, MS points it at the frozen Tails, ready to fire.
Modern Sonic: “Restore my friend to normal!”
…
…This time, the clock hand doesn’t do anything for MS, which makes him clearly aggravated as he stares at it.
Modern Sonic: “Why isn’t it doing anything? It worked back in White Space!”
Classic Sonic: “Here. Maybe it’ll work for me?”
MS throws the clock hand over to CS, looking hopeful. Then, CS attempts to do the same thing with the clock hand. However, before he’s about to say anything, it’s already glowing with cyan energy, and fires, causing CS to be knocked off his feet for a moment. MS helps him up, but the two see that this time, it actually worked.
Render made by Nibroc-Rock on DeviantArt
Modern Tails (MT for short) is now back to normal, and when fully conscious, he tries to process what just happened and what’s around him.
Modern Tails: “Wha…? Where am I-”
However, he’s unable to finish as MS immediately hugs him, relieved to see his best friend is okay.
Modern Sonic: “Man, am I glad to see you’re alright! I was really worried about you!”
Modern Tails: “H-Heh…right…me too…”
The two keep the hug going for a bit longer, before soon breaking out of it, and MT takes a moment to notice his surroundings.
Modern Tails: “We’re at the Chemical Plant? It feels like forever since we went through this place…”
Modern Tails: “And…?”
Before MT can continue, he sees CS, where both are looking at each other curiously. Though, the former’s more confused than curious.
Modern Tails: “Uhhh…why is there another you?”
Modern Sonic: “Despite the different look, he’s basically my younger self.”
Classic Sonic: “We don’t know what it’s about.”
Modern Tails: “Huh…guess that explains why we’re here…”
Modern Tails: “So, that creature is messing with time?”
Modern Sonic: “We’re calling it the Time Eater.”
Modern Sonic: “And this is definitely one of the biggest threats we’ve faced yet.”
Classic Sonic: “One of? What kinds of creatures do I face in the future that come near the level of a time god?”
Modern Sonic: “Oh, Perfect Chaos, the Biolizard, Metal Overlord, Dark Gaia…”
Modern Sonic: “...I THINK that’s all the note-worthy ones? I feel like I’m missing one here.”
Modern Tails: “Regardless, this…’Time Eater’ definitely has the capabilities to tear space and time apart.”
Modern Tails: “Come to think of it…how did you two get here? And what’s with that clock hand?”
MT points at the clock hand in CS’ hands, who decides to give it to him as MS explains.
Modern Sonic: “Well, after that thing kidnapped you and the others, I woke up in some empty white space.”
Modern Sonic: “All that was there was this broken clocktower with ancient language written on it. And one of the pieces that fell off of it was that clock hand.”
Modern Sonic: “For some reason, when I think of a place or goal to get to, it can summon an entrance to an area from my past in order to find what I need.”
Modern Sonic: “Which is how I found him.”
MS points his thumb at CS, who nods.
Classic Sonic: “Yep. And I used that clock hand to free you from your weird white statue state.”
Modern Tails: “Huh…this is definitely interesting…”
Modern Tails: “If I could make a guess, I’d say that whatever’s left of the concept of time and space now is these entrances.”
Modern Tails: “Plus, it could also explain why two Sonic’s are able to coexist at the same time.”
Classic Sonic: “Okay, but why do we look different?”
Modern Tails: “Beats me. For all I know, it’s just because of the energy involved in this time mess.”
Modern Sonic: “You mean like…us looking different is just our vision being messed with? To help us distinguish which Sonic is which?”
Modern Tails: “That could be it. But let’s try to get back on track here.”
Classic Sonic: “Right. But you know…something has been on my mind ever since that Time Eater showed up…”
Classic Sonic: “When it did that purple flash thing…I felt a strong amount of Chaos Energy…”
Modern Sonic: “Same here back at the party.”
Modern Sonic: “Plus, I can feel a bit of it in that clocktower, too.”
Modern Tails: “Hmm…if that’s the case, then the Chaos Emeralds are likely involved, too.”
Modern Tails: “Either they’re being used by that beast, or they’ve been scattered across different points in time, and their energy is affecting everything to some extent due to the state of the world.”
Modern Sonic: “If it’s the former, that would definitely explain why we got our butts handed to us on a silver platter.”
Modern Sonic: “But we can speculate on everything later, when we head back to White Space and investigate that clocktower. We wasted enough time here.”
Classic Sonic: “Agreed. I nearly ended up in that Megamak pool, and I DON’T want to drown again.”
Modern Tails: “Mm-hm. I’m already feeling a bit nervous just looking at it. And this smell is horrible.”
MS nods, and the three start to head off. However, before they can, a sudden purple portal appears nearby, surprising them.
Modern Tails: “Ah! Not again!”
Modern Sonic: “Quick! Grab onto something!”
Immediately, MS, CS, and MT try to grab onto anything nearby that’ll keep them from being caught. However, nothing seems to happen, and when they realize that, they look back at the portal, and approach cautiously.
Classic Sonic: “Okay…guess we have a choice this time around…”
Modern Tails: “...”
MT squints at the area being shown inside the portal.
Modern Tails: “Is this…?”
Before the young fox can say anything about it, a voice that sounds similar to his is heard from inside the portal. MS and MT are confused, but CS looks surprised and worried, likely recognizing the voice.
???: “Ah! No! Stop chasing me!”
???: “Come on! What can I do to get out of here!?”
???: “HEY! LET ME GO!”
Classic Sonic: “Tails!”
Once again, without thinking, CS rushes right into the portal, with MS and MT attempting to stop him.
Modern Sonic: “Hey! Wait a sec-!”
Just before MS can touch the portal, it closes and disappears, leaving him and MT concerned for the younger hedgehog’s safety.
Modern Tails: “Well…he definitely likes to rush into danger as much as you do…”
Modern Sonic: “Pretty sure I’m not THAT brash nowadays…”
Modern Sonic: “But knowing me, he’ll probably be fine. And maybe we can figure out a way to find him, or he’ll do something to get back to us?”
Modern Tails: “Here’s hoping. But let’s just get back to this White Space, and figure out what we can about the situation.”
Despite still having that concerned look, MS nods with a slight smile, and the duo head off, ending the scene…

Now let’s cover some of the stuff here.
First of all, we actually get to see the characters talk about the area they’re in! Sure, something like this happened in the actual game, but this time, there’s gonna be a cutscene like this for every level here! Plus, more interactions with Sonic’s friends, and which leads to the boss fight for the level! Much more interesting and fun!
Second, if Modern Sonic can summon areas to go to in White Space, then I wanna give Classic Sonic something important to do in order to justify his existence here in the plot. So, he’s the one who can free the frozen friends. Both have equal importance!
I think that’s all I wanted to cover here, so let’s get a move on to the scene after this that leads to the next boss fight!

Scene 09: Trapped Aboard The Death Egg!
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The scene starts off with Classic Sonic (CS) jumping out of the purple portal, arriving at a facility with brownish walls, light gray platforms, caution signs, and many mechanical machines and parts throughout. Looking around, the young hedgehog is able to figure out where he is, despite his concern for his best buddy.
Sonic: “This place…great…”
Sonic: “Here I was, hoping I’d never have to set foot on the Death Egg ever again.”
Sonic: “But if it means finding Tails, then I’ll deal with it.”
Not taking any more time to pause and think, Sonic runs through the orbital space station, looking around for any sign of a two-tailed fox.
Sonic: “The first time I got here, I had no rings or help to rely on when I fought Robotnik.”
Sonic: “And the second time was better, but all that anti-gravity stuff made my head spin.”
Sonic: “Though, it doesn’t seem like anything’s here at all. Not a single badnik, even.”
Sonic: “Not that I’m gonna complain. It just means I’ll have an easier time finding what I want.”
Eventually, after navigating a few more hallways and rooms, Sonic arrives at an open area, with a metallic floor, machines working nearby, and a large glass window with a view of the planet below. But what really catches Sonic’s attention is a small laser cage containing his young fox friend, who lights up when he sees his hero has come to rescue him.
https://preview.redd.it/sbi4i77laqqa1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccc220cc06002a496235cac911f0c80f57c5d87b
Nibroc-Rock
Tails: “Sonic! I’m so glad you’re here!”
Sonic: “And I’m glad you’re just caged up right now! But how did you get here?”
As Sonic goes up to the laser prison, and scans it while walking around it to figure out how to turn it off, Classic Tails (CT for short) explains.
Tails: “Well, I was just working on some machines back at my workshop while eating mint-candies!”
Tails: “But then I saw some weird purple flash from my window, and when it hit me, I was just…here.”
Sonic: “Figures. Something similar happened to me. And you wouldn’t believe what came later!”
Tails: “Hehe! I’m certain I’ll see once we get out of here!”
Sonic: “No doubt about that!”
Sonic: “Though, I gotta ask who or what put you in this laser cage. I didn’t see a single badnik or soul on my way here.”
Tails: “Oh! That was-”
Tails doesn’t finish, as both he and Sonic are distracted by a familiar voice coming from the com-systems in the Death Egg.
Robotnik: “Hehehehehe! Like a moth drawn to a flame! You really are too easy to lure in, hedgehog!”
Sonic: “Tch! Well, I couldn’t just let you do whatever you wanted with my best friend!”
Sonic: “Now, why don’t you show yourself, and we can get to the part where you lose?”
Robotnik: “Oh, it’s SO cute that you think you have the advantage here! Especially when you’re on MY turf!”
Robotnik: “And with your mutant pet in time-out, you have no-one to get you out of trouble!”
Tails: “You really think this’ll be any different from all your other plans, Robotnik!? Sonic will always take you down! With or without help!”
Robotnik: “Ah, so much misplaced faith, fox boy…I got something in store for your precious hero!”
Classic Sonic: “Really now? What lame machine are you recycling this time?”
Classic Sonic: “That silly drill car? That seal who’s nose doubled as a balloon? Or maybe that overgrown Moto-Bug with treads?”
Robotnik: “Please! I know when to bring out the big guns! Especially when in more familiar territory!”
Robotnik: “Now, get a load of THIS!”
Without warning, the metal floor below Sonic and Tails separates, opening up a hole that leads to the lower floors. The hedgehog jumps back, and the fox’s laser prison moves out of the way on it’s own, as if directed to do so. Once it’s finished, Sonic stares down in curiosity, not noticing a shiny-silver machine with similar features to the hedgehog standing behind him, glaring down with a single red eye.
https://preview.redd.it/l2lmea3yaqqa1.jpg?width=980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98b78cc4cc7f76748807790feb460fe95fd75109
Panicking, Tails shouts out to Sonic.
Tails: “SONIC! BEHIND YOU!”
Sonic: “Wha-!?”
Just as he turns around, Sonic is grabbed by Mecha Sonic Mk l, struggling to get out of it’s cold, mechanical hands. He ends up having to kick his metal-plated clone in the face, which gets him out, but he ends up falling into the hole, and the machine follows by jumping in. Meanwhile, Tails stares at the hole with worry, but is certain his hero will make it through in the end.
Then, we go back to Sonic falling down to the lower floor, who does a few maneuvers across the different structures as he gets there, eventually landing safely. Though, he takes a breather for a moment, but just as he’s ready to go, Mecha Sonic Mk l lands down with an audible thud.
https://preview.redd.it/86df78b4bqqa1.jpg?width=1067&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30663d35807ec6736c91972c24ac7562db6461b7
This startles the young hedgehog for a moment, as he looks back to face him, having a small smirk.
Sonic: “Heh! So Eggman brought you back from the garbage heap, Mecha Sonic!”
Sonic: “Or was it Robo Sonic? It’s hard to remember, since most of you copy-hogs aren’t anything of note!”
The machine stays silent, as it prepares to charge at Sonic. So, turning around towards the nearby hallway, he speeds off. Though, just as Mecha Sonic Mk 1’s about to follow, it gets a call from Robotnik.
Robotnik: “Wait here, Mecha Sonic. He won’t escape us.”
Without any resistance or sign of annoyance, the machine does as ordered and stands idle. His red eye staring right at the camera as the scene comes to a close, and the fight with the Death Egg Robot begins…
Okay! Let’s discuss the changes!
For some reason, Classic Tails was just…there in the original Generations. It’s not explained how he got there or anything. So, I’m changing that right now! Plus, since we’re on the Death Egg, I figured Mecha Sonic Mk l could be brought back! Along with some references to past bosses! It’s all in good fun!
But with that taken care of, let’s get to the second boss fight!

DEATH EGG ROBOT (SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2)
Obviously being the most infamous boss in Sonic 2, and already being featured in the actual game, we had to include it here! Though, since it’s not the first boss fight this time around, we can make it a little more exciting and challenging!
The 1st Phase of the fight has the Death Egg Robot chasing Sonic down a hallway, in a similar vein to Sonic Mania in the future. He’ll shoot his extendable arms at you, shoot out some Eggman bombs, and occasionally jump up to stomp on you. And like Sonic Mania, you’ll have to jump onto his extendable arms after he attacks in order to hit his head.
After 3 hits, the Death Egg Robot will fly ahead, which leads to the elevator sequence from the original fight. Only this time, Mecha Sonic Mk l is here and participates in the fight. Basically, after doing what he does in the original fight, alongside shooting the Eggman bombs too, and getting hit once, he’ll fly into the air and have Mecha Mk l fight Sonic head on.
He does stuff like spinning around in a spiky ball, speed towards Sonic on the ground, shoot out spikes in the air, and even fly around a bit, before striking down to hit Sonic. However, after doing that last move, he’ll struggle to get his fist out of the floor, leaving him open to getting hit in the face. After that happens, the mecha menace will fly up and the Death Egg Robot will land back down on the floor to do his attacks again.
Then, after 3 more hits, Mecha Sonic Mk l starts to malfunction as the elevator floor reaches the top area from the original fight (With Classic Tails in the background, watching in his laser prison) and the Death Egg Robot would end up stomping on the robot, destroying it. This also sends Sonic onto the platforms with the timed bombs like in the original fight, which would play out the same as the original fight for the final phase.
He still mainly attacks via his extendable hands, but will sometimes send out Eggman bombs that’ll land onto the platforms, obstructing Sonic’s progress and hurting him when he runs into them. But after hitting a bomb, he’ll malfunction, and Sonic will ride the arm in order to land a hit on the head. Do this two more times, and the fight is over.
It’s not that much more complicated compared to the original fight, but it’s definitely a nice step-up. Now to the scene that plays afterwards.

Scene 10: Dead-Ends!
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At the same open area of the Death Egg, the busted remains of Mecha Sonic Mk l and the Death Egg Robot are seen. Robotnik also crawls out of the mech’s cockpit, coughing a bit and laying down on the ground exhausted and worse for wear.
As for Classic Sonic (CS), he gets right to destroying the laser prison via a spin attack, freeing Classic Tails (CT) and he expresses his gratitude.
Classic Tails: “Thanks for the save, Sonic! I really wish I could have helped out back there!”
Classic Sonic: “Eh. It wasn’t easy, but if I could take them down on my own before, I could easily do it now.”
Classic Sonic: “At least this time, you got to see the action!”
Classic Tails: “Mm-hm! You were amazing as always!”
CS smiles at CT’s words, and the two share a quick fist-bump, before turning their attention over to Robotnik, who sits up, still tired and looking irritated. The two heroes approach the doctor, eager to interrogate him. Though, the round scientist puts a hand behind his back, which holds a remote with a red button on it.
Classic Tails: “Alright, Robotnik! What are you up to this time?”
Robotnik: “Wasn’t it obvious a minute ago? Crushing the hedgehog, of course!”
Classic Sonic: “Yeah, pretty sure it’s more than just a personal grudge. We meant what your endgame is here.”
Robotnik: “Tch! What makes you think I’ll tell you anything?”
Classic Sonic: “Well, maybe it’s because WE’RE now in control of the situation? You certainly don’t have anymore junk piles to rely on!”
Robotnik: “Please! You have NOTHING to use against me! Unless you want to ‘cross that line?’”
Classic Sonic: “Obviously not! But we’ll definitely take you with-”
CS is unable to finish as he and CT are distracted by alarms blaring, red lights flashing, and everything around them starting to explode and/or fall apart. All the while, a robotic voice is heard on the coms.
“SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED. T-MINUS 1 MINUTE.”
Classic Sonic: “Wha-!? Okay, you better turn that…?”
When CS and CT look back at Robotnik, they find that he’s completely vanished, and they’re confused.
Classic Tails: “Where did he go!?”
Classic Sonic: “It doesn’t matter! We gotta get out of here NOW!”
Grabbing CT’s hand, CS rushes around in a panic, desperately trying to find some method of escape. However, all the ships are inoperable, and there’s no signs of a teleporter or anything that can help them survive the explosion. So, they’re very worried.
Classic Sonic: “Darn it! There’s nothing we can use to get out of here!”
Classic Tails: “Maybe…maybe I can fix something!?”
Classic Sonic: “We may be quick, Tails, but not THAT quick!”
Classic Tails: “But-!?”
Suddenly, a cyan-colored energy portal appears near CS and CT, where they see Modern Sonic (MS) and Modern Tails (MT) noticing the situation, and immediately beckoning them to head in.
Modern Sonic: “C'mon! Before you two get fried!”
Without hesitation, the two young heroes dash right into the portal, which closes quickly afterwards. And then, we get a wide shot of the entire Death Egg in space, before it explodes in a similar manner to Sonic Forces, ending the scene…

Pretty close call, huh? There’s nothing I can really say here, so when we get to the next post, we’ll get to the next scene, along with the next stage for the Genesis Era!

submitted by StrivingJarl to u/StrivingJarl [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:24 ourpseudonym SVB’s Collapse Shows the World’s Favorite Safe Asset Isn’t Risk-Free

From bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-29/svb-collapse-shows-us-treasuries-aren-t-a-risk-free-asset?srnd=premium

Look deeper into the latest US banking crisis, and the cause may come as a surprise to anyone still thinking in terms of the crash of 2008. It wasn’t dodgy loans to impecunious homebuyers that sank Silicon Valley Bank. It was a stash of what are thought to be the safest securities on Earth: US Treasuries.
Those loans to the government were, of course, entirely safe in a very important sense. Uncle Sam is going to be good for the cash. (Set aside an unforeseen disaster with the debt ceiling—more on which in a moment.) But the final repayment date of SVB’s bonds was typically years away. The problem is what happens to their price in the meantime. Purchased during a time of ultralow interest rates, those long-maturity Treasuries were always liable to lose their immediate resale value if rates took off. Which they’ve done in a big way over the past year.
The Federal Reserve raised rates at the fastest pace in decades to tame inflation, pushing its key policy rate from about zero to a range of 4.75% to 5%. Treasury prices spiraled downward, since bond prices move in the opposite direction of rates. That’s only an immediate problem for someone who wants to sell a bond before it matures. Unfortunately for SVB, it fell into that category. Its clients, many of whom had much more than $250,000—the cap on federal deposit insurance—at the bank, got nervous and started yanking out their money. SVB could only sell Treasury holdings, as well as mortgage bonds backed by government agencies, at steep losses. The bank collapsed within days.
“We always refer to Treasuries as the world’s safest asset,” says Paul McCulley, the former chief economist for Pacific Investment Management Co. “That’s from the standpoint of credit quality. That’s not from the standpoint of asset price stability. There’s a huge difference.”
Kim Forrest, chief investment officer of Pittsburgh-based Bokeh Capital Partners, says she can’t get over how SVB bankers failed to spot the duration risk they were taking. “It’s kind of head-spinning,” she says. “They have to really know the parameters of what is going to happen to these bonds, given the forecasts for interest rates. What the heck happened? The supposedly bright people out in Silicon Valley couldn’t put that together and do a little calculus?”
Most banks don’t have as many uninsured deposits from jumpy tech startups as SVB did, but US lenders hold more than $4 trillion in government-backed securities. And Treasuries last year posted their worst losses since at least the early 1970s, with the longest-dated ones tumbling almost 30%. That’s one reason fear of bank contagion won’t go away, even after the Department of the Treasury, the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. swooped in to offer emergency protection for all depositors at SVB and New York’s Signature Bank, which collapsed around the same time. Policymakers haven’t said for sure whether other lenders will enjoy the same cover. Deposits have continued to flow out of banks—especially smaller, regional ones. Losses Piled Up at US Banks as Rates Soared
The Fed loaned billions to banks after SVB’s collapse to ensure their liquidity, including new emergency programs that offered generous terms for borrowing against Treasuries and other bonds that had lost value. Essentially, the central bank—which already holds trillions of dollars’ worth of the low-yielding debt issued in the pandemic—was taking even more interest-rate risk out of the banking system.
But the Fed is also pushing ahead with monetary tightening. It raised rates another quarter of a percentage point on March 22. Bond prices have rallied anyway, because markets think Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues will change course. If they don’t, that could spell more losses for Treasuries—and more trouble for banks that hold them.
Rising rates aren’t the only problem in the $24 trillion Treasury market. Another is a long-standing concern about the market’s liquidity—essentially, the ease with which trades can be carried out. Many institutions and businesses count on the Treasury market to function smoothly. The past month’s fear and uncertainty has created near-unprecedented volatility, with the largest swings in some yields seen in 40 years. Liquidity was “significantly compromised,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists told clients in mid-March, as trading in Treasuries surged to a record $1.5 trillion on one day.
There are various explanations of the liquidity problem. Treasury debt has ballooned by more than $7 trillion since the end of 2019, and there’s a widespread belief that the size of the market has outstripped the capacity of bank dealers to keep it orderly. Many say regulations imposed on banks after the 2008 financial crisis have also crimped dealers’ ability to keep enough bonds on hand to make sure buying and selling proceeds without hiccups. The Fed, Treasury and other regulators have been working for years on proposed fixes, but change has been slow in coming.
Then there’s the looming debt ceiling standoff—the possibility that politicians won’t reach a compromise on raising the nation’s self-imposed borrowing limit. Failure to do so before the Treasury runs out of ways to keep funding government spending could potentially trigger an unprecedented default on US public debt and throw a wrench into the global financial system that relies on Treasuries. The 2011 debt ceiling episode spurred S&P Global Ratings to downgrade US government bonds from the top AAA rating, days after a deal to lift the limit and avert default was reached.
The recurring fights in Washington over debt limits may be one reason investors around the world have been showing more interest in potential alternatives to US Treasuries as a safe place to store wealth. Another is America’s aggressive use of financial sanctions, including the freezing of Russian central bank assets after the invasion of Ukraine, which has left some countries that hold lots of Treasuries wondering: Could that happen to us, too, someday? Global alternatives that sometimes get touted include old favorites such as gold, new monetary units based on commodity baskets, or the currencies of other large economies, like China’s yuan—even though it’s hard to make a persuasive case that any of them are better than Treasuries.
For many American investors seeking a risk-free asset, cash seems like the best option. Below the $250,000 cap on FDIC insurance, a bank account is reliable. But many individual and institutional savers alike have over the past months been seeking other options, like higher-yielding US money funds—which just attracted their biggest weekly influx since early in the pandemic. Those funds invest heavily in Treasuries, though at very short maturities that largely protect them from interest-rate risk. As rates go up, the funds can keep rolling over their holdings and pay investors the new higher rates.
How much more volatility is in store for Treasuries—and how much more damage the financial system suffers as a result—mostly hinges on the Fed. History suggests the US central bank has a poor track record when it comes to pulling off a major policy shift without something blowing up. SVB is already Exhibit A for this cycle.
McCulley recalls the wrecking of the US savings and loan industry in the 1980s—smallish mortgage lenders who went bust partly as a result of the same kind of duration risk that’s piled up on bank balance sheets today. He points out that the Fed has been raising rates at the fastest pace since back then, when former Chair Paul Volcker oversaw the inflation fight. And he says his key question for the Fed is this: “For the last year you’ve been channeling Paul Volcker. How much Volcker is too much Volcker?”

submitted by ourpseudonym to investing [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:23 overworst How to integrate a Victron based battery system to separate house and solar setups to profit in each scenario?

Hi All,
I've got a design question for you. With my (still) limited knowledge of Victron systems I've been unable to think of a setup that covers my use case.
The current situation: I've got a single 230v 35Amp*3 phase electrical supply at home. This cable enters my home, is then secured according to the specs above (it's way more capable, the 35A fuses represent the capacity I pay for annually). Behind these (3 phase) fuses two parallel digital kWh meters are present. Each with a unique contract. One meter with a dynamic (hourly rates) contract and one fixed with a contract that has the highest return rate on the market. The last one feeds into a breaker box that secures several solar inverters with a total capacity of 35 kW. The other meter with the dynamic contract feeds into the breaker box that is connected to all the usual household stuff.
This allows me to consume relatively cheap energy at specific hours and always get a nice fixed rate for all my solar generated kWh.
The future: All of the above is about to change. Making it more economical to store/consume solar energy before feeding the rest back into the grid. (Rates for excessive solar are going down by the end of the year) In order to get the most value out of my solar generated power I want to add a reasonably sized battery to the mix. About 50-75kWh.
What I'm thinking: 1) I could connect a Vitron Multiplus II to the breaker box that feeds the house and simply charge at cheap hours en discharge at peak hours.
2) I could also connect a Multiplus to the breaker box connecting all of the solar inverters. This way I could store excessive solar power when my 3x35Amp connection reaches its limit. (35kW cannot pass through 3*35Amp for more than a few minutes, safely.)
The first option won't allow me to store solar power generated beyond the capacity of my electrical connection. But most importantly won't get any solar power in the house. (Without going through 2 meters) The second option has the same issue but also prevents me from charging during cheap hours. And maybe sell at peak hours.
So I wan't to do both. Connect the battery inverter to both panels by means of a magnetic changeover switch This would allow me to charge when the sun is out, changeover to the other breaker box at night and feed the house using stored energy. This is far from ideal, because I've to pay for energy during charging hours. In summer this could be limited to two hours, in winter up to 12 hours.
So maybe a magnetic changeover switch isn't the right solution, maybe some Victron expert can help me out.
Ideally I'd like to connect the battery system to the solar inverters, charge the battery at a given rate, sell the rest. And at the same time feed exactly the required amount into the house to maintain 0 at the meter. However, the house is also connected to the grid so that would be an issue. As AC-in and AC-out would short. This could be solved by adding an automatic changeover switch to the house so when the battery is out grid power comes back on. This probably does 80% of what I want. But I will never be able to charge the battery in winter at the cheapest hours/rates. And looking at possible other scenarios, in this setup I won't be able to sell during dynamic peak hours in case they're higher than the fixed contract rates.
Oh man, that's a lot of context. Hopefully this makes sense and you guys can help me with the last piece of the puzzle.

submitted by overworst to Victron [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:22 Dragoncat91 Almyra worldbuilding (been doing this for about two years now)

Anna the merchant was a bubbly woman with long red hair in a ponytail. She was dressed from head to toe in fashionable clothes and jewelry. Her stall was equally flamboyant, with fancy knicknacks hanging from it and brightly colored banners and windsocks. "Ah, Tiana von Riegan, the shooting star of the Leicester Alliance!" Anna greeted. "Here in the far east, the Kingdom of Almyra, a warrior culture known for their tenacity and their spices! Is she here for business? Is she here for diplomacy? Is she here for...love? All three?"
"Anna, please, you'll wake them up." Tiana said.
"Oh, yes, the slumbering herd." Anna smirked. "How may I help you today?"
"I need a bar of damascus steel. I also need a bundle of saffron."
(from Upside Down Diplomacy: Chapter 2 - Trials and Tests)
Almyra is a country that wasn't touched upon very much in the canon stories of Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Hopes, despite one main character being from there. I've been worldbuilding and writing for it for a few years now. Please note: some aspects may still be inaccurate to Hopes. A lot of this was made before Hopes existed, and while I did make room for Shahid, who only appears in Hopes, I'm still taking creative license with him and the country as a whole. Enjoy the little bits of prose before each section!
Terrain and Climate
It was close to springtime, and while frigid winds from the north were still rolling down in mainland Fodlan, the border between Leicester and Almyra remained warm year round. However, that didn't mean the Almyrans had a food surplus. Crops could only grow well for six months a year in spring and summer. Outside of those times, produce stored in the clay structures known as yahkchals were rationed, and wild poultry and red meat was harvested with the exception of elk from the forests in the west, as those were a protected, sacred species.
(from Upside Down Diplomacy: Chapter 1 - Crossing the Steppe)

https://preview.redd.it/bl71cqr4bqqa1.png?width=550&format=png&auto=webp&s=58efb397c7a63aa448c4a446a0a1181c4032f7e8
Almyran cities are situated around the canyon/forest area in the western portion of the country. The capital is Caglar, which rests in the middle of Catal Canyon. Its palace is clearly visible from the air, and wyvern patrols fly in and out regularly, but if one is approaching from land, it's hidden by the surrounding canyon. Unlike its fellow kingdom on the continent, Faerghus, there's not a ton of noble houses with territory. Trabzon is in the northwestern portion of Kumalar Plains, and is the gateway to the mainland once trade is established, ships sail out of it around the Fodlan's Throat mountains and can make landfall in Faerghus provided the ports are not closed by ice. Mardin is in the Kuyruk Woods on the southeastern bank of Kuyruk River. Markay is in the southern coastal region of Kumalar Plains and serves as a port to and from Abbas Island off the south coast.
Avise Desert is east of Catal Canyon and is racked by sandstorms year round. Further east, extending to the eastern coast, is more steppe like that in Kumalar Plains. There are no cities east of the desert, instead, homesteaders, farmers, and ranchers move throughout the area in a nomadic lifestyle with portable tents known as yurts, or they put down more permanent houses when they find an ideal spot. Visitors to the kingdom often make the mistake of calling this vast eastern steppe "East Kumalar Plains", while the locals only refer to it as "The Wild" or "The Plains".
Ethnic Traits
Danah came out of her room, dressed in a pretty purple dress and shoes, with a green hair scrunchie that brought out her orange eyes. She had long black hair. Uzair was wearing a dark blue suit jacket with loose fitting gray pants and shined shoes. His eyes, like his father's, were lightning yellow. His hair was dark brown, short, and had been fluffed nicely. Both had the typical Almyran tan skin tone.
(from The Sunset Before Us)
Almyrans are generally tan. Their hair is often thick, coarse, and colored in shades of brown and black. Both men and women tend to be, for lack of a better term, fluffy, with clear patches of fuzz on arms, legs, chest, and armpits, and both sexes also tend to have thick pubic hair. Men often have beards and/or mustaches of some sort. Some women shave their excess body hair, some do not. Woman fuzz isn't as thick as man fuzz regardless. This is distinct from birth, with male babies tending to have more hair than their female counterparts. Almyran eyes are typically colored in warm shades: reds, browns, yellows, and oranges.
Names can be drawn from the Middle East: Arabic names, Turkish names, Syrian names, Persian names, Iranian names, that general area.
Silk is a common clothing material for the upper and middle class, lower classes will wear leather and burlap. Soldier uniforms consist of light plate armor or chainmail with leather, typically unisex to the point where a male and female soldier are indistinguishable unless they stand right next to each other. Cloth cowls and neck scarves are commonly colored to fit a faction identity, or worn by commoners without being dyed.
Language and Culture
Tiana's husband gave her a unit of horseback archers. They were greenhorns, which she wasn't complaining about. She was good at training troops. But what she wasn't sure about, was communicating with them. Only Almyran royals and nobles spoke fluent Common, and she was not fluent in Almyran aside from the very basics and swearing.
She mounted her warhorse and positioned herself at the head. Their eyes, all warm colored, were fixed on her. She raised her arm and waved them to the left. "Go."
The greenhorn bow knights fell into formation and followed her. She led them halfway down the trail before uttering "stop."
They did not seem to catch that. Except for the one nearest her. He turned his horse and put himself between Tiana and the others, then threw his arm up and said something in Almyran. They understood him. Tiana made a vow to learn what "stop" translated to.
The man then placed his horse beside Tiana's. He looked at her, smiling sheepishly. He jabbed his thumb into his chest. "Omar," he said.
She blinked slowly as she realized he was introducing himself. "Merhaba, Omar." She replied, certain she'd gotten "hello" right. He bowed in response.
(from The Queen's Language Lessons)
For the native language of Almyra, I've been using Turkish, as Ancient Persia/Ottoman Empire/Turkey/Turkiye seems to be the biggest inspiration for the country. Also, Turkish uses the Western alphabet more than Arabic which is easier for my American keyboard.
They're a polytheistic religion, with but not limited to a war god, a harvest god, a love goddess, a sun god, and a moon goddess. They believe that elk are the resting place for a soul who has led a full life and is preparing to run to the afterlife, so they do not eat elk. They will eat deer, moose, or antelope, however. Common food includes kebabs, falafel, shawarma, curry, and dried fruit/nut/jerky preserves.
They're a proud warrior culture. While men are more often on the front lines of battle, lady soldiers do exist, as does the rare lady commander. Their military consists of mostly wyvern riders and cavaliers with either lances or bows, but there are some units of infantry and mages. Armies on the move will put up yurts for the night, with the leader's yurt in the center and everyone prepared to wake up in fight mode if needed.
Royalty is hereditary, and only a man can take the throne. Kings are allowed to take multiple wives, and most have over the course of history. Everyone else is more monogamous, including high ranking nobles. A king will hand pick his successor out of his sons, or nephews as a last resort, and test him with a gladiator sparring match. It ends when one side yields, but it is not to the death as it used to be nearly a century ago. Once the successor has won, he takes the throne upon the death of the current king.
Economy and Exports
Boran took a plate of rice, turkey, and a small slice of roast moose. He'd covered it all in gravy and topped it with a sprinkle of chili powder that he brought himself.
"Trade routes, then? Almyra can offer spices, saffron, cactus flower, yucca seed. We can also offer damascus steel, or silk." Boran suggested. "The caravans will cross through Leicester and may need guarded heavily, but my son, you know him as Claude, will help assure that."
Dimitri swallowed a bit of roast and potatoes. "Faerghus can, in return, give lumber, cheeses, leather, furs. Maybe some potato crops, they may grow in Almyra. And if you wish, the trade can happen via ship. I know you have a navy, is there a port town that's suitable for trade?"
"There are two." Boran said. "There's Trabzon, which is actually a doable sea route from Derdriu. Then there's Abbas, an island to the south. If you wanted to get the caravan to Derdriu, it can then be shipped to Trabzon." He paused to grab the tea kettle and fill a cup.
(from Two Kings)
Currency is interchangeable with the rest of Fodlan, with copper, silver, and gold coins. Trade operates on silk and spices with the occasional damascus steel, known as wootz steel in the mainland.
The local economy, as with every other country, depends on the exact area. Abbas Island and Markay have a lot of fishing. Trabzon also does fishing, but is mainly a bustling port town that brings in imports and pushes out exports. Mardin is an agricultural town that trades crops and meat from the woods. Crops are mostly beans and rice, with the occasional sweet potato or turnip.
Caglar, as the capital, is the most varied and wealthy. There are entertainers, dancers, and bards who perform in hookah bars and mobile venues. Military presence is heavy in Caglar and there are several armories that sell cutlasses, scimitars, poleaxes, tabars, pikes, halberds, and bows and arrows. There is a orchard at the palace with apple, apricot, peach, and pear trees. The palace gardens have raspberries and blackberries as well.
While mainland Fodlan has the central church keeping people reliant on the holy magic of the church monks and other types of medicine restricted, Almyra has some healing spells, but they mostly only work to stabilize an injury. They have what's called "the good meds". It's common for half an army to be "higher than wyvern pizzle" in the words of His Majesty himself as they recover from their wounds.

submitted by Dragoncat91 to fireemblem [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:20 MetaUserDAO Unleashing the Power of the Metaverse: Introducing MUD - the Revolutionary Blockchain with AI Technology

The world of blockchain and cryptocurrency has experienced unprecedented growth and development in the past few years. As the technology continues to evolve, new projects are emerging with innovative solutions to tackle the challenges of decentralization, scalability, and security. One such project that has been making waves in the blockchain space is MUD, the Metaverse User DAO.
MUD is a next-generation public blockchain that is specifically designed for the metaverse. The metaverse, for the uninitiated, is a virtual world that is an extension of the physical world. In this virtual world, users can interact with each other, trade goods and services, and create their own experiences. The metaverse is a rapidly growing industry, with billions of dollars of investment pouring in from tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.
But the metaverse is not without its challenges. One of the biggest challenges facing the industry is the lack of security and trust. In a virtual world where anyone can be anyone, it is difficult to know who you can trust. MUD aims to solve this problem by introducing a revolutionary AI technology called the Dynamic Tagging Algorithm.
The Dynamic Tagging Algorithm is an AI-based system that can identify and tag users based on their behavior. It uses machine learning to analyze user behavior and create a profile of each user. This profile includes information such as their reputation score, their past behavior, and their interactions with other users. The algorithm then uses this information to dynamically tag users in real-time.
This tagging system allows MUD to create a more secure and trustworthy metaverse. With the Dynamic Tagging Algorithm, users can easily identify trustworthy users and avoid interacting with malicious actors. This system also helps to prevent fraud, scams, and other types of malicious behavior that are common in virtual worlds.
But the Dynamic Tagging Algorithm is just one part of what makes MUD a revolutionary blockchain. MUD is also designed to be incredibly fast and scalable, with the ability to process thousands of transactions per second. This makes it perfect for use in the metaverse, where speed and scalability are critical for a seamless user experience.
Another unique feature of MUD is its use of smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. They are used to automate the execution of transactions in a transparent and secure way. MUD's smart contract system is incredibly efficient and flexible, allowing developers to create complex contracts with ease.
In addition to these features, MUD also boasts a user-friendly wallet app and an intuitive DApp interface. The wallet app makes it easy for users to store, send, and receive MUD tokens, while the DApp interface allows developers to create decentralized applications that are compatible with MUD's blockchain.
Overall, MUD is a promising project that has the potential to revolutionize the metaverse. Its combination of AI technology, speed, and scalability make it an ideal blockchain for the virtual world. With the Dynamic Tagging Algorithm, MUD is creating a more secure and trustworthy metaverse, and with its user-friendly wallet app and DApp interface, it is making it easier than ever for users and developers to participate in this exciting new world.
If you're interested in learning more about MUD, visit their official website at http://metauserdao.net/ and follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mudmetaverse.

submitted by MetaUserDAO to u/MetaUserDAO [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:20 aeouo [Reality TV/Mobile Games] A massive blunder, a temper tantrum, an allergic reaction and an 8-year-long failed Kickstarter project. The story of Erik Reichenbach, Survivor’s ice cream scooper from Hell

Prelude

In 2000, CBS kicked off the reality TV craze in the US with the first season of Survivor. The basics of the show were:

The 16 contestants (or "castaways") were split into two tribes and marooned on an island
Each episode had an immunity challenge. The winning tribe was safe (or "immune"), while the losing tribe had to vote somebody out
When there were 10 people left, the tribes merged and became one tribe
The immunity challenges became individual after the merge. The winner was safe and the tribe could pick anybody else to vote out
Once there were 9 castaways left, anybody voted out became part of the jury. The jury would vote between the final 2 players left in the game to decide on the winner, who would win $1,000,000

CBS instantly had a hit on their hands. Fans were fascinating as contestants stopped voting based on survival skills or merit, but instead based on strategy and alliances. The season 1 finale was the 2nd most watched TV episode of the '00s (only behind the finale of Friends) and while viewership has dropped somewhat, it remains one of CBS's flagship shows to this day. However, this story about one particular contestant starts back in 2008.

Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites (2008)

That's Jeff Probst, he's just standing there!

In 2008, Survivor was casting its 16th season and decided to experiment with the format. Production decided that the theme of the season would be Fans vs. Favorites, where half the contestants would be returning fan favorites, while the other half would be fans of the show who would get the opportunity to play against some of the very people who had inspired them to apply.
Among the Fans was Erik Reichenbach, a 22 year old ice cream scooper. He was a young, naive, enthusiastic goofball and absolutely loved Survivor. One of the best moments to demonstrate this is when he made it to the family visit (where Survivor flies out a loved one to visit for each of the remaining contestants) and got to see his brother. First he enthusiastically points out that he grew a beard during the month he has been on the show. Then, he remembers he's on Survivor and is living his dream, so he literally points this out by pointing at the host and yelling, "That's Jeff Probst, that's Jeff Probst. He's just standing there!". Moments like these and Erik’s good-natured attitude endeared him to viewers, many of whom hoped to see him win. Erik was also from the town of Hell, Michigan which prompted fans to give him the nickname "The ice cream scooper from Hell", since it was literally true and a humorous contrast with his upbeat personality
Despite a number of twists and turns in the game, Erik managed to reach the final 5. The other 4 remaining players were a group of women known as "The Black Widow Brigade" - They had successfully duped several men during the game and voted them out. The group’s name was coined by one of the group’s members, Parvati Shallow:

It's like the Black Widow Brigade. Like, all the girls are coming together and we're spinning the guys around as much as we can. Just spinning them and spinning them until they don't know which way is up. And then we're devouring them one at a time.

Erik was the last man standing and he was outnumbered. But, things were not yet hopeless for him. He was young, athletic and he had a decent chance to win challenges that would keep him safe from being voted out. If he made it to the end, he was well liked enough that the eliminated contestants could vote for him to win. If he won the remaining three challenges he’d be in the finals and he could always try to turn the women against each other as well. It was a fairly simple and straightforward strategy. Or it should have been.

A Life Lesson

(Note: The rest of this section is covered in detail by this compilation of scenes in the show and this article which has a ton of behind the scenes info. The article was written in 2019, 11 years after the episode aired, which shows just how impactful this one episode was.)
Before Erik made it on to Survivor, he had to submit an audition tape. The tape is mostly him highlighting his ice cream scooping job, hobbies and personality, but it does a great job showing off all of this. In retrospect, the most memorable line has to be when he's trying to pitch why he'd be good on TV.

I will do whatever I need to do to get to the top of the game, I will do that... And you know I'm stupid. You know I'm young and stupid. Young people are notorious for doing stupid things.

It was a rare case of real-life foreshadowing.
Before the Final 5 challenge, Erik had been somewhat wishy-washy and inconsistent with what he had told the remaining women. He had strategy conversations with many of them where he agreed to their individual plans or pitched ideas to vote out one or another person. In what was probably a combination of wishy-washiness, indecisiveness, desperation and the short-sightedness of youth, Erik did not have a consistent plan and apparently didn’t consider that the women might compare notes. They did, which Erik noticed, "I've been telling these girls all these different things and I walked up on all three of them talking to each other and I'm worried. I'm definitely worried". At this point Erik knows that he needs to win the next challenge to keep himself safe, otherwise he’s almost certainly going home.
Fortunately for him, the challenge was physically demanding. The players had to run up and down the beach, digging up puzzle pieces under the hot tropical sun. Erik’s fitness paid off, as he handily won the challenge (part 1 and part 2) and the immunity necklace to keep him safe from the next vote.
After the challenge the women were commiserating about the fact that one of them would be leaving, leading to what is still one of the most famous conversations in 44 seasons of Survivor:
Parvati: If he didn’t have that necklace he’d be gone Cirie: I wonder if he would give Nat his necklace? Probably not, huh… Cirie to Natalie: You think you could talk him into giving you the necklace? … Cirie: Nat, tell him if he were to give you the necklace, that would redeem him and we would vote for Amanda. Natalie (incredulous): Who would fall for that? I feel stupid listening to you guys right now.
Natalie and Cirie proceeded to individually make their pitch to Erik. It was essentially 1.) Nobody respects him because of his wishy-washiness, so he won’t get any votes to win if he makes the finals and 2.) His lies have made his words meaningless. The only way for Cirie to believe him is through actions (like giving up his necklace).
Following a somewhat brutal tribal council where the women laid into Erik for being untrustworthy, Jeff Probst presents the same typically straightforward choice he does before every vote, but which has incredible significance tonight. “Erik, you have the individual immunity necklace. As always, you can give it up to somebody if you choose to. Otherwise, it is yours and you are safe tonight.”
Erik begins to give a small speech and, to the astonished faces of everybody at tribal council, ends it with 8 of the most memorable words in 600+ episodes of Survivor: “I want to give individual immunity to Natalie”. He gives the immunity necklace to Natalie, Jeff explains that Natalie is safe and that Erik can be voted for, then it is time for the vote. Survivor usually leaves you in suspense about how each player voted, but not this time. The show immediately shows all the women voting for Erik in disbelief that their plan worked.
As Erik is getting up to leave, he good-naturedly says, “You guys drive me crazy… I should have known better”. After he leaves, Jeff turns to the remaining 4 women and summarizes the remarkable moment by simply stating, “I think that’s what you call a life lesson”.

The Dumbest Survivor Ever

Although it wasn’t shown during the season, Parvati had a joke with another contestant James (who had made his own notable blunder the previous season) that James was, “The dumbest Survivor ever”. In referencing the in-joke, Parvati and James unfortunately passed the title to Erik.
Parvati (as she’s voting for Erik): You're crazy! You'll officially go down as the dumbest Survivor ever! In the history of Survivor. Ever.
James (raising his arms after Erik is voted out): I have lost my reign as dumbest Survivor ever!
Fans were mostly shocked by Erik’s decision and many were particularly disappointed because they were hoping he would win. While many agreed with Parvati and James, the reaction was perhaps not as brutal as we might expect now-a-days. Survivor players weren’t really expected to engage with social media back then (Twitter was only 2 years old at this point), so Erik fortunately didn’t have to deal with an internet mob, even though every fan was talking about his decision.
Erik: In the days right after it aired, I started being approached by Survivor fans, and everybody was pretty nice. They would say, "That was a really dumb move," but they didn't say it to my face or anything terrible. To me, they just said, "You're a really good kid, but you got played."
Jeff Probst: I don't think I appreciated at the time what those four women did. I think we labeled it a really good move, and then everybody called Erik the dumbest Survivor player ever. And I don't think that does either of the parties justice. I don't think Erik was a dumb player. I think Erik played a great game, and he got outplayed. And I don't think anybody fully appreciated how well those women played that. When you go back and look at it now, if that happened today, people would label all four of them instant hall of famers.
The article about the episode (which was published in 2019, or 11 years after this episode), summarizes the impact and long lasting nature of the moment on the fandom:

The first time Erik handing over his immunity aired on TV was certainly not the last. Whenever any sort of Survivor montage pops up on the show looking at the famous moments, biggest blindsides, or egregious errors over the years, Erik's immunity giveaway is always there. At this point, it is likely the most-aired Survivor moment ever, meaning Erik has to relive it constantly.

If you have any doubts about how significant this event was or how frequently it was replayed in the years that followed, here’s an 8 minute montage of it being brought up
Erik claims he doesn’t regret it and remains surprisingly good natured about his nationally televised blunder:

If any life lesson came out of this, it was that failure is human. Failure is what we do. You're going to fail. And you're going to fail hard sometimes. The lesson is not, don't do that again, or be weary. I'm not going to stop trusting people. I'm not going to stop believing that people have good intentions… Maybe other people would have something happen and they'd be like, "I'm never going to let that happen again." Or they'd get really bitter and dark about it. But I can't live like that, and I don't think that's the lesson that I'm supposed to learn.

Survivor: Caramoan - Fans vs. Favorites 2 (2013)

I am the author of my own fate!

5 years after Erik’s infamous decision to give up immunity, he finally got an opportunity to redeem himself when he was cast for Survivor’s 26th season, which was the 2nd time Survivor used the Fans vs. Favorites theme (this time with Erik as a Favorite). Fans were excited about Erik’s return. He was beloved in his first season and people were curious how he’d adjust his gameplay this time around given his mistakes the first time he played.
The season started well enough. The Favorites tribe won the majority of challenges, which meant they didn’t have to vote many people out. Erik connected with one of his tribemates, Brandon Hantz (they may have bonded because Brandon was also voted out after giving up immunity in Survivor’s 23rd season). Unfortunately this meant Erik was involved in another of Survivor’s most infamous moments. Simply put, Brandon did not get along with another tribemate Phillip. Following an argument, Brandon threw a tantrum and poured out all the tribe’s food, while yelling things like, “I am the author of my own fate!” and “Now vote me out, bitch!”
The behind the scenes story is that Brandon was effectively ejected from the game, but for the purposes of the show they still wanted to have a vote. They had the Favorites tribe forfeit the next challenge and vote Brandon out there. It is a bizarre scene, where Jeff pulls Brandon to the side and gives him a shoulder massage to prevent a fight from breaking out. Viewers had some fun with the fact that Erik was the one that handed immunity to the Fans tribe, but the episode is widely regarded as one of the worst and most uncomfortable episodes to watch.
Brandon was unrepentant for his actions stating, “It was awesome. I feel like a man, not a little boy, anymore.” and “I’m the biggest hero to ever play Survivor”. There would definitely be enough to write an entire HobbyDrama post on Brandon Hantz (whose uncle, Russell Hantz, may be the most polarizing contestant in the history of the show), but this is where he leaves Erik's story, so I'll leave it there.

Hold on to your seat

While Erik had lost a friend in the game, he managed to essentially fly under the radar strategically and once again make it to the end game. Many fans of the show were disappointed though, Erik was getting very little screentime and not much was shown about his thoughts or strategy. Erik later explained that he was being deliberately non-strategic on the island to be less threatening so that the other players wouldn't vote him out. It may have been a good plan, but it wasn't necessarily good TV.
Anyways, Erik's plan was paying off and he made it to the final 6. He was working with a number of members from the Favorites tribe who were planning to vote out Eddie (who, I suddenly realize has some good parallels with Erik’s original season, since he was a young athletic male fan who was in over his head strategically). However, some of Erik’s allies betrayed him and voted out his ally Brenda instead. It seemed like a run of a mill blindside, but things with Erik never end up being simple.
At the beginning of the next episode (which was also the finale), they opened a few minutes after tribal with Erik sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. He said he was dizzy and the world was spinning. Jeff Probst and a medic came out to assess the situation. After taking Erik’s vitals, the medic decided that they couldn’t risk letting Erik continue, so he was pulled from the game (part 1, part 2). 5 years and 10 seasons apart, Erik once again ended up in 5th place.
Erik eventually released a video explaining what happened in more detail. Earlier in the season, he had cut his shin. Initially it had looked fine, but after a bit it started to get infected. At the beginning of tribal council, the Survivor medical staff gave Erik penicillin to treat the infection. Erik was unaware that he was somewhat allergic to penicillin and when combined with the fact that he was malnourished/dehydrated from being on Survivor for a month, he had a negative reaction. He was so disoriented at Tribal Council, that he was just focusing on not falling off his chair because he didn’t want to be pulled from the game. He also didn’t realize that Brenda had been voted out, and instead thought that another contestant (Sherri) had been eliminated, so he was really just not with it. He vaguely remembers talking to the doctor, then being in a van, then finally woke up in a hospital with two IVs in his arms. He ended up being fine, but it was weird he got 5th again (insert “if I had a nickel” meme).
Usually, immediately after the finale they have a reunion in LA where Jeff talks to the players about the season. They didn’t invite Brandon for obvious reasons, but to disguise that fact, they put all the players who had been voted out before the merge in the audience. Considering they had flown to LA and invited family members, they were not exactly happy. Jeff also did not talk to Erik at all during the reunion, despite the fact that he was medevaced in the finale. He was pretty unhappy with the producers excluding the early players, not properly explaining his injuries and not letting him speak at all, saying “Tons of people were upset. After a while it became a farce”.
The reunion episode is widely considered to be awful by fans, who were also generally disappointed that the season showed relatively little of Erik despite making it to the finale.

Kickstarter - Islands of Chaos (2013-2019)

Note: Before I begin this section, I want to say that while some of this drama happened on Reddit, the drama is old and Reddit has rules against brigading. Don't post in old threads and don't contact the people involved.
In December 2013, Erik and his friend Billy decided to combine his passion for Survivor and graphic design into a mobile game called Islands of Chaos. He needed funding for the game, so he turned to Kickstarter, with a goal of raising $8,000. The pitch video described essentially a mobile game version of Survivor. It showed mini-games, character selection, a voting interface and the description promised inventory and chat systems.
In 2023, people might have been more skeptical about a game that requires 16-24 people to stay active for an extended duration, as well as unfiltered chat between players, but fans were excited at the time. It seemed like one of Survivor’s biggest fans was giving the rest of the fans a small taste of what it would be like to be on the show. The Kickstarter eventually raised $8,936 from 127 backers. A majority came from 4 backers who each donated at least $1000.
Initially, the goal was to have the game done by “late September or early October 2014”. By September, that date had slipped to late November or early December.
November is the first date that the WaybackMachine has an archive of their development site (The site looks awful with menus overlapping text when I’m in fullscreen. You may want to reduce your window size to read it). You can see some of the artwork there and discussions of the technical stack, but it’s unclear what the actual state of the development was.
On December 26, Erik posted an update saying the project would be severely delayed and that Billy was essentially fired,

Billy refused to include major working elements of the game that made it truer to the experience we initially pitched to Kickstarter. His continued efforts to turn the game into something other then what it was concieved as recently grew to be too much and Billy had to be released from working on the project.

Erik mostly had the community's support at this point, with fans mostly deciding it was better to have a delayed product rather than an incomplete or rushed one.
This started to change for some people once Billy posted in the Kickstarter comments:

This update is a surprise to me and I'd like to ensure you all that while Erik suddenly cut communications, changed our password and released a Kickstarter update without my knowledge, the game is still a 50/50 partnership as it always has been.

While it's bold to claim to be in a 50/50 partnership with the person who just said they fired you, Billy seemed determined to push forward. He also stated the project would be submitted to the app store “in the next few weeks”
On December 31, Billy apparently updated the website to say,

Islands of Chaos has been delayed indefinitely due to a misplaced fear of inadequacy that has manifested itself in the form of a surprise lawsuit from the game's artist. Weeks before submitting IOC to the app stores, he has changed our kickstarter password, claimed our partnership never existed and stated I no longer have permission to use his art for a game release or this website.

The game’s artist of course being Erik. Erik claimed he would release a statement addressing this, but as far as I can tell, never did.
In January, Erik posted to the kickstarter that the project had a new developer named Josh.
In April, he announced a new development blog, but the archived versions of the site don’t go back that far. The old dev blog was still controlled by Billy and displayed the same message about the lawsuit from December.
At some point in late August or early September 2015 Billy updated the message on the original dev blog.

UNFORTUNATELY ISLANDS OF CHAOS WAS CANCELED WEEKS BEFORE SUBMITTING TO THE APP STORE AFTER A SERIES OF SURPRISE LAWSUIT THREATS BY THE GAME'S ARTIST. I WORKED EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR TO BRING THIS GAME TO LIFE AND NOTHING WOULD DISAPPOINT ME MORE THAN BEING DENIED THE RIGHT TO SHARE IT WITH THE KICKSTARTER BACKERS WHO WERE SO KIND TO US. UNFORTUNATELY MY ARTIST GOT LAWYERS INVOLVED WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND WAS SO UNSATISFIED WITH HIS WORK HE HAS FOUGHT ANY ATTEMPTS I'VE MADE TO SHOW THE GAME IN ANY WAY.

This appears to be the last message ever posted on the original development blog.
There are a few updates posted to kickstarter, over the next few years, but they are all only available to backers. The first message I can find in the WayBack machine on the new dev blog is from January 2017. Erik states that he is teaching himself unity and C# to do the development on the game himself. There’s no mention of Billy or Josh. Erik continues to make major changes to the design, “While the original scope of the project asked for players to be simple 2D comic characters against a flat backdrop, since that time they have evolved to accommodate an explorable 2.5D Isometric Environment“. In bold, it says, “There is still a lot that is left undone simply because the full scope was not understood at the time of conception”. That feels like an understatement.
By March, there’s an update with videos (since deleted) showing player creation, island movement and minigames. In September, Erik still shows optimism but acknowledges some challenges,

After a grueling summer, the majority of starter character animations have been mapped to sprite sheets, the items have been organized by type and purpose, and the database is finally being built. As a small team of developers, we couldn’t have picked a more difficult project to work on for our first foray into mobile gaming – but the challenge is worth the effort!

In August 2018 (4 years after the initial expected completion date), Islands of Chaos Development Build 1.0 is released. It can still be downloaded and launched, but it requires a login to do anything and the servers supporting that no longer exist.
In November 2018, Erik announces that they’ve decided to change the project to fully 3D. This is 1.5 years after saying it would be 2.5D.
Two months later, in January 2019, Erik finally pulls the plug after 5 years of development. He lists the 3 major factors for the failure of the game as

The funds raised were far too low to create what was promised in the Kickstarter

The game itself is much more complex, unique, and dynamic then first anticipated

As an artist, I am only a small part of the equation when building a video game.

The survivor post linking to the cancellation has some people calling him a scammer. Many of those point to the fact that Erik mentions buying a computer to help with the development of the game. I’m more inclined to agree with the comment that said, “I don’t think Erik is a scammer, I believe he is a naive idealist who didn’t understand what he was getting into.” (The phrase, “naive idealist who didn’t understand what he was getting into” would also describe his first outing on Survivor pretty well).

Consequences

In the aftermath, Erik went pretty quiet on Reddit for a while and views of him had turned negative among a portion of the fans. As memory of the Islands of Chaos debacle fades, his reputation has mostly returned to positive, helped by the fact that he’s semi-active in the subreddit and occasionally answers fan questions.
In April 2022, he did make a few comments about why the game failed (thread).

Programmer #1 didn’t deliver what was promised and left with the lion share of money from the Kickstarter. Programmers 2-8 worked for no money (promise of revenue share) but none of those worked out. The KS goal was flawed from the start; my first programmer estimated it would be $8k worth of work, but later (year or two after the KS ended) I discovered that the real price to fulfill the stated goals was closer to $100k.

and

to follow up on this, I followed through as best I could and it created really terrible stress and financial problems for five years of my life. I tried learning programming myself to try and build it from scratch, brought in more and more devs, made custom art to appease high priced backers, and generally did everything I could think of to try to attract more investors (to bring on good developers I could pay). It was mentally and financially draining and I had to put a hard stop on it. I love the idea and think it’s a literal goldmine waiting to be claimed, but not without some initial game producer effort and an infusion of cash to start.

There are still occasional comments calling him a scammer, but there's often pushback on those. Mostly, it's not a topic of conversation anymore and everyone has moved on.
In regards to his past seasons, Fans vs. Favorites is widely considered one of the best seasons, while Fans vs. Favorites 2 is widely considered one of the worst. While Erik giving away immunity still comes up (particularly when new viewers see it for the first time), the article in the "A Life Lesson" section is the definitive summary and comments now are mostly, "wow, what a brilliant move by those women".
Erik isn't super highly ranked in terms of his Survivor skill, but few people have made it to the Final 5 twice with winning chances. While not a strategic mastermind, it seems like he was doing something right during the game.
After season 40 and a year-long Covid hiatus, Survivor has moved to what they call "the new era" of the show. There are far fewer references to early season and I can't recall any recent references to Erik giving away immunity. However, Fans vs. Favorites was on Netflix for most of 2022 and Survivor seems to have undergone a resurgence post-pandemic, so a whole new cohort of fans were introduced to Erik's infamous mistake.
Erik is still active in the Survivor community and posts drawings to the subreddit after each episode.
He also sells Survivor related prints on his website. His top seller is him being haunted by the Black Widow Brigrade

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2023.03.29 21:19 Dragoncat91 Far East of Fodlan: Kingdom of Almyra

Anna the merchant was a bubbly woman with long red hair in a ponytail. She was dressed from head to toe in fashionable clothes and jewelry. Her stall was equally flamboyant, with fancy knicknacks hanging from it and brightly colored banners and windsocks. "Ah, Tiana von Riegan, the shooting star of the Leicester Alliance!" Anna greeted. "Here in the far east, the Kingdom of Almyra, a warrior culture known for their tenacity and their spices! Is she here for business? Is she here for diplomacy? Is she here for...love? All three?"
"Anna, please, you'll wake them up." Tiana said.
"Oh, yes, the slumbering herd." Anna smirked. "How may I help you today?"
"I need a bar of damascus steel. I also need a bundle of saffron."
(from Upside Down Diplomacy: Chapter 2 - Trials and Tests)
Almyra is a country that wasn't touched upon very much in the canon stories of Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Hopes, despite one main character being from there. I've been worldbuilding and writing for it for a few years now. Please note: some aspects may still be inaccurate to Hopes. A lot of this was made before Hopes existed, and while I did make room for Shahid, who only appears in Hopes, I'm still taking creative license with him and the country as a whole. Enjoy the little bits of prose before each section!
Terrain and Climate
It was close to springtime, and while frigid winds from the north were still rolling down in mainland Fodlan, the border between Leicester and Almyra remained warm year round. However, that didn't mean the Almyrans had a food surplus. Crops could only grow well for six months a year in spring and summer. Outside of those times, produce stored in the clay structures known as yahkchals were rationed, and wild poultry and red meat was harvested with the exception of elk from the forests in the west, as those were a protected, sacred species.
(from Upside Down Diplomacy: Chapter 1 - Crossing the Steppe)

https://preview.redd.it/urfr3ycjaqqa1.png?width=550&format=png&auto=webp&s=d96e0849e48d2bb1066845f2a4c72bea5118f66c
Almyran cities are situated around the canyon/forest area in the western portion of the country. The capital is Caglar, which rests in the middle of Catal Canyon. Its palace is clearly visible from the air, and wyvern patrols fly in and out regularly, but if one is approaching from land, it's hidden by the surrounding canyon. Unlike its fellow kingdom on the continent, Faerghus, there's not a ton of noble houses with territory. Trabzon is in the northwestern portion of Kumalar Plains, and is the gateway to the mainland once trade is established, ships sail out of it around the Fodlan's Throat mountains and can make landfall in Faerghus provided the ports are not closed by ice. Mardin is in the Kuyruk Woods on the southeastern bank of Kuyruk River. Markay is in the southern coastal region of Kumalar Plains and serves as a port to and from Abbas Island off the south coast.
Avise Desert is east of Catal Canyon and is racked by sandstorms year round. Further east, extending to the eastern coast, is more steppe like that in Kumalar Plains. There are no cities east of the desert, instead, homesteaders, farmers, and ranchers move throughout the area in a nomadic lifestyle with portable tents known as yurts, or they put down more permanent houses when they find an ideal spot. Visitors to the kingdom often make the mistake of calling this vast eastern steppe "East Kumalar Plains", while the locals only refer to it as "The Wild" or "The Plains".
Ethnic Traits
Danah came out of her room, dressed in a pretty purple dress and shoes, with a green hair scrunchie that brought out her orange eyes. She had long black hair. Uzair was wearing a dark blue suit jacket with loose fitting gray pants and shined shoes. His eyes, like his father's, were lightning yellow. His hair was dark brown, short, and had been fluffed nicely. Both had the typical Almyran tan skin tone.
(from The Sunset Before Us)
Almyrans are generally tan. Their hair is often thick, coarse, and colored in shades of brown and black. Both men and women tend to be, for lack of a better term, fluffy, with clear patches of fuzz on arms, legs, chest, and armpits, and both sexes also tend to have thick pubic hair. Men often have beards and/or mustaches of some sort. Some women shave their excess body hair, some do not. Woman fuzz isn't as thick as man fuzz regardless. This is distinct from birth, with male babies tending to have more hair than their female counterparts. Almyran eyes are typically colored in warm shades: reds, browns, yellows, and oranges.
Names can be drawn from the Middle East: Arabic names, Turkish names, Syrian names, Persian names, Iranian names, that general area.
Silk is a common clothing material for the upper and middle class, lower classes will wear leather and burlap. Soldier uniforms consist of light plate armor or chainmail with leather, typically unisex to the point where a male and female soldier are indistinguishable unless they stand right next to each other. Cloth cowls and neck scarves are commonly colored to fit a faction identity, or worn by commoners without being dyed.
Language and Culture
Tiana's husband gave her a unit of horseback archers. They were greenhorns, which she wasn't complaining about. She was good at training troops. But what she wasn't sure about, was communicating with them. Only Almyran royals and nobles spoke fluent Common, and she was not fluent in Almyran aside from the very basics and swearing.
She mounted her warhorse and positioned herself at the head. Their eyes, all warm colored, were fixed on her. She raised her arm and waved them to the left. "Go."
The greenhorn bow knights fell into formation and followed her. She led them halfway down the trail before uttering "stop."
They did not seem to catch that. Except for the one nearest her. He turned his horse and put himself between Tiana and the others, then threw his arm up and said something in Almyran. They understood him. Tiana made a vow to learn what "stop" translated to.
The man then placed his horse beside Tiana's. He looked at her, smiling sheepishly. He jabbed his thumb into his chest. "Omar," he said.
She blinked slowly as she realized he was introducing himself. "Merhaba, Omar." She replied, certain she'd gotten "hello" right. He bowed in response.
(from The Queen's Language Lessons)
For the native language of Almyra, I've been using Turkish, as Ancient Persia/Ottoman Empire/Turkey/Turkiye seems to be the biggest inspiration for the country. Also, Turkish uses the Western alphabet more than Arabic which is easier for my American keyboard.
They're a polytheistic religion, with but not limited to a war god, a harvest god, a love goddess, a sun god, and a moon goddess. They believe that elk are the resting place for a soul who has led a full life and is preparing to run to the afterlife, so they do not eat elk. They will eat deer, moose, or antelope, however. Common food includes kebabs, falafel, shawarma, curry, and dried fruit/nut/jerky preserves.
They're a proud warrior culture. While men are more often on the front lines of battle, lady soldiers do exist, as does the rare lady commander. Their military consists of mostly wyvern riders and cavaliers with either lances or bows, but there are some units of infantry and mages. Armies on the move will put up yurts for the night, with the leader's yurt in the center and everyone prepared to wake up in fight mode if needed.
Royalty is hereditary, and only a man can take the throne. Kings are allowed to take multiple wives, and most have over the course of history. Everyone else is more monogamous, including high ranking nobles. A king will hand pick his successor out of his sons, or nephews as a last resort, and test him with a gladiator sparring match. It ends when one side yields, but it is not to the death as it used to be nearly a century ago. Once the successor has won, he takes the throne upon the death of the current king.
Economy and Exports
Boran took a plate of rice, turkey, and a small slice of roast moose. He'd covered it all in gravy and topped it with a sprinkle of chili powder that he brought himself.
"Trade routes, then? Almyra can offer spices, saffron, cactus flower, yucca seed. We can also offer damascus steel, or silk." Boran suggested. "The caravans will cross through Leicester and may need guarded heavily, but my son, you know him as Claude, will help assure that."
Dimitri swallowed a bit of roast and potatoes. "Faerghus can, in return, give lumber, cheeses, leather, furs. Maybe some potato crops, they may grow in Almyra. And if you wish, the trade can happen via ship. I know you have a navy, is there a port town that's suitable for trade?"
"There are two." Boran said. "There's Trabzon, which is actually a doable sea route from Derdriu. Then there's Abbas, an island to the south. If you wanted to get the caravan to Derdriu, it can then be shipped to Trabzon." He paused to grab the tea kettle and fill a cup.
(from Two Kings)
Currency is interchangeable with the rest of Fodlan, with copper, silver, and gold coins. Trade operates on silk and spices with the occasional damascus steel, known as wootz steel in the mainland.
The local economy, as with every other country, depends on the exact area. Abbas Island and Markay have a lot of fishing. Trabzon also does fishing, but is mainly a bustling port town that brings in imports and pushes out exports. Mardin is an agricultural town that trades crops and meat from the woods. Crops are mostly beans and rice, with the occasional sweet potato or turnip.
Caglar, as the capital, is the most varied and wealthy. There are entertainers, dancers, and bards who perform in hookah bars and mobile venues. Military presence is heavy in Caglar and there are several armories that sell cutlasses, scimitars, poleaxes, tabars, pikes, halberds, and bows and arrows. There is a orchard at the palace with apple, apricot, peach, and pear trees. The palace gardens have raspberries and blackberries as well.
While mainland Fodlan has the central church keeping people reliant on the holy magic of the church monks and other types of medicine restricted, Almyra has some healing spells, but they mostly only work to stabilize an injury. They have what's called "the good meds". It's common for half an army to be "higher than wyvern pizzle" in the words of His Majesty himself as they recover from their wounds.

submitted by Dragoncat91 to FanficWorldbuilding [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:11 DeadbeatHero- Mr Inbetween isn’t my favorite show. Spoilers

But god damn Season 2 is some of the best television ever made. Not to say 1 or 3 aren’t good, they’re incredible, but fuck season 2 is just on another level.
Especially the episode where Ally leaves Ray, that unicorn scene was beautiful, and that break up scene hit way too close to home for me.
Then there’s then last few, the pedophile one, the one where Ray gets into a shootout with the bikers (RIP Boof), and one of the biggest emotional gut punches I’ve ever seen on television. Brucey says his final goodbyes to Britt and starts to cry. I started to tear up at that point, and then the final scene with Ray and Bruce in their childhood home. Just fucking waterworks man.
I love the way the show ended, but good god Scott Ryan has to do something else. He’s fucking brilliant in this show. I’ve watched the fuckin thing three times in the last month. It truly is up there with some of my favorites (Sopranos, The Leftovers, Hannibal, Fargo, Better Call Saul, Twin Peaks etc) and it’s a fucking shame that it didn’t get the attention it deserved. I’ve been pushing all of my friends to watch it for the last month.
TLDR: Season 2 might be my favorite season of television ever.

submitted by DeadbeatHero- to MrInbetween [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:03 dailyfreep Glossier Boston opens its doors on Newbury Street

Beauty brand Glossier opened a permanent store in Boston on March 24, making the location the company’s tenth physical store in the United States.

submitted by dailyfreep to BostonU [link] [comments]

2023.03.29 21:02 geoffreyp Authors reinventing/contracting prior events in their own book series - Gai Jin by James Clavell [Spoilers]

Hi books!
I've been re-reading James Clavell's books. I absolutely loved Shogun and Nobel House as a teenager.
I reread the series in the story's chronological order and fell in love all over again. Some of the politics and chauvinism bothered me this time that I'd forgotten, and it's hard not to roll my eyes when every major female character has to be described and identified by her breasts.
Gai-Jin was a really interesting read, just wonderfully plotted and beautifully layered. Two quick criticisms before I get to my main point for discussion. First, more than in his other books, I felt he overused mini-flashbacks, starting a scene with a sub-set of characters, then in the middle, having one of the characters recall a conversation from that morning or the day before. He did that through many of his books, but in Gai-Jin it felt constant and gave me whiplash. Second, the 'character' of the Hag (in quotes because she never appears) felt like this weird bogeyman hanging over the whole story. She controlled everything and was perhaps the most powerful and influential force in the whole book. I kept waiting (eagerly) for her to appear on one of the ships so we could really experience her but she never did and that seemed like a huge missed opportunity. Perhaps Clavell's chauvinism it difficult for him to really capture a woman who existed outside of the confines of traditional femininity? Perhaps the spinster Tai-Pan was too much of a challenge, or perhaps he was saving her for another book.
The point I was hoping to discuss. The events in Gai-Jin happen after Tai-Pan and before Noble House. The book Gai-Jin was written after both.
There are several things described in Nobel House about what happened with the Straun family during the time period in which Gai-Jin happens, which were rewritten in Gai-Jin.
For example (and this has nothing to do with the plot in either so I think this isn't a spoiler), in Nobel House, when describing the death of two of the Hag's children a hundred years prior, it is said they drowned in a boating accident in Scotland. In Gai-Jin, set a decade after the two children died, it is said they drowned in a boating accident in the waters off Hong Kong.
I think we can 'forgive' this, if that's the right word, this minor 'revisionist history' - this example didn't affect either story. But then also since it's so minor, why change it?
The more major rewrites were frustrating to read because they completely took me out of the story, essentially breaking the fourth wall. The two biggest ones were (obviously these are spoilers):
In Nobel House, Malcom (a key protagonist in Gai-Jin) is described as being knifed in Shanghai by unknown assailants, noted as a sad loss, with no other mention of it. In Gai-Jin, Malcom is mortally wounded by a samurai in Japan, and this attack forms the primary genesis for the major events of the book.
In Gai-Jin, Edward Gornt (a bastard) provides the Hag with the information she needs to destroy Gornt's father, the abusive Morgan Brock who abandoned his mother. In Nobel House, Quillian Gornt says his desire to destroy the Nobel House is because the Hag destroyed Morgan Brock.
I'm curious if others react negatively to changes like this. I wouldn't say it ruined the books for me, but it definitely detracted from my enjoyment significantly.
Did he not realize how far he was changing things? Did he not have a fact-checker for consistency with his other books? Did he not care? Should we expect this to happen in a series, and not be surprised, or put off by it?
For sure, we can say, well it was a hundred years later maybe people in the stories forgot - but that's a lame excuse if you ask me.
Curious what you all think?

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2023.03.29 21:01 HedgeFundGuy84 Nexters: high-growth video game dev. of famous “Hero Wars” franchise is back trading on NASDAQ

Hi here is some research and dd I've done and compiled on the video game company Nexters and would like to share with my fellow retail investors. Your feedback & commentary are most appreciated!
Disclosure: I’m long.
https://preview.redd.it/fgmbpgqa6qqa1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=f68f3d07d3c40bee28e0922287edf32a291a2c20
Nexters, creator of the "Hero Wars" franchise, is successfully back On NASDAQ after a 1 year hiatus!

Quarterly revenues of $125 million in Q3, growing 8% year-over-year
Net income for the third quarter of 2022 of $31 million vs. net losses of $104 million in the respective period of 2021
Adjusted EBITDA of $55 million for the third quarter of 2022 compared to the $14 million in the respective period of 2021
Nexters Successfully Reduced its headcount by 235 employees or roughly 26% without any impact on the gaming experience bringing down their expenses
Acquired 3 video game companies: Cubic Games, RJ Games and Royal Ark
Potential M&A target given the high insider ownership (Playrix have a 38% share in Nexters)

Nexters is back trading on NASDAQ after a year-long hiatus. It is a well-known international video game company based in Europe partly owned by Playrix, which strives to introduce the joy of core gaming experiences to casual players. It’s the creator of the famous Hero Wars franchise (50M+ installs on Android) and other hits such as Throne Rush and Chibi Island.
In 2022, the firm also acquired the well-known Pixel Gun 3D game (100M+ downloads on Google Play app store alone) from Cubic Games, and acquired 2 other studios, Royal Ark and RJ Games.
It also bolsters a program for junior game developers called Dragon Machines and has an upcoming game called Mount Royale.
It’s currently rated as one of the top-3 developers in Europe with 200+ millions game installs worldwide with hit games like Hero Wars, Throne Rush, Chibi Island and others.
PocketGamer.biz summed up the results of investments in the global game development for the whole 2022 and placed Nexters in 9th place in the Top 10 largest strategic investors!
https://preview.redd.it/zla8be4d6qqa1.png?width=726&format=png&auto=webp&s=75524bafc865c611985c42222f8341798c3c32aa
Nexters story dates back to 2010 when the future friends and founders of Nexters first met. Those days Andrey Fadeev (Nexters’ current CEO) was running a social games development studio, and Boris Gertsovskiy was shaping his plans on starting a game business. Their first game was Throne Rush and then came Hero Wars
As previously stated, Nexters acquired 3 new studios in 2022: Cubic Games, RJ Games and Royal Ark to accelerate their product growth strategy. With the games from the studios, they expect to enlarge Nexters player base, enter new genres, and significantly cement their presence in midcore as the leading segment of mobile gaming. The acquired games are the following (per press-release):

Published by Cubic Games, Pixel Gun 3D is the world’s No. 3 mobile first-person shooter by monthly audience with more than 170 mln of cumulative downloads.
Puzzle Breakers by RJ Games will provide an opportunity to gain a significant position in the sizable segment of the puzzle RPG genre thanks to the game’s high-quality art and engaging core gameplay.
Royal Ark’s survival RPG titles Dawn of Zombies and Shelter Wars (developed by Game Gears team) will diversify Nexters’ portfolio with games in a growing zombie setting and contribute to accumulating expertise in new genres and niches for the company.

Nexters also launched the Dragon Machine program (previously called Boost). Its aim is to help smaller game developers by providing the funding and expertise needed to release new games and build successful businesses. They currently have a new RPG multiplayer online game in the pipeline called “Mount Royale” https://dragon-machines.com/en/games/mount-royale
Playrix Entertainment
In 2022 Playrix became the #1 mobile game publisher in Europe. Playrix Holding Ltd., also known as Playrix Entertainment and Playrix Games, is a developer of free-to-play mobile games behind titles such as Township, Fishdom, Homescapes, and Gardenscapes. The company was founded in 2004 by Dmitry Bukhman and Igor Bukhman in Vologda, Russia, and moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland in 2013.
https://playrix.com/company/history
Playrix was valued at $8 billion in 2021.[4] As of 2022, Playrix was the fourth-biggest mobile game developer in the world in terms of revenue and employed 4,000 people across 100 cities, mainly in Eastern Europe, including 1500 in Russia and 1500 in Ukraine. In October 2022, the company said it was ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine (source: Wikipedia)
Playrix owns 38% of Nexters. Playrix is purportedly also in talks to acquire Rovio’s “Angry Birds”:
https://mobile.twitter.com/AB__Network/status/1638588049993998353
War in Ukraine
Due to the events of the war in Ukraine, shares of Nexters were halted on February 28th 2022 on NASDAQ, though the company is mainly based in Cyprus with many game dev. studios scattered around Europe. Given its original Russian roots dating back to 2010, the company seemed to have gotten caught up in the storm.
Due to those circumstances, the company decided to relocate all of its remaining personnel in Russia and Ukraine to mainly Cyprus, and others to Armenia, Georgia and certain other “safe- harbor” countries.
The company divested all of its Moscow based offices and as of November 2022, Nexters had completely exited Russia. They even made a video about the relocation of the remaining employees on their FB page https://fb.gg/v/juynqW3z7H/
In 2023 NASDAQ completely cleared Nexters and the shares resumed trading again.
The silver lining is that Nexters was also able to reduce its headcount and costs by up to 26% without any material impact on their games in 2022.
Changes to Corporate Governance
The company also overhauled its board of directors and made many positive changes to its corporate governance. Ivan Tavrin left the Board and the position of Chairman of the Board, and is no longer involved in the corporate governance, management or operation of the Company. Bukhman brothers (Playrix) and Boris Gertsovskiy resigned as directors of the Board, while remaining major shareholders and participating in the Company’s operations on the advising and management levels, respectively.
Natasha Braginsky Mounier was elected as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, replacing Ivan Tavrin.
The new composition of Nexters’ Board of Directors committees is as follows per the website https://investor.nexters.com/governance/board-of-directions

Sergei Zaitsev as non-Executive Director: Currently Sergei serves as an Investment Director at Everix Investments, an investment firm focusing on investments into high growth tech and media businesses.
Marie Holive: Marie has over 20 years of experience of finance and audit expertise in the media, tech, and healthcare, including Senior Audit Manager, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director roles at such companies as General Electric and Comcast NBCUniversal.
Natasha Braginsky Mounier : Over 20 years at Capital Group, where she was investing in international equities and was the first ESG director. Earlier in her career, Natasha was an investment banker at JP Morgan and an associate at The Blackstone Group.
Andrew Sheppard: Over 20 years of experience building, managing and advising multi-billion dollar consumer businesses. Past employers include EA, CNET/Gamespot, Kabam and GREE. Currently Andrew is serving a Managing Director at Transcend Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on gaming and gaming adjacent investments.
Olga Loskutova: Olga has over 20 years of experience in marketing and general management across Western/Eastern Europe, the United States, and the Middle East in such multinational corporations as Nestle, SABMiller, and Whirlpool. Olga resides in Italy and currently is the VP Product & Brand Marketing at Whirlpool EMEA.
Tal Shoham sit as an independent board director and is a Co-Founder and President of Tedooo and an LP investor at a leading Israeli venture fund Vgames

With these changes, all of Nexters’ committees now consist of independent international directors only.
Q3 Financial results
Nexters is in solid financial shape with positive EBITDA. The following financial figures and statements have been directly pulled from their official financial results which can be found here: https://investor.nexters.com/press-releases/financial-results-2022-Q3
Q4 2022 earnings should be out soon with an accompanying earning’s call (date TBD)
Third Quarter 2022 highlights (from press-release):

Quarterly revenues of $125 million, growing 8% year-over-year
Net income for the third quarter of 2022 of $31 million vs. net losses of $104 million in the respective period of 2021
Adjusted EBITDA of $55 million for the third quarter of 2022 compared to the $14 million in the respective period of 2021
Сash flow generated from operating activities of $60 million for the third quarter of 2022 growing 17% year-over-year

First nine months and Third quarter 2022 financial performance in comparison
https://preview.redd.it/nd9ly8pg6qqa1.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=e727407409da5de67dbd1f913f5ed91e35066a27
The following section in italics is directly pulled from the Q3 press release:
“In the third quarter of 2022, Nexters’ revenue increased by $10 million (or 8% year-over-year) and amounted to $125 million, driven primarily by a decrease of $56 million in change of deferred revenues during the third quarter of 2022 vs. the same period in the prior year, partially offset by a decrease in bookings in the amount of $47 million (or 31%) year-over-year.
Platform commissions increased by 10% in the third quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, generally in line with the increase in revenues.
Game operation costs increased by $6 million in the third quarter of 2022 mainly due to the increase in the scale of operations, costs of the subsidiaries acquired in the beginning of 2022 vs nil in 2021 and special costs related to the relocation of personnel in the third quarter of 2022.
Selling and marketing expenses in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by $43 million, or 68% year-over-year, and amounted to $20 million. The decrease was mainly due to the massive scaling of the investments into new players in the third quarter of 2021 amplified by a substantial decrease in the marketing investments in the third quarter of 2022 driven by the general saturation of the market as well as the suspension of marketing activities in Russia and Belarus due to recent geopolitical events.
General and administrative expenses increased by $9 million in the third quarter 2022 vs. the third quarter 2021. The increase was primarily driven by i) the loss on disposal of discontinued operations in the amount of $5 million in the third quarter of 2022 vs. nil in the third quarter of 2021; ii) expected credit losses associated with loans provided to equity associates in the amount of $2 million in the third quarter of 2022 vs. nil in the third quarter of 2021; and iii) special costs related to the relocation of personnel in the third quarter of 2022.
As a result of the factors above, amplified by the share listing expense in the amount of $125 million recorded in the third quarter of 2021 vs. nil in the third quarter of 2022, net income in the third quarter of 2022 increased by $135 million and amounted to $31 million vs. a net loss of $104 million in the respective period of 2021, while Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $55 million, an increase of $41 million compared with the same period of 2021 due to the same factors, other than the impact of the share listing expense and the loss on disposal of the discontinued operations, which items are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA.
Cash flows generated from operating activities amounted to $60 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of $9 million vs. the third quarter of 2021.
Third quarter operational performance in comparison
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Unlike the traditional console or PC gaming, where the peak of sales occurs after the launch of the game and then shrinks a lot, in the online mobile gaming market, the games are fluid and get updates each month/quarter if not on a weekly basis to engage customers and make them stay in the game longer. The Average bookings per paying user (ABBPU) is still high above 100$ mark and has seen a slight decline due to a reduction in spending on advertising (which benefitted the company by reducing their marketing costs & expenses)
The share of advertisement sales as a percentage of total bookings decreased in the third quarter of 2022 to 4.6% compared to 5.9% in the respective period of 2021, a decrease of 1.3 p.p. mainly due to the general decline of the advertising market amplified by the fact that the advertisers’ preferences shifted to non-gaming advertising venues in the third quarter of 2022 vs. the same period in the prior year.
2021 was characterised by a relatively high investment in marketing, which led to high growth in MPUs. The decrease in the marketing investments for the majority of 2022 resulted in a corresponding decrease in MPUs in the third quarter of 2022, which reached 305 thousand in the third quarter of 2022 vs. 371 thousand in the respective period of 2021, a decline of 18%.
The split of bookings by geography in the third quarter of 2022 remained broadly similar to the split in the third quarter of 2021 with a general increase in the share of US bookings.”
https://preview.redd.it/aj2ezf1l6qqa1.png?width=716&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e6af17d7ba57b779f2c7826d5958f69e135b59b
Nexters has weathered the storm and is looking forward to another profitable 4th quarter. The company is constantly involved with its fan base by engaging them on social media platforms like Twitter / Facebook and Discord. The return on NASDAQ will provide Nexters with the necessary capital to build out and achieve its growth plans. The company has a low float and the shares are majority held by insiders (>84%) providing a lot “skin in the game”.
Q4 2022 will be out before may 2nd following the company switching external auditors from KPMG Russia to KPMG Europe.
3rd party app revenue verification
The beauty of mobile games is that their data can be verified by 3rd party companies like AppMagic which can be viewed here Hero Wars – Fantasy Battles — AppMagic
We expect strong Q4 and FY 2022 numbers (especially bookings and revenues) given the high “featuring” scores according to AppMagic, which allows us to benchmark the power of support (the power of the featuring placements) of the apps. For more detail on how this metric is calculated, please read here How Do We Measure Featuring? — AppMagic
Nexters Global (AppMagic)
https://preview.redd.it/bbd8dzwn6qqa1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=be9da5f31bbe1293efdf5b60d557eb6f53420647
PIXEL GUN 3D (from AppMagic)
https://preview.redd.it/zkmke0uq6qqa1.png?width=738&format=png&auto=webp&s=f05c95f7f98558fd106e97fe6dd35fc9a832c550
*Numbers do not include China which is only available on Huawei app Gallery")
AppGallery (huawei.com)
Sensor Tower
This is the data for February from Sensor Towers
Nexters Global
https://app.sensortower.com/ios/publishenexters-global-ltd/660706304
https://preview.redd.it/03arebat6qqa1.png?width=726&format=png&auto=webp&s=9402c9c154988721db49744ee2791f6bc17e972e
Cubic Games (owned by Nexters)- Pixel Gun 3D is their most popular game
https://app.sensortower.com/ios/publishepublishe561634640
https://preview.redd.it/kl8myi4v6qqa1.png?width=725&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7341531363de16d912b7cbacef80f81b6ba5778
RJ Games (Owned by Nexters) – Puzzle Breakers RPG Online
https://app.sensortower.com/android/publishepublisheRJ%2BGames
https://preview.redd.it/jx1xkomw6qqa1.png?width=732&format=png&auto=webp&s=1792c15e9926cf52de28f025ad4c0476147ff32c
Insider Ownership
https://preview.redd.it/q57seqcy6qqa1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=66e9f5ff5d615ced51351e9a0386e97d122ceaf3
Insiders and executives own close to 87% of the shares and warrants outstanding of Nexters providing a high “skin in the game” factor. The float of the company is therefore small, tightly held and trades in low volumes. The company has not issued additional shares since its inception and does not plan to do so in the near future as it’s well capitalized. Given that the company has started trading again and is underfollowed, this provides in our view an opportunity for the share price to move quickly upwards as soon as the market rediscovers the company.
Warrants
The warrants are quite compelling because they have a redemption feature that differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the ordinary shares exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time.
This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of the ordinary shares is below the exercise price of the warrants. Nexters has established this redemption feature to provide it with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold. In other words, in a best case scenario a single warrant will be redeemed and worth 6.5$ when the share price hits 18$! (from the prospectus as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 18, 2022)
Furthermore, per the prospectus the company has the right to lower the exercise price per share at any time prior to the warrant expiry date which is also a positive for investors
https://preview.redd.it/uuph4mi07qqa1.png?width=721&format=png&auto=webp&s=8954d16cfd352d724ef1149dbc7dff25c2e0323d
The addressable market
How big is the addressable market? The World’s 2.7 billion Gamers Spent $175 Billion on Games in 2020; The Market Will Surpass $200 Billion by 2023. So Nexters Global is well-positioned in the expanding market. it has also released its games in China in 2022 on the Huawei app gallery Hero Wars are out on Huawei’s AppGallery (nexters.com)
2021 KISMET SPAC DEC
The company also has a very large online presence with each game having its own Reddit page, facebook group, twitter profile and discord server, each with full time moderators that constantly engage players and seek feed-back as to how the games should adapt and evolve.
Conclusion
This is a great company with solid financials and a bright future trading at ridiculously cheap bargain prices (under 4$) on low volume given the small float and high insider ownership. The company is critically underfollowed given the long hiatus from NASDAQ, so I would keep a close eye on the company given that the Q4 and FY 2022 results will be out around the end of April.
The valuation is quite low in our view due to the company being based in Europe, and provides big upside that could also lead to potentially being acquired by another big video game company outside the US like Tencent or Everix or Playtika or Ubisoft.
Last but not the least, there’s also chatter about announcing a “Hero Wars 2” title on the 7th anniversary of the game.

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2023.03.29 21:01 evoboltzmann New CC recommendations please

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