#pathways to model itself after

[kc5rings]

*staring blankly at the ceiling, cigarette in my hand slowly burning away to nothing*

There is a solid chance that the identity of Specter is the originium in Laurentina’s spine manifesting a consciousness.

[digitalafterlife]

now that i’ve deferred because a uni degree is nothing but an entrance ticket into moderate financial security and not worth utterly obliterating my mental health over i am compiling my own curriculum. all the posts i’ve ever tagged with #ref because they contain essays articles and other texts that i want to read but have never gotten around to, all that goes on the list. around fifty academic articles and book chapters downloaded onto my laptop from jstor while i still have access to it, tailored to fit my personal interests.

rearranging my self-education. little mx autodidact. carving out a passage through the brambles with a freshly sharpened machete. make no mistake, the thorns are piercing and will continue to tear at my exposed limbs, but the pain is worth the fruits of knowledge at the end, real knowledge and not something superimposed from above. i know, i know, undergrads aren’t afforded that freedom of narrowing our study, it’s something earned with time and effort and only fully permitted at a “higher” level of education, but who determines these levels?

it sounds silly and rash, but it’s a long-deliberated decision. the university environment is not right for my weird brain despite my literary inclinations, and i prefer to select my own path towards learning while working a low paying job on the side. perhaps i’ll return in a year’s time after all, matured and mellowed, hardened or roughened with real-life experience and online self-teaching, to pursue liberal arts as the most, well, liberated pathway. maybe not.

maybe if i had gone to one of those colleges where they allow you to pick and choose your own modules for your degree entirely (like one of the people that i most admire on this website did in its time) things would have gone down differently, but alas. let the world keep turning and let everything that serves no purpose any longer decompose and compost into something new .

“what has this got to do with autism?” you may ask, “i’m autistic and i completed a normal bachelors’ degree just fine.” your answer: having been in a place of moderate autistic burnout for years that abruptly turned severe in the past few months, my bodymind has shifted into what is known rather disparagingly under the medical model as “autistic regression” or “regressive autism”: a gradual distancing further and further away from accepted neurotypical standards of moving through and navigating the world around me.

one of the ways in which this unmasking presents itself, apart from the more noticeable characteristics such as outwardly visible stimming and a complete absence of eye contact, is a total inability to focus on, be motivated by and/or engage in any (textual, literary, cinematic etc etc) materials that do not connect at least tangentially or superficially with my special interests (that being ghosts/hauntings, hauntology, folk horror, lovecraftiana/cosmic horror, horror in general, the gothic, neurodiversity, alternative music; narratives/storytelling, folklore/fairytales; queer theory; carceral abolition and liberation; and a few other subjects here unlisted). according to normative capitalist logic of usefulness and productivity, that makes me “severely disabled” by virtue of “restricted interests”. i would say it makes me a interesting person with tall twisted tales to tell, but nevermind that silly nonsense, it’s a mad person speaking.

at this present moment i have no motivation, wish nor desire to continue wasting time and energy attempting to study and remember things that do not connect with the key concepts that my mind is constantly orbiting around. if that makes me incurious or annoying or limited, so be it — this neurological difference affects every aspect of my personality and i do not wish to change it. if the world around us refuses to change, we must either alter it ourselves or construct our own pathways out of the shadows and into the moonlit garden.

[bestworstcase]

@based7100 this tag made me snicker so

#forbidden tdt lore!

forbidden tdt lore!

we are not going to get into the whole entire TDT Salem Backstory for spoiler reasons and also because my gods we’d be here all day. the salient piece with regard to her semblance is that through the vast majority of the epoch between the moonfall and humanity’s return salem was experiencing varying degrees of deep deep psychosis and still, to this day, doesn’t really know How Much of what happened during that time was real. once there were people again and she’d had a few centuries to feel mostly sure of this fact, her semblance crystallized from her determination to. uh. live in this world.

(blows a kiss to ice queendom for giving me a leg to stand on here with this being in scope of what semblances can do.)

the baseline ability lets her enter and arrange her own mind as a tangible, real physical place. she has constructs representing memories, feelings, ideas, beliefs, pathways and architecture that she’s built out over thousands of years to guide and contain her thinking within the bounds she finds comfortable. which all adds up to salem being very weird but cogent Most Of The Time and having things she can do to ground herself when it gets. bad again.

in a sense her semblance is itself a realm. not a very large one—back of napkin estimate it takes about two hours to walk across end to end and four top to bottom following the main thoroughfare. but akin to ozma’s reliquaries in that it’s a real place where, conceivably, anyone could go if she opened a door. the pool of grimm and the waters of life are both In There.

(<- i had all this sketched out pre-v9 which made the salem-wrote-it ever after theory VERY FUNNY. btw)

sustaining that requires a Tremendous Amount of aura obviously but salem has an infinite reserve and also has been at it for almost the entire history of humankind 2: electric boogaloo so She’s Fine. anyway

that’s the foundation. the fun thing about giving salem a semblance of course is her immortality. what happens if you take a semblance and give it thousands upon thousands of years to cook? (one of my reasons for devising hers this way was to impose some restriction on the answer; it projects inward, not outward, because it’s a staircase she had to build to find the outside world. it can’t go the other way.)

when it originally manifested, the one point of ingress was through her dreams. (although the dividing lines between dreaming and waking and lucid semblance dreams were… permeable.) then she figured out how to cast herself in and out while awake, and from there developed a technique for making doors, which correlated with the interior construct becoming more real and let her physically enter it from remnant.

later on she decided that, since she could open the door in her semblance from anywhere on remnant, that door should also be able to open anywhere on remnant she felt like from the inside, and i think she spent a Long Time trying to make that work before it occurred to her that she could just… make more doors. (from the inside, a door always opens to where it was last opened from without; she still has not cracked this. but she does have a set of doors that all lead to destinations she’s “saved.”)

so she can use her semblance to travel, central location style, across remnant.

the other big thing she’s figured out how to do is use her semblance on other people, projecting herself into constructs of their minds. these aren’t real in the same way, they’re very dreamlike and fade when she withdraws, and of course she won’t have absolute control in a spatial model of someone else’s mind, but as you can imagine few of the outcomes of having salem in your head are pleasant. among other things this is how she “teaches” people how to communicate with grimm.

[mysticstronomy]

WHAT IF THE UNIVERSE STARTED WITH A DARK BANG??

Blog#278

Saturday, March 11th, 2023

Welcome back,

The Big Bang may have not been alone. The appearance of all the particles and radiation in the universe may have been joined by another Big Bang that flooded our universe with dark matter particles. And we may be able to detect it.

In the standard cosmological picture the early universe was a very exotic place. Perhaps the most momentous thing to happen in our cosmos was the event of inflation, which at very early times after the Big Bang sent our universe into a period of extremely rapid expansion.

When inflation ended, the exotic quantum fields that drove that event decayed, transforming themselves into the flood of particles and radiation that remain today.

When our universe was less than 20 minutes old, those particles began to assemble themselves into the first protons and neutrons during what we call Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is a pillar of modern cosmology, as the calculations behind it accurately predict the amount of hydrogen and helium in the cosmos.

However, despite the success of our picture of the early universe, we still do not understand dark matter, which is the mysterious and invisible form of matter that takes up the vast majority of mass in the cosmos.

The standard assumption in Big Bang models is that whatever process generated particles and radiation also created the dark matter. And after that the dark matter just hung around ignoring everybody else.

But a team of researchers have proposed a new idea. They argue that our inflation and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis eras were not alone.

Dark matter may have evolved along a completely separate trajectory. In this scenario when inflation ended it still flooded the universe with particles and radiation. But not dark matter. Instead there was some quantum field remaining that did not decay away.

As the universe expanded and cooled, that extra quantum field did eventually transform itself triggering the formation of dark matter.

The advantage of this approach is that it decouples the evolution of dark matter from normal matter, so that Big Bang Nucleosynthesis can proceed as we currently understand it while the dark matter evolves along a separate track.

This approach also opens up avenues to explore a rich variety of theoretical models of dark matter because now that it has a separate evolutionary track, it's easier to keep track of in the calculations to see how it might compare to observations.

For example, the team behind the paper were able to determine that if there was a so-called Dark Big Bang, it had to happen when our universe was less than one month old.

The research also found that the appearance of a Dark Big Bang released a very unique signature of strong gravitational waves that would persist into the present-day universe. Ongoing experiments like pulsar timing arrays should be able to detect these gravitational waves, if they exist .

We still do not yet know if a Dark Big Bang happened, but this work gives a clear pathway to testing the idea.

Originally published on Universe Today.com

COMING UP!!

(Wednesday, March 15th, 2023)

"BIG BANG DOES NOT EXPLAIN COSMIC CREATION"??

[loveaetingkids]

Can I please have some facts about Coraline?

Wow,I never thought someone would be interested! I gathered a few fun facts,and while I’m sure they’re easy to spot, these are fun to tell to the new viewers:

•To start it off,the movers who were unpacking Coralines family furniture were modeled and named after Joe and Jerome Ranft,who worked on Nightmare Before Christmas:

•The dollar that was handled over to them has the image of Henry Selick on it,director of Coraline:

•Wybie Lovat is not part of Neil Gaiman’s novel-he was created so that Coraline won’t talk to herself( in the book we read about her thoughts,but  it’s much harder to do so in film).

•The medal of Mr Bobynsky is real one: it was awarded to the Chornobyl disaster liquidators(fun fact:the power plant is called ChOrnobyl, not ChErnobyl since it was built in Ukraine,so Ukrainian spelling style applies). His exposure to radiation explains Bobynsky’s blue skin and unwell mind:

•The “jumping mice” are also real.They are native to the south of United States:

•During Coralines first encounter with Other Mother,when she asks Beldam what rain is she talking about,we see a quick appearance of lightning which looks suspiciously like a hand. This is not a coincidence, as the hand is closely associated with the witch (this sign appears in the cup during the foreshadowing of Spink and Forcible; her severed hand chases the heroine at the end of the movie):

•It’s a pretty well known fact,but on the cake itself we see that “home” in “Welcome home” has an “o” written with a double loop,which according to pseudoscience called graphology means that the person who wrote it is lying.Thus,Coraline is welcomed but it isn’t her home:

•Here’s my own little theory: each time Coraline crawls through the tunnel to another world, it dims,until all the colors disappear and the true essence of the pathway is revealed - a cobweb with children’s toys in it(a trap for kids).Now it might be just a trick of light,but it’s interesting to think about nevertheless:

•The audience gets hints of Beldams fairy/witch nature throughout the film; the first time is when Coraline finds a well surrounded by a circle of mushrooms, which in the beliefs of many people was associated with fairies who lured people into them(sounds familiar?).The second time is when she was given a stone with a hole in it by Spink and Forcible.This rock is often called Hag stone,and is believed to serve as a protection against evil spirits.It is also believed that you can see through the guise of a witch by looking through the hole(exactly what Coraline did to find the eyes of missing children):

•Now,the bug theme in Coraline is really prevalent,and later in the movie we can see that Other Mother is heavily associated with spiders.Meanwhile Coraline has similar thing going on-she wears hairpin resembling dragonfly,who are known for eating spiders.Because of this,the game of predator and prey is turned on its head:

That’s it for now,hope these were interesting for you!

[sobeesknees]

Story of Seasons Needs to go Back to its Roots with its Art Style: A War Against 3D

My first Harvest Moon game was Harvest Moon DS Cute, and ever since I’ve been smitten. I adored the gameplay. Farming, mining, taking care of animals, cooking, getting cute ass romance scenes and getting married?? Love it. Can’t get enough of it.

However, ever since the series started embracing/incorporating 3D into their art direction and art style, the games just haven’t been appealing for me to pick up. To put it bluntly, they can’t create a 3D art style that isn’t ugly. Every single fucking time they release a game, they shoot for the heavens with 3D and it’s just not done well. So to me, all the new games that insist on this art direction are just

u g l y.

Usually, the concept art looks fantastic. The character drawings and the box art are charming and stylized beautifully, as seen below:

from SoS: Friends of Mineral Town

But the game itself? The world/environment you’re supposed to stare at? They’re consistently literally ugly to me now. Take SoS: Friends of Mineral Town, I can understand the previous games that were like released in the 2010s as being janky ugly 3D models but this FoMT was released in 2019, and it still has the same issues with the art style that I just can’t get behind.

The characters’s 3d models. Making them look like chibis was a choice alright. The character drawings are cute but they just don’t translate well into the 3d models they chose for them. They look like toys.

The proportions are ridiculous. I don’t think its appealing, I don’t think its a good look design wise. The animals look like sentient plushies. The crops are as big as your character model.

It’s 3D but everything is just so FLAT. If you look at the grass its like one solid color, if you look at your dirt plot its one color. There’s not enough detail so it ends up looking flat and bland. If you see a vast of green land that’s all you’re getting. Might as well been a green carpet. What minuscule detailing they do have it’s just not enough to break and beautify the monotony of the landscape. 

Now compare that with their old style: Pixel art/Sprites. Admittedly, after Harvest Moon DS Cute, the only other game from the series I found appealing enough to play was Tale of Two Towns.

I much prefer the art direction they went with in those games. It was so incredibly detailed. The trees look dense. You can see the detail in the grass, you can see an abundance of weeds, flowers, whatever. The houses were pretty and the colors were charming. ToTT’s art style was an amazing elevation of pixel art. It was even more detailed and even more charming. Say what you will about these games, but the art style was definitely not bland and flat. 

Comparisons

Harvest Moon DS/Cute: look at the grass, look at the pathways, look at the dense trees, look at that house and the brick!

SoS Tale of Two Towns: Look at the water!!! Look at the grass, look at the random plants, the flowers dotted everywhere, the patchiness and the irregular pathways, look at how even denser the trees look

Sos Friends of Mineral Town: You cannot tell me this is prettier than the others. Grass looks like it was spray painted on. The water is ‘okay'.

I just wish, with my entire being, that the developers of story of seasons would just give up on the 3D. They can’t do it well. They’re not charming, they’re not pleasing to look at, and you kinda want games to be nice to look at considering you’re gonna be staring at that thing for hours to play the game??

And before you fucking try to come at me about FoMT not being their most recent release:

This is SoS: Pioneers of Olive Town (release: 2021)

yeah fuck that

I don’t think I’m old school for preferring the art styles and art direction of the older games, I just think they’re objectively prettier and the 3D whatever the developers are consistently clinging to is just plain ugly. 

Please. Let. Go.

This message doesn’t just go out to the creators of story of seasons. Every time I see a ‘cozy’ game with an interesting concept and gameplay but with that same shitty 3d bland-ass flat-ass art style I get so disappointed. And there are so many of them.

I think I can bet money on if Stardew Valley didn’t go the pixel art route it wouldn’t be as acclaimed as it is. Stardew Valley’s art style is charming and is actually appealing. I think it’s a big factor as to why so many people love it.

This is literally just a rant/tantrum because I see so many interesting games but with shit art styles and it’s such a turn off. Like. Please. Expand your horizons. 3d models can’t be the end all be all.

[skaldish]

anon asking about the neuron stuff: yeah, do share evidence that happens! cause i've never heard of that, ever, in my research on DID/OSDD. only brainscans that their brains are distinctly different than singlets trying to mimic alters

(Goofed up and composed this on the wrong blog. My brain-related blog is @prefrontal-bastard. Feel free to ask follow-up questions there.)

I don't have anything in the vein of scientific papers, if that's what you're after; everything I know about the brain I learned from various specialists growing up: Psychologists, psychiatrists, behavioral therapists, and neurologists. (Many of them were also neurodivergent, so they gave me long explanations about various brain-related problems and treatments.) This is all to say that my knowledge is the product of my experiences with treatment, as opposed to academic research.

One of these days I'll hunt down papers though. Even though I learned from experts in the field (and know they're correct because their treatments worked as intended), I do need to demonstrate the science is academically supported.

After all, people lie on the internet all the time.

I'll explain what I know, but I won't be offended if you take it with a grain of salt. I'd even be curious what you'd find if you decide to double-check my claims.

Anyways, here's my understanding of what creates Alters in DID/OSDD.

Some of the information might be redundant to you, but I've added it for posterity's sake.

So...

The brain functions like a giant organic circuit board. It can do everything it does because it's made up of cells known as neurons. Neurons communicate information to each other by releasing chemical signals known as neurotransmitters, which come in many different varieties (seratonin, dopamine, adrenaline to name a few). This chemical release is done through synapses located on little appendages known as dentrites.

Neurons link together to form long chains known as neural pathways. These organized pathways are why the brain can send and receive information so quickly.

We learn things as the result of information being sent along a certain pathway routinely. The more a pathway is used, the stronger it gets.

Here's a computer-generated map of actual neural pathways in the brain:

However, the brain also learns and adapts. If neural pathways are damaged, it will "reroute" neurons around damaged parts. This is a feature called neuroplasticity.

Relevant graphics:

Now, the brain is first and foremost a tool for survival. Early on in life, it learns what kinds adaptations it needs in order to survive, and creates foundational neural pathways in accordance to what it perceives and experiences during early childhood.

DID/OSDD arise from early childhood trauma. But the theories behind "childhood trauma" are not neurological, but psychological. Even though psychological phenomena are absolutely things we can measure, psychology itself isn't a hard science.

According to my therapist—who specializes in treating complex trauma and dissociative disorders—the mechanisms behind DID/OSDD are predicated on a psychological principle known as Attachment Theory. This theory states that the care we receive as infants and children drastically impacts our disposition later in life:

Emotional bonding is one of our core needs, like food and water. Infants will die if they're not held. Babies that have all their needs met, but are completely emotionally neglected, are prone to juvenile delinquency.

So...the quality of caregiving we receive as children determines how certain neural pathways form, and insecure attachment is in itself a kind of trauma.

The exact conditions that causes DID or OSDD probably can't be deduced by neural structures alone, which is why hard science won't name the cause. That doesn't mean there isn't a model for it at all; we just can't draw hard scientific conclusions with soft science.

The theory my therapist gave me for what causes DID/OSDD is predicated on both neurology and psychology, because there's no answer to be found just by looking at one or the other.

Here is a quote from the AIR Network Therapy Model's website on the neurological impact of developmental trauma:

Subcortical areas including the brainstem and limbic structures, and the somatosensory and motor areas of the brain encode information first, both developmentally and in times of danger. Information moves from those areas to the neocortical and left hemispheric language processing areas of the brain. This normal and adaptive process allows people to work through critical or traumatic incidents that happen to every person at some time.  Intense, complex or repeated traumas can interrupt this adaptive process such that trauma patterns and reactive or Core Survival Networks get encoded and solidified over time. 

The theory I was given, is that DID/OSDD are the young brain's way of relieving synaptic distress caused by routine, traumatic experiences. Dissociative alters are the result of the brain routing neural connections around the structures that register the distress. It does this to protect those brain-parts from being permanently compromised/destroyed, because trauma causes physical brain-damage. The only reason why it would ever resort to this is when caretakers can't be counted on to relieve the distress.

This is so thorough in DID/OSDD that the brain creates isolated neurological "chunks," which then develop independently, because they have few-to-no neural pathways connecting them and yet the brain still uses those parts because they're not damaged. This is what creates "switches," and why alters have different roles. It's also why it takes such a long time to identify alters and develop cooperation; you literally have to restructure your neural pathways so they can connect to segmented brain-parts.

Here's the definition of dissociation just for a point of comparison:

The splitting off of clusters of mental contents from conscious awareness. Dissociation is a mechanism central to dissociative disorders. The term is also used to describe the separation of an idea from its emotional significance and affect, as seen in the inappropriate affect in schizophrenia. Often a result of psychic trauma, dissociation may allow the individual to maintain allegiance to two contradictory truths while remaining unconscious of the contradiction. An extreme manifestation of dissociation is dissociative identity disorder, in which a person may exhibit several independent personalities, each unaware of the others. DSM-5, Glossary, p820.

Anyway, that's my long-winded understanding as to why this happens. Feel free to ask if you'd like me to clarify anything.

[raayllum]

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory :: End of Days

Because I like nothing more than to organize things accordingly and my brain needs something to focus on for the final few days before the season drops and we get answers to a lot of questions (or at least, a lot of the questions this theory has attempted to answer over the past two years) I thought, “Hey Dragons, why not do your best to compile and breakdown literally every single piece of evidence there is for Cube Hostage Exchange Theory, just in case you’re right and want something to fondly look back on?” 

(And also because I know I won’t have the same motivation to make this post if I’m wrong, but making this post sounds like fun for one last hurrah for myself and the little CHET posse this theory has, somehow, fondly amassed). 

So here it is. 

My end of days, final presentation of Cube Hostage Exchange Theory (otherwise nicknamed as CHET), all that it encompasses, and all that it could inspire, what’s been added to it over time, and why I think it has a decent shot at being what happens in the S4 finale. As well as a little indulgent walk down history / memory lane for me because I started posting about it two years ago, and I do what I want.

What is CHET?

A theory that proposes the S4 finale / current climax with Claudia, Aaravos and co. will threaten Rayla’s life in order for Callum to hand over the Key of Aaravos, thus allowing him to fully break free of his prison and putting the world at risk as a result, specifically in holding her hostage.

I first posted about it on September 21st, 2020 (a couple weeks after Through The Moon graphic novel got released) as just an idea and then made a proper theory post about a month later on October 26th, 2020. 

It is my little bonbon and I think it is very neat. As you can see, it was an exceeding simple plot structure modelled to be a finale or final 3 episode prediction (4x07-4x09) for the end of the season, with very little speculation of what would happen in the build up to it besides 1) Callum having to learn about Aaravos in order to know what he was risking and 2) Callum and Rayla getting a chance to hash out some of their emotional baggage even if they hadn’t wholly resolved it. 

The original theory post itself touched on some concepts that will be repeated down below, such as the idea that the hostage exchange would ideally 1) not be Rayla and Callum’s first reunion, 2) the series’ intrinsic concept of Exchange, 3) why failure is necessary for Rayla but not a punishment, 4) how her lack of self worth manifests, and perhaps most importantly, 5) how Callum is always instrumental in breaking her cycles.

The theory has since grown to encompass many others as well as a plethora of evidence I stumbled upon, first accidentally and then with a more purposefully keen eye, in terms of foreshadowing, set up, and parallel / cyclical episode structures that TDP loves to utilize and has utilized before. Again, more on that at the bottom.

What made me first think of it?

Simply put, it just seemed the most straight forward route that would also yield the biggest dramatic consequences for character and for story. Post-TTM Rayla was racing right towards Aaravos without even knowing, Callum has something called a Key, Aaravos wants to escape his prison. Thus, it would give Callum a clear hand in how the plot would move forward and fit with some of the more dubious choices he’d made before. I also liked the way it could conceivably offer up a pathway for Rayla and Callum’s emotional arcs; for Rayla, it’d be an unexpected hammer to her own perception of her self and her self worth, for Callum to throw it all on the line even after she’d hurt him so terribly much; for Callum, it would give him space to be angry with Rayla but also room for a good old “Fuck everything else, I just want you to be okay” when it comes to like, offering us a strong reconciliation within the limited emotional time frame of a TV show.

Why Should Rayla Get Saved?

Rayla left in TTM because she thought Callum could handle losing her in ways she couldn’t handle losing him. This fundamentally comes down to Rayla’s self sacrificial tendencies veering into self-destructive behaviour (leaving at all) and her justifications for it being that she isn’t “good enough” to be worth fighting for / loving the way she loves others, as well as deeper issues of survivor’s guilt and possibly not feeling like she quite deserves to live and be loved.

Although I don’t subscribe to the “Rayla left out of pride” lens at all, even under it, Rayla needing to be saved seems like the most logical conclusion, otherwise how is she supposed to learn that she can’t do everything herself? 

Rayla can’t succeed in her quest to stop Viren or to fully protect Callum, lest she think what she did in TTM is “ultimately fine” just because it worked in protecting him successfully. She also can’t single handedly stop the villains only halfway through the show. Therefore, Rayla has to fail, and likely has to fail at protecting Callum by the finale specifically, as that was her worst fear. Since she went to all this effort to protect him, the biggest form of failure would be if he ends up in danger at one point because of her. However, that’s precisely why it has to happen - and why it would also hammer that point in further if he’s also saving her while he does it.

Why Can’t Rayla Just Save Callum? 

More recently there’s been an upswing in theories regarding Rayla being Callum’s guiding light out of his “path of darkness” (Callum’s promo quote) given the way the moon halos her head upon entry, her name meaning, her associations with Truth and the Moon arcanum over Aaravos’ starry deception. It is also more in line with what I thought S4 might be like pre-TTM’s release, with Callum getting in way over his head with something magical and Rayla having to help (alongside Ezran possibly) pull him back from the brink.

The light and dark motif now running more prominently throughout both their arcs is also, funnily enough, something I noticed and wrote a meta about close to five months ago back in June, which you can read the full thing here. It was something I had always appreciated about Callum and Rayla’s framing with one another throughout S1 and particularly S2 with Rayla representing the light. It was something I only started to think more on when I began to compile parallels between Aaravos and Rayla, including their names (“between light and dark” and “ray of light” respectively). 

Thus, I do think Rayla will save Callum emotionally/mentally from Aaravos in some manner at some point in the season, as that’s in line with how she keeps Callum out of his head in S1-S3. However, the other half of that pattern is Callum saving her physically, and that’s why I think the light and darkness motif feeds nicely into what I’ve also penned as the Mutual Salvation Theory originally in August 7th, 2022, before we even knew Rayla would be returning at all.

The question then becomes: well, what is he going to save her from? To a certain degree it’s herself, as laid out in this interview with Devon Giehl (TDP’s head writer) and Michal Schick (a staff writer) regarding Rayla’s letter:

She wants to stay because she’s in love with Callum, she wants to leave because she’s in love with Callum. And I think that’s just kinda like - Rayla’s version of love is, at this point in her life, always gonna hurt someone, including herself. Badly. 

The clearest way for this to manifest is for each of them to get a chance to reaffirm their love for one another and choose each other. Due to the symbolism baked into the trailer and the season promo, it seems pretty clear that at the very least, Rayla will be guiding Callum away from darkness at one point in the season. Thus, what’s left is for him to save her in an equally thematically and plot-driven way - thus proving her previous beliefs wrong, reaffirming his love for her, and pushing the plot along. 

This dual “I save you, you save me” plot line is an add-on to broader CHET, as that would provide Callum’s turn of things. Additionally, I think Rayla saving Callum in “guiding light” way may happen before the finale, with the finale then focusing on him saving her, for one main reason:

The Moon Arcanum

Given that the season will inevitably talk about Callum reconnecting with Rayla and the foreshadowing in previous seasons that the Moon arcanum will be the next one he connects to, it seems like S4 is the most natural place for it. This is only reaffirmed by Callum likely being tempted by Aaravos, a great deceiver, as well as the way he’s obsessed with secrets and denying parts of himself / his feelings already in 4x01, and Rayla representing the Truth, the way she always has been.

If we go along that route, then there’s the question of what would compel Callum to connect to the Moon arcanum, especially if he’s off chasing dark magic somewhat this season. Again, given the thematic and symbolic set up already in store, it will likely be him admitting out loud to himself that he loves Rayla, and always will, thus allowing him to fully see past Aaravos’ deceptions (as far as temptation goes).

However, I do not think, though, that such a triumphant note can be where the season ends. After all, we know this era of the Dragon Prince’s world is known as the Return of Aaravos, and that the Startouch elf must be broken free of his prison by the end of the season. Thus, our heroes have to fail, and I think it needs to go one step further than just failing to stop Aaravos from getting out, but of actively helping him - even if it’s against their will. 

So what would that look like, and why do I think it has to be the transfer of the Cube for Rayla?

The Cube

Paraphrasing posts I’ve made before but:

1) Without the cube being called the Key of Aaravos, it being the key to Aaravos’ prison would feel like it came out of nowhere. However, because of such a specific name, it is many people’s default assumptions and that feels purposeful. After all, if they wanted one or the other kind of associations, they could have said Hand or Eye of Aaravos, or Key of mystical sounding name here, but they specifically chose to put those associations together. The show loves to be cryptic and straightforward all at once, with warnings like “Draw your last breath” (3x07) being instructions to literally draw a breathing rune

2) One of the reasons I think the cube is related to Aaravos’ prison is precisely because it was entrusted to Callum by Harrow, the two characters most concerned thematically with the theme of Freedom through both their speeches, actions (Callum shattering the primal stone to free Zym, Callum ending Rayla’s cycles) and most notably his arcanum of the Sky. So you have Callum, who is tethered to the theme of Freedom, with a Key in his possession, Aaravos having some idea of how to get himself out of his prison if his machinations / guidance of Claudia and Viren are any clue, and Aaravos, who wants to be free of his mirror prison more than anything. 

Larger meta post here as well as some very cool similarities the Key could have to the Egyptian myth of Thoth, god of knowledge, presenting a Key of Life to Osiris, god of the underworld. 

3) The Key has been associated specifically with Rayla and her relationship to Callum above anyone else since the beginning of the series. Their first real bonding moment is her agreeing to go get it from the Banther Lodge, she risks her life to do so, and is routinely the other character (sometimes swapped in or sharing that role with Bait) that Callum discusses the cube with. Then there’s also the fact that ties into one of Callum’s consistent aspects of seeing worth in things Rayla doesn’t: appreciating Xadia’s magical nature with fresh eyes (1x05), seeing worth in the Cube (1x04, 1x05), and indeed, Rayla herself (1x05, 3x04). Rayla’s language surrounding the key is also very interesting, but we’ll talk about more of that in the next point, which is:

4) Back in early December 2021, I made a post documenting what I’d noticed of the consistent way the Cube was referred to as a game piece or Aaravos playing a game. (Just for frame of reference, this was almost precisely 6-7 months prior to Aaravos holding Viren like a game piece in the SDCC intro trailer). 

Also keep in mind that Viren asks Aaravos once, and only once, if he’s playing a game. The rest of this coding is done through Rayla alone as a character: “It’s a toy. It’s piece from a children’s game,” “It’s a glow toy” and then “Are you practicing magic or are you losing a game?” which now seems like very overt S4 foreshadowing. 

This also played into what I had noticed in terms of the likelihood of games and tests being intertwined, as they often are in mythic stories or folktales, and this statement from Aaravos felt like something that had to come back in some way (and already has for Claudia as a character, circa end of 3x09). 

Playing a game (particularly chess) against Death or the devil for your soul is common and fit neatly together. The marketing for S4 has only reaffirmed this with lines like “They’re not games. They’re tests” from Soren’s short story. 

Aaravos has offered a test of love to one pawn, in Claudia, first tasking her with reviving her father, and now stretching it further to see what she’s willing to do to keep Viren alive. Viren, who was already dead, just as Rayla comes from a culture in which she is already dead and seen as a Ghost. It doesn’t feel like a stretch to presume Aaravos will give Callum his own Test of Love to either pass or fail, and given that Claudia’s have all related to Aaravos’ main priority of getting out of his mirror, Callum’s likely will too. Especially since it seems like Claudia’s motivations for helping Aaravos may change drastically in S4... but more on that later.

What Does CHET Provide Narratively?

Arc 1 of TDP was largely concerned with “How can we fix our parents’ mistakes?” However, as the world grows more complicated and characters more complex as a result, it is likely Arc 2 will ask, “How can we fix our own mistakes?” This requires mistakes to be made, of course: for Rayla, the continual fallout of her leaving, and for Callum, inadvertently helping Aaravos successfully escape his mirror - and then more so by choice (or under coercion, depending on definition). 

This ties into the way Callum often breaks Rayla’s cycles that she’s trapped in whether through her choices, circumstances, or both. By shattering the primal stone, he frees Rayla from her literal and metaphorical chain of her binding. He inspires Rayla to break the cycle in 2x07 and then does his one dark magic spell to break the chains that Rayla’s swords cannot. He breaks the literally circular pendant from Rayla (and Ethari), weighed now with grief and remembrance, in order to see her free to make her own choices.

Which is to say that Rayla is repeating all four of her parents’ most damaging behaviours and cycles, has likely come back with the intention of protecting Callum (with little to no regard to her own well being) and still believing in the idea that she has a price to pay in order to be happy, and all these damaging beliefs need to be broken. If Rayla is going to save Callum from making the full mistakes of his predecessor, in some ways, isn’t it only right that he saves her right back and does the same?

After all, let’s talk about

Paying the Price

This line from 4x01 immediately stood out to me in a major way for a few reasons: 1) this is the first time Callum has ever directly referenced paying the price in such a manner; Ezran (1 time), Rayla (multiple times), Viren (1 time), Harrow (multiple times), and Claudia (1 time) are previously the only characters to do so and Claudia’s is the one comedic exception to how the phrase is usually delivered. 2) It is also the phrase used in the season synopsis, directly asking the question of, “But where did this enigmatic Startouch elf come from? What does he want? And what price will our heroes have to pay to stop him?”

We know, of course, that they won’t stop him. We know then, that ultimately, there is a price they are not willing to pay to stop him. We know, thanks to the series extreme dedication to emphasizing agency, that they rarely let characters off the hook when it comes to making hard choices, for ex: it would’ve been so comparatively easy for Harrow to not know what Viren planned to do ahead of time to the egg and for him to find out after the fact, but instead we see that Harrow knew and approved of Viren ultimately murdering a child. 

If Callum has the cube (or whatever Aaravos needs from him) just tricked/ conned out of him, it removes what would ultimately be the hardest choice he’d have to make. If it’s taken from him forcefully, he’s failed yes and made a bad choice, but again, removes the actual hand over from the equation. When has TDP ever not forced a character to make a hard decision, after all? To choose the harder path and be aware of it, or to pick a different path and convince themselves it’s the right one? Why would Callum and everyone else suddenly be let off the hook now?

And while it’s supplementary material, so we can take it with a grain of salt, but this also ties into how Callum’s Devotional and Liberty (highest) attributes are described in his Tales of Xadia bio:

“I value those close to me more than anyone or anything” and “I’m beholden to my inner circle, not some silly kingdom” respectively

This also ties back to the perpetual trolley problem, if you will, that TDP returns to time and time again, with situations only getting worse and escalating when the dignity of an innocent or one life is disrespected and tossed over for “the greater good,” particularly without their consent. 

Even after her growing bonds with Ezran and 2.5 seasons of character development, we see Rayla consider her choice to spare Marcos to be a mistake (circa 3x03 with Ethari):

R: I failed them. It was my fault we were discovered.

This is particularly true given that Rayla’s original failure was when she was on a mission to a kill a prince and king of Katolis, and she takes on a similar literal and metaphorical mission in TTM as well: killing / leaving one prince of Katolis (symbolically) by taking a piece of his heart (“My heart for Xadia”) just like the Magma Titan while setting out to actually kill a king of Katolis (Viren) that we know she will ultimately fail in.

Which is to say that the “You saved her life and risked us all” is an interesting concept the series has returned to, most particularly in Callum’s foil relationship with Viren. Their primary difference is contrasted starkly back-to-back in 1x02, when Viren offers up guards’ lives in exchange for Harrow’s but hesitates to offer up his own, whereas Callum offers up his own for Ezran’s without hesitation. Ergo, Viren offering up other people’s lives is decidedly shadier because he takes time to come around to offering up his own. But we already know Callum would die and bend his morals for Rayla.

Could he really bring himself to go through with his plan? What if he didn’t succeed? What if he compromised his beliefs and it all ended up being for nothing? […] But her blade bounced off with a clang, sparks flying. She reeled back and tried again. Nothing happened. She was in trouble. He inched towards Claudia’s [spellbook]. (S2 novelization of 2x07)

So him exchanging the cube would not be risking anything of anyone he’s not prepared to risk of himself, creating a messy but understandable justification, and it’d validate the hell out of Rayla’s own ‘original sin’ in sparing Marcos. Life and living is about more than just numbers and survival - and saving her, weighing her life against the world’s and picking her anyway, is not only a classic hero dilemma, but something that would carry a particular amount of weight in the series as is. 

This also ties back into the series’ intrinsic concept of exchange, including but not limited to:

Killing Harrow and wanting to kill Ezran in exchange for Avizandum and Zym’s believed murders

Viren’s plan to exchange one soul for another’s with Harrow in 1x02 that was originally Claudia’s idea

Callum trying to take Ezran’s place to save his little brother in 1x02

Dark magic as an entire principle, exchanging the life of magical creatures for power or agency

Soren killing one king to protect another (3x09)

The entire goal of taking Zym back to his mother in the first place, in hopes that they can deliver a baby dragon in exchange for peace

So why not have that thematically continue through Rayla’s life being exchanged for the cube and exchanged for war?

But this is all more abstract narrative and thematic stuff with some cyclical analysis and nods towards characterization and arcs. Now it’s time to get to the real meat of the theory, which is:

Parallel Episode Structures 

So TDP likes to do this thing, with Callum and Rayla’s arcs in particular, but also with the show as a whole, where they will repeat episode / character conflicts while steadily changing the circumstances and raising the stakes in order to reveal character and spur character / plot development. And they do this especially with plot structure.

Examples of what I mean: In 1x03, Callum chooses staying with Ezran over saving his father, and Rayla chooses the egg and princes and fights Runaan as a result. Both of them, unknowingly at the time, lose their adoptive fathers that night. Then, 2x03 and 3x03 each deal with the fallout of those respective choices they made, processing grief and regret over their losses. 

Or, to get even more specific, I’ll offer up what I call the “Rayla saves a dragon quartet” in which Rayla wants to do something brave but dangerous / self-sacrificing in order to protect a dragon, Callum has reservations, and their dynamic steadily evolves to the point that he goes from worrying but not being able to do anything to jumping right after her. AKA 1x03 on the rooftops, 2x07 in the rain, 3x08 with the Dragon Queen, and 3x09 with Zym. 

Or to get even more specific, I’ll offer up the “Rayla is trying to hide her own pain, Callum tries to get her to open up three times with her nastily rebuffing him each time, then she has a breakdown in the face of his unconditional love, and something bad happens to Zym as a result of them being distracted.” Am I talking about 1x06, or 3x04?

Which is to say, if CHET goes along with the “Callum goes too far and does something reckless / dangerous in relation to Aaravos, Rayla pays the consequence and gets taken hostage, Callum / the boys come to save her, he gets her out in a way she has understandable issues with, and ends with a note of ‘I hope it was worth it to you, putting everyone’s lives in danger,’” it will be a perfect inverse of 1x04. And we know 1x04 was written with an endgame in mind, given the mention of the cube being in the game room, as well as Callum saying things like, “You wait here, one minute, two minutes - however long it takes, I’ll go find a key.” 

After all, much like they could have had Callum resolve to do dark magic in 2x07 without harkening back to his crush on Claudia to foreshadow his growing feelings for Rayla, there were infinite ways to write 1x04 that did not have Rayla being the one to find and risk her life for the cube. They could have easily had Callum or even Ezran stumble upon it, grab it, and have Rayla get caught looking for it or just not moving stealthily enough around the room when Amaya catches her. They could’ve had the boys go into the Lodge together with Rayla hanging back (as they’re human and wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows), but she can’t exactly leave without them, but no. The show chose this very specific plot structure, and we’ve yet to see it entirely repeat in full. And with 4x01 paralleling 1x01 very closely (Soren letting slip the king is in trouble, Callum wanting to help, king and high mage discussing Moonshadow assassins on balconies), and with 4x02 possibly paralleling Rayla’s return with callbacks to 1x02, I think this future repetition of 1x04 is only getting more and more likely.

Then you also have the ways that, if Callum transfers the cube - something magical and powerful, something he’s fixated on - and ‘sacrifices’ it for Rayla, it’s another perfect inversion to how he shattered the primal stone to save Zym in 1x09, thus unleashing a storm onto the world but for good reasons, and for a peaceful purpose. Again, if we look at Zym as one piece of the exchange for peace, then unleashing Aaravos in another terrible sort of metaphorical ‘storm’ is the perfect inversion that an even greater era of war and conflict is on the way. 

The show has had smaller 1x09 parallels - Callum trusting Ezran rather than doubting him (3x07); Rayla almost going off the cliff to save Zym before she actually does so in 3x09; and in terms of Callum sacrificing the primal stone is a good example of how he’s let go of some of his 1x04 fuelled fixation for the time being. But they’ve also shown Callum repeat his old mistakes when he goes out into the storm in 2x04, in which he says, “I put us both in danger. I could’ve gotten Zym killed” yet “Worst of all, when we were right there in the centre of the storm - I thought I wanted this badly enough but in the end, I didn’t have the guts.” He still considers the worst part of the experience to be his lack of a magical connection.

Then there’s the way that post-TTM has lined up well with 2x07, episode wise. Again from a structural standpoint: Rayla feels compelled to do something, Callum wants to help her, she goes off alone, he hangs back with Ezran feeling helpless and frustrated before he ultimately goes after her, bending/breaking his morals and engaging with Dark Magic to do so. The big differences is that Rayla has gone from saying it’s okay if he can’t come with her to telling him not to, and that rather than resolve to find her on his own, Rayla has returned to him first. But up until her return, the structure was intact, so I’ll be curious to see if the second part of the episode comes true too. Possibly - in an alternative way - with Callum doing dark magic in general, or with him specifically handing over the cube. 

If you are interested more in how TTM parallels 2x07 itself specifically, setting up a reconciliation plot structure for Rayllum in S4 reminiscent of 2x08-2x09, check out this larger meta here.

Orpheus and Eurydice Motif

So we know that Rayla and Callum are going to get separated thanks to this screencap from the trailer with two main options: 

1) it’s a fakeout and they’re reunited shortly afterwards, finally reconciling, or 2) it’s not a fakeout, and part of the finale, 4x09, “Escape from Umber Tor” following the fallout of 4x08 “Rex Igneous” is about getting her back. Given that Aaravos has been compared to Lucifer and that “Umber Tor” means Shadow Tower, if Rayla was taken to a shadowy place high on a mountain or deep below the ground... It’s a pretty good Underworld allegory, and the show has given this to Rayllum before in which Rayla travels to their version of the Underworld, her Orpheus - a magically inclined artist per the mythos - goes after her, and unlike in the myth, he manages to successfully save her. Sort of. Since, as we know, the end of TTM still results in a tragic separation for our two lovers. 

This is also similar structure wise to Rayla facing certain death in 3x09 by tackling Viren off the Pinnacle, Callum jumping after her, and his love for her unlocking new magical power so he can save her. Again, this meta of Callum and Rayla as Orpheus and Eurydice goes into greater detail, but I think it’s interesting it’s a pretty specific pattern we’ve seen happen two times, and now the question is if we’ll see it happen as a third. Especially since as the musical Hadestown paints it so eloquently 

TTM has just been the mythic structure fulfilled both happily and tragically, with Rayla choosing — in many ways — both metaphorically and literally, in risk taking to go back to the Underworld. Callum is then reaching a double crossroads. Does he follow her down into hell, again? And in other ways, this is arguably the first time he’s being tested. For so much of s1-s3, and even in TTM, saving Rayla was a no brainer. Whatever chance he had, Callum had zero hesitation, zero misgivings. In his heart and in his mind, he had no reason not to.

Now, thanks to TTM, there is a seed of doubt. And just like with Orpheus cutting a deal with Hades out of love to get his wife back, Aaravos may cut a similar deal with Callum as his own Test of Love.

[ORPHEUS, spoken] Mr. Hermes? [HERMES, spoken] Yes? [ORPHEUS] It's not a trick? [HERMES, spoken] No, it's a test

Speaking of which, let’s finally talk about Aaravos’ hand in all this - as well as foil relationships and contrasts with Viren and Claudia.

Pawns and Kings 

Once S3 wrapped up, I figured that Rayla and Claudia’s foil relationship would be amped up further, now that they had nearly matching white hair, and I always thought that Rayla’s paranoid and restless behaviour would return in a significant way prior to TTM. Now they’ve both destroyed their lives for Viren - Claudia to save him, Rayla to kill him - in the two year timeskip and are dealing with the fallout of those decisions. 

While the Viren-Callum parallels going into S4 are massive, and are undeniably the biggest foil relationship this season, I think ultimately the conclusions on their arcs will be regarding their differences, given lines that Viren has said of, “We must be ready to sacrifice, even the things we love,” while if Callum picks Rayla over the world, he will be steadfastly and repeatedly rejecting that in his arc, while Viren may catch up too late that he has unintentionally sacrificed Claudia for his goals. 

I went into more detail on it here a few weeks ago, but now that we have confirmation from a few reviews of the first four episodes of season four, it seems I was right to think that Viren is getting an atonement arc, regretting what he’s done and specifically what Claudia has done for him as a result of it. This would perfectly parallel the sort of Rayla arc also needs to have, of realizing the full weight and why of her previous mistakes and realizing she was wrong. After all, she and Viren are both “already dead” - metaphorically and literally, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Callum and Claudia have been set up to have mirrored arcs as well, as they get pulled deeper and deeper into Aaravos’ machinations as his two latest pawns. We will presumably see him manipulate both of them this season in order for them to help get the pieces in place to release him from his mirror. Claudia and Callum have, in their relationships with Viren and Rayla, already had parallel Tests of Love in 3x09 - saving their loved one from the brink of death in a powerful display of magic - and are set up to have parallel Tests of Love regarding lies and forgiveness in S4.

However, where I think this season will end up seeing Claudia and Viren split from one another - her angry that he “doesn’t understand or appreciate” all she’s done for him thanks to his re-evaluation that maybe he should stay dead, his life not worth the toll it’s taken on the world and her (and that he’s right this time) - that leads the way for the finale’s Test of Love to be Callum and Rayla in so many ways, as Callum saves Rayla from being “already dead” - and he’s right to do so, even if it’s still a hard choice. 

This would allow Viren and Rayla to be strangely ideologically aligned, Viren in a positive way for his arc, Rayla in a negative way in her arc, in believing that when Callum shows up that

More meta on Rayla and Viren’s parallels here, as well as Rayla as Aaravos’ inverse to Callum’s Viren. 

Furthermore, this scenario gives all the characters place to work from in future seasons: Claudia can fall deeper into villainy now truly unhinged thanks to being “abandoned” by her father and as Aaravos’ next future pawn to discard (almost a la Ozai and Azula in ATLA, as Claudia has been compared to Azula by co-creator Aaron Ehasz in the past), Viren must work with the heroes who have no reason to trust him but to who he can provide infinitely valuable information, Aaravos keeps him alive in a “reap what you sow” esque punishment, Rayla can possibly start looking for her parents properly and will have a new kind of self worth, and Callum has a goal to reclaim the cube, help Rayla, develop his Moon arcanum magic, and defeat Aaravos once and for all. 

Since, after all, Callum is the King that Aaravos needs to get out; the final pawn in this stage of manipulations. 

Checkmate

More than a game of strategy, Chess is a game of sacrifice. I’ve played for most of my life and typically, games come down to making sure you sacrifice the right pieces (pawns) in order to protect your more important pieces, particularly your Queen and of course, your King. Aaravos’ relations to chess have been repeated over and over again, as well as Checkmate referring to him winning the game and getting out of his mirror by the end of the season which again, we know is happening this season. 

If you are interested in reading more about TDP’s chess symbolism, check out this meta in which I break it down for the main cast of characters. Terry is not included as we didn’t know he’d be in the season before I wrote it, and as we still know very little about him, I’m not sure where I’d place him (although maybe as a Rook or Bishop or something). 

Moreover, one of the most important rules in a chess game is that if a pawn reaches the other end of the board, you can swap it in for one of your more important taken pieces (which will almost always be your Queen if you’ve lost her). 

And again, the chess metaphor works particularly well because in a game of strategy and sacrifice, Aaravos has to find the thing the heroes aren’t willing to sacrifice; the price they’re not willing to pay. Per the chess metaphor and characteristics of the pieces, although I considered other options as I went along, Rayla fits the characteristics / placement of the Queen piece the best and Callum as the King piece.

It is for all these narrative reasons and more that I think it is very likely that, if not taken hostage directly, Rayla will at the very least be what’s used to coerce Callum into having an almost equal hand in freeing Aaravos as Claudia (also giving her some wiggle room to potentially come back from, if she does it out of spite or if she thinks if she ignores Viren’s wishes and ‘fixes’ the problem he’ll change his mind, like she thought she could with Soren in 2x08/9 in some ways). 

After all, if the emotional payoff of TTM isn’t going to be Callum looking for her, there still has to be a counter-balance / reason behind her absence. What better reason could there be than “I lost her once. I’m not going to lose her again” with his grief in the two year absence providing his emotional, plot driven justification as Callum does everything he possibly can to get her back?

Now, onto my favourite part: the foreshadowing. 

The section is what I call the “this feels like direct setup” with some repeats of what we’ve seen before as well. The next section will be about generational stuff including parents, character designs, cycles, etc. The third section is stuff I think is possibly less likely foreshadowing, but I like it, so I hope it is, called “Be foreshadowing, do it for me.” Hope you enjoy!

Misc. Foreshadowing #1: Heavily Likely

Who the hell is Aaravos saying his “My return to this world is inevitable” and why Rayla is a real candidate to be who it is being delivered to.

Callum rejecting the cube in 2x08 when Harrow reminds him that he’s free VS Callum handing over the cube in 4x09 because Rayla isn’t

They said that, sometimes, we make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them—part of protecting you. Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love.

Generational Parallels 

If Callum is rageful against Viren, that cements the other half of the Viren-Avizandum intro parallel, as that is a moment in which Avizandum is not only separated from his child, but hunted due to taking away the love of King Harrow’s life, Queen Sarai. Just as Rayla is repeating Runaan’s cycles (down to her one silver shoulder pad design that is a smaller version of his), it would not surprise me if Callum began to repeat Harrow’s. If you want the in depth version of this theory, check out this tag here, but I think the screencaps speak decently well enough for themselves, don’t you?

Rayla and Runaan’s parallels are also particularly important as due to his stubbornness and duty, Runaan was taken captive by Claudia to be used by Viren specifically in regards to the mirror, and Sarai ultimately died saving Viren’s life.

There are also Callum’s parallels to Runaan to consider (down to the hostage situation in Bloodmoon Huntress) as well as Rayla’s parallels to Harrow.

Misc. Foreshadowing #2: Please be foreshadowing, do it for me

Rebuttals 

Don’t have a lot of interest in discussing negatives, however as the theory gained a lot of traction in the past 3 or so months, there were some issues people had with it, namely: doesn’t it reduce Rayla to a damsel in distress, isn’t it predictable, and why would Rayla forgive Callum for this in the end, all of which I’ve laid out ‘rebuttals’ to over time. If you have for some reason made it all the way down here in this post while still having reservations, one of these metas may remedy them for you - or maybe not! Either way, I think they’re an interesting read.

Rayla is not a damsel in distress

Predictable

Why would Rayla be okay with this in the end?

Other Misc Thoughts

Romeo and Juliet comparisons (thanks, Viren’s VA)

The Way Rayla Has Always Been Set Up as Both Callum’s Salvation and Destruction

Rayllum’s parallels to Aaravos’ “Patience” story (which relates to their overall dynamic I think)

Callum and Rayla always liking/loving each other “too much” than is good for them / Callum as an Icarus figure (boy with wings who flies too close to the literal or proverbial sun)

Why the cube can’t just be positive / Why Rayla’s absence can’t just be positive

TTM / S4′s ATLA Comparisons and Parallels

TDP and Tarot: Rayllum as the Lovers and Aaravos as the Devil

Adam and Eve Comparisons

Alternatives

So let’s just say I’m wrong and all of this foreshadowing, meta, etc. has been for nothing? Cool! I had a good time writing it, theorizing with other people, writing my own fics, and immensely enjoyed reading other people’s fics regarding the theory as well. I have donned my clown wig before with far less reason to and with far less fun as a result, so I’ll have no regrets if that ends up being the case here.

However, and this is what I’ve always come back to in terms of wracking my brain and narrative for this theory is that even with less than one day to release, I have never seen an alternative theory that actually answers all the questions this one has set out to, namely:

What is the Cube?

How do Callum and Rayla ultimately reconcile?

How does Aaravos get out of his mirror?

At least, not all at once, and not in a way that offers up tangible arcs for characters past-S4 either, or in arcs that feel feel a little bit less effective. Now, if Callum loses the Key just out of his own foolishness, that means the finale arc is just a mad dash to try to get it back, which the team will ultimately fail at, but that almost feels like too big of a punishment for something he was so heavily manipulated into (I think he’d have more guilt over that than if he’d made an actual Choice under coercion, y’know?). If the key isn’t crucial to getting out, then why highlight it so much this season? If Callum’s finale arc is just about resisting temptation, than how does that lead to Aaravos getting out — isn’t that too positive a note to end on, and a bit too repetitious of 2x08 if it’s that simple, arguably? And again, it feels like this season has to start addressing the dark side of Rayla’s self sacrificial tendencies and start edging towards fixing them (ergo her realizing she has worth) since it was all those issues compounded that made her leave in the first place?

So perhaps our closing note is to say that, although it’s not as though there are no real alternatives to CHET, there are none out there that currently find answers for what to do with all the pieces on the board and how to achieve the outcome we know S4 is spiralling out to, and that is why for all these reasons, I am very hopeful and excited that I may be right going into S4, for each and every reason provided above.

Happy last day of hiatus, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

[mariacallous]

Every now and then, a narrowly framed news item offers up glimmers of pathways toward the possible resolution of much bigger problems. And so it was this week, with a New York Times story, briefly promoted with the red font label of “breaking news,” that heralded Mexico beating out China for the first time in two decades as the leading source of U.S. imports.

The long-term significance of this trade data may not be altogether obvious. And just how big a deal it could become will ultimately depend on concerted, long-term geopolitical strategy.

But Mexico’s fast-growing role as the chief U.S. trade partner could provide a treasure trove of solutions to some of the most difficult challenges facing the United States. These include successfully managing peaceful competition with China, defusing the political crisis surrounding immigration, and renewing America’s credentials as a positive-sum actor in the 21st century.

For a country that proclaimed virtual dominion over its hemisphere through the Monroe Doctrine, which dates to the first half of the 19th century, the United States has long been curiously indifferent to the economic well-being of the American world to its south. Putting the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement aside, one must go back to the Kennedy administration and its Cold War-driven Alliance for Progress to find a policy of engagement with Latin America with any real economic or political heft.

U.S. rivals have been far more strategic in linking their economic futures to neighboring regions. After experimenting with new models of globalization in Africa, in which it built infrastructure on a large scale, beginning in the 1990s, China followed up early in the last decade with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Many Western commentators were alarmed and befuddled by China’s grand entry into an Africa that they had long taken for granted, but the BRI was a far more ambitious scheme.

It aimed to lash Central Asia and much of Western Europe together with China via the construction of enormous railway, road, port, and telecommunications projects as a way of integrating China ever more deeply into the global economy—but also tying all of these now more highly connected countries together with China itself. In Chinese, China’s name means “central kingdom,” and that’s a pretty good summary of the BRI’s ambition: to make China more and more central to the rest of the world.

The BRI has lost a bit of steam lately as China’s economy has begun to decelerate. But Beijing’s slackening emphasis on infrastructure projects overseas did not occur before its attentions had reached the distant shores of Latin America, the putative backyard of the United States. By virtue of its economic structure and strategy, China has racked up year after year of bulging trade surpluses with the much of the world.

It has to do something with these surpluses, and investment in Africa, the BRI, and its advances in Latin America form a major part of its strategy. Rather than merely parking fast-expanding trillions of dollars in wealth from trade in U.S. Treasurys, China has sought to make money from global infrastructure development as well. When this works well, it pays off in ways that go well beyond the balance sheet.

Much as Washington did after World War II, Beijing’s global building spree and lending programs have arguably turned it into the largest provider of so-called public goods. The United States often huffs and puffs about being the indispensable nation, but it has been a long time since that claim could be made in economic terms; for decades now, Washington’s main business has been as a broker and guarantee for some form of security. More and more, with most Americans seemingly scarcely aware of this, in economic matters large swaths of the globe think of their ties with China as being primary.

How does this all relate to the new Mexican trade data? In rational and objective demographic and economic terms, the ongoing American panic about immigration is groundless. The United States is in no way in danger of becoming an overcrowded nation. It has been enjoying some of the best employment data for half a century, meaning that immigrants are not taking jobs away from citizens. To the contrary, they are playing vital roles in an economy that would be hard-pressed to sustain recent fast rates of growth without them. This means jobs on farms, jobs in factories, and jobs in service industries of all kinds, from food preparation to health care and caregiving.

A continued renewal of the U.S. population through immigration is equally vital to the fiscal health of the country. As in most wealthy countries, fertility rates are suffering a sustained decline in the United States. The immigrant population trends young, and these young people are desperate for work. As they gain employment, they pay taxes, which is what finances the retirements of the many millions of American baby boomers who are cycling out of the full-time workforce.

Thinking of the United States and Latin America as totally separate spheres in which the movements of people from south to north can be effectively stoppered is a self-harming delusion. We live in not only a contiguous geography but a contiguous reality, and whatever this and any future administration might attempt to do at the southern border, people from Latin America will continue to make their way to the United States, where many of them already have established relatives, in large numbers.

Moreover, many studies have shown that encouraging, or at least tolerating, substantial migratory flows is the most effective known way of reducing global poverty and inequality. It is, in other words, a kind of public good and a way for the United States to continue to lead as a nation—doing well by doing good.

Finally, as Americans age, the U.S. economy will eventually scream for more immigrants and see contiguous Latin America as a big competitive advantage over even more rapidly aging China and Western Europe. Europe has become swept up in currents of anti-immigration sentiment that are more powerful even than those that exist in the United States. Much of this seems based on that continent’s parochial and anachronistic views of race and civilization, which drive fear of Black immigration from Africa and Muslim immigration from several neighboring regions. China is a long-term net exporter of people and has little experience with or prospect of large-scale immigration.

It may be hard to imagine today, but public opinion in the United States is likely to eventually come around to this reality, too. Why not be proactive now and get ahead of the curve?

The way to do that is through a major economic initiative linking the United States and Latin America. This needn’t involve the very same mechanisms that China employed with the BRI, but it should match Beijing’s recent ambition. Washington needs to come up with big new ways of engaging with the world to its south in economic terms in order to help boost prosperity in Latin America and turn the economies of Central and South America into places of much greater hope. This has to be innovative and persistent and must mobilize capital investments and encourage the spread of manufacturing and innovation among America’s neighbors.

There will be no overnight miracles. This can only work in a timespan measured in decades. Therein lies the best chance of moderating––not stopping––migration flows from south to north. The transformation of the economies to America’s south also means the transformation of their workers, through the development of much better education, much higher skills, and the kinds of high value-added activities that boost income levels. And as all of these things happen, something too will begin to happen with the immigrants who continue to flow from these countries. They will arrive with the ability to contribute more and more dramatically to the United States’ own economic growth and prosperity.

There is one further bonus here—a bank shot of sorts. Just as Mexico has been doing, an economically revitalized Latin America can make it far easier for the United States to de-risk its economic ties with China. This is not an argument for isolation or disengagement but rather a gradual and incremental diversification of the United States’ economic relations away from its biggest commercial rival.

Some possible objections come to mind. First among them is that it’s unrealistic. Those who wonder this, though, should ask themselves if the neglect and inertia that have characterized U.S. economic relations with much of Latin America in recent generations are realistic or remotely good for the parties concerned. The view here is no.

[jhavelikes]

Before being considered as an innovative artefact, the idea of machine intelligence has to be considered an extension and implementation of modern mechanical thinking, which, as feminist epistemologists note, was in itself also a vision of social governance. Hilary Rose (1976), Sandra Harding (1986), Evelyn Fox Keller (1985), and Silvia Federici (2004), among others, have explained the rise of modern rationality and mechanical thinking (to which AI also belongs) in relation to the rule of women’s bodies and the transformation of the collective body into a docile and productive machine. In short, against the anthropomorphism of AI (and myths of ‘superintelligence’), the project has the mission of historicising AI by focusing on a specific ‘epistemic object’ that is the theories and practices of modelling in between natural and social science, linguistics and computer science, statistics and digital humanities. In this way, it sees the emergence of the paradigm of AI not as a recent phenomenon but as related, as said earlier, to practices of formalisation and measurement of labour, language, knowledge, and nature at large. Ultimately, from the vantage point of corporate AI and its outcomes (DALL-E, Midjourney, ChatGPT, etc.), a large-scale morphological transformation of culture and education has to be considered, which is comparable to the scale of the transformation of mass culture in the 20th century. After we shaped the way they operate, machines, media, and milieux affect the way we think. They also affect the way labour and society are organised, opening up new pathways to the historical process of divorcing producers from the means of production.

Home: AI MODELS

[hritipuri9]

Everything You Should Know About Highrich Online Business Plan

The e-commerce platform, Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd., has gained significant traction in the digital marketplace, offering numerous benefits to its customers. Leveraging the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or network marketing business model, Highrich has created a unique space for itself. If you are exploring this domain, this article provides an in-depth look into the Highrich Online Shopping business, detailing its business plan, registration processes, and the potential for earning.

An Overview of High-Income Online Business

In today's competitive economy, the desire to reach the pinnacle of success is widespread. People aspire to own luxury brands, travel extensively, and drive high-end cars. Achieving such a lifestyle typically requires significant effort and entrepreneurial acumen. For those not yet at the top, MLM, network marketing, and direct selling companies present a viable pathway to substantial earnings. Highrich is one such company making significant waves in the network marketing industry.

Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd. is a noteworthy name in network marketing, particularly in South India. This company combines direct selling with MLM to provide a robust platform for distributors and customers alike. The subsequent sections will elaborate on Highrich's business plan, its products, and the opportunities it offers.

Fundamental Details About Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd.

Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd. is an unlisted private business and e-commerce website that originated in July 2016. It was officially incorporated on October 22, 2019, following its registration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The company operates from Thrissur, a bustling city in Kerala, and is directed by Kattukaren Sreedharan Sreena and Kilatt Dasan Prathapan.

As a direct selling company, Highrich allows anyone to become a distributor. This model provides a dual opportunity: selling Highrich products and recruiting others to join the network, thus expanding the potential for earnings through commissions.

The Distributor Career with Highrich

Joining Highrich involves two primary tasks: purchasing and selling the company's products, and recruiting new members to build a downline. This network marketing approach not only facilitates product sales but also generates commissions based on the sales made by the downline. Understanding Highrich's business plan is crucial to maximizing these commissions and effectively managing and motivating the downline.

Success in these tasks can lead to a substantial income, with top distributors earning significant amounts monthly. The key lies in a thorough understanding of the company's operations and effective communication with the downline.

Registering for Highrich Online Shopping Platform

Highrich offers three registration options for customers: Free Registration, Privileged Customer, and Digital Customer. Each option has its unique benefits and requirements.

Free Registration

The free registration process involves connecting with a sponsor or an individual with privileged customer status. If you have a privileged customer sponsor ID, you can register independently by following these steps:

Visit the official website (https://www.highrich.net) and click on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) below the company logo.

Select the Free Registration option and enter your details, including contact number, name, email address, sponsor ID, pin code, and address.

After completing the registration, you will receive a username and password to log in to the Highrich platform.

Privileged Customer

Becoming a privileged customer offers enhanced benefits from Highrich's network marketing plan. This status is achieved by purchasing products from the First Purchase Products list, which includes items like tea bags, face masks, blankets, coffee, and sanitary napkins. The minimum purchase amount is 800 Indian Rupees, including a 50 Rupee delivery charge. Privileged customers enjoy additional advantages within the network marketing structure.

Digital Customer

Highrich also caters to digital marketing enthusiasts. To become a digital customer, one must purchase a product worth 12,000 Indian Rupees. Digital customers benefit from the company's revenue sharing model, where 50% of the income from digital marketing is distributed among them. This option is ideal for those looking to leverage digital sales and earn significant returns.

Highrich's Product Range and Earnings Potential

Highrich offers a diverse range of over 50 products, including items from well-known brands like Colgate and Britannia. Customers purchasing from Highrich not only get quality products but also earn additional income. This dual benefit makes Highrich a compelling choice for consumers and distributors alike.

The product categories span fashionable items, groceries, electronics, and more, ensuring a comprehensive shopping experience at affordable prices. This extensive product range, coupled with the potential for earnings through the MLM model, makes Highrich a versatile and attractive platform.

Conclusion

Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt. Ltd. stands out in the crowded e-commerce and network marketing space. With its robust business plan, extensive product range, and various registration options, it offers numerous opportunities for customers and distributors to earn and succeed. By understanding the intricacies of Highrich's operations and leveraging the MLM model, individuals can create substantial income streams and achieve their financial goals. Whether you are looking to start a new business venture or simply want to enhance your earnings, Highrich provides a viable and promising platform.

[jonathankatwhatever]

Each time I try to go to sleep. It’s the end of 14 May 2024, and I’ve been considering how to connect the pieces into coherent mathematics. An answer appeared about 10 minutes ago. It was that we generate finite fields and we generate geometries, which translate between 1Space and 0Space at the gs to rs level, which we describe using D-structure and whatever we call the operational model for that. I-structure for Identity?

I was way into this when I heard and that means we invoke affine transformations, and then we group them according to the structure of the object generated through I-structure. As I remember, we use Identity here to mean the operation which generates and checks identity and the labelable identity itself. I was thinking about this earlier today when I realized we can explain scalar fields in both physics and math. Or rather, beyond explaining: we can use those as examples of the 1-0-1 organization inherent in I-s. I kinda like the way that looks. That actually helps a lot: if we use I-s for Is, then we no longer have the inherent confusions of is Is. Or is Is Is? Now that would read as is I-s I-s, which is obvious identity question. That is, after all, why we say the SBE identity check through SBE2, SBE3, etc. The SBE2 identity operation and status is an important reason why D12 and D24 matter so much. Remember: that connects directly to the Leech lattice and thus to the representation of the Monster Group.

As a note, I stumbled on a reference to p-adics again, and this time they made complete sense. They allow manipulation of 1Space across those forms. That’s a really deep mathematical connection.

I was also thinking about some way to find a truly fundamental connection, and I decided it has to be contradiction itself. Going back to the proof of the irrationality of root2. We generate that. I remember going over this connection before, but that was before I was secure in the ideas by which we describe the generation of reality, of finite existences within infinite processes, of D-structure, and so on. Or rather, as has been made clear by Storyline advances of high order: in the process of remembering what I already know, in which the I-s, which nicely now reads as process with intermediate existences, so it can be viewed as locally consistent or at different levels of magnification. Lost that sentence halfway through: the I-s checks the I-s over this process of understanding whether the identity is true.

The amount of obsession over you has changed as well. I used amount because it’s a form of amplitude, meaning I mute the obsession because I either believe in this craziness or I don’t, and I do. The more I realize that, the clearer the math gets. Like in my dreams that it would reveal itself. It is mind blowing, isn’t it? The muting of that amplitude enables me to hear good ideas, good pathways, good trails, and without as much effort. A side effect, however, seems to be that I often don’t realize I’ve understood something. Or rather that I put off thinking about it, writing about it, because something tells me it’s not yet worthy.

That routine fits with the rather ruthless one which runs in me: put off this in favor of that. Understanding that algorithm (in stages) has dramatically improved my efficiency and mood, if simply because when I see it running, I now have an evaluation method, an I-s which checks whether it makes sense to put off and what to put off. That’s how washing up now becomes easier: it’s simply that the identity check says it makes more sense to do this now. The other choice is often to do nothing much, so it becomes a valuation of nothing much.

This actually relates to something which I’ve seen in an idea stated by Edison that he didn’t fail but rather had 10,000 learning paths. Or Dostoevsky’s the only way to true consciounsess is through suffering. Can’t have a perfect existence.

This fits the p not equaling np ideas, but I don’t remember how. I think it has to do with the finite pathways, like the limited number of Storylines which fit, all because these occur within gsSpace, which is constructed. There’s something else but I doubt I can get it out right now. Something about how exponential means that you’re constructing higher dimensional space in which one must identify a solution which actually generates the other way, from higher D down in the I//I of D4-3//3-4 (meeting of course the other notational D3-4//4-3. That’s not all but it’s enough for now.

[sacrosanct-oath]

⠀

On a beamy evening in Leiden, Irish Nelemans, née Zhou, beamed in a melancholic joy. Her fingers, tender and careful, traced the fragile contours of her newborn daughter⸺marveling at the warmth of life cradled against her. The tattered tapestry of her own existence was instantly forgotten, eclipsed by the breathtaking vision of new life in her arms. At that moment, every archaic verse of poetry lost its luster, for no crafted words could ever hope to capture the sublime beauty unfolding in Irish’s trembling embrace.

The rhythm of Irish’s delivery eventually soared to its zenith as her newborn, Ingreth Serafine Nelemans, was gently ushered into the lifelong odyssey awaiting her. Each breath was drawn with eager anticipation to replace the anxious atmosphere that had once filled the room. The birth of Serafine wove itself into the fabric of her relatives’ hearts as she became an enraptured blessing, a beacon of light for her family.

Embosomed in the embrace of kinship’s most tender devotion, Serafine blossomed as a descendant of a widely respected lineage. As the offspring of a Dutch-Indonesian father and a Chinese-Indonesian mother, she stood as a testament to their prestigious roles within the Nelemans Group since their nuptials. The world around them beheld the family’s illustrious saga, narrated by the legacy of a company that carved pathways of success through the corporate wilderness.

Throughout the stages of her unfolding, each fragment of her life seamlessly intertwined with magnificence. Vivid memories dance through Serafine’s mind of how her parents stood as a firm scutum amidst the combat of life. In the thick of the swirling distractions of personal affairs, the irresistible mists of wealth that sometimes obscure clarity, the unexpected detours on life’s path, and the perennial rise and fall of fortunes, her parents’ love remained an undimmed star. Even the arrival of her younger sister into their world, as Serafine neared the tender age of six, did not alter their affections; their love flowed as bold as ever. From this, Serafine distilled a timeless wisdom on the essence of family.

As Serafine aged, she absorbed wisdom from the vast expanse around her. She learned to see beyond the golden glow of her family’s affluence, choosing instead to scatter her blessings like seeds in fertile ground. From tender years, Serafine shone brightly in every academic pursuit as her mind was a boundless wellspring of curiosity. It was this unquenchable thirst for knowledge that once called her back to the land of her first breath, to delve deeper into her studies. Thereafter, she thrived amidst the constant allure of flashing lights and sculpted her name on the glittering world of modeling.

In the innermost recesses of her heart, Serafine concedes that her ancestral inheritances exert a considerable role in making the whole content of her written fate, yet it is love that breathes life into her being; it is love that keeps her from withering into nothing more than a hollow existence. While some may chase after the gilded charm of material success, for her, love holds far greater value than luxury ever could.

Again, each fragment of her life seamlessly intertwined with magnificence.

⠀

[outbursthubnj]

The Definitive Guide to Faucet Repair and Replacement in Spring Lake

Home maintenance is an eternal chore, and one area that's both utilitarian and aesthetic is faucet care. Whether you're dealing with a trickle, a drip, or simply outdated fixtures in Spring Lake, Michigan, understanding how to repair and replace your faucets can save you both water and money. This in-depth guide isn't just for DIY enthusiasts – it's your ultimate resource for maintaining the heart of your home's plumbing system.

Understanding Your Faucet

Before you roll up your sleeves and tackle that leak, it's crucial to understand the type of faucet you're dealing with. Faucets come in various designs, but the four primary ones are compression, cartridge, ceramic disk, and ball type faucets.

Compression faucets: Compression faucets are the oldest type, and you can identify them by their two handles. Unfortunately, they're also the most likely to leak. They entail a screw-like mechanism that presses down a washer into the water's pathway to seal off the flow.

Cartridge faucets: Cartridge faucets, which often have a single handle, include a hollow metal or plastic cartridge that moves up and down to control the flow and mixing of the water.

Ceramic disk faucets: Ceramic disk faucets utilize a more modern technology, replacing the cartridge with a ceramic disk that moves back and forth to control the water. They are less likely to leak and are more resistant to wear compared to other types.

Ball-type faucets: Ball-type faucets, commonly found in kitchen sinks, utilize a ball bearing to regulate water flow. They are generally quite durable but can still develop leakage over time.

Understanding your faucet's mechanism is essential to diagnosing and resolving any issues effectively.

When to Repair and When to Replace

The decision between faucet repair and replacement in Spring Lake can present a dilemma. A general guideline is to opt for repairing a fairly new faucet with minor issues. However, if the fixture displays considerable wear, faces multiple problems, or is outdated and inefficient, it's probably best to consider a replacement.

Signs that repair may be sufficient include:

A minor drips or leaks

A running faucet

A loss of water pressure

These issues can often be fixed with a simple part replacement, like a new washer or O-ring, or a thorough cleaning to remove sediment build-up.

Signs that it may be time to replace include:

Frequent and persistent leaks

Corrosion or signs of heavy wear

Outdated aesthetic or functionality

In the case of replacement, you'll have an opportunity to update to a more water-efficient model, which can save you money on your water bill in the long run.

DIY Faucet Repair in 5 Steps

Ready to take on that leaky faucet? Here's a straightforward guide to common faucet repairs that you can do yourself.

Step 1: Preparation

Before you start, make sure to turn off the water supply to the faucet. You can usually do this by turning the shutoff valves underneath the sink.

Step 2: Disassembly

Remove the faucet handle to access the internal components. This can usually be done by popping the decorative cap off the handle and unscrewing the handle itself.

Step 3: Diagnose and Replace

Once you have access to the cartridge or other inner parts, inspect them for damage. Common issues like a worn-out O-ring, a damaged cartridge, or a corroded valve seat can be replaced with new parts.

Step 4: Reassemble

After replacing any necessary parts, reassemble the faucet in the reverse order that you disassembled it.

Step 5: Test

Turn the water supply back on and test the faucet. Ensure there are no new leaks and that the water flow is restored.

When it comes to faucet repair and replacement Spring Lake, embarking on a DIY project can be rewarding. However, it's crucial to remember that if you encounter uncertainty or if the issue appears too complex, seeking assistance from a professional plumber is always the wisest choice.

Upgrading to a New Faucet

When you've decided that a replacement is in order, choosing a new faucet is an exciting opportunity to enhance your kitchen or bathroom. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a new model:

Style and Finish

Choose a style that complements the overall aesthetic of the room, and opt for a finish that matches or coordinates with your existing hardware.

Functionality

Consider whether you want a single handle or double handle faucet, and whether additional features like a sprayer, a pull-down nozzle, or a touchless function would be beneficial.

Water Efficiency

Look for faucets labeled with the Water Sense logo, which indicates that they meet the EPA's criteria for water efficiency. Water Sense faucets can reduce your water usage by up to 30% without sacrificing performance.

Quality

Invest in a high-quality faucet from a reputable manufacturer that comes with a warranty. While initial costs may be higher, you'll likely save in the long run by avoiding early repairs or replacements.

The Professional Touch

Sometimes, the complexity of a faucet issue requires the expertise of a professional plumber. An experienced plumber not only possesses the knowledge to diagnose and repair issues effectively but can also offer valuable advice on maintaining your plumbing system for the long term.

In addition to repairs and replacements, professional plumbers can assist with:

Upgrading to more advanced water filtration systems

Installing water-saving devices and fixtures

Assessing the overall health of your home's plumbing

Providing emergency plumbing services

Though DIY projects can be satisfying, it's always comforting to have a professional on your side, particularly when it comes to something as vital as your home's water system.

Environmental Impact and Sustainability

Water conservation is a critical issue, and your faucet choices can contribute to a more sustainable future. Even small changes, like repairing leaks promptly and installing Water Sense-labeled faucets, can make a significant difference in your water usage.

Spring Lake residents are particularly mindful of their water practices, given the town’s picturesque natural setting. Replacing older fixtures with modern, water-saving models can align with the community's environmental values and contribute to the preservation of Michigan's natural beauty. Investing in faucet repairs and replacements isn't just about maintaining a functional and pleasant living environment – it's also a statement of commitment to sustainable living and responsible resource management.

[contentmakers]

 Entrepreneurship in the MBA World: From Idea to Start-up

The aspirations and results of MBA students are not aligned. Although about one-third of MBA candidates attend management school to hone their entrepreneurial abilities, less than 5% of MBA graduates go on to launch their own companies.

Such a significant decline makes sense. Indeed, post-MBA professional pathways like consulting or finance offer substantial starting salaries and a quick return on investment, making them constantly appealing fields—especially for business school graduates with debt to repay—even if between 60 and 90 percent of businesses fail.

However, they might be ignoring the fact that an MBA is often the ideal starting point for a firm. Additionally, learning essential skills from entrepreneurship can help you in any field you choose in the future.

For aspiring MBA students, cultivating entrepreneurial abilities continues to be of low importance. Out of the 10 motivations given by students, it ranked as the eighth most popular motivator in a survey. The reasons for students' decision to pursue graduate business education varied but included things like pay, work opportunities abroad, and faster career advancement. 

 It's also challenging to shake the widespread perception that MBA programs are closely related to finance and consulting. For many years, these have been the sectors of choice for the majority of graduates. 

 However, the sector no longer provides the same promises for MBA graduates as it previously did in a situation where consulting firms are postponing the hiring of MBAs and freezing starting pay. And for those who do decide to pursue entrepreneurship, firms started by MBAs do have a better chance of success than others.

The absence of a safety net is possibly one of the main reasons why entrepreneurial goals are rarely pursued after college. For students, starting a company rather than landing a full-time job will always be risky. The best time to explore a business concept is during your time in business school.

However, an MBA is not only a backup plan for prospective business owners. For entrepreneurs, the program itself provides advantages that you would not otherwise be able to obtain. One of the main advantages of an MBA is its network, which extends far beyond the confines of a business school.

Learning about entrepreneurship does not require you to launch a company. Being an entrepreneur is a life talent that is beneficial to any kind of organization.

The importance of being an entrepreneur goes beyond quick financial gains. Students who engage in entrepreneurship also learn how to innovate, adapt new business models, and act fast in response to market demands.

[massagechairs]

Zero Gravity Massage Chairs: How it Works?

Zero gravity is understood as precisely the incline of the bed which equally distributes weight, eliminating undue pressure on any part and causing weightless rest. The lunar module astronaut crew posture study performed as part of a NASA program was the essence of the creation of zero gravity seating positions which were improved by the massage chair developers.

The key concept utilized in Gravity Zero Technology in massage chairs is the elimination of gravitational forces.

The human body leans itself upright so much because gravity naturally is the dominating force. Rather as a result these massage chairs are furnished with an adjustable reclining angle and are designed ergonomically to mimic the degree of weightlessness that a body in astronaut feels in an environment that has no gravity at all.

Relief from Back Pain

An important aspect of zero gravity massaging chairs is that they could cause to your back hurt or backache. The supportive backrest of these chairs gives pressure relief to the spinal cord and, consequently, is necessary for the eradication of sciatica, herniated discs, and other spine ailments.

Improved Blood Circulation

A Zero-G position leads to the flow of blood to the vital organs and muscles and enhancing oxygen and nutrition circulation in the body is an important part of the whole process. This will mean then that the muscles can relax and there will be a reduction of swelling which will in the end contribute to the improvement of cardiovascular health.

Muscular Contraction and De-stressing Management

Massage techniques used in a Zero Gravity chair target particularly these kinds of points known as stress spots which are the main spots to release stress and tension and to deliver a relaxed feeling. If the issue is the same as the muscle tightening from overworking long job hours or with the nervous system rebooting after strenuous exercise, the weightless massage applies as an excellent aid to your body to relax and rejuvenate it.

The Key Things to Keep in Mind While Selecting a Massage Chair for Zero Gravity Massage

Adjustability

While selecting a chair for zero-gravity massage, the models containing built-in custom positioning mechanisms and adjustable massage power should be your first considerations. This may transfer control to the consumer with his preferences and specific needs being fulfilled, whether one might need a rub or a deep tissue massage.

Massage Techniques

High-quality zero-gravity massage chairs should feel as if they come with many different types of massage that include kneading, tapping, rolling, and Shiatsu. Such methods imitate the movements of a real masseur but apply the crushing pressure only on the points where there are by-products of tension and strain.

Heating Functionality

Most zero gravity massage chairs, in which we have the heaters that are part of your device, will provide a bigger added value. Heat therapy through different pathways like aching muscle pains, improving the circulation of blood, or bringing flexible joints. This in turn makes it an inescapable component of the daily.

Durability and Warranty

There is no doubt that investing in a top-notch zero-gravity massage chair is a musty thing for the seating ability of the chair and a good feeling after using the one. Go for customers whose brand leverages durable materials and seats with all-inclusive warranties as these can take care of a better possibility of assurance of quality.

If you are looking for the most popular brand selection in the e-commerce marketplace, our online shop will have everything that you need!

Under this group, you will have a clear classification where you will find a thriving group of brands that all have the sole exception of supplying unique features and positive effects to their customers, which are cast upon different characters in preference and budget

Comparison of Popular Models

Comparing differences in features and specs among many zero-centrifuge chairs could be a valuable step to knowing which one best fit your needs. Consider the various options like basic or advanced modes, adjustability, and increased features like connectivity with Bluetooth and presets of zero gravity.

Picking or Occupying a Zero Gravity Massage Chair in Yourself

Consideration of Budget

The variety of prices of massage chairs which are under zero gravity working may go starting from a few hundred dollars to some thousand dollars; for this reason, in advance, it is important to understand your budget. Pick the highest amount that you can afford, and allocate them with the clean and standard quality that is a must and the ones that are nice to have.

Space and Design

Do not exclude the fact of how much space the massage chair will need and the arrangement of the room, which can be crucial to how perfect a fit it will be. To start with, comprehensive parameters such as the recline capacity, accessible power outlets, and overall design, which will suit your interior decor are some of the factors to be considered as you select a long lounge that matches your home.

Personal Preferences

Initially, the unconquerable zero gravity therapeutic chair will adapt to your needs of massaging and provide you with the opposite sensory experience. The fact remains buying a massage chair, a heat therapy chair, or a zero-gravity chair that permits you to properly carry out your daily activities with no worries would be your best solution.

Simple instructions on how to use a zero-gravity massage chair correctly.

Proper Positioning

Set enough time to correctly tune the chair’s zero gravity massage settings to maximize effectiveness and comfort. Attempt a diverse range of different angles and methods of massaging until you discover the one that makes you feel the most relaxed and pleasant.

Gap and Affectivity of Practice

Try your best not to spend loads of time in the chair you are floating in, with the outcome of fast overuse ending with the strain on the body. Target to train 15 to 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times /week to prevent unpleasant impacts. This way is more effective and makes the exercises more enjoyable.

Maintenance and Care

To give your zero-gravity chair for massage a long time. During the deliberate cleaning and maintenance of upholstery, which includes lubricating moving parts as well as checking for wear and tear.

It is really hard to buy the best zero gravity seat, yet there are so many of them produced by the leading companies in the market both online and in stores, that one can surely use his or her choice. Here are some popular places where you can buy top-quality massage chairs.

The Top Instance of Where to Find on The Market the Best Zero Gravity Massage Chair?

Online Retailers: There are different brand sites like Amazon, Wayfair, and Overstock, which offer not just the zero-gravity, but also a wide variety of zero-gravity chairs. Access to such platforms will be highly beneficial as you can view the most important details including product descriptions, buyer’s reviews, and prices so that you can compare and purchase as you reside in the comfort of your home.

Brand Websites: Some direct customer sales are now selling the chairs bearing zero gravity marks from owners’ official websites. This fills the role of saving the time that a customer can find the full range of products from a particular brand, furthermore, the customer will also get other offers such as discounts and privileges that it takes to have to buy the products online.

Health and Wellness Stores: Most of the stores display a selection of the finest tailored massage chairs that have extra features and accessories as well.