#beyond the simple lack of connection with others that comes as a result

[fiveeeee]

i think ppl forget sometimes that ppl who genuinely do not feel emotions do not do much of anything, bc u need emotions to feel motivated to do things and make many decisions. not feeling anything are characteristics of depression and schizoid personality disorder and both are characterized by lack of drive to do much of anything. often ppl use emotionless as short for smart and cold but truthfully those ppl are not emotionless, they must be motivated by something whether curiosity or fear or a sense of utilitarian morality.

and i think also ppl forget there is a price for repressing ur emotions. that shit is incredibly taxing on ur body, incredibly stressful. it will straight up make u sick. so all of this must be considered when u have a character that doesnt express themself much.

[celestialtarot11]

Taurus rising and their angular houses 💘💌

Angular houses are the most important in an astrological chart. It represents our fundamental core selves, the parts in which we work with consistently in life, and what we value the most. Angular houses show huge change and how it plays a role in our life 💌 often deals with external change impacting us and our growth!

Taurus rising ♉️- Taurus rising, ruled by venus and the luxuries 💘🤗 not always is this native born under luxury however. Depending on where Venus is, and if it’s afflicted, or if this house is afflicted it can produce different results in the natives life. Most taurus risings understand their life did not come to them easily. In this lifetime, apart of them knew they wanted to live comfortably, and securely, and create that security for others. They may not have realized it as they were younger, but the more they grow up, the more they understand the lifestyle they want. Most taurus risings know they want luxury and work hard for it, and others know they want a simple life, and still want to generate enough security to thrive. Even if they do not show it physically, through dressing up and buying a huge house, Taurus risings do understand the simplicity of life and want that. A lot of taurus risings are generous, kind, patient, and value security. And they value connections that grow securely, and strong foundations. Their mission is to grow stable from a turbulent childhood, and to generate that inner safety that will carry them far into their lifetime 💗❤️‍🩹When I say lifestyle I don’t necessarily mean materialistic gains. I mean they want to live at peace, comfortable, and have so much security they do not have to worry about lack anymore. Most Taurus’s I know have experienced lack and struggle, poverty even. They want to grow beyond that and have the security they are looking for. Caring for their body, health and focusing on building their financials is important in this lifetime. Alongside their inner child 🤗💘

Leo fourth house ♌️- Taurus rising grew up around a prideful, happy and boisterous family. If the taurus rising grew up financially secure, family loved to buy each other gifts and spend on one another as a way of love. (Taurus rising developed gift giving regardless of their financial status) But their family has a huge part in why they develop their finances. Leo ruled by the sun, the Father could have been a teacher for the taurus rising. The Father was the leading point in the taurus risings life, and could have been a proud one, a purposeful and meaningful father and strong. Independent, confident, and assured. The downside, the Father could have been arrogant, self centered, self loathed and expected the taurus rising child to constantly be there for him ❤️‍🩹 the Father needed attention from the child instead of the Father giving attention to the child. The taurus rising native as a child was warm, loving, generous, and the type to still find little gifts for everyone and share it. The show stopper, and had a lot of attention on them, whether that was through a supportive family dynamic or not. If it was not supportive, as the taurus rising child grew up, too many people gossiped, and tried to one up, or selfishly wanted their attention. If it was supportive, the taurus rising found themselves being loved, cared for, and people celebrated them and their milestones 💘🤗 the mother could have been emotionally affectionate, nurturing and been a solid friend to the taurus rising child. If not, the mother was bossy, self centered, and focused on getting the limelight as opposed to her child. The native probably witnessed family arguments often, and the parents encouraged the idea of “competition” in the family. So the taurus rising child could have been encouraged to do better than their siblings, cousins, etc.

Scorpio ruled 7th house, descendant♏️- The taurus rising native experienced a lot of loss, greif, and transformation in relationships and connections. Jealousy, insecurity from others tried to get in the way of taurus risings relationships. The native self sabotaged in return, thinking it was their fault the people around them could not show up ❤️‍🩹 as they grow older, they realize transformation is vital to a peaceful life. Not necessarily traumatizing all of the time, but change does not need to be the end. Releasing is the key to freedom. Liberation is the start to self forgiveness and peace. Through others, the taurus rising finds themselves. Through others, the taurus rising does shadow work with, and each of their relationships have never been the same. Each have their own story, and path. The taurus rising tries to put up walls with others to stay safe, because too many people have come in and tried to project unfairly. And have done unjust things to the taurus rising native. Time and time again, the native transforms in love, opening up and closing off. At some point, the taurus rising native wants someone to grow with, but also transform too. To stay comfortable, yet do the inner work to heal ❤️‍🩹🤝 to have a partner that stays regardless of fear and doubt, and does their work too. Very loyal and determined lovers, and they go all of the way if they are healed 🙌💘 when they know they are capable, they will pursue. These natives may not have a lot of people in their life, because they later realize the value of privacy, and how moving in silence is the way to go. After their Leo ruled 4th house, they transition to a period of intense transformation, inner work, and liberation to find their truth of how they want to move forward in life. Privacy, sanctuary, and alone time is necessary 🙌

Aquarius ruled 10th house ♒️- After a period of isolation and many cycles of loss, trial and tribulations, their idea of who they want to be in their career path is not exactly set in stone, but they know how they want to move. Undefined, yet unique and knowledgeable in what they know, and intelligent. Taurus risings have a hold on the masses because they are authentically themselves, people see them as either nonchalant, aloof, or monotone. But Taurus risings have seen it all for themselves, and know thats not the only truth there is to them. And neither is it the entirety. They may pursue business solo, open their own shop, and find it easier to set their own rules. They want to be their own leader and boss, and don’t mind trying something new 💘🤗 it may take them many tries to figure out what career path they want, but they allow the experience to unfold. Many people see them as “unmatched” and may try to compete, but taurus risings know all to well where competition leads, and want nothing to do with it. They continue to move forward and stay in their lane. They may go on to pursue a career path no one in their family has done, and receive criticism for it, but once a taurus rising knows their truth it cant be shaken 💅🏻 they are not necessarily rebellious in career, but have an informed perspective, and speak their truth which is not the same as being rebellious! They prefer to keep their career private, money private. Sometimes in career they will be put in situations where they receive the limelight and they feel boxed in due to their past, but when they move forward they can learn to accept it and understand there are people who want to support them too. Career paths: web developer, social worker, scientist, entrepreneur, human rights activist.

Thank yall for reading! 💘🤗 much love for my taurus risings. After this I feel like i understand them better 🥹❤️‍🩹 i hope this resonated! Feel free to comment like and reblog 🤍

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[roachymochi]

The Red Queen and the One True Flame : an analysis

Preamble

The Gloam-Eyed Queen might be the most discussed mystery of Elden Ring, almost always with a bottom-up approach. "What other lore element can I link to her to flesh her out" is an enticing approach, but considering the lack of result, it may be misguided.

In this post, I will reach for understanding from a top-down view, by describing the inner working of the world and the more general context were the GEQ comes from.

This analysis goes way beyond the scope of a GEQ lore post. The character I will describe here may or may not be the Gloam-eyed Queen. She will be referred to has the Red Queen to avoid confusion.

long post ahead

The Holy Trinity

The Lands Between are built around the principles of alchemy, and the adventures of the Tarnished might be reminiscent of the Magnum Opus. Has such, many core aspects of the world are threefold. Each part of these trifecta can also be linked to parts of other trifecta. The connections will be highlighted with 🟡, ⚪ and 🔴.

Gold and its alloy : Gold🟡 and Silver⚪ are central to the game lore. Gold take various forms, with the simple gold of the Golden Order, Miquella's unalloyed, gold, and the reddish gold of the Crucible. this red tint comes from the Gold being alloyed with Copper🔴, unnamed but as important to the games world as gold and silver. IRL, silver and copper are the two metals that can alloy harmoniously with gold (other alloys exist, giving the gold a blue, green or purple color, but they are brittle and impossible to work with). In game, the main attribute of Copper is its red color and its ability to rust/become verdigris. While this is not scientifically accurate, iron🔴 will be considered interchangeable with copper in this post for thematic purposes.

The three queens : Each of these metals is connected to a mystical queen. Gold is Marika🟡, Silver is Rellana⚪, and Copper is the unknown Red Queen🔴 this analysis is about. It may be the Gloam eyed Queen, but it is uncertain.

The three mothers : Motherhood is a mystical thing in ER, with the three mothers seemingly being the single progenitor of an entire lineage. Marika🟡's kingdom is one of fertility and abundance after all, and the silver mother⚪ is said of having birthed both the albinaurics and the blue silver of their armor. The red mother🔴 is the mother of monsters. she has no identity but she is present, in spirit, all through the Lands Between. I'll come back to it later.

The parts of a day : the day is divided in three parts - day🟡, dusk🔴, and night⚪. The day is obviously linked to the Erdtree and the night is the time of the moon and the stars, therefor linked to Caria/the eternal city. Dusk is the time of the GEQ, but most importantly it is deep red and quickly changing.

The three stars : there are three finger ruins in the Land of Shadow. Each of them is speculated to be the crash site of a meteorite bearing an envoy of the Greater Will. There is the Elden Beast🟡, Metyr⚪ (prominently linked to Caria and sorceries), and a third unknown star🔴. This third star is most likely the blood star, but there is nothing to confirm it.

The three mystical attributes : Intelligence⚪, Faith🟡, and Arcane 🔴. It's noteworthy that Incantations, linked to Faith, are often themed more around 🔴 than gold mostly the Crucible and all the flames.

The structure of the Cosmos

The stars, the moon(s) and the sky are were all destiny is written. There is no proper sky map to look at, but we have something close

picture taken by user Alphagravy

Astel is a fallen star, and his body seems to be made of many stars. Each part of it correspond to a known important part of the cosmos. Starting from the tip of the tail :

The long cluster of small blue pebble is the primordial current

The two dark conjoined sphere are the two moons, confirmed to be twins in the dlc.

The three amber sphere are the three stars mentioned earlier. Amber stars are said to bear the fate of the gods, so it would make sense for them to be the Elden Beast, Metyr, and the third one (the color trifecta doesn't apply here, for clarity reasons).

The two rings of light are the Elden Rings, old and new. IRL, many alchemical texts described god as a circle with the entire creation at its center. This could be used to interpret the many outer gods as the parts of creation that was rejected by the Elden Ring : they are literally out of God's circle.

The outer gods, the flame, and the Red Queen

Here is what we can deduce from the above context : Since the Gods are born of divine amber stars, three such stars fell to earth, and outer gods are parts of creation rejected by the Elden Ring (or in other words the Greater Will scriptures), then it means all gods and demi-gods got their godhood from one of those three stars.

As such, this means every single outer gods are envoys of the forsaken red star🔴. This would explain why so many of these sinful powers have so many similarities. Especially the flames, who seems like broken fragment of an original whole.

Here i will explain what i understand to be the original, core myth surrounding the red star, the flame and the red queen, using emojis to identify each of their aspects. Then i will list all red themed thing from the game and see how many of these aspects they bear.

Their is a primordial red 🔴 power of fire 🔥 constantly reshaping the world and its lifeforms through death 💀, birth 🌱, and transformation 🦋. Its great work took place in a primordial crucible 🏺, heating and purifying all its material in a bloody🩸, violent way. Its vassal was the Red Queen, the mother 👶 of many monsters 👹, often snake-like🐍, conceived in sin 😈.

and now the list :

the Gloam-Eyed Queen : 🔴🔥💀🌱🩸👶👹🐍😈. Gloam is Red🔴, she had the flame🔥 of Destined Death, motherhood🌱👶 is a significant part of her character (Godskin swaddling cloth). Her children have snake-like qualities 👹🐍, are swaddled in the flayed skin of demigods 😈, and are made to bring death to the gods 🩸.

The Formless Mother : 🔴🔥💀🦋🏺🩸👶👹😈. Most likely linked to the blood star🔴, her blessing make the heat of the blood so extreme that it catch fire when spilled🔥. Her cult is incredibly violent and is centered about draining as much blood as possible💀 and drenching an entire region in endless blood🩸🏺. She is called a mother 👶, and her blessing help the Omens👹 reject the Grace of Gold😈.

The Scarlet Rot : 🔴🔥💀🌱🦋🏺🩸👶👹😈. Scarlet's in the name🔴. It's not technically fire, but the alchemical fire can also take the form of a stomach acid, a womb, or compost, so the Rot is thematically a fire🔥. It is deadly💀, but it also create many new lifeforms🌱🦋 in the vast lakes where it pools 🏺. The process of transformation is however definitely gory🩸. The Rod Goddess is called a mother👶 in all her forms (Malenia, Romina, the foraging brood mother too), but their children are not human👹, and this life cycle goes against the golden order😈.

The fell god of the flame : 🔴🔥🦋🏺🩸😈 (not gonna do every single flames). The giants hair and his eyes are orange-red🔴, he is THE fire god🔥 in the Lands Between. His domain is the forge🏺, a place where metals are purified and refined🦋 through the heat of the flame and the beating of the hammer🩸. Forging these raw materials into items🌱 was considered sacred by the giants. Visions of the flame is considered a cardinal sin 😈.

Mount Gelmir's serpents : 🔴🔥🌱🏺🩸👶👹🐍😈. This one is a bit all over the place. the volcano manor, the manserpents, and Daedicar's woe all have a coppery reddish hue to them🔴. the serpents come from the volcano and are immune to fire 🔥. The Serpents Crucible of transformation seems to be the primordial serpent itself, transforming the flesh of the soldiers he devour into more of himself🏺🩸. Daedicar (and to a lesser extent Tanith) were the mother👶 to monstrous children 👹🐍. Tanith opposed the Erdtree, Daedicar indulged in every form of wicked pleasure😈.

Dragon Communion : 🔥💀🌱🦋🏺🩸👶 👹🐍😈. The power of dragon communion is acquired by killing💀 and devouring🩸 the hearts of dragons. Has stated earlier, digestion is an alchemical fire 🔥 and a stomach is a sort of crucible 🏺. the dragon communion transforms 🦋 its adepts. Greyoll, the mother👶 of all🌱 dragons, gave birth to children that were considered monstrous👹 and against the order of Placidusax😈.

Conclusion

I could continue on and on but you probably get the idea. The numerous foes of the Golden Order are actually incredibly similar and seem to all work under the same core principles. Since they are outer gods, that is to say gods that were rejected by a remade Elden Ring, they must still exist under the power of one of the three divine star. Therefore they most likely were part of the ancient Elden Ring, before it was remade into an order of Gold.

Since SotE, we know that aspects of divinity can be scrapped and abandoned. Therefore, when Marika created the Golden Order, she killed the Red Queen and broke apart her divinity, scattering all her aspects outside of the Elden Ring.

This means all the flames and outer Gods we meet are just scattered remnant of this Red Queen and the powers she wielded. She may have been the Gloam Eyed Queen, But the GEQ may also just be the what was left of the RQ after her divinity was shattered. It is said, after all, that the flame of the Godskin is a mere shadow of what it used to be.

[cupidarchived]

Love Sea Thoughts

So, after watching episode 3, my brain is full. I have a lot of questions and a lot of thoughts. I'm going to try to organize them here. If this comes out a jumbled mess, please forgive me.

Let me preface by saying I love love love FortPeat. I think they are both talented in their own rights. I absolutely adore what they gave us with PrapaiSky. I adore them together, I think their chemistry is amazing.

As with any piece of anything, but especially media, there are going to be flaws and things we like and dislike. Differing opinions, views, feelings, experiences, and interpretations. But that's not what this is about at all. I do feel like the first two episodes, something felt off for me and I thought it was the pacing. I believe that's a small part of it. (I also believe that this might be another one of those shows where the plot is lacking, unless I have sorely missed something, and our actors are doing the heavy lifting.) I think a lot of the time we don't always get a grounded plot, more like a genre and a few tropes and that's kind of what we have to work with. Romance, 'hate'-to-love, and the couple just kind of getting together. Which is fine, but it can cause things to seem off in some areas.

Anyways, after watching ep 3, I feel that things are supposed to seem fast? It's supposed to be a simple, one-off, whirlwind vacation romance. They barely know each other. Tongrak disliked him a lot in the beginning, etc. But there is a time limit on what they have or it should be. (Judging by the preview for episode 4 and the fact that we have very many episodes left, we have way more drama and romance to come.) Tongrak seems traumatized by his home life/family dynamic. He spoke about his mother as if she was the last thing he wanted to be like and yet.. he shows some of the exact same traits, and also some opposing traits, that have made him all the more worse as a result. He buys Mahasamut, tries to control him with his money. And although he apologized, and Mahasmut seems fine with it, it has to hurt, having someone treat you like nothing or as if you're beneath them. Those were Tongrak's first instincts, he does apologize and show sympathy later on in the episode, but it says a lot about what he's probably experienced. Both of their familial stories sound intense and heartbreaking and it's really the first (or second, if we count the auntie's restaurant by the sea date) time we get to seem them sort of connect and get to know each other better, beyond just their physical attraction and sex.

Speed is important, I think, or at least something to take note of. Two weeks Tongrak spent there and Mahasamut is already asking him to stay (and Tongrak asking him to go back home with him, as per the preview). They seem to like each other, and yet, Mahasamut is ready to jump in full force, while Tongrak has stated multiple times that love is imaginary, not real. Our leads are not on the same page at all, which would probably give us more conflict down the line. But they also seem to not be able to stay away from one another. Which must be nerve-wracking for Tongrak, being that his mother was obsessed with his father who seemed to want nothing more to do with any of them other than her money (I felt those same vibes after the phone call with his sister, too. Dad must be lurking around after their money, but creeping on your granddaughter's school is an even more horrible way to do it). And Mahasamut has been tossed aside by his father, too. He's poor, working multiple odd jobs to make ends meet; he's been alone since he was 15, never daring to ask anyone for anything. He must be no stranger to being looked down on but he wants to be more for Tongrak clearly, but he's afraid he won't ever be enough, no matter how hard he tries.

I'm not sure where I was going with this but yeah. If I think of anything more, I'll come back and add it.

[armed-ruebarb]

Hopes and Dreams for OT3

Haha, that rhymed. And yes, I know: OT2 came out less than two months ago, but let me live in delusion! Also forewarning for spoilers and a shit ton of writing

People have said it before and continue to say it: the biggest flaw in Octopath’s storytelling is the disconnect between the characters. I think the problem is that Square can’t find an equilibrium between player autonomy and consistent plot structure.

If you maximize player autonomy, you get OT1 where you can complete the vast majority of the game without a required set of characters or what have you at the cost of character interactions and proper connections. However, if you maximize plot structure, you are left with a set in stone story that, while probably better written, takes away the “traveling the continent wherever and whenever” charm of the game. It would completely ruin the vibe.

OT2 definitely improved a lot on this front. You can’t access Ku (and the Conjurer job) without Hikari’s story, you can’t reach Lostseed without Throné’s story, and you can’t reach the Arcanist island without Partitio’s boat. However, characters still lack a particular connection in their stories. Yes, the events overlap in some places, but even then nobody comments on it because there’s no guarantee that the player would understand the context. As a result, the game has to wait until the final quest to talk about all this fascinating connections hinted at throughout the story. I want to see cool shit like:

Trousseau actually saying Claude’s name at some point.

Throné and Hikari discussing their bloodline cursed by the Shadow.

Harvey bragging about the creation of the Darkling and the Roi monster.

TRESSA AND ALFYN TALKING ABOUT GRAHAM’S DIARY!!

Simeon and Mattias at least mentioning each other in their respective battles.

There are just so many missed opportunities because what if the player hasn’t even started Primrose’s story? What if they don’t even know who Roi is? How do you monitor the player’s knowledge without controlling the entire story? I thought on the matter for a while, but then it came to me. Best part is, it’s already in the game.

Think about the crossed paths. They have actual built in requirements. Not just level recommendations, which can be bypassed with a bit of grinding: legitimate requirements. This was probably only done to compensate for each story only being two chapters because none of them explicitly talk about anything beyond each character’s first chapter (Hikari and Agnea’s is a notable exception), but it has so much potential.

By placing story requirements on OT3’s chapters, it unlocks a whole new avenue of character connections. Obviously I’m not saying every chapter should have requirements, but think about it. For example, Agnea’s chapter two has no particular ties to it, so there wouldn’t be anything there, but what if she couldn’t continue her journey to Sai because of the present conflict within it, which won’t be mediated until Castti steps in, in which case Castti’s Sai chapter two would be a requirement for Agnea’s chapter four to be unlocked.

And before you go “hey, wouldn’t that spoil the locations and events for other characters’ chapters? To which I say no! Because the crossed paths did another thing where they didn’t say WHAT had to happen to unlock the second half of the story. It’s as simple as Agnea going “I was hoping to visit the place where mama used to dance, but I heard it was currently run rampant with war…”. Then come Castti chapter two you solve the issue in Sai and it’s a quick “Agnea Chapter 4 unlocked” and that’s it. Then if you’ve already done Castti’s chapter two in Sai, you don’t get Agnea’s line at all and the chapter just unlocks.

Better yet, this gives opportunities for characters to actually be IN each other’s stories. Not just travel banters. Like Castti could be present during Agnea’s chapter four. Not enough to take away from the other side characters (she also wouldn’t be a battle requirement), obviously, but enough to the point where the player is reminded that Agnea’s story is only one of many, and that others were present too. Like something as simple as Agnea thanking Castti for helping out the town, then Castti in the background of the chapter doing rounds and checking in on people (maybe you can talk to her like an NPC if she’s not in your party just like inactive members in the tavern). Then like a quick “Castti I have to go stop international superstar Dolcinea Luciel from starting a dictatorship” “okay be safe let me know if you need help” interaction.

It’s still the protagonist’s story, but the other travelers are more than just the people you fight with. They are genuinely the reason you got this far. I think Therion’s story in particular would have benefitted from this asset because not only is his story about learning to trust his companions, but he literally starts off with almost no idea where the stones are. I have a lot more examples, so only continuing reading at your own peril, but it’s stuff like:

Stormhail chapters are locked behind Ochette’s Glacis route because of the weather. Ochette gets to tag along to prison with Hikari and then play deputy with Temenos.

Partitio can’t get his department store up and running (maybe his chapter stops midway through) until Throné defeats Mother because the Blacksnake apprentices keep robbing everyone.

Osvald can’t reach Harvey’s lab until Hikari ends the underground arena because Harvey (working with Oboro) uses the dead fighters’ bodies to make creatures to protect the entry.

If they pulled this off in OT3 they could just do so much more with character connections without sacrificing the free and adventurous feeling the game is known for. I’m not sure about final chapters—maybe just tie two together like the crossed paths. I already mentioned Castti and Throné for this where maybe you have to beat Claude first. I can see connections with Agnea and Partitio (bosses consumed by desires), Temenos and Hikari (bosses LITERALLY CONSUMED by darkness) and Osvald and Ochette (Harvey made the Darkling). LET THEM TALK ABOUT IT DAMMIT!!

TLDR: If OT3 gave story prerequisites for chapters like the crossed paths, they could reach a whole new level of plot integration and development that would mostly solve the game’s issue with character interaction.

[diinferi]

LOCATION

[HELLSING MANSION, ENGLAND] The centre of much of the story. This is the home of the Hellsing family and their organisation, a mansion and the large ground surrounding it. Well protected and quite unwelcoming to visitors, you may start here for free as a guest or staff member if you chose the Hellsing origin. It’s due for a few battles in the coming weeks, for those wary of violence.

ORIGIN

[HELLSING] The Hellsing Organisation are the monster hunters of Britain. Established centuries ago by Abraham van Helsing himself and with the full support of the Queen, they hunt in the night to keep the British Isles safe from demonic predation. Led by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a young woman of startling presence, they have ably performed their duties for generations now. Chief among their enforcers is Alucard, a vampire of immense power who appears bound to the will of the Hellsing family leader. As part of this origin, you are connected to this organisation in some way. You might be a soldier working for them or a mercenary who has contracted with them often. A member of the Hellsing family itself, such as a young sibling or cousin to Integra. Even one of their pet monsters they keep on hand to hunt the worst of the worst down.

SPECIES

[HUMAN] Simple, ordinary, weak, mortal and pure. A species seemingly at a disadvantage against all others to come, yet it is the eternal human spirit that triumphs again and again. Be not regretful that humans lack power, know instead that at their hearts, it is these immortal creatures who are ultimately nothing but weeping children who regret the path they took in life. For an additional 200 points instead, you can gain some quite impressive physical attributes. Walter possessed incredible physical strength, speed and agility even as a fourteen year old boy with no artificial enhancements. Leaping from a plane and landing safely on the ground below without a parachute was an easy task, as was surviving several restrained blows from a werewolf soldier. While you lack their other abilities, such as regeneration or immortality, you have the physical prowess to somewhat surpass an Artificial Vampire.

PERKS

[HELLSING STYLE] If you’re anyone with a name worth remembering, you’re at least mildly capable in a fight. Those who aren’t tend to die quick. When even the retired old men who spend their time doing paperwork for the Queen have a good shooting arm, you can’t wake up here without some experience. You’ve been in at least a few scraps before and don’t flinch too much to a punch in the face. More importantly, you’re decently dangerous with one sort of combat. A skilled rifleman, a capable fencer or even some Irish pub brawler. You’re no master and a veteran mercenary would still lay you on your ass but you won’t be cowering in a closet when some thugs break in either. And for some reason, you’re really quite good at making just about anything you do look stylish, even when you’re not really that good at it.

[PSYCHIC POWER] Beyond the arrays of powers granted by a demonic nature, like that of a vampire or werewolf, lie powers possessed by some of a more individual nature. Though unclear as to their true origin, whether humans themselves have these abilities or it is the result of unique vampiric mutations, their existence is in no doubt. You possess one of these psychic powers, custom created by yourself to be on roughly the same level as the ones displayed by the Werewolves unit of Millenium. The magic bullets of Rip Van Winkle that turned a simple musket into an enormously powerful rifle shooting bullets that were controlled mid flight. Tubalcain Alhambra’s talent for turning playing cards into metal slicing weapons at long range, teleportation and even useful shields. Even Zorin Blitz powerful illusions, able to trap men in fantastical worlds by affecting all of their senses at once. All examples of the sorts of powers available to you, though each does tend to have their own limitations. This option can be bought multiple times. 

[ACE SHOT] Without the powers of Satan or God, man is left to his own ingenuity. Where iron blade and fire fall short, the thunderous roar of gunfire takes victory by the throat with strangling hands. Even the loathsome vampire can be slain by ordinary men with a good eye and sturdy sidearm. And you’re a lot better than just good. An ace with almost any kind of firearm, enough to shoot a half dozen thrown bayonets from the air with a pistol, leaving shattered metal behind. Even some frankly absurd weapons can be used with significant skill, eight foot long cannons aimed with unerring accuracy so long as you have the strength to heft them. While you have some experience in a fight, enough to not freeze in a firefight against the forces of darkness, you’re no true soldier. You’re quite good at training them in your skills though, as passing on your expert marksmanship goes swiftly and smoothly. 

[ARMS OF HELLSING] Over many centuries, humanity has gathered a great deal of knowledge on exactly what most harms the demons that hunt in the night. From the deadly touch of silver to how to create the most unreasonably powerful handgun in existence. Having learned well from this history, few can match your skills as a weaponsmith. With the right tools at your disposal, you’re able to claim yourself a peer to Mr Dornez in what you can create as tools and weapons to fight monsters. Firearms from massive cannons to pistols with power surpassing those cannons, monofilament wire, swords that can thick steel with ease, even special bullets that egregiously harm vampires or other demons. While not quite to the same talents as with weapons, you’re a fine hand at making armor as well, enough to at least let your boys survive a few strikes from ordinary vampire minions. 

[WILD MEN OF WAR] Now here’s a proper soldier, a man with war in his blood going back to his great-great-great- grandfather. With all the experience that only comes from fighting battles across the globe for twenty years, you’re an exemplar soldier and an even more superb leader in battle. While your skills in military matters are widespread, it is with both tactical and strategical command that you shine. Winning against numerically superior forces is fairly routine for you and your men, even without needing to employ the dirty tactics you’re best known for. You can’t help it if foul ideas like dressing up as the enemy, extensive trap plans and the best ways to trick foes into revealing their weak points just keep coming up as ideas in your head. A band of skilled humans could wipe out most of a vampire regiment if you had some decent fortifications and an hour to set up some plans. 

ITEMS

[VICTORIAN FASHION] A range of quite old fashioned clothes, not the sort one expects to see at the end of the 20th century. Victorian dress, from overly large cloaks and hats to butler uniforms to the fanciest of suits, yet none of it restricts your movements. Apparently cut for combat, you’ll look stylish as you practically dance your way through any enemy that stands before you

[HUNTING WEAPONRY] A selection of modern military firearms, all equipped with ‘anti-midian’ ammunition. Designed to cause serious harm to the creatures of the night, these weapons are able to leave wounds whose healing is hindered and even better pierce unnatural defenses. They won’t do much against a more powerful monster but the more common vampire will feel almost as much danger from these as a normal man would from any firearm. Hellsing.

[HELLSING ARMS CASULL] A semi-automatic magnum pistol, favoured tool of Hellsing’s most lethal soldier. At over ten inches long and six kilograms in weight, it’s a beast of a sidearm. With explosive .454 Casull rounds, the gun will hit hard enough to make a desert eagle look like a child’s toy, leaving massive holes even in vampiric flesh. With the addition of the same treatment given to Anti Midian rounds above, there’s little the weapon can’t put in the grave with a single shot. But given the strange nature of this weapon, you’ll likely fire a lot more, as the gun only needs to be reloaded between firefights. During an actual battle, as long as you have ammunition somewhere nearby, it’ll fire over and over at high speeds as desired. 

[AGENT’S TOOLS] The many tools of an exorcist and slayer of demons. Silver crosses and stakes, sealed bottles of holy water, pages of scripture containing warding passages and even a few silvered blades imbued with blessed power. Enough for even a ordinary priest to have the potential to kill a lesser vampire, be he smart and aided by capable fellows. 

DRAWBACKS

[THE DAWN] Wind the tapes back a few decades as we go back to a more youthful time, where things were cheerier and not so dark nor depressing. The midst of World War Two, as a child soldier is sent with an elder vampire into the den of Nazi madmen to slaughter everyone involved. This choice has you start at the beginning of the prequel, when Arthur Hellsing led the family and Alucard was fond of a more feminine form. Walter is only a child, known as the Angel of Death, and the Nazi war machine is in full swing. You can take your ten years here or stay further, all the way until you’d normally end.

[BOUND BIRD] Locked away for years in a sealed room, you saw freedom at last when that cursed door cracked open and light shone through. But whose face was revealed as your saviour and new master? As Alucard was bound, so too have you been, a slave freed and chained again to the will of one of the three leaders in this story. Integra of Hellsing, Enrico Maxwell and Iscariot or the Major and his Millennium. The new owner holds the key to the collar around your neck, allowing them to both control your release of power akin to Alucard’s seals as well as to give general orders or commands. Unfortunately, they also seem to be of the belief that you are a very capable combatant, regardless of what actual evidence exists for that, and will repeatedly use you for combat missions. You cannot harm or directly act against your commander but can interpret their orders with a decent amount of freedom. Particularly if they’re not careful with their wording.

FUTURE

Move on

[keenpeacebeard]

ADVANCED: MICROSOFT 365 COPILOT'S ABILITY TO REDEFINE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

Because of its strong data organization and computation capabilities, Microsoft Excel has been the standard tool for financial analysis and reporting for many years. But conventional spreadsheet-based methods are falling short as companies struggle with ever-more complex financial environments and look for more effective ways to gain insights. A groundbreaking solution that uses advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize financial analysis and reporting is Microsoft 365 Copilot. We will examine the potential of Copilot Microsoft to reinvent financial analysis beyond Excel in this blog.

Excel's Restrictions

Excel has long been a mainstay in finance departments across the globe, but it has limits when it comes to managing big datasets, intricate computations, and producing insightful data. Spreadsheets need a lot of human labor to maintain, are error-prone, and lack real-time collaborative features. Organizations are looking for alternative solutions that offer better efficiency, accuracy, and scalability as financial data volumes increase and reporting standards tighten.

Introducing Copilot for Microsoft 365

A cutting-edge solution for financial analysis and reporting, Microsoft 365 Copilot uses AI and machine learning to improve and automate financial procedures. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot, which is based on the Microsoft 365 platform, easily connects with other productivity tools like Excel, Power BI, and Teams to give financial professionals a single location to work together, analyze data, and produce insights.

Proactive Data Analysis and Forecasting

One of Microsoft 365 Copilot's primary advantages is its sophisticated analytics functionality, which makes it simple for users to carry out intricate financial studies and predictive modeling. Copilot's AI algorithms enable it to recognize patterns, spot irregularities, and produce projections based on historical data, giving financial professionals the confidence to make defensible decisions and confidently predict future results. Read More..

[dataoutsourcingcompany]

Ghost Mannequin Service: How To Get 3D Product Images

The ever-changing market of online shopping, engaging images of product displays are not a luxury anymore they’re a necessity. Flat, static images do not have the impact they used to.

Online shoppers today want the most immersive and interactive experience. This results in a desire to be able to “touch” and examine products before making a purchasing decision. That’s where the power of “ghost mannequin” services comes into play.

This article explores the realm of ghost mannequins, sometimes referred to as invisible mannequin photos. This guide will explore how this method gives the appearance of a 3D product while demonstrating its capabilities and fitting into an engaging way.

Beyond Flat Images: The Rise of 3D Product Photography There is no longer a need for just relying on simple images of products. Today’s shoppers expect an exciting shopping experience online and one that lets customers envision what a product would appear and feel like in the real world.

The flat images, though useful, usually lack the depth and details needed to convey the true essence of the item. These images can cause shoppers to have doubts about drape, fit as well as overall shape which can ultimately impede purchase decisions.

Discover the fascinating world of ghost mannequins. This unique technique gives the illusion of a 3D item, allowing the user to look at the clothing or object from multiple angles and comprehend its appearance. The immersive experience creates a feeling of confidence and a connection to the item which ultimately leads to greater buying knowledge.

Models for hiring or mannequins could be a great method of showcasing clothing items However, hiring one could cost a lot of money and take a long time. Ghost mannequins are an affordable and quick solution and provides images of the product that look professional and are suitable to target customers.

In addition, this technique can be applied to a range of items from shoes to dresses as well as jewelry. It is a great option for online stores that wish to display their items in a fascinating and captivating way. This method can distinguish your company from others by creating an unforgettable buying experience for your customers.

The most frequently utilized applications of the invisible mannequin method can be used by fashion photographers as well as companies to improve their body photographs by mixing multiple images to add depth and bulk to their products. Though it is a process that requires skill and perseverance, the results are stunning when supplied by a reliable company that guarantees high-quality and flawless work.

A reputable ghost mannequin service will offer a range of services like image retouching the body’s sculpting process, as well as shadow-creation. Additionally, they’ll modify the image to eliminate scratch marks or dust from clothes – and also provide no-cost trial periods so that you can determine whether their solutions meet your requirements.

The technique of the invisible mannequin can be a great method to emphasize the details of clothes and accessories like buttons and stitching, making your merchandise appear more appealing and enticing customers to purchase. Online retailers will greatly benefit from using this method of editing since it will attract many more buyers while also increasing sales.

Finding invisible mannequin services isn’t easy However, it’s not impossible to find one that meets all of the criteria for reliability, cost, and efficiency. Consider their price and turnaround times, as well as experiences, customer reviews the public’s reputation, and online reviews. When you have found one that you love, it is possible to begin using the effect of their mannequins to improve the product’s image and increase sales!

Read full article here: https://edm789auto.com/ghost-mannequin-service-how-to-get-3d-product-images/

[the-almighty-gob-john-langley]

So, Today's Skidmarks on the Underpants of Humanity are (26 Feb 2024).....

Would you punt a guess from the cornucopia of British, and beyond news today? Spoilt for choice, perhaps? Well, allow me to help you out then.

Let's begin with the asylum known as Bristol, my adopted, current home city. As I've already written at some length about this in my autobiography 'The Sexual Philanthropist' (out now on Amazon/Kindle - and, 4-star reviewed, by the way), (a) there's little point in repeating it, and (b) I simply cannot be arsed. Suffice to say Bristol is populated by more knobs than Ikea has in its entire UK national warehouse facility. Indigenous Bristolians, by the way, are generally the soundest people you'll find anywhere. You know, good-humoured, easy-going, salt-of-the-earth types who Colston would be proud of if he were alive today, and if it wasn't for the small side issue of slavery, that is. But, we'll not go there, as this was mentioned in yesterday's musings.

No, those I'm referring to are the migrants to this once great city who came here to study for degrees in subjects that result in an 'ology' of one sort, or another, and a myriad of similar fields of study that will enable them to leave university up to their neck in debt for the majority of their lives ahead, and somewhat disappointingly after three, perhaps even four years of non-stop partying, copious drugs, and enough alcohol to float the Bibby Stockholm, they find themselves qualified to serve fries and other sundries in high-end restaurants such as MacDonalds.

Having said that, in all fairness, a great many other people of all ages and walks of life come to reside in Bristol as they've found themselves attracted by national media headlines that extol the many benefits Bristol has to offer, such as the second most expensive city in which to live outside of London, and it's breathtaking public events - such as the Bridewell Riot, the Stokes Croft riot, the random bathing ceremony of Colston's statue, and perhaps by far the greatest public spectacle to be seen in decades - the slow decimation of an entire city centre by a council that's so out of kilter with its population that it's rather like an Ofsted report that tells a school it 'lacks vision', when the school is for the blind. Or, maybe even a broadcaster thinking it would be a brilliant idea to provide a radio service for the stone deaf. Now, I'm by no means a maths genius by a long chalk, but when it comes to the city council on one side of the fence, and its citizens on the other, all three quite simply aren't in any way compatible.

Now, as an isolated case, the city council could be forgiven for its ineptitude and stupidity, if it wasn't for the fact that it's somehow become viral in a way that appears to only infect those who consider themselves better educated than the rest of us poor dopes, and it appears that the better-educated someone is the more of a numpty they turn into because something as simple as common sense seems to evaporate and disappear off into the ether, never to return. Similar to yesterday's spat on Golden Syrup, today it's the turn of Bristol University. Why, you may ask? Because it has decided to remove a dolphin from its logo. Seriously, who even noticed?

I bet students were rocking up to mental health services in their thousands because a minute dolphin on the uni's logo kept them sufficiently awake at night to impact on their studies. Get bloody real! You see, the entire problem boils down to one thing in this city as much as it does everywhere else around the country nowadays, that feelings have overridden plain old common sense, and because that poor little innocent dolphin has connections with Edward Colston the mammal is the victim of the piece. So, taking this lunacy further, let's rule out the sea, boats, and ships, and maybe even demolish the university too so it can be rebuilt in its entirety. Furthermore, every student who passed through the university with a degree should hand it back immediately. Would this then finally satisfy the numptyism for once and all? Well, we can all live the dream, so probably not because the numpties will find something else just as insignificant to focus on.

Sadly, this is a pandemic there is no vaccine for, and if there were, and it was legal, euthanasia would work every time.

[lifehack4u]

Check This Hidden Dogs Potential Trainings>>

The Paw-some Difference: Trained vs. Untrained Dogs

Introduction: In the world of canine companionship, the debate between trained and untrained dogs has always been a topic of discussion among pet owners. While the charm of a carefree, untrained pup may seem appealing, the benefits of a well-trained dog extend far beyond a simple command-following routine. Let's delve into the paw-some differences between trained and untrained dogs and explore how training contributes to a fulfilling and harmonious relationship.

Section 1: Behavior and Socialization Trained Dogs: Dogs that undergo training tend to exhibit better behavior and socialization skills. They learn to respond to commands, making it easier for owners to manage them in various situations. Well-trained dogs are often more comfortable around people, children, and other pets, reducing the likelihood of aggressive or anxious behavior.

Untrained Dogs: Untrained dogs may struggle with basic manners, leading to issues such as excessive barking, jumping, or even aggression. Their lack of socialization can result in awkward or challenging encounters with other dogs and people, making daily activities more stressful for both the owner and the pet.

Check This Hidden Dogs Potential Trainings>>

Section 2: Safety and Control Trained Dogs: Training enhances a dog's responsiveness to commands, promoting safety and control in various environments. A trained dog is more likely to come when called, stay in place when needed, and respond appropriately to potentially hazardous situations. This level of control is crucial for both the dog's well-being and the owner's peace of mind.

Untrained Dogs: Lack of training can pose safety risks, especially in unpredictable situations. Untrained dogs may be more prone to running off, getting into accidents, or engaging in undesirable behaviors that could compromise their safety and that of others. This lack of control can lead to tense situations and potential conflicts.

Section 3: Bonding and Trust Trained Dogs: Training fosters a deeper bond and trust between the dog and its owner. Positive reinforcement techniques create a positive association with learning, strengthening the connection and communication between the two. A well-trained dog is more likely to see its owner as a leader, resulting in a more balanced and harmonious relationship.

Untrained Dogs: In the absence of training, the bond between the dog and its owner may be strained. Behavioral issues can create frustration and confusion on both ends, hindering the development of a strong, trusting relationship. This lack of understanding can impact the overall happiness and satisfaction of both the pet and the owner.

Conclusion: While the allure of a carefree, untrained pup may be tempting, the advantages of investing time and effort into dog training are undeniable. From improved behavior and safety to enhanced bonding and trust, a trained dog not only enriches its own life but also contributes to a more joyful and stress-free experience for its owner. Choosing the path of training is an investment that pays off in a lifetime of companionship, understanding, and shared adventures.

Check This Hidden Dogs Potential Trainings>>

[mamun258]

View credit from the perspective of financing model

It can be simply said that there are three main financing models between borrowers and financial platforms: credit loans, factoring, and bill discounting;

For borrowers, in addition to common  HE Tuber  credit loans (Huabei, Jiebei, mortgage loans), if you have accounts receivable (similar to IOUs) and bills, you can find a financial platform for a loan and quickly obtain funds.

So what are their specific modes and what are the differences?

1. Credit loan

The borrower makes a loan to the financial platform based on credit. Common ones, such as credit cards, Huabei, Jiebei, housing loans, car loans, education loans, and corporate current loans, all belong to credit loans.

The business model of a credit loan is relatively simple, which is to apply for a loan and repay the principal and interest, as shown below:

But I have to mention here, where did the credit card, which brings great convenience to life, come from?

1) The origin and development of credit cards

In New York in the last century, there was a businessman named McNamara. One day, he had an incident when he was entertaining guests for dinner in a restaurant. When checking out, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his wallet. This made him feel so embarrassed that he had to call his wife and ask her to bring cash to settle the bill. The incident gave him an idea: It would be great if there was a way to pay without cash. So, he cooperated with his friends and founded the "Diners Club" and launched a new payment method - a card that can record consumption, which is an early credit card.

At that time, credit cards were a manifestation of commercial credit, but over time, banks began to intervene, and credit cards gradually evolved into tools based on bank credit. In the beginning, the use of credit cards was very limited because cardholders could only use their credit cards in specific areas due to the lack of connections between different banks. But banks quickly realized this problem and began to establish partnerships with banks in other regions to expand the use of credit cards.

In 1976, the Bank of America card was renamed VISA, which is what we know today as Visa. At the same time, in order to compete with the VISA card monopoly, other banks gathered together to form the Master Card organization, the Master Card organization. The competition between these two organizations has promoted the development of the credit card industry, making VISA and Master Card the two giants in the global credit card market.

2) Risks of credit cards

The emergence of credit cards has greatly facilitated our lives and provided interest income for lenders (such as financial platforms and funds). However, credit loans also have risks, such as:

Credit risk: The borrower is unable to repay on time, resulting in default. This is the most immediate risk in the credit card business. In times of recession or mass unemployment, default rates typically rise, affecting banks' asset quality.

Fraud risks: including identity theft, card theft or false transactions. Hackers steal credit card information through phishing attacks to conduct unauthorized transactions.

"Professional loan account" risk: Some individuals or groups specifically use the interest-free period and reward mechanism of credit cards to obtain benefits, but do not bear the corresponding credit risks. Individual users borrow money in turn through multiple credit cards to maintain cash flow during the interest-free period, but do not make actual purchases.

“Grabbing” behavior: Users take advantage of credit card preferential policies (such as points and cash back) to obtain additional benefits, but this may cause the bank to bear costs beyond expectations. Users apply for credit cards in large numbers just to get sign-up bonuses and promotional offers.

3) Risk avoidance

In order to avoid risks in the credit card business, common solutions for banks and credit card companies include:

Credit system: Unified management of borrower information, loan application information, credit information, post-loan management, rating information and other data to form files.

Credit reporting: uniformly report to the People's Bank of China for credit reporting.

Intelligent risk control: Through information sharing, risk control models, and risk control ledgers, it helps assess corporate and individual risk levels and reduce labor costs and human errors.

2. Factoring

So as an enterprise, especially in supply chain finance, in addition to credit, when an enterprise generates transactions, the transactions are accompanied by "accounts receivable", which can also bring funds to the enterprise.

Factoring is the act of a borrower making a loan to a financial platform based on "accounts receivable". Common companies include: CITIC Prudential Factoring Co., Ltd., Industrial Bank Factoring, HSBC, and Coface.

Suppose there is a supplier that sells a batch of products to China Railway with a total value of 10 million yuan. China Railway agreed to pay the full amount after 360 days and issued an accounts receivable for this purpose.

Since the supplier needed funds to purchase new production materials and pay employees, it decided not to wait for the 360-day account period and chose to use factoring services to obtain cash.

1) Factoring process

Agreement signing: The supplier signed a factoring agreement with a financial platform (factoring company) and transferred its 10 million yuan account receivable from China Railway to the factoring company.

Fund advance: According to the agreement, the factoring company paid most of the amount of this account receivable to the supplier, assuming it was 9 million yuan (that is, 90% of the original account amount).

Payment fees: According to the agreement, the supplier needs to pay interest, platform service fees and other fees to the factoring company, assuming it is 100,000 yuan.

Collection by the factoring company: The factoring company collects the original 10 million yuan in accounts receivable from China Railway/Factor 360 days later.

Settlement difference: After supermarket chain B paid in full, the factoring company paid the remaining 1 million yuan to electronic company A.

2) Results

For suppliers, most of the funds (9 million yuan) were obtained before the accounts receivable expired, solving short-term funding needs.

For the factoring company, interest and fees (100,000 yuan) were obtained as profits, and the accounts receivable were successfully recovered after 360 days.

For China Railway, the account was paid 360 days later as originally planned, reducing procurement risks.

3. Bill discount (bank bills/commercial bills)

Bill discounting is somewhat similar to accounts receivable, but the form and cost are different. After getting the bill, you can find a company or bank to exchange it into money. The bill here can be a bank acceptance bill or a commercial acceptance bill, depending on the issuing party. Is it a bank or a business.

Suppose there is a supplier now that sells a batch of goods to China Railway with a total value of 1 million yuan. In order to delay payment, China Railway issued a bank acceptance draft due in six months to Company A.

Now, because the supplier needs funds to purchase raw materials, he decides not to wait for the bill of exchange to mature, but instead chooses to discount the bill to obtain cash.

1) Bill discounting process

Submit a bill of exchange: The supplier takes this bill of exchange with a face value of 1 million yuan and due in six months to the bank for discounting.

Calculate the discount rate: The bank decides to charge an annual discount rate of 7% for this bill of exchange. Because the remaining term of the bill of exchange is six months, the actual discount interest is 1 million yuan × 7% × 0.5 (half a year) = 35,000 yuan.

Obtain cash: After the bank deducts a fee of 35,000 yuan, the cash paid to Company A is 1 million yuan – 35,000 yuan = 965,000 yuan.

The bill of exchange expires: Six months later, the bill of exchange expires, and the bank collects the full amount of 1 million yuan from China Railway.

2) Results

Through bill discounting, the supplier obtained the required cash of 965,000 yuan before the bill of exchange expired, solving its short-term funding needs.

The bank received interest income of 35,000 yuan.

China Railway paid 1 million yuan when the bill of exchange expired, reducing procurement risks.

[mamun52]

View credit from the perspective of financing model

It can be simply said that there are three main financing models between borrowers and financial platforms: credit loans, factoring, and bill discounting;

For borrowers, in addition to common HE Tuber credit loans (Huabei, Jiebei, mortgage loans), if you have accounts receivable (similar to IOUs) and bills, you can find a financial platform for a loan and quickly obtain funds.

So what are their specific modes and what are the differences?

1. Credit loan

The borrower makes a loan to the financial platform based on credit. Common ones, such as credit cards, Huabei, Jiebei, housing loans, car loans, education loans, and corporate current loans, all belong to credit loans.

The business model of a credit loan is relatively simple, which is to apply for a loan and repay the principal and interest, as shown below:

But I have to mention here, where did the credit card, which brings great convenience to life, come from?

1) The origin and development of credit cards

In New York in the last century, there was a businessman named McNamara. One day, he had an incident when he was entertaining guests for dinner in a restaurant. When checking out, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten his wallet. This made him feel so embarrassed that he had to call his wife and ask her to bring cash to settle the bill. The incident gave him an idea: It would be great if there was a way to pay without cash. So, he cooperated with his friends and founded the "Diners Club" and launched a new payment method - a card that can record consumption, which is an early credit card.

At that time, credit cards were a manifestation of commercial credit, but over time, banks began to intervene, and credit cards gradually evolved into tools based on bank credit. In the beginning, the use of credit cards was very limited because cardholders could only use their credit cards in specific areas due to the lack of connections between different banks. But banks quickly realized this problem and began to establish partnerships with banks in other regions to expand the use of credit cards.

In 1976, the Bank of America card was renamed VISA, which is what we know today as Visa. At the same time, in order to compete with the VISA card monopoly, other banks gathered together to form the Master Card organization, the Master Card organization. The competition between these two organizations has promoted the development of the credit card industry, making VISA and Master Card the two giants in the global credit card market.

2) Risks of credit cards

The emergence of credit cards has greatly facilitated our lives and provided interest income for lenders (such as financial platforms and funds). However, credit loans also have risks, such as:

Credit risk: The borrower is unable to repay on time, resulting in default. This is the most immediate risk in the credit card business. In times of recession or mass unemployment, default rates typically rise, affecting banks' asset quality.

Fraud risks: including identity theft, card theft or false transactions. Hackers steal credit card information through phishing attacks to conduct unauthorized transactions.

"Professional loan account" risk: Some individuals or groups specifically use the interest-free period and reward mechanism of credit cards to obtain benefits, but do not bear the corresponding credit risks. Individual users borrow money in turn through multiple credit cards to maintain cash flow during the interest-free period, but do not make actual purchases.

“Grabbing” behavior: Users take advantage of credit card preferential policies (such as points and cash back) to obtain additional benefits, but this may cause the bank to bear costs beyond expectations. Users apply for credit cards in large numbers just to get sign-up bonuses and promotional offers.

3) Risk avoidance

In order to avoid risks in the credit card business, common solutions for banks and credit card companies include:

Credit system: Unified management of borrower information, loan application information, credit information, post-loan management, rating information and other data to form files.

Credit reporting: uniformly report to the People's Bank of China for credit reporting.

Intelligent risk control: Through information sharing, risk control models, and risk control ledgers, it helps assess corporate and individual risk levels and reduce labor costs and human errors.

2. Factoring

So as an enterprise, especially in supply chain finance, in addition to credit, when an enterprise generates transactions, the transactions are accompanied by "accounts receivable", which can also bring funds to the enterprise.

Factoring is the act of a borrower making a loan to a financial platform based on "accounts receivable". Common companies include: CITIC Prudential Factoring Co., Ltd., Industrial Bank Factoring, HSBC, and Coface.

Suppose there is a supplier that sells a batch of products to China Railway with a total value of 10 million yuan. China Railway agreed to pay the full amount after 360 days and issued an accounts receivable for this purpose.

Since the supplier needed funds to purchase new production materials and pay employees, it decided not to wait for the 360-day account period and chose to use factoring services to obtain cash.

1) Factoring process

Agreement signing: The supplier signed a factoring agreement with a financial platform (factoring company) and transferred its 10 million yuan account receivable from China Railway to the factoring company.

Fund advance: According to the agreement, the factoring company paid most of the amount of this account receivable to the supplier, assuming it was 9 million yuan (that is, 90% of the original account amount).

Payment fees: According to the agreement, the supplier needs to pay interest, platform service fees and other fees to the factoring company, assuming it is 100,000 yuan.

Collection by the factoring company: The factoring company collects the original 10 million yuan in accounts receivable from China Railway/Factor 360 days later.

Settlement difference: After supermarket chain B paid in full, the factoring company paid the remaining 1 million yuan to electronic company A.

2) Results

For suppliers, most of the funds (9 million yuan) were obtained before the accounts receivable expired, solving short-term funding needs.

For the factoring company, interest and fees (100,000 yuan) were obtained as profits, and the accounts receivable were successfully recovered after 360 days.

For China Railway, the account was paid 360 days later as originally planned, reducing procurement risks.

[tastydregs]

While Google and OpenAI Fight for the AI Bone, the Open Source Community Is Running Away with It

“Hey, did you hear? they say Google and OpenAI don’t have a competitive advantage in LLM.” “Yeah, sure… who said it?” “Google.” “Wait a minute…”

Photo by Kai Wenzel on Unsplash

One week ago SemiAnalysis released a real shocker when they made public a leaked document from Google titled “We Have No Competitive Edge, And Neither Does OpenAI.” While we can’t be sure if the document is legit, it brings up some thought-provoking points about the real struggle in the world of large language models (LLMs). It’s not Google vs. OpenAI; it’s more like open-source LLMs taking on their closed-source counterparts.

This leaked document hints that both Google and OpenAI might be losing their edge against the ever-growing open-source LLM community. The reason? It’s pretty simple: open-source projects are moving at lightning speed. Faster than large corporations or corporate-backed companies can match, especially since open-source projects don’t face many reputational risks. Apparently written by a Google researcher, the document emphasizes that even though Google and OpenAI have been working hard to create the most powerful language models, the open-source community is catching up at an astonishing speed. Open-source models are quicker, more adaptable, and more portable. They’ve managed to achieve great results with much less resources, while Google is grappling with bigger budgets and more complex models.

What’s more, having tons of researchers working together in the open makes it tougher for companies like Google and OpenAI to stay ahead of the game in terms of technology. The report says that keeping a competitive edge in tech is getting even more difficult now that cutting-edge LLM research is within reach. Research institutions around the globe are building on each other’s work, exploring the solution space in a way that’s way beyond what any single company can do. Turns out, being able to train huge models from scratch on pricey hardware isn’t the game changer it used to be, which means pretty much anyone with a cool idea can create an LLM and share it.

Alright, we’ve seen open-source projects trying to outdo their corporate counterparts before, but let’s dig a bit deeper to see if this is a genuine threat in the AI world.

Ups and downs in the world of open collaboration

Open-source software has always seen its ups and downs. Some projects like BIND, WordPress, and Firefox have done really well, showing that they can stand up against big-name enterprise products. On the flip side, projects like OpenOffice, GIMP and OpenSolaris faced struggles and rapidly lost ground. Regardless, open-source software is still popular, with many websites using Apache web servers, BIND servers, and MySQL databases.

Now, the problem is that keeping open-source projects funded and maintained can be tricky. It takes solid planning, the right resources, and a real connection with users. If a project has a dedicated user base and passionate developers, it’s more likely to stay on top of its game and keep getting better. Back in 2018, OpenAI faced some of these hurdles and decided it was time for a change. They started looking for capital and eventually became a capped-profit company. That means they could get investments and offer investors a return capped at 100x their initial investment.

OpenAI said they needed to make these changes to fund research, support big companies, and keep things safe. So, you could argue they did what they had to do to dodge the usual open-source pitfalls. But that did not come for free, since, while OpenAI has made impressive progress in AI development, its increasing secrecy, lack of transparency, and limited customization options have alienated the very community it once aimed to serve.

On the other hand, Google is really into open-source software, and they are involved in quite a few open-source projects. Just look at Android, their mobile operating system. It’s built on the Linux kernel and has been a game-changer in making open-source software popular in the smartphone world. Today, most smartphones run on Android. Another awesome open-source project from Google is Kubernetes, which has become the top choice for container orchestration. It helps developers automate things like deployment, scaling, and managing containerized applications. Last but not least, let’s not forget Chromium. Google’s Chrome is built on the open-source Chromium project, and it has become super popular since its launch.

By being part of open-source projects like these, Google shows they are really into transparency, openness, and working together to create innovative and flexible software solutions. They are dedicated to making the tech world more inclusive, diverse, and accessible for everyone. For this reason, I wouldn’t be too shocked if Google decided to make their next big language model an open-source project. It could be a clever move because they’d have all their brand, marketing, and developer muscle behind it, giving OpenAI some serious competition. Of course, that’s assuming the model’s quality would be on par, which hasn’t been the case so far. What’s even more crucial is that someone else might snag that spot first. As we’ll see next, there’s a long list of newbies waiting in line.

A guided journey through the open-source LLM boom

One of the coolest aspects of the SemiAnalysis document is the recent timeline highlighting key milestones in the open-source community, particularly in the area of large language models (LLMs). It all starts with what might be considered the “big bang” of recent open-source LLM advancements — the release of LLaMA by Meta on February 24, 2023 . LLaMA is a LLM with sizes from 7B to 65B parameters, claiming to require less computing power, making it ideal for testing new approaches. Actually, it was not released as an open-source model, but one week after the release, LLaMA’s model weights leaked to the public, and everyone got a chance to play around with it. That’s when things started snowballing.

Here is a quick summary of the milestones described in the document:

Artem Andreenko’s Raspberry Pi implementation of LLaMA (March 12, 2023)

Stanford’s Alpaca release (March 13, 2023)

Georgi Gerganov’s 4-bit quantization of LLaMA, letting it run on a MacBook CPU without a GPU (March 18, 2023)

Vicuna’s 13B model release (March 19, 2023) was trained for just $300.

Cerebras trained an open-source GPT-3 architecture that outshines existing GPT-3 clones.

LLaMA-Adapter (March 28, 2023) set a new record on multimodal ScienceQA with just 1.2M learnable parameters using a Parameter Efficient Fine Tuning (PEFT) technique.

UC Berkeley’s Koala (April 3, 2023) releases a dialogue model trained entirely on free data, costing $100 and scoring over 50% user preference compared to ChatGPT.

Open Assistant release (April 15, 2023) offers a complete open stack for running RLHF (reinforcement learning from human feedback) models with a 48.3% human preference rating.

And the list goes on…

Yes, you got it right. All of this happened in just over two months, proving how lively the open-source scene is. However, most of these open-source models might be known only to insiders and haven’t hit the mainstream (I have to admit that I learned about the majority of them through the leaked document too). But just some days ago, on May 5, a possible game-changer arrived: MosaicML released MPT-7B, setting the bar high for open-source competitors (and maybe even OpenAI). What’s more, it’s licensed for commercial use, unlike LLaMA. The MPT series also supports super-long inputs with context lengths of up to 84k during inference.

MosaicML put the MPT series through rigorous tests on various benchmarks, showing it can match LLaMA-7B’s high-quality standards. The base MPT-7B model is a decoder-style transformer with 6.7B parameters, trained on 1T tokens of text and code. MosaicML also released three fine-tuned versions: MPT-7B-StoryWriter-65k+ for super long context lengths in fiction; MPT-7B-Instruct for short-form instruction following; and MPT-7B-Chat, a chatbot-like model for dialogue generation.

MPT-7B was trained on the MosaicML platform in just 9.5 days using 440 GPUs, with no human intervention. The perks of these improvements are clear in the numbers. For example, MosaicML claims that the MPT-7B model gives a competitive performance with only 7 billion parameters, which is 28 times smaller than OpenAI’s GPT-3 with its 175 billion parameters. This size reduction means big cost savings since fewer resources are needed for both training and deployment. Plus, the smaller MPT-7B model is more portable, making it easier to incorporate into various applications and platforms.

So, the million-dollar question is: can MPT-7B match the quality level we’ve come to expect from ChatGPT? We’ll see. But one thing is for sure — the open-source world of LLMs is buzzing with excitement and innovation, and it won’t be long before we’ll find out.

So, do we have a clear winner?

No, actually we don’t. I don’t think that all the fears expressed in the article are necessarily well founded. Many of the concerns raised in the article might not be well-founded. However, this isn’t exactly great news for Google either, as OpenAI still remains by far the undisputed leader in the LLM market. OpenAI made a clever and bold move in November 2022 by launching ChatGPT for public use, totally free and perhaps not yet fully secured. This move garnered massive traction, making OpenAI the fastest company to reach one million users in just five days, and a whopping 100 million by the end of January 2023.

Impressive numbers aside, there’s an important point to be made here: OpenAI is collecting a huge (and I mean HUGE) amount of user data. While the leaked document claims that faster, cheaper algorithms provide a competitive advantage, that’s only part of the story. In the realm of AI, what truly matters to users is the quality of information that models offer. To make better inferences, more data and feedback are needed, and that’s exactly what OpenAI is collecting.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that OpenAI has Microsoft’s backing, granting them access to a massive cloud of user data. When your AI can whip up a stunning PowerPoint presentation, a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet, or the perfect LinkedIn profile just by describing them in words, the algorithm used to accomplish that becomes irrelevant. But when you ask questions and receive incorrect responses, knowing the algorithm was trained on a mere $300 budget is hardly comforting.

While Google and OpenAI Fight for the AI Bone, the Open Source Community Is Running Away with It was originally published in Towards AI on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

[occultfolk]

Lets talk: chakras!

in this post, we'll talk about chakras! what they are, why its important to keep them balanced and how they can aid/hinder our spiritual journey.

FAQs |

I. what even are chakras? Chakras points of energy throughout the body where the physical and higher selves meet.

II. what do they do? each chakra corresponds to massive nerve centers and major organs in the body. each of the 7 chakras also contains our spiritual states of being.

INTRODUCTION |

so what ARE the 7 chakras? glad you asked! let's break them down, one by one, because in order to begin to unblock or even open our chakras, we need to understand them throughly.

before we begin, let's do a little meditation lesson. lie down on a comfortable, flat surface. now, using your pendulum, hover over each of your chakra points — if the pendulum moves with the flow of the position of your body, the chakra is open. but if it does not move, it is blocked.

now, this comes with a grain of salt because while it can be a useful simple way to check the chakras, it cannot be the only way you check them.

SEVEN CHAKRAS |

1. Root Chakra (Muladhara)

The root chakra represents our foundation. On the human body, it sits at the base of the spine and gives us the feeling of being grounded. When the root chakra is open, we feel confident in our ability to withstand challenges and stand on our own two feet. When it's blocked, we feel threatened, as if we're standing on unstable ground.

Location: Base of spine, in tailbone area

What it controls: Survival issues such as financial independence, money, and food

Mantra: "I can't grow from an unsteady foundation."

Color: Red

Element: Earth

Stone: Hematite

2. Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)

The sacral chakra helps inform how we relate to our emotions and the emotions of others. It also governs creativity and sexual energy. Those with a blocked sacral chakra could feel a lack of control in their lives.

Location: Lower abdomen, about 2 inches below the navel

What it controls: Your sense of abundance, well-being, pleasure, and sexuality

Mantra: "I always honor others but not before myself."

Color: Orange

Element: Water

Stone: Tiger's Eye

3. Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

The third chakra, the solar plexus chakra, speaks to your ability to be confident and in control of your life. Think back to the last time you had butterflies or felt a pit in the stomach: That's the Manipura chakra at work. If your solar plexus chakra is blocked, you might feel overwhelming amounts of shame and self-doubt. Those with open sacral chakras are free to express their true selves.

Location: Upper abdomen in the stomach area

What it controls: Self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem

Mantra: "Self-love starts when I accept all parts of myself."

Color: Yellow

Element: Fire

Stone: Amber

4. Heart Chakra (Anahata)

The heart chakra is the bridge between the lower chakras (associated with materiality) and the upper chakras (associated with spirituality). As the name suggests, this chakra can influence our ability to give and receive love—from others and ourselves. Someone with a blocked heart chakra will have difficulty fully opening up to the people in their life. If someone's heart is open, they can experience deep compassion and empathy.

Location: Center of chest, just above the heart

What it controls: Love, joy, and inner peace

Mantra: "When I love myself, loving others comes easily."

Color: Green

Element: Air

Stone: Rose Quartz

5. Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)

The throat chakra gives voice to the heart chakra and controls our ability to communicate our personal power. When it's functioning at full capacity, it allows us to express ourselves truly and clearly. Someone with a blocked throat chakra will feel like they have trouble finding the words to say how they truly feel.

Location: Throat

What it controls: Communication, self-expression, and truth

Mantra: "I speak my truth, always."

Color: Light Blue/Turquoise

Element: Sound/Music

Stone: Aquamarine

6. Third-Eye Chakra (Ajna)

As we move up the body, we're getting closer to communion with the divine. The third-eye chakra controls our ability to see the big picture and connect to intuition. Think of it as the eye of the soul: It registers information beyond the surface level. Visions and intuitive hits are not uncommon for someone with an open third-eye chakra.

Location: Forehead between the eyes (also called the Brow Chakra)

What it controls: Intuition, imagination, and wisdom

Mantra: "I am open to exploring what cannot be seen."

Color: Dark Blue/Purple

Element: Light

Stone: Amethyst

7. Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

The crown chakra, the highest chakra, sits at the crown of the head and represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually. When you fully open your crown chakra—something very few people ever do!—you're able to access a higher consciousness.

Location: The very top of the head

What it controls: Inner and outer beauty, spiritual connection

Lesson: "I am a vessel for love and light."

Color: Violet/White

Element: Divine Consciousness

Stone: Clear quartz

BLOCKED/OPEN |

now that we have a better understanding of the chakras, what they do and more important where they are, we can talk about the reasons we might have blocks, and the things we can do to reopen those blocks and therefore progress in our spiritual journies.

i read a book about charkas a while ago, and then i feel it explains the reasons better than i could, here is an excerpt from that book.

"A blocked chakra means energy is stuck or hindered. You might think of it as a blocked artery. In order for energy and information to flow, the channels through which they flow must be open. You will have difficulty getting to work on time if the roads are blocked by traffic. In the same way, the chakras cannot work at optimal levels when the pathways have blockages. These blockages can be physical, emotional or psychological, spiritual, karmic, or energetic.

The blocks can be physical, in the literal sense, such as fatty deposits in the arteries, a tumor, a cyst, or excess waste. We can create blockages in the physical body through poor dietary choices, lack of exercise, overexertion, and lifestyle choices such as overwork, drug use, or lack of sleep.

Blocks in the chakras can also be emotional or psychological, such as stored emotions from the past or mental illness such as anxiety, depression, or addiction. We accumulate emotional toxins and residue from not properly processing and digesting emotions and experiences. These toxins result in blocking the energy flow of the chakras.

Blocks can be spiritual in nature. They can come from outside spiritual forces or from within. If we refuse to honor the spiritual side of who we are, we block the higher chakras. Being spiritually rigid and strict can also restrict the flow of energy. Remember, whether the forces are external or internal, without your conscious awareness they can create harm.

Blockages can also come from our karma. The word karma in Sanskrit literally means “action.” In life we perform actions that are good or nourishing, bad or harmful, or neutral. An example of a good action might be giving money to charity. A bad action might be intentionally lying or deceiving. A neutral action might be making the bed (which, if you dig deeper, can also be considered a good action, depending on the circumstances). In the East, certain religions and philosophies adhere to the principle that we accumulate karma throughout lifetimes, and we carry it forth into our current life. The definition of karma, in this sense, assumes a belief in reincarnation and asserts that karma is not simply the action performed but also the consequences of that action. Good karma carried forward can give us favor in our current lifetime. Bad karma is a debt we must repay in this or future lifetimes.

Finally, the blocks can be energetic. I explained a little about energetic blockages when I spoke about my astrological chart. We are a part of this earth, our solar system, and the universe. The influence of the earth’s energy and elements, as well as of the energy of the sun, moon, and planets in our solar system, is strong and undeniable. Ayurveda, the five-thousand-year-old medical system from India, recognizes these energetic forces and acknowledges them as a means of healing. You can learn more about Ayurveda by reading my book The Wheel of Healing with Ayurveda: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle. Ayurveda works on the principles of the five elements — space, air, fire, water, and earth — which work together to create the three doshas, or mind-body types, of Vata (space and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water and earth). These elements and mind-body types are relevant in recognizing energetic blocks within your body and the chakras. This awareness will give you more tools toward your healing of the chakras and provide a superspeed highway to creating energy flow." — CHAKRA HEALING FOR VIBRANT ENERGY by Michelle S. Fondin.

so how do we unblock them then? well, its more complicated than can be explained in a single tumblr post, but i will tell you how to get the energies moving whilst you work through the blocks and figure them out.

we need to understand, that we are all different, and our spiritual journies will all be different. the same goes for things like chakras.

1st Chakra (Root)

Element: The root chakra is associated with earth, so walking barefoot in the sand, grass, or dirt can be beneficial. Any time spent in nature is helpful for this chakra.

Nutrition: Eat healthy red foods like tomatoes, beets, berries, and apples.

Wear and Decorate: Use accents of red and wear red jewelry, clothing, or shoes.

Sound: lam

2nd Chakra (Sacral)

Element: The sacral chakra is associated with water, which means swimming or spending time by bodies of water like lakes and oceans is beneficial.

Nutrition: Eat orange foods like carrots, oranges, melons, or mangoes.

Wear and Decorate: Surround yourself with orange accessories or tones.

Sound: vam

3rd Chakra (Solar Plexus)

Element: The solar plexus chakra is associated with the element of fire, so enjoy sitting around a bonfire or soak up bright sunlight.

Nutrition: Eat yellow foods like bananas, ginger, turmeric, pineapple, and corn.

Wear and Decorate: Wearing yellow clothing, jewelry, and accessories would be beneficial.

Sound: ram

4th Chakra (Heart)

Elements: The heart chakra is associated with air, so breathing deeply will help to clear the energy at this level. Drive with the windows open, fly a kite, or take a boat ride.

Nutrition: Eat green foods including broccoli, avocado, and leafy greens like kale or spinach.

Wear and Decorate: Accent your life with all shades of green.

Sound: yum

5th Chakra (Throat)

Element: The throat chakra is associated with ether (similar to spirit), so sitting in an open space under a clear sky is a fabulous way to get this energy flowing appropriately.

Nutrition: Eat blue foods like blueberries, currants, dragon fruit, and kelp.

Wear and Decorate: Use all blue tones.

Sound: ham

6th Chakra (Third Eye)

Element: The third eye chakra is associated with light. To balance and open this chakra, sit in stillness in the sunlight or relax in a window as the sun pours in.

Nutrition: Eat indigo foods including purple kale, grapes, and blackberries.

Wear and Decorate: Wearing indigo clothing or jewelry and decorating with accents of this color will be useful.

Sound: sham

7th Chakra (Crown)

Element: The crown chakra is affiliated with all the elements, so connecting with your wholeness rather than a single element is the recommended practice. Spend time in meditation, chanting, or prayer.

Nutrition: At this level, the nutrition is no longer for the physical body. This chakra is not nourished with food, but with spiritual practices. Practice self-reflection and curiosity.

Wear and Decorate: Wearing violet clothing or jewelry and decorating with accents of this color will be useful.

Sound: om

CONCLUSION |

hopefully you all understand chakras a bit better now! but, if any questions are to come up that you can't seem to find an answer to, my ask box is always open! (like my chakras).

[the-irken-pony]

You said to remind you about that Henry and the CCC thing...I can’t find it...

YES YOU'RE RIGHT

A lot has happened so I haven't been able to get to it for a while but THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME

So first of all, I want to emphasize the CCC's relative importance in the Henry Stickmin series.

Part 1: The CCC vs the other factions

All of the other major factions in THSC appeared in Infiltrating the Airship or later, not counting Winston Davis and Gene Fredrickson, two members of the Toppat Clan who were introduced before the Toppat Clan was formally introduced. The Government and the Toppat Clan were formally introduced in Infiltrating the Airship, and The Wall was formally introduced in Fleeing the Complex.

The Center for Chaos Containment, meanwhile, made an appearance as early as Stealing the Diamond, back when Henry was a simple thief with some bizarre abilities (which I will touch on in a bit). Since their initial introduction, the CCC has made brief yet consistent appearances in every following game, introducing at least one member who has not been seen prior (often more).

So, if they're so important, why are they so much less prominent than other factions? Simple: their job is to contain chaos from behind the scenes to try to normalize the world around them. Unless something major is going down that requires intervention, there's no reason to publicly show their face.

And honestly? It might actually be better for everyone that they don't. After all, the CCC has demonstrated power beyond what the Government or the Toppats could even dream of. Sure, the Toppats might also have giant space lasers, but they were only able to get them after major funding and numerous months--probably years--of preparation. Likewise, the Government may have access to nuclear (emphasis on "may" because this is unconfirmed), but the CCC is able to whip these out without a second thought.

Yet the CCC's power goes further. Also at the CCC's disposal are gargantuan robots (one of which is G.A.B.E.G.G., which forces the Govt to abort the Toppat raid), a calculator that can instantly vaporize the world by dividing by 0, the ability to stop time itself, and a "Dark Energy Blaster" (capable of instantly wiping out all life within a certain radius).

Sure, the Government may have Charles' helicopter which is capable of some wacky things, and the Toppat Clan and the Wall may have superpowered members, but none of it even comes close to just how far the CCC's power extends. And yet! No one! Talks about it!!

Okay, so I've talked on and on about just how strong the CCC is. How is this at all related to Henry?

Part 2: Henry Stickmin, a thief in need of cash

Before I can get into how Henry and the CCC are connected, I need to touch on who Henry Stickmin actually is, or at least how he started.

Early on in the series, before he was captured by the Govt, Henry's sole motive was getting money in order to pay for rent (and presumably other bills).

Over the course of the first two games, Breaking the Bank and Escaping the Prison, Henry learns two new things about himself:

1. Not only does he die in numerous alternate timelines, but he remembers these timelines in which he dies (or is otherwise inconvenienced) as though they were his own.

2. Some mysterious force which he had never before known (the player) has begun to provide him with various tools to help him achieve various degrees of success (or lack thereof).

The evidence for both of these are provided by one particular recurring object in the series: the Teleporter. Not only does Henry make direct eye contact to glare at the player in ItA, but the series has him show increasing reluctance to use the teleporter whenever it's provided (eventually becoming outright refusal in Completing the Mission). Additionally, the teleporter's use in Fleeing the Complex is mutually exclusive to its use in both ItA and CtM due to the teleporter appearing in an incompatible route, suggesting he's even aware of the routes that he does not take.

However, there's one more thing which points to this being the case, which is also were we can start to see a connection between Henry and the CCC.

Off to the right, we can see that Henry was brainstorming potential jobs around the start of Stealing the Diamond.

Janitor

Prison Guard

Test subject

All but one of these options have been crossed out: “test subject”, suggesting that this is the job that he’s decided to settle on. What’s especially interesting here is that the same game we see this is the same game that introduces the Center for Chaos Containment. The connections don’t end there, though.

Part 3: Henry and the CCC

As you’ve probably gathered by now, I’m making the claim that, by the beginning of Stealing the Diamond, Henry has started working for the CCC as a test subject. I mean, someone who regularly causes accidental chaos working for a faction whose job it is to contain chaos makes sense on its own, but add to that the fact that any major repercussions caused by the CCC’s reckless decisions are immediately undone with no lasting consequences? You could say it’s too good of a fit.

Plus, it would explain how they consistently appear in the same general area as Henry (even if Kyle Baxter doesn’t actually act in FtC). There are more connections between Henry and the CCC, though.

1) The CCC’s various tools directly interact with Henry at multiple points in the series, and Henry seems much less surprised by the CCC’s actions.

Meanwhile, others seem much less aware of the CCC’s influence.

2) Even with all of the major chaos incidents that Henry directly causes, Henry himself never catches the CCC’s attention.

The CCC repeatedly mentions “chaos readings” whenever chaos incidents happen in a particular area, yet either Henry himself doesn’t give off chaos readings or the CCC actively ignores him. The first option seems unlikely due to Henry’s, well... everything. Yet, if Henry gave off chaos readings and was unaffiliated with the CCC, then why wouldn’t they put more focus on containing Henry directly? Sure, they wouldn’t succeed due to Henry being able to undo their more harmful actions, but the fact that they aren’t even antagonists is... intriguing.

3) Adding on to 2, when the CCC doesn’t accidentally hurt Henry, they directly help him somehow.

While this is rarely their immediate goal, the CCC’s attempts to contain chaos often help Henry in some way or another. In Stealing the Diamond, the Tunisian diamond happens to get thrown right next to him after he escapes from the museum; in Infiltrating the Airship, Henry takes one member’s flying suit in order to make his escape with the Romanian Ruby; and in Completing the Mission, the CCC’s intervention leads the Govt to aborting the Toppat raid.

All of these are minor coincidences, but what really ties this together is the secret ending of CtM, the Multiverse Correction.

In this secret ending, the multiverse is “defragmented” and an anomaly is corrected. The way this anomaly is corrected is actually by spawning in the package seen in Escaping the Prison.

Up to now, I’ve mentioned multiple minor details that tangentially connect Henry to the CCC, but I’ve only mentioned in passing what is probably the most important part of this whole post: you, the player.

Part 4: The Player (You) and the CCC

As the various teleporter uses demonstrate, you (the player) are a separate being from Henry, and you provide Henry with different tools or make various decisions from him. However, there are very few times (if any) in which you exert full control over Henry. A major demonstration of this is with the hammer.

All identical looking options, yet depending on which of the three you select, Henry does something different with the hammer. Aside from subtle sound cues, you don’t get any clue what each option will do. All the decision making is done by Henry.

However, there are characters which you DO exert direct control over: Clyde Jenkins, Wilson Stone, and Ellias Bahtchin. All of them are members of the Center for Chaos Containment.

Every time you take control of these characters, you have a first person view of their options and, in the case of Clyde, your mouse becomes his hand.

At no other point do you control a character like this, not even with Henry. This is a trait exclusive to these three characters. And, quite frankly, it’s incredibly fascinating from a gameplay standpoint.

Is it possible that based on this, you (the player) also work for the CCC? Maybe, but it’s entirely likely that the CCC (excluding Henry) are unaware of your presence.

Conclusion:

The fact that Henry considered applying as a test subject in Stealing the Diamond as a direct result of his chaos and just so happened to keep bumping into the Center for Chaos Containment in every game since then feels like more than just coincidence.

[an-aro-without-an-ace]

An Essay On Alloaro's

Before I begin this stupidly long post, I want to add a disclaimer. This post is going to talk specifically about alloaro issues in the community, and only those issues. Everyone one in the aspec community faces issues that deserve to be talked about. That being said, there is a trend in the community to focus on issues skewing more towards asexuals and aroaces. So this post is for those who are rarely talked about. Alloaro's.

With that out of the way, lets begin. The aspec community encompasses two seperate communities of identity. The Acespec Community, asexuals and their spectrum. The Arospec Community, aromantics and their spectrum. However their is this common practice of using aspec in reference to only the Acespec community which is problematic in a few ways. This discourse has been coming up again recently with people claiming that aromantics are included under asexual using aspec to refer to asexuals. This is aromantic erasure, but it also has a heavy impact on a smaller community within the Arospec Community. One thats often forgotten about and the topic of this post.

The discourse around aromantics being under the asexual identity is extremely alloarophobic. It erases us as an identity as it implies that to be aromantic you have to be asexual or be irreversibly linked to asexuality. Its gotten to the point where "Not all aro's are ace" isn't enough to drown out the arguments, which in all honesty it never was enough. Discourse has turned into antagonism against a small community that barely ever gets its voice heard.

If you've made it this far, wonderful. Now, I'm going to break down issues we face inside and outside the aspec community and hopefully how to fix them.

Lack Of Informative Alloaro Centered Content

Its seen all the time. Aspec and LGBT positivity and informational posts simply forgetting the existence of aromantic identities or even worse, when alloaro representation ends at "Not all aro's are ace". To be clear, we have terminology that can be used beyond a single sentence of representation. Terminology that can helo those who may be questioning their orientation and are unable to even find posts about being allosexual and aromantic. How can we fix this? Simple. Acknowledge our terminology. Instead of saying a single line about us, mention us as who we are. Allosexual Aromantics.

Our Representation Being Flooded Over

I want you to imagine for a second you are in the shoes of a questioning alloaro. You've struggled with your aromanticism and don't know if thats even who are, or if you're just a "late bloomer". So, you turn to the aromantic community to try and learn about others experiences. Thats when a knot forms in your throat. As far as you can tell, almost all of the most shared, acknowledged, and featured content around the community is either blatantly asexual or aroace. You know for a fact you aren't asexual, and now you've found yourself reinforcing the idea that you can't be aromantic because of that. Just imagine that for a second. This is something tons of alloaro's have gone through before discovering that such a line of thinking is false.

How many times have you seen posts talking about how the aromantic tags get flooded with purely asexual content? Or that other aromantic identities are forgotten over the vast majority of the community favoring aroaces? This is a massive issue, and it just reinforces the idea that aromanticism and asexuality are connected or are requirements for eachother. Alloaro content and posts get burried under a slew of aroace and asexual content. Content that sometimes doesn't even get tagged as aroace, but just aromantic, making it nearly impossible to filter out for alloaros who want the allosexual part of their identity acknowledged. A passage from @aroworlds "Allosexual Aromantic Erasure: A Guide" says it best.

"Aro-aces deserve the right to see aro-ace content in aromantic spaces, but we need to address this imbalance in terms of what content dominates and how it impacts allo-aro participation in our shared community. Only then can we renegotiate a relationship that doesn’t tend to allo-aro erasure."

How can we fix it? Simple.

If your content doesnt substantially mention aromantics (more then just a sentence tacked on at the end), do not tag it aromantic. And for gods sake, NEVER tag purely asexual content as alloaro.

If your content is aroace, tag it aroace or include asexual in your tags. This allows alloaro's who want to see more representation of their allosexual identity to blacklist the term asexual in their feed. It also helps differentiate the content from being seen as aromantic and nothing else.

A Refusal To Acknowledge Or Talk About Alloaro Experiences

I've said it before and I will say it again. The alloaro experience is fundamentally different then that of aroaces, asexuals, and other identities in the Aspec community. ALL EXPERIENCES IN THE ASPEC COMMUNITY are different and simply assuming that since you've mentioned aroaces or aromantics means that you covered everything is erasure. The way we experience our aromanticism is changed due to our allosexual identities. In the aspec community, it's almost more accepted to be aroace then it is to be alloaro. In spaces for aspec discussion alloaro's often have to filter out their allosexual experiences in fear of offending or making someone who isn't allosexual uncomfortable. Rarely do you ever see a space for alloaro discussion and as a result our struggles often go unheard or even ignored by the community.

Lets take a moment to mention what we face, so that we can at least get the acknowledgement we deserve.

The coding of sexual attraction and sexual acts being inherently romantic

The vilification of sexual acts without reciprocal romantic attraction

The assumption that FWB is societal representation of alloaro's

The unspoken community caution around talking about sexual attraction or sexual experiences in the aspec community, even when tagged as aromantic or given proper warning to asexual members

Being labeled as predatory by society and even within LGBT spaces and communities

A lack of even the slightest education on how to go about sexual encounters without romantic intent in a healthy manner

The flooding of sex negative content in the aromantic tag (along with simply asexual content as a whole)

And much more I could mention but the list would drag on forever. How can we fix this? Simple.

Create more spaces for alloaro discussions and boost content that shares our struggles. Never assume you've covered our experiences because you've mentioned aroaces. Never assume you've covered our experiences because you've mentioned aromantics without specifically talking about alloaro's. Help change the atmosphere of the aspec community to make it more acceptable to talk about sexual experiences in aromantic spaces because they are not the same as asexual spaces.

Closing Statement

There is alot more I could talk about in this essay but its gotten to a length in which I doubt anyone would actually read further so I'm going to wrap things up. All aspec issues and experiences deserve to be discussed, bo matter what identity it centers around. However, that means they deserve to be discussed equally. Whether intentioned or not, refusing to acknowledge the differences in alloaro experiences is erasure, and it harms us as community. We need to elevate the voices of those who go talked over or unheard in our community. We need to stop the harmful ideas that come about when a community for all aspec identities is dominated by the views, opinions, and experiences of one side. The Aspec community is for Asexuals and Aromantics. Two separate identities with their own struggles, experiences, needs, and lives. If we can acknowledge that, and stop lumping ourselves together as if the other side doesn't exist, we can come together as a community.

Everyone deserves a voice, so lets give them one. One we're willing to hear out.