#Jobs Salary At The TOTAL EXPRESS

[harrystylesfan2686]

Pieces Part 3

Pairing: Azriel x Reader

Summary: the aftermath of the break up has different effects on both, Azriel and Reader.

A/N: yall I'm sick🥲 the updates might be late but I'll try to post as much as possible. Hope you like this one!

Pieces Masterlist

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It's been one month.

One month of Healing.

When azriel left, I told myself that I will not contact him until I'm ready. Doesn't matter how much I'm missing him or wanting him. I will not talk to him until I know I won't take him back the second I see him again.

I gave myself two days. Two days to sulk all I wanted. I spent the whole time crying and feeling miserable about myself. Before Az left at least, I wasn't by myself. At least I saw him once a day.

Now? Nothing.

I am totally alone. His absence hit me Hard. Everything I saw, almost brought me to my knees.

The kitchen where we would make dinner together, laughing and joking with each other that many times ended with us covered in flour and syrup.

The couch where we would sit cuddling and talking until we fell asleep, always waking up with strained muscles.

His office where he would sit on his chair in front of his desk, writing out reports and whatnot while I sit in his armchair reading my book. Just enjoying each others company and occasionally taking breaks to make out on the very deck, and then some.

After those dreadful days though, I called Feyre and Mor and had a very much needed girls night. We took out a wine bottle and I spilled everything to them. My mind was too drunk to think my feelings about Elain might offend Feyre but she genuinely felt sad for me and embarrassed about her sister. The poor girl even apologised to my about Elain's behavior to which I immediately told her it wasn't her fault.

When I told them how lonely it got being alone in a big house like this, they suggested maybe I should get a job or something to keep my mind distracted and promised that they'll visit me often. So I did juat that.

I found a part time job at a local library. I have to admit, I'm really enjoying it. I'm the second assistant to the sweetest lady, Hilda, who owns the shop. I don't do much, just help her in small things like adjusting books on self or helping in shipping books out or in. Layla, the first assistant, handles most of the work around the shop. My job is basically doing what she asks of me. The salary isn't much but I don't care because it's never been about money.

The first week was very hard. Everyday after I came home, the silence felt like a slap on the face, reminding me of everything I lost.

But, slowly, I became comfortable with it. Now it's doesn't hurt me as it did before.

There were many times when I think of Azriel, tears filled my eyes, but I never let them free. I sucked them in and did anything else that didn't made me cry, like taking baths, baking my favorite chocolate brownies, reading in front of the fire place while drinking hot coco or calling my friends to take me shopping.

And as time went. I started to heal. I started to feel good, happier with myself. And without even realizing it, I started to love myself.

-☆-

Azriel

It's been one month.

One month of regretting everything I did to my mate.

I've spent my whole month sulking in this room, crying and regretting everytime I chose Elain over my wife. I haven't slept at all since I came here, just enough to keep me functioning. My appetite is gone. I don't eat unless Rhys come and force feeds me like I'm some baby.

I told Rhysand and Cassian everything the first morning i stayed here. Which earned me a flick to head by Cassian and a very disappointed look from Rhys. Even though they didn't give me any scolding(which I very much deserved), the flick and expression said enough.

Rhys has refrained me of any work, handling it himself or having someone else do it. While I have been sitting around here and hating myself. It seems like even my mind has declared itself an enemy, showing me memories of everytime I dismissed Y/N and hurt her in any way at most random times, cutting a deeper cut in my heart everytime.

"Hey Az, I was thinking if we could go out for dinner tonight? There is this new amazing restaurant I saw while walking near Sidra. I really want to try it." She told me as I put on my coat, ready to go.

"I can't, I have a mission for today. Rhys told me it's important so I can't skip. We'll go some other time. Okay?"

"Ok."

I could hear the excitement in her voice when she asked me and the hurt when I rejected her and promised to go another time. The time never came. She never asked again. And I never noticed.

"Az, are you awake?" She whispers in the dead of night. Both of us sleeping on the bed. My back to her, hoping to fall asleep quickly because I have early training tomorrow.

Cassian is spending time with Nesta more, so Rhys has told me to go to an illyrian camp to check how things are going. I have to wake and go there early to catch them off guard to see what's truly going on.

I can't do that if Y/N doesn't let me sleep.

I didn't answer her that night, hoping if i dont respond, she'll think im asleep and doesnt call me again. She really didnt call me again. I prioritized my sleep over her. Her voice sounded so small. She needed me. And I didn't care.

"So, I saw a really cute baby in garden today and..." I drone out her babbling and try to quickly I can get out of here, I promised Elain to help in her garden today. She'll be disappointed if I show up late.

"Az? You're listening to me right?" She suddenly questions, I clear my throat and answer a small, of course, she nods and takes a deep breath, not saying anything anymore. I sign in relief of the silence.

I put my head in my hands and tug hard on my hair, wanting to feel hurt, hurt the kind that she clearly felt and I didn't care.

I hate myself more and more as memories flash through my mind. I can't even cry at this point. I wished she'd hit me when we fought. Slaped and paunched some sense into me. I don't blame her at all for not talking to me. Gods, I wouldn't even blame her if she left me. I deserve it.

How do I fix this?

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Taglist: @cleverzonkwombatsludge @crazylokonugget @going-through-shit @wallacewillow0773638 @kalulakunundrum @cat-or-kitten

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for planning to move out of my fiancee's place?

This one might be long so... sorry. Tried to sum it up the best I can. Hi, it's the anon moving in with the vegans. So my fiancee (20) and I (21) moved in with a pair of vegans, one of which has since moved out so now we only live with Sam (26).

Sam is polyamorous, and I thought I was too (although I now think I might be just aroace), and since moving in my partner has discovered that, unlike they previously thought when I was interested in someone a couple years prior, that they are also polyamorous, and have started dating Sam. I was totally okay with this, because I'm very poly-positive and wanted my fiancee to have a chance to discover themself and experience new things.

However, since moving in, they spend 90% of nights sleeping with Sam in their bed, and the other 10% in mine. I've been feeling really lonely about that, and expressed that, and they've responded that they've just been having a really hard time lately with their mental health, and that it's not personal. I'm trying to be supportive and understanding and patient, but I feel very isolated in this house.

Everyone in the house has chronic pain, although my fiance and I have more flare-ups than Sam does. But while there's a lot of leniency when they don't do chores, I'm still supposed to get all of my work done AND theirs, without my pain levels taken into account. This has led to me losing hours of sleep due to being expected to finish chores after getting home at 1am from my shift.

There's also the money problem: I am currently working two jobs to pay rent, and Sam makes triple what I do in salary. My fiancee only works one shift a week by choice, to pay for therapy, and thus doesn't pay rent. We are splitting rent equitably, so I'm not paying nearly as much as Sam, but still if I had the chance to cut back on hours at work to actually take care of myself (emotionally, pain-wise, actually having time to do my physio, etc) I would take it in a heartbeat. But I'm not dating Sam so I feel like there are a lot of double standards here.

I like Sam. They GM for our TTRPG home game and I have a great time. I sincerely don't want to lose those good times. But my mental health is at an all time low and I feel like a third wheel to my fiancee. I've known them for 6 years, we've known Sam for almost 1. I've started a tally of how often my fiancee sleeps in my bed vs in Sam's, and in the past 18 days, they've slept in my bed once. (I started the tally because I convinced myself I was making things up). That all said. I like Sam. But now I'm starting to have feelings of resentment due to... all of this whole situation.

This has led to me reminding my fiancee daily how much I miss them and how lonely I am, talking about moving out (they confirmed they would still live with Sam if I moved out), and being more vocal about my mental health struggles. I've started talking to my friends about it, so quite a few of them are in on the situation, and most people are advising me that I need to communicate more or that we just shouldn't get married.

I love them a lot and do still want to get married, but I also want to break up just because it's hurting to stay in this situation.

That got a lot away from me sorry, I'm probably missing some details, but I really want to know, am I the AH here? Should I be more sympathetic to my fiancee? Am I being unfair to Sam?

What are these acronyms?

[sorcerous-caress]

Hii I’m back with thoughts on the modern loser: You mentioned one instance of tying him to his chair in his home office and sucking him off even though he tries to keep that space neat and tidy in case of any webcam meetings. Now I am here to propose a consideration to you: You’ve stayed the night over the weekend and into the weekday, and he’s in the midst of a work meeting when you wander into the doorway. The computer is between him and you, with you standing behind it off screen and out of webcam view, but directly behind the monitor he has to look at and thusly in his peripheral. And for a moment you just watch him, observing that mask of graceful indifference he puts on when he’s playing the role of “Noble High Elf”, when you get the idea to test just how durable that mask is.

His eyes flickering and snapping up to you when you start to slowly run your hands over your clothes body, following the curve of your thigh then up tracing the bend and swell of your hip and waist. Over your belly, digging your fingers into your chest until your flesh bulges between your fingers a bit. Then back down the way you came but this time you slip your fingers under the hem of your shirt when they start to wander back upwards, slowly peeling back to bare the gorgeous soft skin you know he loves pressing his fingers and mouth (and cock) against. Painfully slowly pushing your shirt up to your collarbone, watching in coy amusement as his jaw goes tight and his eyes flicker with a wild helplessness as he fights to maintain his composure. Maybe even an inkling of a flush starting to creep into his cheeks.

Cupping your chest in the cradle of your fingers and kneading, grinning when his pupils dilate until only the faint ring of his irises are visible. Jiggling your body a little bit for him before dropping your hands to the waistband of your pants to give them the same treatment. Pushing the material down to your knees so everything between there and your collarbones is exposed for him. You barely even have to touch yourself at this point, just the sight of you standing there functionally naked has made that hazy, desperate expression you love pool in his eyes and you just know he’s already staining the inside of his trousers with his pre-cum just from your little mini-strip tease. His voice already sounds wrecked as he rasps out a haphazard excuse to step away from the meeting, fingers fumbling to mute his mic and freeze his camera before he nearly throws himself out of his chair, advancing on your naked body like a starving man would to a feast.

—🩵 Anon

Bullying a loser high elf is a full time job

Maybe you have no idea just how important of a position he holds on. He has never told you his last name after all, so you totally didn't recognise it all of those times you've seen it on newspapers or even on the tv news.

Elf embasidor to the human city? An important figure in this manufacturing company? A renowned scientist for his discovery in this one field? A whole dean of a prestigious elven college that recently started accepting humans? You don't know.

Like you've guessed he was rich a bit by human standards. He has a nice apartment and a car and can seemingly take time off whenever? But nothing made the impression that he was rich rich.

That's because you haven't seen the amount of money his human obsession burns through. He can't publicly buy things on his own, so he has to pay someone to pay someone to eventually get him that gas station human porno mag.

Elves are also really expensive- at least high elves are. Wood elves wouldn't have a cent to their name even if you robbed them at gunpoint. So Meluidil definitely thinks a banana costs 10 dollars because that is what they charged for it back in his home, inflation gets crazy when everyone and their grandma has the retirement benfits salary of 1000+ years.

That's why their economy is self contained. High Elves don't buy things unless from other elves so they don't crash the market. And smuggling human goods to him didn't come easily at all.

So since you have zero clue about all of this, you just decide to slowly chip at his sanity by teasing him whenever you see him busy with work.

Maybe he gets an important call from office and he can't ignore it? What's a better way to spend your time then to lock eyes with him as your hands slowly move down between your legs, fully touching yourself in front of him and edging your orgasm as he stares with his red ears twitching.

He's trying not to stutter, to keep this noble high elf facade with the caller. You can see a slowly growing stain on the front of his pants where his hard cock is pressing against. Meluidil's mind is blanking out as he helplessly has to stand there, leaning against the doorway and watching you masterbate. The second his call is over, he's barely registering the beeping coming from his phone before he's throwing your legs over his shoulders and meeting the heat between your legs. Sucking and licking as if it's his own true purpose.

-

Another time, when he was in a video call meeting in his home office. Something about how different he looked at they instance just drove you wild. He is usually so adorable and mellow around you, all needy and clingy.

But sitting on that chair, he was anything but that. A serious face, a proud stance with his chin lifted slightly and long ears on display. The hint of condcendion in his voice that all high elves are known for. Everything about him screamed nobility and high class, not once did he yawn or lower his posture. Each word was spoken carefully and each syllable held a melodic hint to it.

The people in the meeting listened when he spoke, waiting their turn and never daring to interrupt him. Even by the off chance someone was rude, Meluidil never raised his voice and it only took a look of discontent for them to immediately apologise for their inappropriate behaviour.

High elves truly represented power, wealth and social status in human societies. To even work besides one is a special opportunity because they have been alive for so long and have so many experiences and connections.

And here you are, staring at this all powerful high elf. Just out of range of the camera view on his laptop as an innocent smile graces your lips.

His breath audibly hitches when you're finally down to your underwear, fingers toying with the sides as you give a faux look of contemplating if you want to push it down or not.

He can see the hair trailing down your pubic area to disappear under the seam of your underwear. The way your shirt is pushed up to your chest, displaying yourself for him.

Meluidil's eyes widen for a second before he immediately realises how forward he has been leaning and fixes his posture, schooling his features back.

Oh but you just started, how much you'd love to moan his name and beg him to help you with this unbearable need between your legs. Beg for the powerful superior high elf to come help this needy human with their heat, they're just a helpless human who can't cum by themselves and they need this elf to fuck them into an orgasm.

But you take pity on the subtle begging look in his eyes as he nods towards his computer, you have mercy after all.

So you settle for slowly stripping off your remaining clothes. Stretching a bit as show off your body proudly, feeling his intense gaze on you, his hungry Lustful looks.

As a final touch, you walk clower to his desk, just a hair away from where the camera could see you. You bend down and pick a pen from the floor, giving him a full show and everything.

Leaving the pen besides his hand, his fingers almost shaking from this unbearable torture you're subjecting him too.

Eyeing the space between his legs under the desk, you look back at him. He's instantly catching on to what you're planning on doing, and despite what his rational mind is screaming at him to do, he can't help but spread his legs further and subtly unbuckle his pants for your to crawl between.

But you just smile, turning around and leaving him there with a painful ache.

[ereawrites]

Book Club - Kakashi Hatake

Bonus Chapter - Men Are From Mars

Genma is a menace to society, Kurenai is your guardian angel, and you're going to have a hangover.

word count 1.6k (9.2k words total)

cw: alcohol use

read it on ao3 here

The next week is mostly uneventful, until Saturday. On Tuesday, it's Haruki's birthday, so you treat your team to tayaki on the way home from training; afterwards, they all beg you for ice cream, even Toshiko (who never expresses much enthusiasm for anything). An evil spirit on a higher salary than you must possess your body, because you say yes, and then you're sure to send them home to their mothers just before the sugar rush hits them. 

On Friday evening, a chance encounter with Genma ends up with both of you drunk in a bar. He's incorrigible as he drags you down the street, ignoring your half-hearted protests. "Come on, (name)-chan!", he insists, shoving you through the door. He's always called you that, even after you punched him in the Academy for it. "Don't make me drink alone - that would just be pathetic."

"Here's an idea, Genma - stop pushing, you've got me in the damn building already! - you could just not drink?"

He looks positively scandalised. "On a Friday?" Kami, he's annoying, but at least he pulls out the bar stool for you once he releases his iron grip on your shoulders.

"You know that only works for jobs where you get the weekend off, right?", you insist, one last attempt to get home at a reasonable hour. He's already ordering two bottles of sake. Oh, well. If you can't fight it then you may as well accept it.

Genma has a way with getting people drunk, and within the hour you're both leaning heavily against the bar top - he's flushed red, as he always does.. You nudge him on the arm. "You look boiling. Why not take your jacket off?". You've already done so: yours was covered in dust from today's training anyway, not exactly Friday night attire. At least the long-sleeve beneath is somewhat clean.

He winks at you. "You're a woman. You know how the ladies love a man in uniform."

"Are you blind-?!", you blurt a little louder than intended, spinning on your stool to gesture out at the room, "-it's a bar on the shinobi side of town - half the guys here are wearing the exact same jacket!"

"Which means I've already got an advantage over the other half.", Genma quips, and you glare at him.

"Don't tell me you're going to ditch me to go flirt."

He pats you on the arm. "I wouldn't dream of it. I actually went out last night so I already got-" you intensify your glare and raise a cautionary finger, "...Well, you know. But, hey, that doesn't mean we can't find some romance for you, (name)-chan. That guy over there's been looking at you for twenty minutes."

Genma's voice is sickly sweet, dripping with honeyed glee. You follow his gaze over to the man and barely conceal a shiver. He was a couple of years above you at the Academy, if you remember correctly, and yet he only passed the chuunin exams last year. "Oh, please, no - you're going to have to kiss me to scare him off."

"No offence, but I wouldn't go there.", Genma replies, then sips his sake as if he hasn't just horribly insulted you. It's silly how the comment makes your pride flare - Kami knows you'd never go there either - but you can't help it, especially after alcohol. A reminder seems in order.

"You begged me to be your girlfriend when we were nine, Genma-kun."

He laughs loudly, throwing an arm around your shoulder just long enough to deter the older man. "And I never forgot how you turned me down! Good thing I'm so dashingly handsome, or my ego might never have recovered."

You scoff, half-joking. "Your ego is fine, trust me."

"And yours is fragile tonight.", he responds, gently shrugging his shoulder into you. You instantly shoot him an apologetic look, albeit a little confused - you two have always bantered, but now he sounds uncharacteristically serious. Have you upset him? "...For the record, I totally think you're hot."

You try to smack him on the arm, miss, and hit the edge of the bar instead. Genma bursts into raucous laughter again, so genuine you can't help but join in. "Please don't ever say that again.", you grin, cradling your sore palm.

"Don't worry. I wouldn't want to upset Hatake."

The smile drops off your face, and his widens even further. "No! Don't tell me you know too!". Genma has a reputation for playing matchmaker for his own entertainment, even when neither party is particularly enthused by the idea. You briefly envision him trapping you and Kakashi in a broom cupboard together, or telling Kakashi with all the good intentions in the world how much you like him. 

You pluck the senbon from his mouth and wave it threateningly. It takes him a second to register the absence. "Promise me you won't say anything to Kakashi. You know he's more skittish than a deer with things like this.", you insist. Genma swallows, still smirking. "I swear I'll stick this senbon right in your-"

"Alright!", he laughs. "But I do think you guys need to get over yourselves and just confess."

"I agree, Genma."

Oh, brilliant, it's Asuma. 

He emerges from the growing crowd, sliding in next to Genma and looking at you sternly. "It's been weeks already since you figured out his feelings. I know you planned to goad him into confessing first, but clearly that isn't working." 

Genma slaps an enthusiastic palm onto his knee. "He's right, (name)-chan! I mentioned your name to Hatake on Monday and he choked on air. It isn't right for a grown man to act like that." 

"Neither of you get it!", you reply indignantly, and wonder for a moment why you agreed to go drinking with a man who has never had a relationship last longer than a month. "If I just come right out with it so soon - oh, forget it, I need to talk to a woman about this. Asuma, where's Kurenai?"

Asuma, to his credit, barely flinches. "Kurenai? I don't-"

"Don't even try it, I know you're meeting her here-" 

Kurenai appears through the door promptly. Genma high fives you without even looking. The best thing about having shinobi friends is that they hear you call them even in a crowded bar; Kurenai swans over with the elegance of a woman who hasn't started drinking yet, squeezes Asuma's forearm by way of greeting, and chuckles at you and Genma.

"Started early, did you two?" You didn't think you looked that bad. But, when you give Genma a good look, you notice that his bandana is lopsided and his drink is dangerously close to tipping out the glass. 

"That's my fault, I admit it." Genma admits gleefully, never one for shame.

"Kurenai, help me-", you beg, seizing her hands. Her warm eyes crease with concern. "These stupid, stupid boys don't understand why I can't 'just tell' Kakashi I have feelings for him, rather than playing the long game." 

She furrows her eyebrows, giving the boys a good long stare. "How much have you had to drink? It's Kakashi. He'd go back to ANBU before he talks about his emotions." Although Genma scoffs and rolls his eyes, you don't fail to notice how Asuma hums noncommittally when Kurenai looks at him. Fucking traitor.

"Sure, he's ridiculous, but guys just don't respond well to that weird cat-and-mouse thing you've got going.", Genma reasons. You'd take that a lot more seriously if it was anyone other than him saying it.

Kurenai takes the drink that Asuma has ordered for her with a smile. "Say what you will, but I used that same strategy on Asuma here." 

Asuma blinks. "...What are you talking about? We had a mature discussion."

"We did-", she nods, sipping her drink and watching him flounder. "After flirting for two months.  You would never have confessed so readily if I hadn't laid the groundwork first." Asuma blinks again, then turns back to the bar and asks for something stronger.

"I love you.", you almost sob, dragging her into a hug. Women, Genma mutters as he turns to Asuma; you both ignore him in favour of catching up instead. It's nice to see Kurenai and even nicer to have some girl talk after an hour of Genma, but you're reluctant to keep her for too long when she's with Asuma, so you discreetly point out an empty booth on the far side of the bar after a few moments. Just as they're leaving you, she looks back over her shoulder, and you mouth tell me everything next time.

"Ah, (name), I almost forgot to mention.", Asuma calls. You and Genma both sway dangerously as you spin back around. "Kakashi wanted you to know he's expected back in the village tomorrow." All of a sudden you're filled with the urge to chase after him and grab him and shake him, and shout whatexactlydidhesaytellmetellmetellme- but that's ridiculous, and they're already gone into the crowd, and Asuma wouldn't entertain your Sakura Haruno-like-behaviour anyway.

Genma wolf-whistles, and hands you another drink. You hesitate - you can't handle your alcohol like you used to, and you're not sure if you're keen on Kakashi seeing you hungover. That won't have him in any hurry to confess. Then you remember that you'll probably see - or at least hear - Naruto tomorrow too, and that settles the matter. You drink deeply.

"So, how about you forget to wear a bra tomorrow? If that doesn't push him over the edge, I don't know what will." 

[nayialovecat]

The Ink Demonth 2023 - Day 30. Duck

Day 30. Duck Crossover: DuckTales "Let's split up," said Scrooge McDuck. Because what could go wrong? :D

In his "youth", Scrooge McDuck had so many adventures, sometimes accompanied by teenage Donald and Della Duck, that I assume they may have ventured into an abandoned, strange animation studio in the 1960s... Whenever I think about Della and Donald's past, I imagine her as a carefree, hyperactive girl running forward screaming "adventure" - and him as a sensible, prepared for everything, skeptical young man. Please don't deny my imaginations.

I love DuckTales. I watched this cartoon when I was a little girl - I even had a radio play based on a time travel episode on cassette. I learned to draw characters and their expressions using Donald Duck newspapers, using the tracing method on the glass. Comics about Donald was probably first I ever made. Donald Duck, his large family and, above all, Scrooge, whom I adored - this was a large part of my early childhood. Unfortunately, unlike W.I.T.C.H. my huge collection of Donald Duck and Gigants issues didn't survive - one day I discovered that my mother simply took everything and gave it to some library, hospital or simply threw it into the trash. I was very sorry :c

Let's talk about the DuckTales reboot for a moment. Generally, as an huge fan of various things, I am often quite skeptical about new products, reboots or new series and I'm strict in my assessment. Sometimes I will get into a new series, but often I will say "it's not as good as the original" (because very often it's not). But in the case of DuckTales, I think the reboot is wonderful. The characters have been refreshed, the nephews have gained individuality, Donald Duck has gained a much nicer character (just like Daisy). Sometimes a little voice inside me says "wait a minute, no, it was different in the canon" - but then I say to myself "but this is a different canon." There are three things that irritate me and I can't forgive for the reboot. The first one is Gyro. What the hell did they do to him? Where is my lovable, overworked scientist, too polite and gentle to refuse Scrooge a job for a miserable salary? No, Gyro is terrible in the reboot, I hate every single second of the show with him on the screen. The second one is Magica de Spell. Why is she completely, absolutely and totally evil? This was not the Magica whose adventures I read and loved! What did they do to her? Where is Magica's love for family (i.e. her niece)? Where's Magica, who treats Scrooge as her frenemy? Where's Magica, who cries her sorrows to her broom and is bound by a cursed fate to Number One Dime? They made her the main villain, completely leaving out cool criminals like the Beagle Boys! And the last one, but I should actually start with this... a drawing style. This one repels me. These square heads and crude drawing style irritate me terribly. But then I saw a new series of classic Disney cartoons featuring Donald, Mickey and Goofy - and I realized that there are worse drawn things. Of course, there are still a few things that irritate me, but I often dismiss them - and I enjoy watching the reboot.

Finally, I will just say that although I really like the past of the characters in the reboot, I am irritated by Della's character. I do not like her. Maybe it has to do with the fact that, being a mother myself, I give my child the highest priority - a woman abandoning her tiny children to satisfy her ambitions is something incomprehensible to me - I have neither respect nor pity for Della and I believe that family (or at least her children) should reject her and be unwilling to forgive her. I know that's a cruel opinion. I haven't watched the entire series, but the episodes I've seen of her return irritated me. I admire Donald's composure. I would probably totally beat up my sister if I were in his place. Della also annoys me in all the episodes with her and Donald's past. She's almost as annoying as Mabel from Gravity Falls.

Bendy and the Ink Machine (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. DuckTales (c) Disney Sammy and the Ink Machine (c) Nayia Lovecat

[indiejones]

OF 1940'S BOLLYWOOD'S CHILDHOOD FRIENDS -TURNED- (DIRECTIONLESS & LITERALLY NAMELESS) NEW PESHAWARI KIDS ON THE BLOCK! - OF VASUDEV & RANBIR ! ... OOPS ... YUSUF KHAN & SHRISHTI NATH ! ... OOPS ... DILIP KUMAR & RAJ KAPOOR!

Did you know that the Dilip Kumar- Raj Kapoor friendship goes back not just to their childhoods growing up close by in Peshawar, but to literally several generations back, with Dilip's Dad being best friends with Raj's Grand-Dad ie Prithviraj Kapoor's father, their ancestors in fact having grown up in the same locality all life.

Infact 'tis via this friendship with Raj's grandfather, Lala Basheshwarnath, that Yusuf's father came to crystallize his dislike for the acting profession as a whole, letting no opportunity pass by in unabashedly criticizing his friend's son Prithviraj's wayward ways, in front all & sundry incl Yusuf, in a profession that he regarded of loose moral values & low prestige, this outlook also borne of his staunchly orthodox Muslim views on life, also simultaneously being heavily politically involved in Muslim politics, alongside the Ali brothers, & a big supporter of the Caliphate Raj idea itself.

So anyway, once in Bombay to try his luck (for as he narrates, "any job available whatsoever in Bombay Talkies" (the story leading to which we've already narrated in our Dilip Kumar-Ashok Kumar blog), he landed up bagging not just any, but the main lead's role, for which was also offered a certain pretty handsome salary price. But what really set his interest going, was that this sum, was much much higher than the salary being received by his good friend & only person he really knew even remotely from the movies then, Prithviraj Kapoor's son, Raj Kapoor, who he was in regular touch with, & who'd been working as an Asst Director in the same studios for some time too! Which is why, as he humorously recalls, unaware of the (perennial) hierarchy btwn Assts & Heroes, he had to get it re-confirmed from studio bosses, whether this offered sum was a monthly or yearly figure!

Next problem though, remained in informing his father of this new job placement, which he knew, would be totally & utterly against his express & strongly held beliefs! And so, afraid of his father's wrath, decided to not tell his family of his new job placement, as long as he could avoid, a very important turn of events in the story, to what was to follow next - the naming of the new hero, a routine affair in Bollywood back then!

Studio bosses came up with 2 alternative names, Dilip Kumar and Vasudev!

Dilip recalls his immediate reaction being, "Anything but Yusuf Khan pls!"

He amusingly recalls, how he too, just like the whole world, would learn of his new, & forever re-christened name, from the morning papers of a month later. And Dilip Kumar was born!

Also re-birthing his old childhood bond with Ranbir (birth name Shrishti) now re-christened Raj from their kiddy Peshawar days, a time he would fondly recall in interviews many decades later, of those nascent times of 1945-46, when both these to-be pillars were yet wannabes-

Dilip says: "Both us friends lived in constant fear of what'd happen at the studio each next day. And he (that's Raj, being an Asst Director, & incharge of more petty matters) would keep harping on small things & what all could go wrong, & I'd keep scolding him for always bringing it up & spoiling my mood."

Dilip continues- "I also had a fondness for watching good films, many many times...upto 3 theater shows a day, & that repeated for many days, if a film fascinated me enough. While Raj was not of the same view. He found the repetition confusing, moreover and thought it a waste of time. I always defended myself, by pointing to the quality of films (intl & natl) being watched by us here, & the value of our purpose. Anyway, what I imbibed from my observation, as one starting out, was the minimal amount of acting being done. I recall him saying once, "Listen,what we'll do is change it. Do it differently, this & that..", & I immediately reacted, "NO. I WILL NOT DO IT. I JUST WON'T!" "

How was History to know, while one became the grand "Showman"of Indian Cinema, the other would go on to be called the loveliest & among the Greatest Method Actors the world's ever seen!

[cantuscorvi]

META + CANARY

( META   +  ) headcanon prompts // @distopea

Let's talk about some NPCs!

Raum has two drivers for his daily operations. Selena & Anton.

Selena ; daytime - drives him mostly for WC related things. She’s very elegant and puts on a stoic, professional persona for her job. A beautiful and competent chauffeur, she is the perfect tool for Raum to make an entrance with. When she walks side by side with Raum they look crazy intimidating, and some rumours surfaced when she was first hired, but there was absolutely nothing of the sort between them. Selena has a wife and a daughter, and sometimes shows Raum pictures of her 2 cats which he secretly kind of enjoys lmao. She is extremely reliable, punctual, Raum trusts her with just about any errand that he wouldn’t trust his PA with.

Anton ; nighttime - mostly for Canary related things although he’s also on hand for evening WC events. Employed longer than Selena and has been around for a long time, been through some hairy moments with the brokerage. He is a quiet, but tough Eastern European guy, and not very well spoken but his face is very expressive. He was around back when everything first started and has picked Raum up from some crazy and dangerous situations. Anton can often perceive what Raum wants him to do with just a shared look. One time when they were younger, he picked Raum up after a party, and Raum being absolutely drunk, tried to suck his dick in the car. Buuut in the end it didn’t go anywhere, Raum puked and passed out, and they absolutely don’t talk about it. Raum forgot all about it, but Anton totally remembers and kinda kicks himself sometimes that he didn’t accept Raum’s advances that one time.

Another fairly important member from Canary;

Mallard ; a penetration tester (that is, cyber security) who turned black-hat after he ran into financial trouble. After a routine test of the WC company security, Mallard had used a fake name to register himself into the payroll database of the company without telling anyone. He had been draining money from WC for years as a “salaried employee” before Raum's father died, and afterward the whole company was reshuffled. As a result he was ultimately discovered and Raum offered him a place in Canary rather than turning him over to the authorities. Nowadays, he is performing those hacking and security duties for Canary, and meanwhile helping to manage their database of information.

[letters-to-teaching]

Teaching in FL with standards while bi and liberal

Letters to Teaching

I hope very much that you will read all of this before commenting. I am a human being and have made my own mistakes, to which I have consistently owned up. That being said, 

CW for general shittiness of US, Florida, gun violence, mental illness, poor treatment of teachers and kids. 

Anyone have time/spoons for a frank and open conversation about teaching in the US, Florida in particular?

Still into it? Please consider whether you’re ready to consume this information. It may end up being surprisingly un-traumatic for you, but for me it’s both rambling and just ~a lot~.  Buckle up, star children. 

So yeah here we go. Diary entry or whatever. March 29 2023, in which I say a few of the many wretched things that have sucked in the last four years. This will take a while but I promise it’s all important. 

What follows is a brief summary of my personal experience and the desperate hope that I can fall in love with teaching again. The classroom used to be my most joyful place, but with each year, particularly after leaving my former position at a wonderful school, the profession that once gave me passion and purpose has increasingly become nothing but a cesspool of dread and broken promises. 

Frankly, my students and my program deserve someone like my 23-yr-old self: willing to do and give every particle of my being to teaching,. Realistically, those teachers shouldn’t be willing to do that. We are not able to do that. We all deserve better pay, more respect, and better training, both social and emotional. Our worth should not be determined by our productivity. 

I’m tired now. I’m so fucking tired and so incredibly devastated to see how much teaching, this school in particular (my alma mater), has warped me. Especially with the comparison between my former school’s response to COVID vs that of my current employer. Mine truly used to be an exceptional school, and I’m devastated to see how far it’s fallen. I thought I could be part of the solution, but here’s what has happened in my time here:

Year 1: accepted a job making the same salary ($46k) as my previous job bc I wanted to be close to my mom and I naively believed that this school shared my pursuit of excellence and inclusivity. Taught 7 classes with no planning period for no extra money. Helped colleagues navigate online challenges during COVID, hosted lunches and socials to help students connect in isolation, and designed entirely new curricula to best support online learning. 

Year 2: Forced (on threat of firing) to teach two periods of English with two week’s notice and neither training nor a textbook. Parents and students were vocal, toxic, and furious that I was drowning and couldn’t keep up with lesson plans and grades. Their concerns were valid, but the administration left me entirely without help. 

Year 3: Began with zero support /confidence and increased scrutiny due to my challenges from the previous year. Admittedly, this lack of respect and support did cause me to be behind often on grading and communication. Written up for (legally) discussing pay when I learned a coworker was making $10 less per hour than I was. Took on all of the classes in my program when my co-teacher (justifiably) bailed due to discrimination and poor treatment with literally a week’s warning, which led to me teaching a lunch class and another period with two classes at the same time for a total of nine preps. From day one, a group of students actively tried to get me fired and intentionally bullied kids away from my program. Admin refused to do anything and blamed me, taking away my entry level classes and functionally killing my program. I expressed that this decision ensured that there was no possibility for growth, but was again ignored without consideration. 

Year 4: intense criticism over the fact that I haven’t been particularly successful in my position. I fully admitted my own part in this. Constant terror that my contract means nothing in an at will state. Two new situations in which I am teaching multiple classes in the same period. This year alone I am generating curricula for 10 unique classes during 6 class periods. 

No matter what happens, I will always be honest. In this hostile environment, my grades ~were~ often  late in my second and third years. Parents complained, students actively worked against me, and I have been paralyzed with fear and largely unable to dig myself out. I am not blameless here, nor have I ever pretended to be. My frustration is the choice of my administrators to place every ounce of the blame upon me. My department chair was told that the classes which could save my program were taken away due to scheduling conflicts, while I was told that they were a punishment for my low recruitment numbers. Whatever improvements I make are ignored, while every mistake is a point of discussion. 

My own dean suggested that I get out as soon as I can. He sees the writing on the wall. 

The one breath of fresh air is the possibility of returning to the only school that treated me reasonably well. The school that I loved, the school I left to be nearer my mother. The school that, despite its own problems, I never forgot. 

The education system is broken. In ten years and three schools, my salary has gone up by $8k (now $46k) while my living expenses have skyrocketed exponentially. I am unable to purchase Expo markers or even notebook paper and pens for my students. 

Teachers and students risk our lives every day we set foot on campus. Our livelihoods are threatened when we speak out. 

I generally try to end posts on a message of hope, but at this point I am sincerely asking for help. America’s teachers are HUNGRY; we are TERRIFIED; we are THREATENED; we face DEATH each day. Help me. Help us. Be a voice for the voiceless. I beg you. I love you. I honor you. 

[rachel-zx]

Some Yunshi Work – Analysis and Little Study of Die Society

(Originally written in Chinese and roughly translated. There could be some translation differences regarding the quoted source such as the Holy Bible, or some tense errors.)

First of all, this article started on Sunday, 28 July, 2024, and ended on Monday, 16 September, 2024, and there was a month in between when I didn't touch it at all for personal reasons, so for something I don't remember much about the details I wanted to write. Secondly, the title of this combination(Yunshi is a person’s other name who wrote a sequel for the unfinished A Dream of Red Mansions) expresses the purpose of my writing this thing: DS, Die Society, since you can see this article, probably have seen DS? I guess? However, I would like to briefly mention to those who have not seen this series: DS is a self-made drama series that I have been watching, the producer is called Jim, and the protagonist is audience "played" (so the gender is uncertain, because I am a straight female, so the following default protagonist is a straight female), and the theme has strong religious and cult elements. The first season has ended, and the second season is in a hiatus. The story is outlined below.

The total time extend of the DS update has been nearly four years, and it has been a year since the last update, and there is still no news of the next episode. In the meantime, he's been updating other videos, and I almost think he's given up on the series. So, really impatient, I decided to do my own large-scale combing and analysis, to do a little of the work, that is, "Yunshi Work" - although the original author is still alive and well (A Dream of Red Mansions is unfinished because the author was dead.), and I have always wished him to live to the age of 140.

One. Season 1 story summary, clue collection and brief analysis

(The following "we" is the protagonist)

1. SIE1 - Ricardo's spin class

Synopsis:

The story takes place in California, and we come to a gym for a spin class with a trainer named Ricardo. He stopps us after class and tells us that the place is owned by Hugo Hoffman, a wealthy man whose house often hosts parties. Ricardo is going to hire a part-time job for the boss Hugo, the salary is very good, if we are interested, we should go to a Valencia woman for makeup, and then go to Ricardo's girlfriend Erisa to take a photo to Hugo for his approvement to go. In addition, Ricardo mentions that if we could go, there is a bad-tempered bodyguard at the door of Hugo's mansion, he can’t remember the name, and we need to tell him a password, called "hilarious". After that, Ricardo wishs us luck.

Clues:

a. " I can't get over this feeling that I've seen you somewhere before." - Ricardo

A short analysis:

The first episode is basically a setting, not a lot of information, just introducing five characters, including Ricardo, and a "feel like I've seen you somewhere before," but it's clearly not flirting, but creating a bit of a suspicious atmosphere.

2. S1E2 - Make-up by Valencia's Pool

Synopsis:

We find Valencia, who is wearing a necklace with the Hebrew symbol for Chai (meaning ‘alive’), and she begins to do our make-up. As she does the make-up, she tells us things. Mainly the relationships of several characters, such as the fact that Ricardo and Erisa are not really boyfriend and girlfriend, but just wishful thinking on Ricardo's part; that she herself was penniless in the beginning, and was taken in and rehabilitated by Hugo; and that Hugo is a man who is very tolerant of all lifestyles, and takes care of his own people out of starvation, and so on. She also mentions for us to be ourselves, to be a fire that would light the world on fire. After that she mentios that we are advised to keep a clear head before the party. Finally, she compliments us and tells us to stay out of trouble with the goon at the door, she says his name is Gabe, an Antipodean, and doesn't mention anything else.

Clues:

a. “Little Cherub.”- Valencia

b. Valencia mentioned that we have a hidden ‘purity’. (Too long to quote. Same below.)

c. “You are something very special.” - Valencia

A short analysis:

Valencia doesn't have much information in this episode, even though she talks all the time, mainly mentioning some interpersonal relationships between characters and character traits, as well as spouting off about Ricardo. It's worth noticing that here she calls us ‘cherub’, a type of angel, but our names remain unknown or undetermined until episode five, when our names (or codenames) are confirmed.

The second appearance of the ‘guy at the door’. (The vocabulary used is Antipodean, the first time I know this word to represent Australians.)

3. S1E3 - Elisa's social media photo taking

Synopsis:

After getting our makeup done with Valencia, we came to Erisa. Erisa was a goth beauty, said Hugo knew everyone. After a brief conversation, she began to take pictures of us. And then she said, we should relax at the party, and it's easy money, and she's done it before, and then Hugo gave her a real chancet, and she became part of the family. Finally, she said, before the party starts, eat and drink.

Clues:

a. "It's like a family. Beautiful beautiful family. And once you are in, he'll look after you, forever. " - Erisa

A short analysis:

There is even less information in this episode than in the first two, and the only contradiction is the name of Elisa the name, whether it is Elisa or Erisa. Till now, the characters have called her "Erisa", which is what she calls herself, but the title says "Eisa". She'll explain that later.

In addition, she mentions that "we are like a family, Hugo will always take care of you", which corresponds to the words of Valencia in the second episode, and also corresponds to the rest of the plot.

The first three episodes are basically background laying, the DS religious elements are basically absent, and the next episode is the official start of the story.

4. S1E4 - Hugo's Bloody Dinner Party

Synopsis:

We arrive at Hugo's front door and see the bodyguard who has been mentioned twice. He stopped us and we reported the "hilarious" password, which he said was incorrect and had to call Hugo to confirm our identities. He did a routine check on us and collected our lighter and mobile phone. Suddenly he said, if we do not want to come, we can go now, see we do not want to go, he says, if there is something wrong, or we drink too much, use the com in each room to call him in, and he will get us out. And he also says that we don't look like anyone who had worked for Hugo before. After that, he told us the password was not hilarious, but "Hail Eris."

After a burst of party music, all the previous bad omens were fulfilled - we have been kidnapped. Hugo, Ricardo, Valencia, Elisa are all here. They are dressed in fancy clothes, but Elisa refuses to wear a mask and is more rebellious. Hugo says that they worship Eris, and that we must sacrifice our blood and combine it with gold to give them eternal life.

Clues:

a. " You look a little different to the people who usually work for Mr. H. " - Bodyguard

b. "Hail Eris"

c. "This is Eris's habitat, and we are all propagators of chaos." - Hugo (This is the haunt of Eris. We are demagogues for chaos.)

d. " Your lifeblood. Combine it with monotonical gold. Super conductive property which allows our bodies to regenerate over time, and allows us to live forever. " - Hugo ()

A short analysis:

First of all, the bodyguard who appeared twice in the line appeared, and the words were madly implying that we had a problem with this party and we could leave. But at the same time, he said, "You look different," and that's part of the problem - where are we different?

Regarding this password, we can see that Eris is similar to Erisa, which makes it suspicious of Elisa's identity. Eris was the mythical goddess of chaos, and specific questions about theology and pagan rituals are discussed further below. Anyway, the main story finally begins in this episode.

5. S1E5 - Gabriel's rescue

Synopsis:

We were taken blood by Hugo, weak and dying, Ricardo was wearing headphones, listening to music, dancing in front of us, suddenly the front door bodyguard rushed in, shot Ricardo, grabbed us who was gradually falling into coma out. The next time we woke up, we were in his car. It was a rainy night outside. He said his name was Gabriel and he was going to take us to the hospital, but Hugo would send his goons Doom and Gloom to hunt us down. He saw that we had lost so much blood that he had to stop the car and bandage us up, explaining that he was with the Vatican Guard, an undercover agent sent to Hugo's house. He wasn't doing anything, and his superiors wouldn't let him, until us, he finally decided to defy his superiors and save us. After apologizing and explaining, he returned to the driver's seat, but by this time, the two killers had overtaken him, shot Gabriel, and stunned us.

Clues:

a. " Hey, Angel, Angel, stay with me, okay? " - Gabriel

b. "I'm on a mission from God." - Gabriel

c. "I'm in Swiss Guard." - Gabriel

A short analysis:

Gabriel's name officially came out, and he called us "Angel", which officially became our names/codename in the DS (I always suspected that we actually had real name and told Gabriel, we'll get to that when I write S2E3), but how did we become Angel? How did Gabriel know we were an angel?

Gabriel was one of the common "rescue characters" in the early era of Jim's videos (2018-2020), saving us from trouble and sometimes getting hurt themselves (I can count at least four of them anyway: Gabriel, Dimi, Hamer, John the Black Eye, and, if you consider the open-ended ending to be bad ending, Malenkee too).

By doing God's work, which he'll say again later, does that mean literally? Or is there some deeper meaning?

Swiss Guard - It's confusing here, the Swiss Guard has to be Swiss. Gabriel, how does an Australian get into the Swiss Guard? He'll explain later. We will come back to this later.

In addition, it is well known that the name "Gabriel" is an angel's name, and is the only character in the entire series to be named after an angel, which may or may not have a special purpose. He'll mention the name himself later.

6. S1E6 - Doom and Gloom's Torment

Synopsis:

Doom and Gloom are a couple. Doom's a mute. Gloom talks to us. First he took the phrase "Your boyfriend is kicking" to let us know that Gabriel was still alive. And then they started torturing us brutally to punish us for escaping. At one point he mentions a cousin named Eletta or Regretta (doubt it doesn't matter). He hurt us badly, and he ended up saying Ricardo was Hugo's son, and he got shot, so Hugo wanted a revenge. When it comes to revenge and "God as my..."as he spoke, a holy light shone on Gloom, who started to burn with smoke and died. Doom gets up in anger, only to hear sirens, and he has to leave.

Clues:

a. "God as my..." - Gloom

A short analysis:

This episode got little important, mainly shipping the couples(the line), and the final Holy Light. Why did the Light kill Gloom? Is this about us? Or did we call upon the Light?

7. S1E7 - Brennen's trial

Synopsis:

We were taken to the police station. One of the officers, Brennen, who was covered in bandages, approached us. He was kind to us and opened our handcuffs, saying that he was covered in bandages because he had been in a fire. Then he said the D.A. wants to see us later, his daughter's missing, he's in a bad mood, and we're accused of killing a federal agent and a federal marshal." We described the incident in detail, and Brennen was shocked that Hugo was the D.A., that his daughter was Erisa, and that we had killed his son Ricardo. Hugo started the fire in which his cat, Bootsy, died. Ricardo was a federal agent, he told us, and Grom was a federal marshal, also known as Ozymandias. We didn't cover for Gabriel, either, but Brennen doesn't believe an Australian can get into the Swiss Guard. Brennen, though, took pity on us, and he said he'd worked on human trafficking cases before, and when he found Hugo, he was called off by superiors. And then he decided to help us, but we had to see Hugo first. Brennen left.

Hugo started swearing as soon as he sat down, asking us where his daughter was, saying that it didn't matter that they were adopted. After scolding us for a while, he said, don't think he doesn't know what we are and what we can do. Then he threatened to kill us, swore and left. And Brennen managed to get in touch with Gabriel before Hugo could find us again, and he took us to the motel where Gabriel was staying.

At the Vatican, a masked killer priest gets word that Gabriel killed Ricardo. He said things like "Death to Satan," "Death to all," and fired machine guns into the air and laughed.

Clues:

a. "They call him Ozymandias." - Brennen mentioned Gloom

b. Hugo says he knows what we are, but we ourselves don't, and he knows how to use us and kill us. If we run away again, we'll be plunged into a cold hell.

A short analysis:

The main new character in this episode is Brennen, another of Hugo's victims who finally decides to help us. As for how he was able to contact Gabriel, I consider it as a minor plot flaw. He was burned by Hugo, and the name Brennen is also German for "burn." Fire seems to be a very important image, our lighter appears in almost every episode (later as well), and Valencia also mentions fire. But in all, it seems like a coincidence?

Ricardo and Gloom's identities are bit of exaggerated, but it doesn't affect the plot, so they're probably indeed dead. Ozymandias is an important image that actually refers to the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, known by the Greek name Ozymandias. Hugo has been using the words "bimbo" and "boy toy" to describe Gabriel, which is also funny to hear.

The words of the masked killer at the end and the information he received were in Italian, I can only figure out the general, hopefully not important information. So far, this is proof that Gabriel really belongs to the Church - he is about to be hunted down by the Church for disobedience. Or there is another possibility - Ricardo is an Italian name, is he connected to the Church? The Church is angry about his death? But that's very unlikely, and Riccardo is completely out of the picture, so he's probably indeed dead.

8. S1E8 - Psymon's treatment

Synopsis:

(This episode is one-hour long, and it's also very information-dense, so this part is going to be long.)

A new character appears in the opening credits, identified as Lucifuge Rofocale, from a book called Grand Grimoire, in which he is the Prime Minister of the great demon.

Brennen dropped us off at the motel and left, and Gabriel thanked him and turned to us and made a mean joke about how he looked like a mummy but the department was pretty inclusive. He started to get very close to us, and he called us Angel honey, in addition to calling us Angel. He said he thought he'd never see us again, but he survived by being a movie hero. He tried and failed to find us, and then Brennen got in touch. Gabriel was dressed as a priest, but with a gun. He explained that he was not a priest, that it was a cover. About the Swiss Guard - his mother was Swiss, he had served in the Swiss army, but he grew up mainly in Australia. Then he told us not to be angry, went inside, and wheeled out the missing Elisa, and it turned out that he had kidnapped Elisa.

As soon as Elisa sat down, she said we were demons, the exact opposite of Gabriel's angels. Gabriel, too, looked suspicious, and told himself that his boss was right, but immediately added that his task remained the same, that he would protect us. Then a phone call takes Gabriel away. Elisa took the opportunity to move closer and say that we were a demon, not an angel, that Hugo had always wanted demon blood, that we could trust her, that she was the federal informant and Ricardo wasn't, that she could contact the FBI and get us out, because Gabriel was insane and out of control, and why was he pretending to be a priest? And what would a priest do to a demon? Ricardo was bad, but he didn't deserve to die, and yet he died. Elisa said we can't trust Gabriel, not even the Swiss Guard thing since he's not even Swiss. About Ricardo and her and Valencia, Elisa said that Ricardo and she was adopted, her real name is Elisa, called Erisa because it sounds like Eris, the goddess of chaos. As for Valencia, she's dead. She's the one who called the cops to get us out of Doom and Gloom. And Brennen's cat Bootsy isn't a cat, it's his wife, and he has PTSD and thinks it's his cat. Anyway, Elisa really wants us to side with her, not trust Gabriel. But then Gabriel came back and said that the Vatican had excommunicated him and had sent men after him, but the good news is, he knows a shaman who can help us, and he knows about angels and demons. He left Elisa at the hotel and took us there.

Gabriel was waiting at the door, and we met Psymon alone. Psymon's name sounds like Simon and he says he's going to explain it to us, but we can't laugh or we're leaving with our boyfriend (shipping again). He said he changed his name from Simon to Psymon in the '90s. Then Psymon put the name thing on hold and told us first that we were not a demon but an angel. Then he dispensed a capsule of mercury to us, told us to take one immediately, and then went on to tell our story. He said that he had seen a real angel in Cape Town, and that he could hear a loud chorus, and that many people had seen them, and they had seen different things. His friend took a video, and it was a seraph, but it wasn't the same as what Psymon saw, either, so after that, Psymon went from pharmacist to shaman, believing in the supernatural. He said that when angels come to earth, they rarely remember their identity, only have beautiful qualities, and only know how to do good, but when demons come to earth, they remember their identity, know their purpose, and strive to do evil. Then he took out a notebook full of alchemical stuff, incantations, symbols and rituals, and mentioned that angels were made of mercury, sodium, and sulfur, and pointed to a symbol and said this is our symbol, the angel symbol. Then he made sodium and sulfur capsules, saying that mercury corresponds to our nerves, sodium to our blood, and sulfur to our bones. He says if we can remember who we are, we can go back to heaven. Finally, he gave us a capsule called the "Heaven’s Gate". If we or others took it, we or people who took it would immediately leave our bodies and ascend to heaven. He also told us that if we die on earth, we must obey the rules of mortals, and not necessarily go back to heaven, but possibly to hell. Finally, he wished us and Gabriel good luck.

Back at the motel, Gabriel discovers that Elisa has run away. He said Psymon had confirmed his belief that we were an angel and not a demon. Meanwhile, Gabriel says he is not an angel, but has come to do the mission of God. But at that moment, there were machine-gun shots outside the door, and Gabriel immediately realized that it was a masked killer sent by the Holy See and took us into hiding.

Clues:

a. " And it is- Father Gabriel, he has got a good ring to it huh? " - Gabriel

b. " I was in the military and my mother is Swiss, French-Swiss. They have national service there. " - Gabriel

c. " So my boss was right... the mission stands, I'm here to protect you. " - Gabriel

d. " He's insane." - Elisa mentions Gabriel

e. " Hugo owned all the orphanages. " - Elisa

f. " He calls me Erisa because it sounds like the god he worships, the god of chaos. " - Elisa

g. "Y You are the first one that's real. " - Elisa

h. " You should always look your best. You never know if today's your last. " - Gabriel

i. " You are not a demon. You are an angel. " - Psymon

j. "This angel, she descended onto the street." - Psymon

k. " When an angel dies, they come to earth... you have not descended from heaven with a chorus of angelic song. You are here because for whatever reason, in heaven, you died. " - Psymon

l. " When the angels come back to earth, they don't know what they were. But when the demon comes to earth, they remember. " - Psymon

m. " That means that if you die and you have done something questionable, or standing poor faith or judgment with the lord, you could go to hell. But it also means that anyone who you're associating with could go there too. " - Psymon

n. " I'm not an angel. But I am here to do the work of God." - Gabriel

A short analysis:

It's a long, information-dense episode. But Jim likes to play unreliable narration, and Gabriel and Elisa are at odds with each other, so can Psymon be trusted? Although at present I think Psymon's credibility is relatively large, he gives too much information, DS does not seem to be enough to carry such a large volume of unreliable narration, unless it is written as The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but at present it seems that Psymon is not like it. And combined with Psymon's ending, he doesn't seem to be lying, at least he's giving the truth from his perspective. Or maybe, Psymon's not on our side, but he's probably giving us all the right information, or nothing wrong.

And first, Gabriel's appearance in this episode is my favourite appearance of Jim's character. Secondly, the editing of this episode is also very smooth and the production level is very high, but Jim's equipment was not quite up to date at that time, and the white balance is constantly changing. But the cons do not obscure the pros.

Now let's see the plots. I kind of feel like Gabriel's suddenly so close to us, but maybe it's just a sudden plot development. Does he really like us? Or is there a purpose to it (I'm shipping them anyway)? At least the first season is still very confusing (in the second season, Gabriel's character seems to have changed and become less complicated, but since it's not finished, I'm not sure about the second season). It's a pretty far-fetched explanation of the Swiss Guard, and if that's the case, then he'd have to be a Swiss citizen, but a guy who grew up in Australia, did his national service in Switzerland at 18, and then ended up in the Swiss Guard, which is kind of cool, and it sounds crazy but it can be done anyway.

Elisa came out and told us a big information that we were demons. At this point Gabriel's "So my boss is right" line is worth thinking about - who is his boss? The Pope? The Pope thinks we're demon, or Hugo's looking for demons, so why does Gabriel immediately identify us as angel? The mission remains the same, so what was the mission of the Pope before? Is it "protecting the demon"? Or is that Gabriel's way of saying he won't change and will still disobey the Holy See? The first season, if anything, left Gabriel's identity and purpose as a big mystery (again, Season 2 seems a little more prosaic, which is a pity). Then Gabriel gets on the phone, and Elisa gives us more information. According to the rest of the story, Elisa's claim that she was a federal informant is almost credible. And the resemblance between her name and Eris is a clue. The roles of Ricardo and Valencia are officially closed. Plus, Elisa doesn't believe Gabriel will actually help us, which is quite a contrast to Season 2 (which, of course, has a completely different storyline from Season 1, so it's hard to say). Gabriel's "never know if it's the last" is a little bit "If Psymon says you're a demon..." The detail is kind of interesting.

What Psymon says, which we assume to be true information, then becomes the principle of DS: On earth, angels do not know their identity, demons do. It is through this that Psymon confirms that we are angels, otherwise we would not have been killed this way. But again, is there a unreliable narration here? After all, the main character is the audience, and we can't talk. What if we actually remember who we are? Or remember a little? Let's just go with what Psymon said. Psymon mentioned that we died in heaven, so we lost our memories and came to earth, and if we die again, we may go to heaven or hell. That piece of heaven's gate also seems to be a foreshadowing, but so far, the main story doesn't mention it.

Finally at the motel, Gabriel says again that he is on a mission from God and that he is not an angel. So what is God's task? After all, he had disobeyed the Church, which had excommunicated him. Besides, is it possible that he was also an angel, one who had lost his previous memory? Being the only character to be named after an angel has denied it twice. But there is no other evidence for this either. And according to the following plot, Gabriel's number of murders is not small, not like Psymon said what an angel would be like.

In addition, there is a symbol in Psymon's notes that he says is our angel symbol - which, according to the search, is actually the symbol of Lucifer. It is well known that Lucifer was an archangel who fell into the form of Satan. So in this episode, we can pretty much confirm our angel-demon duality. Episode 8 is important.

9. S1E9 - Masked Killers and monsters

Synopsis:

Thanks to the ytb comments section, I saw something new at the beginning that I skipped - a few more symbols in the opening credits, the mercury symbol, the Demiurge (we'll talk about this later), and the Philosopher's Stone (Psymon mentions it).

The first half of the show is us hiding in a closet with Gabriel. The plots are shipping they two too still. And Gabriel says our hair smells good, needs to borrow our conditioner, goes on and on about how scary this masked killer is. The masked killer came in and said Gabriel's name, that he had betrayed the church, that he had betrayed him, that he would find him and kill him. In the middle of the tension, Gabriel gave us a kiss, didn't feel comfortable for a moment, and then started apologizing. Finally, the killer leaves without finding anyone, and Gabriel and we get out of the locker. He said nervously that it was a machine gun, fortunately the killer left. And then he asked us to forgive the inappropriate kiss. That's when a woman, claiming to be the FBI, pulled a gun on Gabriel and took us both away.

In the second half of the episode, we come to Venice Beach. The place is called Venice California, and a man with sunglasses paces irritably in a mansion, saying something about dino or dinner and cursing. He received a phone call from Hugo, and scolded Hugo, saying that he would go over to Hugo to solve the problem of the demon, and bring the demon to him. Then he ordered his men to prepare the plane and brought two men on board. There's a voice in the background, which could also be pagan or criminal human trafficking, which makes him seem to be Hugo's superior.

The camera then cuts to Psymon's lab, where a cold-eyed man is reading Psymon's notes and becomes intrigued when he sees the Lucifer symbol. Psymon's voice drifted off and said it’s you Sam, that if he'd known it was him, he wouldn't... But without letting him finish, Sam shot him. Sam said he was looking for the love of his life.

Clues:

a. "You betrayed the church, you betrayed me." - the masked killer

b. "If I'd known it was you, I wouldn't..." - Psymon

c. "I'm looking for the love of my life." - Sam

A short analysis:

This episode of Gabriel's scene is not too much, mainly on the road to shipping them two further. Hugo's sunglasses boss calls himself "Hermon," but I'm not sure if that's the name, consider it as it is. What he said was so vague that I couldn't make out what it was, whether it was dino or dinner, whatever it was, we didn't know what it meant. And Sam and Psymon seem to have known each other before, and Psymon seems to be trying to say something, but he's killed before he finished. Sam is officially introduced here, a mysterious character who has appeared in only two episodes of DS. If the "love of his life" is us, then who is he? Who are we? Why does Psymon know him? What is Psymon regretting now? Jim's cat comes out at the end, but I think Jim was just loving his cat here, so I won't mention it about the plots.

As for the name "Hermon," I'm not sure I heard it right. There is a mountain called Mount Hermon on the border between Syria and Lebanon. In some myths, the palace of Baal was located here. In other texts (the Book of Enoch), fallen angels descend on Mount Hermon.

10. S1E10 - Tikvah and recruiting informants

Synopsis:

The female FBI agent with the name tag Naomi Tikvah uncuffed us. Tikva, Hebrew for "hope." She said we weren't in trouble, we didn't kill anyone, we were victims of a criminal organization that trafficked people. Gloom died of an aneurysm. He said Gabriel killed a lot of people, that he was unhinged. And even more so with the man in the mask, a war criminal. She pointed out that what Gabriel seemed to be saying was true, that he did work for the Vatican, that we had become somewhat close to Gabriel, that Elisa was an FBI informant, and that Hermon's name was William, and that he and Hugo were using their power to run a criminal business. And now that Elisa is in Hugo's control again, Tikvah wants us to help her and Elisa in exchange for Gabriel's reduced sentence, which is fine if we stay out of it, but Gabriel will go to jail. She hopes we can help, get to Hugo, save lives. When we said yes, she gave us a microphone and told us to say the password "Ozymandias" (yes, the same as Gloom's nickname) if things got out of hand.

Clues:

a. "The code word is Ozymandias." - Tikvah.

A short analysis:

This issue is not very informative, but with a few puzzles, one of which is the cause of Gloom's death. We saw the light with our own eyes. But Tikvah said he died of an aneurysm; The other is the code. Why Ozymandias, too? Because Gloom is a federal marshal? And from her we learn that the Hugo’s business was a cult and crime syndicate, and next time we face Hugo again in order to save Elisa and Gabriel.

11. Gunfight in Hell

Synopsis:

The opening of the episode is a big difference from previous episodes, using a similar format with a cast list, with each character appearing, but the arrangement is a little strange. The characters are Bill (William), Doom, the masked killer priest, Sam, Valencia, Hugo, Elisa, and Ricardo. Can't find any pattern, not based on life or death or appearance in this episode, I don't know if it's intentional or not.

Tikvah checked with us at mic that the signal was clear, and we went inside, where we were met by a sad Doom at the door, who saw that we were angry, but received orders to let us in anyway.

Hugo was even more angry when he saw us, saying that his life had been a mess since he met me, and how we could cause him so much trouble. At this point, Tikvah prompts us to come in another man, it is Bill, still swearing, and asks Hugo who Elisa and we are, Hugo says Elisa is his daughter and we are the demon, Bill is very angry, and says why Hugo pointed a gun at his daughter, and the demon is already here, so why bring him here, he ate a whole person on the plane (depending on the tone, Maybe they actually ate them). At this point, Tikvah again suggested that there was a person at the door who seemed to pop out from nowhere. It was Sam. He came in and said we were the love of his life and didn't belong to anyone. Bill started teasing again about how it was like a restaurant. And to make matters worse, the masked killer showed up. All hell broke loose. Sam started shooting. Tikvah asked us what was going on, and if necessary, gave out the code. Hugo and Bill hide behind the couch, Elisa goes down, and Sam shoots Doom. The man in the mask shot Sam in the cheek. Bill and Hugo are scared, and Bill keeps cursing and telling Hugo to shoot the man in the mask. Hugo, as if afraid to shoot, shoots the masked man, the masked man shoots back but doesn't seem to hit anyone, and Hugo shoots again, knocking the masked man down. Sam got up again and began to say a strange spell. Bill shoots Sam, the picture shakes, Bill falls, and we are plunged into darkness. Tikvah called off the operation.

In the darkness, a mysterious voice said it was coming to clean things up. Several characters appear separately. First Bill says something nice, then dino/dinner and repeats it, then Hugo says something about us being his children and loving us; Then there was Sam, who still called us lovers, and asked us if we wanted apples, if we wanted them cut; And finally, Elisa, she said she just wanted to be loved, and she thought she'd get it with us.

The camera goes to hell, and there's Baal the demon. He gave us a good lecture, told us we screwed up, and we thought we were angels. Big D is disappointed in our father, and he is disappointed in Hermon (not sure here), Sam is perhaps the most like Lord, and Eris is not here. And we are the devil traitor. He also confiscated our lighters.

Clues:

A. "A demon who has been sowing the seeds of chaos around town." - Hugo mentions us.

b. "Neo-Nazi prick"- Bill mentions Sam

c. "Minimal blood, a living body... Long live Satan. (Sanguis minimus. Corpus animus... Satani.Ave.)" – Part of Sam’s spell. Originally Latin, can only figure out part of it. Imcomplete.

A short analysis:

This episode is more or less informative. There's not much new. The first question is, what is the masked man doing here? Shouldn't he be looking for Gabriel at the FBI? Or does he think we're easier to find? But it seems like he's not just trying to kill us, which means he's really crazy. And then there's Sam's incantation, which is actually a black mass, but it's a celebration of the devil. Next thing, I don’t know if it was because Bill killed Sam, or because of the black mass, we went into a dark place with Bill. Four characters appear in turn, which I understand as a kind of spiritual communication in limbo. In hell, Baal's words are worth investigating, it seems that Bill, Sam, and Elisa are all related to hell. I didn't quite catch that part either. It was a bit of a trouble. It's like we're a demon who've forgotten who we are. The first season came to an abrupt end.

12. A brief description of the Season 1 Recap video

At the end of 2021, Jim released a recap video of the first season of the DS, briefly introducing the contents of the first season and preparing for the second season. There's something interesting about Jim's wording here.

In the first place, speaking of Valencia and Elisa, it is said that they both showed sympathy for us, perhaps because they felt sympathy for the fate we were about to face.

Second, the phrase "spurious tales" is used to describe Gabriel's claim that he worked for the Church.

Third, that Glom was killed by holy light, not an aneurysm.

Fourth, that Psymon healed our wounds by feeding us mercury. (Because the original plot says mercury corresponds to nerves, it seems that there is just a bit of a difference in the setting here. But well, tt's not a short time since Jim has a chaotic memory or remembers the plots but doesn't care about corresponding them.)

Fifth, Jim himself summed up Psymon's words as - demons do not tend to live on earth, but angels who die in heaven will be reborn on earth and start a new life, because they are on earth, so if they are guilty, they may also go to hell.

Sixth, and more importantly, Jim called us "Astarte." We'll talk more about that later.

Two. Season 1 story summary, clue collection and brief analysis

Only three episodes have been updated for the second season, reportedly cutting the original six episodes to four. I don't know how Jim is going to wrap up so much threads of clues in the next finale episode... The overall style of the second season is also completely different from the first season.

1. S2E1 - The Hellhound

Synopsis:

The opening credits of the second season are great, and the music is great. Notably, the opening credits feature a woman wearing a star crown, which will be mentioned later.

Malcomb House, Los Angeles, December 22, 12:32 p.m., we, as a rookie constable, followed Detective Charles Holmes to investigate a homicide in which the victim was Dr. Malcomb, and we are now at his home questioning Mrs. Malcomb. The detective had an arm in a cast, which was a little inconvenient to record, and we were new, so we had to record. The detective and Mrs. Malcomb went over some of the details of the case.

That day, Mrs. Malcomb is taking the kids to school, and Dr. Malcomb is doing his daily routine before going to work. He has a memory problem. He remembers the big things, but forgets the little things easily, so there are stickers all over the house. The doctor showered that morning, brushed his teeth, made sandwiches, then took his medicine, blood anticoagulants, drank coffee, read the newspaper, and about to feed the dog. When he was about to feed the dog, the attacker burst in, shot him, and let the dog go.

The detective finished his review and asked Mrs. Malcomb if anyone would have thought to let the dog go. It is also mentioned that the FBI may be involved because this case is similar to another random killing spree they have on hand (same person, different locations, close timing). But if she wanted to contact him, she can contact him still and give her his card. Finally he wished the wife a merry Christmas.

The camera came to the car, we were driving, the detective sat in the passenger seat, took the child's toy gun/lighter to lit a cigarette, joked about why he loved to say merry Christmas inappropriately, and then began to analyse the case with us. He first said the woman was lying. And then he asked us if we noticed that dog cage, big and gorgeous. This case is about a kid doctor with a perfect family, and all of a sudden a maniac kills him, and then the dog is let go. Very strange. And there was no sign of forced entry at the house, similar to a recent case. The detective figured the FBI would take over, but he wanted to find out for himself. Finally, he asked us if we remembered D.A. Hoffman's disappearance many years ago. Then there was a crash, and in the darkness we heard a strange sound. End of episode one.

Clues:

a. "What you mean about the victim's wife? Yeah, she's lying." - Holmes

b. "Did you see the dog cage?" - Holmes

c. "Do you remember the disappearance of D.A. Hoffman?" - Holmes

A short analysis:

Looking at this episode alone, except for the last sentence, there is really no connection to the first season. Malcomb's memory problems, I don't really know if they're important, and why would Mrs. Malcomb lie? Where did she lie? I don't know. And the episode is about the dog. Malcomb's death was probably all about releasing the dog. So, what kind of dog is it? The title says Hellhound. What about the specifics? What's the role? Unknown. The episode also buried two clues: the recent killing spree, and the absence of a forced entry.

2. S2E2 - The Bwytawrdrwg

Synopsis:

The title of this episode is in Welsh, and it's actually two words without a space between. At that time, I estimated that many people were confused by the title, and this episode did a narrating all the way, resulting in a very poor amount of views, which directly led to the hiatus of DS. See below for a detailed explanation of this title.

The episode begins in a hospital, where a doctor is banging on about how our pupils don't respond, our brain looking good in MRI, and how we somehow look dead. There was nothing they could do but let nature take its course.

Southern California Hospital On December 22, at 6:45 p.m., the story officially began. The detective was stopped by the doctor for smoking, and he wished the doctor a Merry Christmas and turned to us. The detective said the accident wasn't our fault. The important thing is we're okay. During the afternoon, he looked into some more clues. He told us about a man named Richard Hart, who appeared to be a big charity man, but was actually a Nazi, a big war criminal, whose real name was Carl Reinhardt. This guy's been dead for 20 or 30 years, but just recently, someone dug up his body, burned the remains, and one of the things they dug up at the excavation site was Dr. Malcomb's. So the killer got from Malcomb's house to the cemetery within 12 hours of doing all of this. And in the exhumation scene, there was a priest, and he was the one who dug up the body. While having a priest in the cemetery is no big deal, the detective also mentioned that Malcomb's house was secured, but the killer didn't force his way in, so there was no sign of it. In addition to family members, salespeople, and public servants such as the police, the most likely to open the door, is the priest. So what we're looking for here is a murderer priest.

Then, the detective mentioned that D.A. Hoffman went missing all those years ago. It was an FBI operation, Hoffman engaged in criminal activity, the detective was a junior officer at the time, and an old colleague of his, Brennan, was involved. The prosecutor's daughter was involved, and his son was killed by a priest. Hoffman, his daughter, a murderous psychopath from nowhere, a masked maniac, and a Hollywood producer all disappeared, leaving the scene in chaos. There were a lot of bodies, one of them a priest, wearing a mask. The Vatican then covered it up with the FBI, and the female agent in charge of the operation was relegated to clerical work.

The detective said that he thought there was a connection between the current case and the Hoffman case, and that he planned to find Brennan, who had left the service, and that he knew the priest. Finally, he said there was something strange about the recording at Malcomb's house, and he played it back for us, and it was the voice we heard at the end of the first episode. We're having trouble staying awake. We're unconscious again. In the darkness we saw a figure that seemed to be a vicious hound.

At the end of the second episode, Gabriel is praying, and his voice is extremely vague, and I only managed to record part of it by asking questions in the YTB comments section. Anyway, it was Gabriel praying to Erisa saying he can't do this anymore, help him, she knows why he's here. A woman who appears to be Erisa says someone is approaching and someone is dead. Gabriel didn't understand, Erisa went on, please don't leave them, "he" was satisfied. Finally, Erisa said, Gabriel, someone is watching you. The scene ends immediately.

Finally, at the end, a book was opened, in which a number of names were recorded, some of which were crossed out, and the rest of which were written, respectively, Moloch (the evil god associated with fire and human sacrifice for Baal, and the literary image of war mania), death (the important religious concept, gave birth to the hell-hound with Sin in Paradise Lost), Abdiades (mentioned in the Book of Chronicles, with a literary representation of an fallen angel), Dragol (seems to be spelled that way, but no reference is found), and Methuselah (an extremely long-lived person mentioned in the Bible). One hand scratched out Moloch's name with a pen. End of episode two.

Clues:

a. "Someone dug up the corpse of this Nazi and burned the remains." - Holmes

b. "What about priests? You trust them, right?" - Holmes on no sign of break-in.

c. If we are right, then the missing persons in the "Hoffman case" mentioned by Holmes are Hoffman, Elisa, Sam, Doom, and Bill, in that order, and the dead priest is the masked man.

d. "Brennan, he knew the priest." - Holmes

e. The whole conversation between Gabriel and Erisa is obviously important, but I couldn't figure it out completely, but it's what it says in the synopsis.

A short analysis:

The initial views number of this episode was very poor. It was also after this episode that Jim began to procrastinate DS, dragging out the third episode after a year and a half. But it's a very informative episode, and it's starting to connect to the first season. A lot of clues really can only wait for Jim to explain, even if I analyse again and again, such as this Carl Reinhart in the end and what is the identity? I don't know. The only war criminal mentioned in the first season was the masked man, but first, if he was a Nazi, he "must be a hundred years old" (so said Gabriel), and Reinhart has been dead for decades, and the man in the mask died at the Hoffman murder scene. But then again, there is no clear time between the second season and the first season, maybe it has really passed 20 or 30 years?

A bunch of characters disappeared for unknown reasons. Sam's Black Mass? Besides, why is the masked guy the only one who hasn't disappeared? Because he's a priest?

In addition, the detective speaks about the Masked man as if he and Gabriel are the same person (because the masked man and Gabriel are both dressed as priests, and the detective refers to them as "priests"), but they have been in one picture together before S1E9, and from the point of view of Season 1 as a whole, this is not possible.

That strange sound and the image of the hound were obviously important too, but there was no clue as to what they were.

How did Gabriel and Elisa end up together again? Didn't they fight each other before? It's weird what happened between them. They seem to be asking each other, Gabriel asking Elisa for help, Elisa asking Gabriel not to give up on them. Besides, who is this "he" that Elisa is talking about? And who was that looking at Gabriel?

That last list seems to have a lot to do with the Bible and Paradise Lost. At this point, the religious concept of DS has become more and more extensive, from the gods of primitive religions to the religious culture of modern times. The religious element is mostly over in this episode, and the next one is just as confusing and exciting.

3. S2E3 - Vatican City Karaoke Night

Synopsis:

Adelaide, Australia, a few years ago. This time we were a bartender, looking at a gaunt priest with long hair and a beard standing on the stage, trying to sing but unable to sing, being booed off the stage for the second time. He came to us, and asked for cigarettes and wine. We gave it to him, and he asked if we'd met before, and immediately explained that he wasn't hitting on us, that he was a priest. Besides, his heart already belonged to another, and it's not God. It's just that we remind him of someone a long time ago who was a lot like us. He said his name was Gabriel, but first, we weren't allowed to call him "Father," which sounded too old, and second, he was adamant that we weren't allowed to call him "Gabe," only Gabriel. He asked again if we had met and said we were just like the person. The person has been gone a long time, and he was very close to the person, but the person is not dead, only missing. Gabriel asked if we'd ever seen a person disappear into nowhere, and then he again asked for a drink. He said something about tithes, and then about how he had worked in the Vatican for a long time, and how the Swiss Guard had karaoke nights – sing Hail Mary before a mission. Then he said that even if he was drinking now and wanted to throw up, he always felt that we had met him before, and he had met that person in the United States when he was on a mission. So he's here to sing and drink because he's here to work. Then he went to the loo. Meanwhile, the hound vision that appeared in the first two episodes flashes again.

When Gabriel came back, he asked us for more cigarettes and started talking. He said he had met the Pope once, another Pope, smoking a cigar, in the Vatican (Vat, or VC). He gave a terrible example, he said that when he met the person, it was like having a pet, he didn't care before, but as soon as he saw the person, he felt unconditional love in his heart, unconditional to be able to kill. So he defied the Vatican's confidential orders and went to protect that person. He was always there to protect that person, but in the end, he wasn't there when that person needed him most, and he failed. And when a man loses something, he has to go to the last place to find it, and that's what he came for, to the last place, to find his angel. He said he was an invisible priest on a mission and knew that the angel was alive and that he would find the angel and that he would never give up.

Later, Gabriel mentions Psymon's rule from Season 1 - angels don't know who they are on earth, and demons do. It was up to mortals like him to help the angels. And Gabriel sounded like an angel, but it hasn’t any relation, and then he asked us what our names were, and when he got the answer, he said, "Funny then. Coincidence.”

Finally, he decided to go on stage for the third time, and before that, he asked us if we were sure we hadn't met before. On stage, Gabriel sang a Hail Mary, and all of a sudden he pulled out a gun and shot us. Before the scene turned completely black, we heard Gabriel say, "I found you/I'll find you, Angel, I found you/I'll find you." (24. 9. 24 edit: it was "I found you".) The third episode ends. DS updated to this, once again entered the indefinite hiatus, has been a year.

Clues:

(There really isn't much to dig into this episdoe... Because it's basically a recap of Gabriel's experiences from Season 1, and then a follow-up to shipping Gabriel and Angel. A few notes briefly below.)

a. "I'm not coming on you. I'm a fxcking priest. Besides, my heart belongs to another. No, not God." - Gabriel

b. "Not Gabe, don't call me that. Gabriel." - Gabriel.

c. "VC, some call it." - Gabriel

d. "Go to the last place. That's where I need to be. That's where my Angel is." - Gabriel

e. "It’s up to us mortals to shine a light on that grace, and let them know what they are." - Gabriel mentions angels don’t know who they are

f. "Gabriel, yeah like the angel, no relation. What’s your name? Really? Funny then. Coincidence." - Gabriel

d. "Oh I'll ask one more time just in case- are you sure that we haven't met before? Alright, if you say so, if you say so." - Gabriel

A short analysis:

I still remember the mood and the scene I was in when the trailer and video came out... Now the ending is so far away, it's excruciating...

As we can see, this episode is Gabriel's solo, and it's mainly about what happened between season 1 and season 2, and the new plot is the shot that was fired at the end. People who don't like Gabriel are definitely not interested in this episode, and fortunately or unfortunately, I'm a huge fan of Gabriel. So waiting for the sequel is also very anxious.

In this episode, Gabriel's lines are all about finding someone until he finally says "my Angel", and the lines are great. Clue a and b seems to imply that Angel is the person, and only she can call herself "Gabe" Anyway, Angel is missing, and Gabriel is desperate to find her.

If there's anything in this episode - first of all, Vatican City is a VC, just like Venice, California, so let's hope Gabriel doesn't have anything to do with Bill. That would be crazy. Second, does Angel have a name? From the line "coincidence" we can see that the Angel seems to have a real name and told Gabriel, she or the bartendeer can't be called just "Angel" right?

The main problem in this episode is one line - is the last line "I found you" or "I'll find you"? I have asked several native English speakers about this word and they are not sure what it is (the moderator too but till now she hasn’t replied) (24. 9. 24 edit: Em replied that it was I found you.). But the line is uncertain, and Gabriel's motive for shooting the bartender is uncertain. If it's the former, then the "Have we met before" and the "coincidence" lines all make sense, but the shooting doesn't make sense, because Gabriel is looking for Angel, and if the person in front of him is Angel or an resurrection or something, and it's so hard to find, why shoot her? If it is the latter, then the reason for shooting could be some unknown preparation to find Angel or something, maybe we are demons (after all, there is the hound in the middle of the video), but the lines at the front thinking we are familiar do not make sense. All in all, the plot is tantalizing.

With that, the synopsis and brief analysis of the first and second seasons concludes.

Three. Try to collection the theological background

Next is the most difficult part, and very awkward – one of Jim’s mods Em majored in theology. Here I am to write these, maybe it will be what they learn. For those they didn’t, they can directly ask Jim himself, the final explanation.

There were no Jstor papers or whatnot for reference, and I didn't have a university network, just wiki. So the following are basically wikis.

I really don't know where to start.

1. The Malenkee Saga, The Origin of all Things

You can't talk about Jim's creation without mentioning the TMS mentioned above. Of course, TMS does not have an official Chinese translation name, it is simply TMS. It was Jim's first long series, running for a staggering 23 episodes, and the only finished long series. The theological and pagan ideas it has are likely to have been carried over to DS, after all, the first season of DS was released immediately after TMS.

In TMS, the protagonist Malenkee experiences a series of dangerous events (actually, these events are the main story, but we're talking about paganism and theology here), gradually awakening to various abilities, including time travel, and finally discovering that she is Astarte, so she confronts demons and saves two people who saved her in the past. During her time travel, she met a man named Aleister Crowley. This person is historically real and is one of the purposes of my mention of TMS. This man lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and founded a pagan religion called Thelema. This concept is probably important. First, because Thelema is actually similar to Gnosticism. Gnosticism is very complex, I understand it as an unorthodox dualism, and a lot of mysticism is affected by Gnosticism; Second - because Jim had the Thelema logo tattooed on his arm... (Right arm bend, left arm bend is the star of the octagon, Sumerian "heaven" "god/goddess", also used as a symbol of the goddess Inanna. And this Inana is basically equal to Ishtar, which is equal to Astarte.)

2. The trailer picture for the season 2

Jim posted a trailer picture for Season 2 on both Patreon and Ytb, featuring a framed photo of Hugo and Elisa together.

Clues include: Jupiter's mark; The ancient Greek word for hope; Two codes, translated as "No Revelations" and "No Salvation"; Two Bible passages, "The Beast of the Sea" and "the whore of the Beast"; The apple of chaos; "Demiurge"; Father Gabriel's reflection in the framed glass.

OK… So let's start with these clues. Then look at the elements in the film.

a. Mark of Jupiter: Speaking of Jupiter, the first thing that comes to mind is that "Jupiter represents Zeus", but the impression is that the DS series is not much related to Greek mythology, most of it is upstream Greek mythology, such as Canaanite mythology such as the older, and downstream such as Christianity (and Satan) such. Where have we seen similar symbols in two seasons? S1E8, in Simon's notes. He supplied us with mercury, sodium, and sulfur. mercury is not compatible with Jupiter or tin (if you must say, Mercury is Jupiter's son?) . And Astarte? Astarte's representative planet is Venus, representing the god Aphrodite/Venus (Astarte developed into Greek mythology as Venus), representing the metal is copper, and it does not match.

Later sections on Astaroth and Baal also mention Jupiter. See below.

b. Ancient Greek "Hope" : In the feature film, only Naomi's surname is "Tikvah/Hope"; in Greek, hope is "Elpis", which is also the name of hope in Greek mythology, and "Spes" in Roman mythology. The last thing left in Pandora's box was hope.

c&d. No Revelations. No Salvation: Revelation is a book in the Bible, the book of Revelation. Salvation is not, and the only thing I can find about no salvation is the phrase "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus," which translates to "there is no salvation outside the church," and the biblical phrase "there is no salvation except him." These two lines are written under Elisa and Hugo. I'll talk about Elisa later. What does Hugo have to do with the phrase "no redemption"? Or is the placement of these two lines just a coincidence? In the feature film, the only thing I can think of "outside the church" is Gabriel's excommunication.

e&f. "Beast of the Sea" and "Beast's Whore" : The original text is two pairs of numbers, and it is easy to see that this is a format for recording Bible passages, but which book? There's only one revelation in this whole picture. So you see the corresponding sections of Revelation, the original text respectively (excerpted from the combined text) (translated from Chinese so it can be different from KJV) :

"When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will make war against them and overcome them and kill them."

"The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the Kings of the earth."

Revelation is the last book of the Bible. It talks about the end of the world, the rebirth and the battle between heaven and hell. The original text of Jim is 11:7 and 17:18, but the original text of 11:7 is "the beast of the bottomless pit." "Beasts of the Sea" comes from 13:1-10. But there is a view that these two beasts are one, both "antichrists," who receive their power from the "dragon," Satan. At the same time, the beast in 17:18 also came out of the bottomless pit, and can generally be regarded as the same beast in 11:7.

The term "whore of the beast" refers to the "whore of Babylon" in 17:18, as explained below.

g. Chaotic Apple: The story is well known - a golden apple sparked a dispute between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War. And this apple was left by Eris, the goddess of chaos. The original image shows Hugo wearing a necklace of golden apples, indicating his worship of the God of chaos.

h. Demiurge: The word "demiurge" has been mentioned before, and it appears in different philosophical schools, but here we look at the Gnostic Demiurge. Why? Because the image of the Demiurge that emerges from the opening of S1E9 is a Gnostic art. In Gnosticism, the physical world is created by the Demiurge and the spiritual world is created by God. The Demiurge was seen as inferior and malevolent.

In some Gnostic texts, the Demiurge is called "Yaldabaoth", meaning "son of chaos". It also has a name, Samael - a name that reminds me of Sam. Combined with Sam's mystery and his black Mass, he could really be the embodiment of some kind of evil power.

Besides, could the Big D that Baal was talking about be the Demiurge? Quite possibly. But in that case, would Sam be such a high-level figure? He's good and mysterious, yes, but Sam's in charge of Baal? Doubt it.

But in fact, the logo in the original image is a Chi-ro symbol, representing Christ.

The Demiurge concept is so complicated, it makes me dizzy. Sort these out first. I feel that if I want to study the A Dream of Red Mansions, I must be in Figurist school...

i. Gabriel's reflection: This is nothing important, presumably indicating that Gabriel is also looking for Hugo and Elisa, and that he is important in Season 2, after all, he also appeared in the season 2 opening credits (Gabriel is in the DS, I think is definitely the male lead right...). .

Gabriel in the reflection is very young still.

3. Season 2's Opening Women & Babylon Whores (and Dino speculation)

The second season opens with a woman wearing a crown of twelve stars, a woman also seen in Revelation, who is described as being clothed in the sun, under the moon, and wearing a crown of twelve stars, and being attacked by dragons who want to eat her soon-to-be-born child. It is widely believed that this woman refers to the Virgin Mary (the child is, of course, Jesus). So is there an image of the Virgin in the feature film? The only surviving female in the feature film is Elisa, and we can basically identify as female (although Jim has been using neutral words to refer to us, after all, the audience has all genders, but according to my observation, in Jim's only two big series (The Malenkee Saga and DS), the main character is still more regarded as female). And which of these two characters can match Maria? Honestly, I don't really see it. It's possible that Jim just added this image to enrich the picture, or it could have a different purpose.

The Babylonian prostitute mentioned above needs to be supplemented. She is "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth", It is the symbol of "the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth". One of the things about this woman in the book of Revelation has something to do with the film, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus". It corresponds to S1E4's blood-taking scene, although I'm not sure if that scene was some other pagan ritual. With more vivid thiking: Bill had called Elisa "whore." I don't know if that's a hint.

Crowley appeared in TMS founded Thelema, she is called Babalon, is marked by the Holy Grail (and the blood in it), and the mate is Chaos. A Mass in Thelema refers to "faith in Chaos, the father of our life, created by fire," "Faith in Babalon, the mother of all," and "faith in the serpent and the lion of Baphomet" (in fact, the serpent and the lion are also figures of the Demiurge, and the Baphomet is traditionally the head of a goat).

About Babalon and Thelema - Thelema has sex magic associated with her, and in the synopsis, Bill repeats "dino" or "dinner," according to a hearsay (hearsay because I heard it from another subscriber in early 2021), someone asked Jim about this but got no answer; Another hearsay said that the dino was a ritual food associated with sex magic. Well, that fits Bill's profile, and it has to do with Thelema, and it fits the tone of the story. As for whether it's true or not, I can't be sure. I've been looking for a long time but I can't find anything about "dino". Maybe it is just a random name Jim gave.

To add to some Crowley's interpretation of sex magic - according to Kenneth Grant, the mixture of female bodily fluids and semen produced during sex with a scarlet woman or Babalon is known as the elixir of life. Another form of this Elixir is the Elixir Rubeus (abbreviated by Crowley in his magical diary as El.Rub.) composed of menstrual blood and semen, known as effluvium of Babalon, the Scarlet Woman, which is the menstruum of the lunar current.

I'm often not creepy enough to fit in you magical guys.

4. Astarte and Lucifer

I've already mentioned it, so here's a quick summary - Astarte = Ishtar = Inanna = Venus the Planet = Venus = Aphrodite.

Interestingly, Lucifer also means "morning star" or "Venus". Lucifer is relatively widely believed to be the fallen angel Satan, combined with the "angel-demon duality" of the main character mentioned above, can we say that we are a character with Astarte, or Lucifer's characteristics? Or is it one or the other, or a combination of the two?

In the Sumerian myth Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, Inanna was able to descend to the underworld and return to heaven.

(The above is written on the third night, and here is written from the fourth day, did not sleep well in the morning, dreamed of a good theory about Sam and the Demiurge, and forgot after waking up...)

5. Astaroth

Although this guy only appeared in TMS, but talking about DS still have to talk about him...

As mentioned earlier, his name is derived from Astarte, but he is not a naturally occurring figure of evil in history, but was created by medieval demonology. In demonology, he may rank alongside Beelzebub and Lucifer as the first Grand Duke of Hell, and possibly as "one of the sixteen Princes of Hell", among other versions. He is powerful and "appears in the form of an evil angel, riding on a hell dragon and holding a serpent in his left hand". In some demonology schools, he rules over the evil forces of Jupiter (" Some demonology schools, "meaning" Kabbalistic texts, "I see at least two sources that say" in the Kabbalistic texts, Astaroth rules over the adverse forces of Jupiter, "but the Kabbalistic texts, I didn't go into what that was. Isn't Kabbalah Jewish philosophy? But it's not the first time demonology has been developed from the philosophy of religion.)

Here's an excerpt from a Tumblr post explaining it:

"What is a qliphoth? Well… In the Kabbalistic cosmogony, between our human world/mortal existence and God the eternal and almighty, there are several… “steps/passages/points”. Key points, metaphysical doors and thresholds, powerful cosmic crossroads – each one associated with a given planet of the Solar system. Together, they form the “Tree of Life”, the structure that ties together the universe. Each of these points has a positive and negative side: the positive side is the Sefirot, a holy manifestation of an aspect of the world as prepared, planned and desired by God, as well as of a major virtue. We are talking kindness, wisdom, discipline, glory, victory, etc… The negative side is the Qliphoth, an impure spiritual realm, a manifestation of an aspect of evil, the polar opposite of the Sefirot. Each sefira has its angel, and each qlipha its demon. Astaroth is usually considered the archdemon ruler of the Gamchicoth, the demons of the qlipha of Jupiter: this qlipha opposes “chesed”, the sephirot of righteousness and mercy manifesting the unlimited benevolence and kindness of god. As a result, Astaroth can be considered to be the demon manifesting the inverse of kindness, or the opposite of love between people, an entity of hate and hostility that destroys all mercy."

Let’s say thank you to this online theologist.

6. Baal

The word "Baal" originally meant "Lord" and was later denounced as a false god in Christianity and Islam. The name Beelzebub, the king of Flies, can be split into Beel/Baal and Zebub/Flies. In demonology, Baal has the image of a human head, a cat's head, and a toad's head, which is probably the source of the cat ears worn in Jim's two Baal videos.

There are different myths about Baal's spouse, but one is that he was married to Astarte. Another theory is that Baal's spouse was his sister Anat, although there are similarities between Anat and Astarte.

Baal also practiced invisibility in The Lesser Key of Solomon, mentioned below. Reminds me of Sam who "came out of nowhere" (Naomi) "I'm looking for the love of my life"... But this book says that Astaroth can also make you invisible...

7. The Lesser Key of Solomon

This is a very famous witchcraft book, which contains a list of seventy-two demons, the first being King Baal, and the twenty-ninth being Duke Astaroth.

8. The Grand Grimoire

The new opening image mentioned above at S1E9 is from the" Grand Grimoire ". Much of the material in this book comes from The Lesser Key of Solomon. The first part contains summon demons and let them to obey, the second part contains signing a contract with demon. There are also some soul talk, to be loved by girls, winning the lottery and spells to make yourself invisible. (Why does it feel like Sam's identity adds another layer of possibility, that he might not be a great demon, just a practitioner of the dark arts? who really likes the protagonist or the angel/demon that the protagonist represents?) The book also mentioned the three big demons, Emperor Lucifer, Prince Beelzebub, and Archduke Astaroth. Baal is listed under Astaroth.

9. Gabriel

(Ah, definitely my favourite character...)

Gabriel in the canon Christianity is undoubtedly a very positive image, first of all, the name means "man of God", and as the angel of the Annunciation, he is also the angel who reports to Mary about the conception of the Holy Spirit, the overall image is not so full of strength as in the DS. In the Book of Enoch (a non-canonical text) mentioned above, Gabriel is depicted as "in charge of all power." In short, Gabriel is a very benevolent and positive figure in the Abrahamic Canon and related Gnosticism (occasionally fights in the Book of Revelation, though not mentioned by name, but he is definitely present. It is Armageddon, no one can sleep in...).

In addition, Gabriel is the guardian angel of messengers, radio and telecommunications workers such as radio and television, postal workers, clergy, diplomats, and stamp collectors (in this way, Gabriel is somewhat similar to Mercury).

I tried looking for Gabriel in demonology, etc., but no, he's basically a messenger angel and a powerful protective angel.

10. Cold Hell and Dante's Divine Comedy

Hugo had previously mentioned a cold hell in the DS, and this was mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy - the last layer of hell is cold and dark.

11. The title of Paradise Lost and DS2

Not Paradise Lost by Junichi Watanabe.

Some of the scenes in the DS bear some resemblance to Milton's Paradise Lost. Like fallen angels. The season 2 episodes are titled "The Hellhound" and "The Bwytawrdrwg", meaning "Hellhound" and "Evil Eater/Sin Eater" respectively. The title of the second episode is spelled Bwytawr drwg and translated as "Bad eater" or "Sin eater". The sin-eater appears to have originated in Welsh culture and refers to a person who eats a ritual meal at a funeral to take the sins of the deceased. Or - in Paradise Lost, death and sin give birth to hounds of hell, which in turn eat the insides of sin and can be considered sin-eaters. So the titles of these two episodes have something to do with Paradise Lost, although I still don't know why they were written in Welsh.

12. Material entity three elements

A famous medieval alchemists Paracelsus put forward a claim, the three elements of material is "sulfur for sou, mercury for spirit, salt for body". That's what Psymon was talking about.

13. Gnostic sundry

Add some possible both Gnostic and DS related content

Sophia is a character of gnostic texts, she represents the sacred feminine principle, but for some reason "fall", and "Demiurge" was born.

Gnostics believe that they are "divine spark", needs to be recalled and inspire from the material world.

Gnostics believe in reincarnation.

Gnostic is related with karbarra and alchemy.

Gnostic doctrine has affected the poetry of William Blake. As a student of romantic poetry in English literature, Jim has done a video about William Blake.

Four. To conclude

In fact, I originally planned to write a "possible outcome of the finale", but finally found that it is too difficult. I really can not analyse it, or have to wait for the author to wrap it up. Of course, I can do this “Yunshi”, but the quality of his sequel compared with the original text is obvious to all.

And, God damn it, isn't that the kind of work you're supposed to do when the author dies? Jim is very much alive. Why am I writing this? - But he won't continue, I am just waiting...

Anyway, here's a list of the characters that have appeared, and the ones that I personally think might correspond:

We/Angel - We were definitely called Astarte by Jim, but according to the previous article, we are also very likely Lucifer. Also, there are similarities to the Gnostic Sophia. Therefore, let us just consider her to be a high goddess (or angel) with both divine and demonic qualities.

Gabriel - There are all sorts of possibilities for Gabriel's identity, but here I'm leaning towards Occam's Razor and thinking that he is indeed a mortal. While there are questions about who his boss is, his original "mission from God," and so on, for now, let's just say he's an excommunicated mortal who's going to find us anyway.

Doom and Gloom – consider them mortal. Gloom's death by the light reflects our divinity.

Sam - This guy is harder to guess than Gabriel. Here's an exaggerated guess- Sam is the Gnostic Demiurge, or something like that, like an angel named Samael.

Psymon - consider him mortal, but what he says matters.

Brennen - consider him mortal.

Bill and Hugo - it's hard to say, I'm inclined to think of them as pagan mortals, but the hierarchical relationship between them in the original film is a bit of a concern.

Valencia - consider them mortal.

Elisa - the Goddess of chaos? There are not many references to the Goddess of Chaos in the whole DS, and if she is considered to be the goddess of Chaos, it is more difficult to relate to the whole DS. Elisa's appearance at the end of S2E2 is very noticeable.

Ricardo - consider him mortal.

Naomi - consider her mortal.

Mask Man/Mask Priest - consider him mortal. Maybe war criminal mentioned in season two?

Detective Holmes – consider him mortal.

Mr. And Mrs. Malcolm - although doubtful, they only appear in the lines, and there are very few clues.

Bartender - Depends on what Gabriel's last words are, whether they're "found you" or "I'll find you."

New cop - almost certainly the reincarnation of Angel.

...So, with so many lists, the ending is actually still no clue. How do we remember being an "angel" in our past live? Will Gabriel remain outside the Christian Church, or will he turn to paganism to save Angel? Who the hell is Sam? Is he gonna show up? When will Elisa's identity be revealed? How to solve the mystery of two seasons? What would Brennen tell Holmes? Will it end with another war between characters?

There are many more questions than are listed here. At the beginning, I added that it has been actually more than a month since I began to write this, most of which I have dealt with personal things, and this article is also very messy, and it is not a reference. There are a lot of things that come to mind because of memory confusion, probably not written down. And there are too many religious backgrounds involved, so if I didn't finish writing at that time, my energy would go a little weak later... In short, a thousand words add up to a sentence - update the sequel, Jim...!!

[molsons112000]

So when I was interviewing at the cheesecake factory in 1996 They were Offering me seventy-five thousand plus bonus. First year I would make around a hundred thousand...

Now in the resorts, we made somewhere in the middle 20 dollars per hour in 1997. Servers, all the tips went into a tip pool. We did not get tipped by individual clients... Now the bartenders at Lowe's. They got tipped and when I bartended at Radisson I got tipped. The Phoenician the bartenders were not allowed to take tips.

So this is right a server at the cheesecake factory makes about $38 per 🤔 hour!

People also ask

How much does Cheesecake Factory pay per hour in California?

Get feedback on your pay or offer

The estimated total pay range for a Host at The Cheesecake Factory is $16–$20 per hour, which includes base salary and additional pay. The average Host base salary at The Cheesecake Factory is $18 per hour.

https://www.glassdoor.com › The-C...

The Cheesecake Factory Host Salaries in California - Glassdoor

How much does a cheesecake factory server make in tips?

$38

Pay Type

Range % of Total Pay

Base Pay$18 - $27 59%

Tips$12 - $22 41%

https://www.glassdoor.com › The-C...

The Cheesecake Factory Server Salaries in California - Glassdoor

So average, we take five days of work, eight hours a day, forty hours total of $1,520 per week 😑

So if they work fifty-two weeks a year they would make $79,040 🤔 per year. That's almost eighty thousand per year..... That is average pay.... Some people make less fifty percent say, and another fifty percent make more....

And maybe I was starting at a higher pay in the mid seventy thousand plus bonus because I had lots of experience...

I'm bringing this up because I was looking at the pay for Panda Express..... So how much do you have to do for this type of pay?

Economic Policy Institute

https://www.epi.org › productivity...

The Productivity–Pay Gap

Over these decades, the pay (wages and benefits) of the vast majority of workers rose in lockstep with economywide productivity. This tight link

How are pay and productivity related?

As productivity grows and each hour of work generates more and more income over time, it creates the potential for improving living standards across the board. In the figure above, pay is defined as the average compensation (wages and benefits) of production and nonsupervisory workers.

https://www.epi.org › productivity...

The Productivity–Pay Gap | Economic Policy Institute

The link between productivity and pay. They say is strong I agree..... But no matter what I do I work for god.... But yes people build up ill will. It's not that I appreciate it. The low pay and my overproduction should have got treated correctly. And I should have gotten paid handsomely... 😪 🙄 What they did was screw me..... They totally screwed me and they overpaid. Everybody around me and they truly did overpay the people around me. I was doing my job and everybody else's job....

The Aspen Institute

https://www.aspeninstitute.org › ...PDF

The Link Between Wages and Productivity Is Strong

by MR Strain · Cited by 24 — Employers enter the labor market because they need

[theshillongtimes]

Air India Express row: 74 flights cancelled as cabin crew members continue strike

New Delhi, May 9 : Over 70 flights were cancelled on Thursday following the mass sick leave taken by the cabin crew of Air India Express, sources said.

“A total of 292 AIX flights will operate today, 74 stand cancelled,” sources told IANS.

The airline’s cabin crew went on mass sick leave claiming that despite promises of job security, salary preservation, and recognition of seniority and expertise, there has been a noticeable deviation from these assurances.

[abhishekdigi-blog]

Specific Requirements for apply canada pr visa if i am a Nurse

Canada is well known as the land of opportunities. The best part is that countries that offer skilled workers permanent residency, including nurses with ambitions of living and working in a friendly and developed country, extend such an opportunity to Canada as well. Besides, the healthcare sector and the nursing deficit are important factors contributing to the migration of nurses.

This article is supposed to guide nurses who want to be permanent residents of Canada. Here, the first part of the discussion will touch on the two principal routes to immigration – the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) through Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) – to include a complete description of their prerequisites, bring out the application process involved.

Why Canada for Nurses?

Canada's universal healthcare system forms a base for a steady demand for professionally competent nurses. The country offers favourable work environments, decent salaries, and leadership development opportunities. Moreover, the permanent residency program provides citizenship in Canada, so one cannot smell the scent of a successful and content life.

The Two Paths to Getting Permanent Residency

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) through Express Entry:

The Express Entry fastens the application process according to the merit-based point system through which the candidates are ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). This will serve as a system that will award points for criteria such as age, education, experience, skills, and the pre-arranged job in Canada. Nurses with more successful certifications will be granted more time to perfect their files.

Critical Requirements for FSWP:

·Educational Credentials: Your foreign nursing training must go through the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA) to compare RN nursing license equivalence. As part of the process, prospective employment typically requires you to provide such credentials as transcripts, course descriptions, and a letter of reference from your nursing school.

· Work Experience: Having at least 12 months of successive employment in National Occupation Classification (NOC) 3011 – Registered Nurses (RNs') assigned in the last ten years is mandatory.

· Language Proficiency: Being fluent in English or French is more probable to become a recruit. You have to pass the approved language scores examination, and there can be many like the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index (CELPIP) or the Test d'Evaluation de Français pour le Canada (TEF). The minimum requirement for nurses under Express Entry is typically a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 7 in all four abilities: reading, writing, listening, and pronouncing.

· Educational Credential Assessment (ECA): A credential report (ECA) that a designated organization will bear will attest to your foreign education.

· Funds: Once in Banff, you are expected to prove that you have enough financial means to support yourself and your family. The individual amount has to be computed by dividing the total by the number of family members.

2. Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs):

PNPs are immigration programs designed by the provinces of Canada to address the regional trend of labour force deficiency. Several provinces focus particularly on nursing, helping nurses qualify for the faster permanent residency route.

Advantages of PNPs:

· Lower CRS Cut-Off Scores: However, compared to Express Entry, some PNPs may have lower CRS cut-off scores, and consequently, you will have a higher possibility of Being Invited to Apply (ITA).

· Targeted Programs: Some nursing programs in most provinces were made for nurses, which usually coincided with a smooth application process.

· Employer Sponsorship: Working with healthcare employers in a province that offers a PNP program can enhance your credibility.

Exploring PNP Options:

Every specific PNP has its eligibility criteria and an application process for people who want to immigrate. Prudently start by searching for programs that offer work in provinces with high nursing rates as the first option. Some popular choices for nurses include: Some popular options for nurses include:

· Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP): Refers to the AINN stream that is open only to the RN internationally educated.

· Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP): Nurses with occupations in the SOID stream who are given priority will be the persons to be nursed.

· Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP): The Express Entry Manitoba (EEM) branch caters to nurses who practice in the specified medical aspect.

The Application Process:

Regardless of the pathway you choose, the general application process for permanent residency involves:

1. Gathering Required Documents: These can be employment reference letters, educational certificate transcripts, results from language tests, the ECA report, documents proving the actual financial funds a student has, and a medical examination.

2. Creating an Express Entry Profile (FSWP) or Applying Directly to a PNP:

3. Receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA): Else, if your Comprehensive Ranking Score is above the lowest score of the Express Entry or your Prince Edward Island application has a successful process, they will provide you with an ITA.

4. Submitting a Permanent Residency Application: Detailed questions must be asked, other documentation must be submitted, and biometric data must be countered.

5. Medical Examination and Background Checks: You'll take a detailed medical exam, and your criminal records will be reviewed.

6. Landing Your Permanent Residency: Once your application has been approved, you'll receive a COPR document, the gateway into the country and the beginning of a fresh chapter in your life.

toward

Profiles announced to be invited directly by MPNP under the Strategic Recruitment Initiative.

[menonassociates]

Superannuation Advice Australia

Superannuation Advice Australia can provide you with advice on mortgage payments, retirement savings and insurance. It can also help you consolidate your super and choose a suitable investment option. It can also help you understand the risk return trade off.

Major life changes such as birth or death of a partner, buying or selling property, changing jobs and receiving financial windfalls are all important times to get good advice about your superannuation.

Choosing a super fund

Choosing a super fund is a big decision that can impact not only your superannuation advice Australia savings but also how those funds will be used to achieve your future goals. Whether you’re selecting an existing fund, the default option, or a self-managed super (SMSF) account it’s important to consider fees, performance, and the insurance offered by your chosen fund.

It’s also a good idea to compare super funds and their historical performance. This means looking at the return on investment for each fund – which is usually expressed as a percentage - and ensuring you’re comparing net benefits. This includes all administration fees, member fees, and investment fees.

It’s a good idea to review your options regularly and consider switching funds if it’s financially beneficial. This is especially true if you’re changing employment or are in a stapled super fund.

Consolidating your super

Superannuation is Australia’s system for saving money for retirement. Employers pay a percentage of each worker’s salary into their super fund, and the money is invested until they retire.

You can also add to your super by'salary sacrificing' some of your pre-tax income, or by contributing from your after-tax income. There are limits (called 'caps') on how much you can contribute each year. You can also access your super before retirement but it’s important to get advice and meet the rules.

Industry superannuation funds got a better report card from the Royal Commission into banking and financial services and often have lower fees than retail funds. Some offer choice of insurance offerings that can be tailored to your particular circumstances. Other funds, such as SMSFs (Self Managed Super Funds) allow more control over investment choices but they are time consuming to set up and manage. They are best suited to people with large balances. The government's MySuper product is a simple and cost-effective balanced option for the majority of Australians.

Investing in your super

When it comes to retirement, your super is one of the biggest assets you own. It’s important to take care of it well. This includes knowing how much you’re paying in fees and if you have insurance in your fund. It’s also worth checking that your investments are aligned with your goals and that you are on track to meet your retirement savings target.

The government offers a series of tax breaks to encourage people to save in super. These include a low rate of tax on contributions, and the ability to salary sacrifice some of your pre-tax income into super.

The main job of a good super fund is to invest the money you contribute to your retirement savings. This will earn you returns and grow your balance over the long term. The result is a higher income in retirement and a better chance of living comfortably. The best way to measure your super fund’s performance is by looking at its net benefit. This takes into account all the benefits of your super including strong returns, a growing balance, and insurance.

Insurance in your super

Many super funds offer life, total and permanent superannuation australia (TPD) and income protection insurance to their members. It’s important to consider your personal needs when deciding whether or not you need to take out insurance in your super.

Insurance through super can be a convenient and cost effective option. It’s generally a lot cheaper than buying personal cover outside of super, and premiums are deducted from your super account rather than your take home pay, which may reduce your cash flow pressure.

However, it’s important to review your insurance regularly. You should also check whether your current premiums are appropriate for your circumstances. You can do this by checking the insurance PDS and any other documents outlining your policy on your fund’s website. It’s worth checking whether you have any exclusions and if you’re paying a loading (a percentage increase in premium) for your risk. It’s also important to consider whether or not your death benefit nominations are up to date.

[evoldir]

Fwd: Job: UHongKong.Two.Biodiversity

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Job: UHongKong.Two.Biodiversity > Date: 26 March 2024 at 04:12:17 GMT > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > > The University of Hong Kong. Two. Ecology&Biodiversity > > Assistant / Associate / Full Professor in Ecology and Biodiversity in > the Area of Ecology and Biodiversity (2 posts) > > Applications are invited for appointment as Assistant Professor/ Associate > Professor/ Professor in the broad area of Ecology and Biodiversity (2 > posts) in the School of Biological Sciences(Ref.: 526098),to commence > as soon as possible.  Appointment at Assistant Professor level will be > made on a three-year fixed-term basis, with the possibility of renewal > and consideration for tenure before the expiry of a second three-year > fixed-term contract, while appointment at Associate Professor and > Professor level may be considered for appointment on fixed-term or > tenure terms. > > The Faculty of Science provides a supportive and friendly environment > and has been undertaking programme of recruitment to invest in > areas of acknowledged strength and internationally competitive > activity. Information about the Faculty can be obtained from > https://ift.tt/VwlFNSb. > > The Area of Ecology and Biodiversity (AoEB) is one of the two research > areas in the School of Biological Sciences. AoEB oversees a range of > projects on fundamental research in ecology and evolution, as well > as applied work on environmental change, ecological restoration, > and wildlife forensics and conservation. It has strengths in ecology, > evolutionary and environmental biology, marine sciences, as well as > global change and conservation biology. Hong Kong has a diverse array > of tropical ecosystems that are rich in biodiversity, providing ample > opportunities to research the ecological effects of anthropogenic > change on terrestrial and aquatic biota, including both endemic and > globally threatened species. For more information on AoEB, please > visit:https://ift.tt/Rvmp0sz. > > Applicants should possess a Ph.D. degree in fields relevant to the > positions, strong academic track records and a high level of scholarly > accomplishments. The appointees will have the freedom to choose their > research directions within the broad area of ecology and biodiversity, > including conservation biology and ecological genetics. They are > expected to build up strong research environments, supervise Ph.D. and > M.Sc. students, and apply for research funding through the various > funding instruments available in Hong Kong. Enquiries about the posts > should be sent tobiosch@hku.hk. > > A highly competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and > experience will be offered, in addition to annual leave and medical > benefits. At current rates, salaries tax does not exceed 15% of gross > income. The appointments will attract a contract-end gratuity and > University contribution to a retirement benefits scheme, totaling up to > 15% of basic salary. Housing benefits will also be provided as applicable. > > The University only accepts online > application for the above posts. Applicants should apply online > (https://ift.tt/bTY46oD) > and upload an up-to-date C.V. with the contact details of 3 referees who > are able to provide written reference, a publication list, a letter of > intent explaining why they would like to be considered for the positions, > a teaching statement and expression of their research interests in PDF > format. Review of applications will commence as soon as possible and > continue until August 30, 2024, or until the posts are filled, whichever > is earlier. > > The University is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to > equality, ethics, inclusivity, diversity and transparency > > > Juha Kari Kristian Merilae

[geminusrufus]

A Better Way to Get Data

0: Been a Minute

I came out the gate real strong on these dev blogs then completely dropped off. Oops.

In my defense, I got an actual salaried job, and it has been pretty hectic. Like, miss-application-deadlines-for-PhD-programs hectic. It's not all bad though! For starters, I honestly need the break from being a student. Also, it's a ~tech job~ and I'm taking the opportunity to learn more about programming, tool development, and project management.

"Why does any of this matter?"

Because a current work project clued me into a better way to collect inscriptional data!

1: A Better Way

In previous posts, I explained how to scrape Greek inscriptions from the Packard Humanities Institute website. Here's that post (link), if you want some context.

This is the method I used for my thesis, but it has some problems. It's pretty slow (I had to leave the full scraper + cleaner to run overnight), and it wasn't the most accurate. Since the data was just sitting untagged in pretty minimal HTML format, nothing was really tagged. I worked around this by giving the scraper search parameters with some... functional Regular Expression (I'll cover that in head crushing detail later). Unfortunately, Regular Expression is an avatar of the devil and my sloppy search parameters introduced numerous errors, especially when it came to inscription dates.

However, we can do away with scraping entirely and retrieve the data in XML format, along with more details about the book and chapter of the Inscriptiones Graecae they're found in, using API calls!

2: What's an API?

idk. someone elses code for you to vandalize.

ok, API stands for application programming interface. An application is just a piece of software that fulfills a function, and an API communicates between applications.

So say you have a website that shows you some data. In this example by John Watson Rooney, it's listings of sunglasses from the Sunglass Hut website. Rather than hard-code a page with every pair of sunglesses and the corresponding prices, the website has a field for the different offerings that's filled in by an API. When you open a list of sunglasses, an API grabs the relevant data and presents it to the website for formatting. In this example, the website is one application, the data server (or partition, etc.) is another application, and the API is responsible for carrying information about sunglasses in between the two.

That means the data is actually stored separately from the website. If you wanted to, you could just call that API yourself and retrieve the raw data!

3: Applying This

Now here's where we can start to apply things. Multiple volumes of the Inscriptiones Graecae are available online, free of charge, through the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (the current publishers). Here's a link, but note that it's not a secure page.

I originally bounced off this site and landed on the Packard Humanities institute because I only knew how to scrape, and the Akademie's APIs had me totally confounded. But I've leveled up, and I think it's time to use the resource to its fullest.

There are a few APIs at work here. One just gets a list of all the inscriptions, organized by book, in JSON format (don't...worry abt it just yet). Just slap this into your browser and take a look:

http://telota.bbaw.de/ig/api/inscriptions

Another

Another gets information about each volume, including the subject region, volume name, and (very crucially!) the volume identifier used by the APIs to select a specific book. Check this one out too:

http://telota.bbaw.de/ig/api/getVolumes

The site has plenty more: some for grabbing chapters, some for sections organized by chapter, some for an ordered list of sections without chapters, etc. Every which way you could want to get information about a book, you have it.

Then, at the very end of it all, you can grab an actual inscription, this time in XML format. Give this last one a try:

http://telota.bbaw.de/ig/api/xml/IG%20I%C2%B3%201

Let's take a second to parse that. It starts with "telota.bbaw.de": TELOTA stands for The Electronic Life Of The Academy, and BBAW stands for Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences). TELOTA is the digital humanities wing of the BBAW!

Moving on, "ig" stands for Inscriptiones Graecae, and "api" denotes that we're making an API call, rather than viewing the site normally. Then, "xml" indicates the viewing format.

Now the good part! We have this arcane looking string "IG%20I%C2%B3%201". It's not actually all that bad — those %20s are just escape codes (remember we dealt with those before!) indicating spaces. Unescape them out and we get this

http://telota.bbaw.de/ig/api/xml/IG I%C2%B3 1

Well, doesn't that "IG I" look familiar!

That "%C2%B3" looks a little more complicated, but if we check this list of escape codes, we find that it's equivalent to ³ (superscript 3). Knowing that, we can unravel the rest of the link:

http://telota.bbaw.de/ig/api/xml/IG I³ 1

And there it is! The last portion is just the book series (IG), the volume (I³), and the inscription!

4: Putting It Together

So here's the plan. I need to write a script that uses the known APIs to call a list of each volume, its chapters, sections, etc. Using the data from the responses, it will gather a list of inscriptions by section into a table, where each row has the volume, chapter, section (etc), and inscription number. This will involve converting JSON to R tibbles, but I've experimented with the Jsonlite package which does just that. It's nothing too complicated!

Next, I need a script that will build API calls out of these inscription numbers, then use the responses to fill more data into the table. This will involve converting XML to R tibbles, which I don't have any experience with, but the data format is widely used so I expect tools have been developed.

Once that is done, I should have a table of inscriptions in (hopefully) much less time and with minimal errors in time or location data!

[drew-mga2022mi6021]

World Building | The Population

Solarpunk Characters by ParisCityPop

Further diving into the understanding of my world, I also needed to understand the people, not just the events and topography of my world. These decisions directly enhance and affect the events of the story as well, so it is important that I get these details correct.

How big is the population?

Sri Lanka as an island nation is 22 million people strong, with 630 000 people residing in Colombo alone.

How did they become a part of the world?

Sri Lanka is a culturally diverse, multi-ethnic country. This is mainly due to being a massive international trade hub prior to the 21st century. Due to its advantageous position in the centre of the Indian Ocean, merchants from both the West and the East used to visit the country frequents. Of those, these were some people of note;

The British

The Dutch

The Portuguese

The Romans

The Arabs

The North Africans

The Persians

The Indians

The Chinese

African Slaves (brought to the country by Colonials who were ruling at the time)

In modern times, many people are descended from a mix of Sri Lankan blood and at least one of these parties.

Additionally, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka (back when the island was known as "Thambapanni"; meaning copper sands) were the Naga and Yaksha tribes. According to the Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa (credible historical texts that detail the various ruling periods of Sri Lanka), he first known king of Sri Lanka was Prince Vijaya, who was banished to Sri Lanka from Sinhapura along with 700 of his men. The story goes that the young prince defeated a yaksha, and eventually went on to marry the daughter of a yaksha clan member; Kuweni. It is from here, and implied couplings between other members of Vijaya's clan and the inhabitants of Thambapanni that Sri Lankan are considered to be descended from.

Later on, many adopted different cutures, traditions, beliefs and dialects based on which of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka that they lived in.

Is there a class system?

Previously, during colonial rule, yes. In modern times, it is far more nuanced. Income is distributed proportionate to the total amount of work put in by a given organisation. Thus, an organisation of 10 people that works very hard should have their salary split equally amongst themselves. This is a very exploitable system, and is one of the systems the main character finds themselves trapped in.

The hardest workers are considered to be farmers and others who source food for the country, and thus they are the highest paid. This society places more priority on locally owned businesses as well, thus they pay equal rates to, and sometimes more than most mega-corporations. The price of the Sri Lankan rupee has also exponentially shot up, as a result of the plentiful resources of the country (1 US Dollar = 50 Rupees), which leads to an overall successful country anyway. Even those that are poorest are given sufficient aid by the government in order to live a semi-comfortable life, provided that they have a job. If not, they are given the option to either work for the government, find a job within a certain period of time or simply, not receive aid if any of the above two are not pursued.

What are the genders, races and species?

Sri Lanka adopted a more liberal mindset post colonialism, and as such it is not uncommon to see several people express themselves beyond the social standards set by the western gender binary. The population of Sri Lanka split by biological sex assigned at birth is equal to 52% female and 48% male.

The main races of Sri Lanka are as follows;

Sinhalese

Tamil

Malay

South Indian

Burgher

Mixed Race

There are others, but they mainly fall into the category of Mixed Race as a result of being borne of one of the settling countries that arrived to Sri Lanka pre-20th Century. The most dominant of the races are Sinhalese and Tamil people (the latter of which is split into Sri Lankan Tamil and South Indian Tamil), with the others representative of less than 10% of the population.

What are the languages spoken in Sri Lanka?

The most common language spoken is Sinhala, followed closely by Tamil and finally, English. The official languages of the country are listed as Sinhala and Tamil, however the language used to most universally converse in most urban areas like Colombo is English. Most people in Colombo are bilingual, and as such tend to mix and match languages as they please while talking. This mode of speaking is known as Singlish (Sinhala + English, the most commonly mixed languages).

There are other minor languages spoken in the country as well, such as the language spoken by the Veddah people (Veddah) who live in the central forests of Sri Lanka. Interestingly enough, Veddah and Sinhalese share a few common words, which may suggest a common linguistic origin at some point in the past. Modern Sinhalese itself seems to take from several places, such as Portuguese, Dutch and Sanskrit, and there are several variations and dialects of Sinhalese and Tamil that exist across the country. The most "conventional" form of Sinhala is that which is spoken in the Western province and in Kandy.

Other than this, a small portion of the population is fluent in other languages, such as Chinese Mandarin, Arabic, Aramaic, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, and Urdu.

Were there any racial conflicts?

As mentioned earlier, the biggest racial conflict that occured was the 30 year civil war. Besides this, there were minor undertones or racism up until the turn of the 2010s, when people began to forego their grudges against those that fought in the war.

What resources do they enjoy?

The people of Sri Lanka enjoy many resources such as locally produced foods, three main ways to power local technology (solar, wind and water), free healthcare, free education, easily accessible public transport systems, a healthy climate even in urban areas, several biologically and culturally diverse locations, several culturally significant areas, a minimum of 5 days paid leave from work for holidays and a centralised water and electricity grid.

What resources do they lack?

The main thing that this society lacks is a proper system for labour laws. Due to hard work and community being prioritised, the work force is easily exploitable by corporations, specifically if the workers themselves like the job that they are doing.