Here are the links to the original posts: OG Post, V3.0 Beta, V4.0 Beta, V5.0 Beta & V6.0 Beta
You can find the tool here: ImportYeti.com
If you missed the earlier posts, ImportYeti searches 100,000,000 public shipping records to find a quality supplier 1,000x times easier than Alibaba alone. You answer questions like:

• Who makes Patagonia's jackets and coats? Answer: Kwang Viet Garment
• Who is the top supplier of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Spain? Answer: Deoleo S A
• Who are the top companies & suppliers who import/export under HS Code 4011.00 -- tires?

Here are the BIG changes on this release:

• You can build applications or integrate your existing infrastructure with API Access
• We’re laying the framework for supply chain analysis and helping people understand complex supply chain problems. E.x. How do I know China is the right place to import Kettlebells? How do I know this is the right factory to choose? The first example on the site is Forex Risk
• Save your favorite companies, suppliers and H.S. Codes using the NEW and improved Bookmark feature. This feature lays the groundwork for new features that will help you group companies together and analyze supply chain data.

I'd love any and all feedback (love or hate)... no matter how brutal, small or crazy : ) I only want to create things that people really love. Thank you to everyone that helped us sending their feedback about the site redesign. Please PM me or comment below anytime

Before tagging, we had naming. Those 12 unicode characters allowed to us can only convey so much before our intentions for each Pokémon break down.
Tagging Pokémon for most of us should be a fairly simple concept, but because we have other responsibilities apart from Pokémon GO, we can sometimes commit "mistakes"—bad actions in our Pokémon storage. Thus, I made speedtagging. Be warned, this will be a fairly long read. At first glance, this seems unnecessary, but for Trainers with at least 1000 Pokémon storage, speedtagging will be very helpful. I even covered Swag IVs and GBL team roles. Let's just say that you'll be better at speedtagging the more you use it.
I color-coded the functions so that it's easy on the eyes.
RED - PokéDex-related
BLACK - trade or transfer
ORANGE - meta-related
VIOLET - shadow-related
GREEN - power-related
YELLOW - moveset-related
BLUE - IV-related
WHITE - miscellaneous
You will shortly notice that I did not arrange all tags by color. That's because I placed the most common tags near the top where you can easily access them when speedtagging. I personally do a lot of evolving and transferring to level up quickly, but you do you!
The 91 tags I'm recommending are:
chk (RED) - checked
rg (RED) - registered
td (BLACK) - trade
XP (GREEN) - 2x Evolve XP
tfA (BLACK) - transfer A
dx (RED) - PokéDex
tfB (BLACK) - transfer B
tfC (BLACK) - transfer C
kp (WHITE) - keep
PvE (ORANGE) - Player vs Environment
PvP (ORANGE) - Player vs Player
/p (VIOLET) - never purify
p1 (VIOLET) - purify 1,000 stardust
p3 (VIOLET) - purify 3,000 stardust
p5 (VIOLET) - purify 5,000 stardust
/e (GREEN) - never evolve
CD (GREEN) - evolve during Community Day
e1 (GREEN) - evolve to Stage 1
e2 (GREEN) - evolve to Stage 2
tdcx (BLACK) - trade for Candy XL
tdlucky (BLACK) - trade with Lucky Friend
tfZ (BLACK) - transfer Z
/home (BLACK) - never send to Pokémon HOME
home (BLACK) - send to Pokémon HOME
/bdy (GREEN) - never buddy again
bdyA (GREEN) - buddy A
bdyB (GREEN) - buddy B
eberries (RED) - evolve after feeding berries
ecatch (RED) - evolve after catching
edxcostume (RED) - evolve for dex costume entry
eheart (RED) - evolve after buddy hearts
eincense (RED) - evolve after using incense
elure (RED) - evolve near special lure module
eraid (RED) - evolve after raids
eregion (RED) - evolve to regional forms
ethrow (RED) - evolve after throws
ewalk (RED) - evolve after walk
eweather (RED) - evolve at certain weather
L50 (ORANGE) - cap at Level 50
L40 (ORANGE) - cap at Level 40
L35 (ORANGE) - cap at Level 35
CP25 (ORANGE) - cap at CP 2500
CP15 (ORANGE) - cap at CP 1500
CP5 (ORANGE) - cap at CP 500
def (ORANGE) - gym defender
atk1 (ORANGE) - attacker first charged move for gym battles and raids
atk2 (ORANGE) - attacker second charged move for gym battles and raids
TGR (ORANGE) - for Team GO Rocket use
ML (ORANGE) - for Master League
UL (ORANGE) - for Ultra League
GL (ORANGE) - for Great League
LC (ORANGE) - for Little Cup
?GBL (ORANGE) - team role unknown for GO Battle League
GBLchk (ORANGE) - GO Battle League, team role checked at PvPoke
/GBL (ORANGE) - not Top 100 in any team role in GO Battle League
Overall (ORANGE) - Top 100 Overall in GO Battle League
Lead (ORANGE) - Top 100 Leads in GO Battle League
Closer (ORANGE) - Top 100 Closers in GO Battle League
Switcher (ORANGE) - Top 100 Switchers in GO Battle League
Charger (ORANGE) - Top 100 Chargers in GO Battle League
Attacker (ORANGE) - Top 100 Attackers in GO Battle League
Consistency (ORANGE) - Top 100 Consistency in GO Battle League
/emg (GREEN) - never mega evolve once or ever again
emg (GREEN) - for mega evolution
/up (GREEN) - never power up
up (GREEN) - to power up or max out
/ncx (GREEN) - does not need Candy XL
ncx (GREEN) - needs Candy XL
/m (YELLOW) - never update moveset
Δm (YELLOW) - moveset changed for current meta
na (YELLOW) - add new attack
eftm (YELLOW) - use Elite Fast TM
ectm (YELLOW) - use Elite Charged TM
ctm (YELLOW) - use Charged TM
/mrt (YELLOW) - never remove Return
?sg (BLUE) - IVs not yet recommended by RyanSwag
/sg (BLUE) - not Swag IVs
sgatk (BLUE) - attack-weighted Swag IVs
sgdef (BLUE) - defense-weighted Swag IVs
sghp (BLUE) - HP-weighted Swag IVs
sgSP (BLUE) - Stat Product Swag IVs
sgBP (BLUE) - Bulk-weighted Swag IVs
sgMS (BLUE) - Mirror Slayer Swag IVs
SP1 (BLUE) - Rank 1 Stat Product
IV100 (BLUE) - Hundo
/IVfx (BLUE) - not functional hundo
IVfxL50 (BLUE) - functional hundo at Level 50
IVfxL51 (BLUE) - functional hundo at Best Buddy Level 50
IV0 (BLUE) - Nundo
Flex (WHITE) - for flexing
Rare (WHITE) - rare including regionals
I have an in-depth explanation for most of my tags, but for some reason reddit won't let me post the rest. If you're interested in my in-depth explanations, then please give suggestions on where I can put it.
I did eliminate some tags that are redundant with existing search functions. I apologize if I cannot make it any shorter; that's how I play this game. If I helped your speedtagging in any way, then any improvements to speedtagging, dare I say version 1, would be appreciated! If there's anything I forgot, please let me know!
You may also make your own versions of your speedtagging and recommend it to your friends! I know that majority of us are PvE players, but I did not forget the PvP players. I'm simply suggesting a futureproof method for tagging. I believe the tag feature is an underrated feature of the game, and tagging in and of itself is a minigame for organizing the mess that is Pokémon storage.
I have a small YouTube channel where I do whatever. Visit if you like: https://youtube.com/@speedcreatureYT
My future long post will be about speednaming. Please look forward to it!

As I will never tire of pointing out, it's my belief that (seemingly endless) 'rhyming' recurrence is baked-in to and at the core of the Song we're reading — ASOIAF — as is foregrounded in A Feast For Crows, when Arianne explains House Toland's sigil to Ser Arys Oakheart by telling him "all things come round again". (AFFC The Soiled Knight)
We see this in the countless 'rhymes' between ASOIAF's invented histories (as conveyed in AWOIAF and Fire & Blood) and ASOIAF proper, and in the parallels and 'rhyming' reversals between the storylines and characters of ASOIAF and one another, which follow and extrapolate on the formula laid out for us when Areo Hotah foregrounds the 'rhyme' between himself and the aforemention Ser Arys:

The white knight. The captain frowned. Ser Arys had come to Dorne to attend his own princess, as Areo Hotah had once come with his. Even their names sounded oddly alike: Areo and Arys. Yet there the likeness ended. The captain had left Norvos and its bearded priests, but Ser Arys Oakheart still served the Iron Throne. (AFFC The Captain of Guards)

Here I want to dedicate a post solely to drawing attention to one such 'rhyme' — a 'rhyme' I've frequently pointed out in passing in service of this or that 'greater' point.
I want to talk about the fact that Quellon Greyjoy is very clearly written so as to seem "Hoare-ish": to be a Lord of the Iron Islands who recalls in various ways everything we're told about the Hoare kings of the Iron Islands.

The "Quellon Greyjoy" of A World of Ice & Fire

Consider first everything AWOIAF tells us about Quellon Greyjoy:

Near the end of Haereg's great work you will come to Lord Quellon Greyjoy, the wisest of the men to sit the Seastone Chair since Aegon's Conquest. A huge man, six and a half feet tall, he was said to be as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat. In his youth he earned renown as a warrior, fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea. A leal servant of the Iron Throne, he led a hundred longships around the bottom of Westeros during the War of the Ninepenny Kings and played a crucial role in the fighting around the Stepstones.
As lord, however, Quellon preferred to walk the road of peace. He forbade reaving, save by his leave. He brought maesters to the Iron Islands by the score, to serve as healers to the sick and tutors to the young; with them came their ravens, whose black wings would tie the isles to the green lands tighter than ever before.
It was Lord Quellon who freed the remaining thralls and outlawed the practice of thralldom on the Iron Islands (in this he was not wholly successful). And whilst he took no salt wives himself, he allowed other men to do so but taxed them heavily for the privilege. Quellon Greyjoy sired nine sons on three wives. His first and second wives were rock wives, joined to him with the old rites by a priest of the Drowned God, but his last bride was a woman of the green lands, a Piper of Pinkmaiden Castle, wed to him in her father's hall by a septon.
In this, as in much else, Lord Quellon turned away from the ancient and insular traditions of the ironborn, in hopes of forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. So strong a lord was Quellon Greyjoy that few dared speak openly against him, for he was known to be strong-willed and stubborn and fearsome in his wroth.

In short, Quellon Grejoy pretty much acted exactly like the historic kings of House Hoare.
How so?

Wives & The Faith

Where the Hoares "took maidens of [Andal] ilk to wife" and were proclaimed "ungodly" by the priests of the Drowned God for (among other things) tolerating and even welcoming the Faith of the Seven to the Iron Islands, Quellon not only wed a non-ironborn maiden of House Piper of the (formerly Hoare-ruled) Riverlands, but was wed to her by a septon of the Faith "in her father's hall" on mainland Westeros (rather than on the "holy islands" of the ironborn). These actions were surely seen as "ungodly" by the priests of the Drowned God.

Anti-Reaving & Pro Cultural and/or Commercial Exchange

Quellon "forbade reaving, save by his leave". Sounds like the Hoares:

The Hoare kings… discouraged the practice of reaving. And as reaving declined, trade grew. (TWOIAF)

(No, we're not explicitly told that "trade grew" under Quellon, but it is pretty much impossible to conclude that it didn't, given that Quellon was dedicated to "forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms" and to "[tying] the isles to the green lands tighter than ever before".)

Bringing In Outsiders

When Quellon "brought maesters to the Iron Islands by the score", it was an echo of the Hoares opening the Islands to the septons of the Faith:

[I]t was under the Hoares that the Faith of the Andals came to the Iron Islands for the first time. (TWOIAF)

Thralls & Salt Wives

Quellon "freed the remaining thralls and outlawed the practice of thralldom", while taking no salt wives and "heavily" taxing those who did.
Both the substance and verbiage of these policies 'rhyme' with those of Handsome Harmund Hoare, who banned reaving, "outlawed" salt wives and was about to "end the practice of thralldom" when he was overthrown by a priest-led rebellion. (TWOIAF)

Fearsome In Their Wroth

Quellon probably wasn't loved by all for his liberal policies, given the widespread influence of the Priests of Drowned God and the deep-seated ironborn predilcection for reaving and war, but…

…few dared speak openly against him, for he was known to be strong-willed and stubborn and fearsome in his wroth. (TWOIAF)

This, too, compares neatly with the Hoares:

Few of their subjects ever loved them, but many had good reason to fear their wroth. (TWOIAF)

Quellon & Qhorwyn Hoare

We're told that Quellon was "the wisest of the men to sit the Seastone Chair since Aegon's Conquest". Since the Hoares, then.
We're told that wise Lord Quellon raised taxes, "forg[ed] stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms" (surely entailing trade), and "spent most of his long reign avoiding war".
In these things he clearly 'rhymes' with "shrewd" (see: "wise"), "avaricious" (see: raising taxes) Qhorwyn Hoare, who "spent his entire reign… avoiding war":

A shrewd and avaricious king, Qhorwyn had spent his entire reign accumulating wealth and avoiding war. "War is bad for trade," he said….

Where King Qhorywn said "War is bad", but spent heavily preparing for it just in case, Quellon fought in "the War of the Ninepenny Kings" (get it? a war named after money…) but "as lord… preferred to walk the road of peace."

Forging Stronger — Hoare-ish — Bonds

Consider again the line about Quellon "forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms":

Lord Quellon turned away from the ancient and insular traditions of the ironborn, in hopes of forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. (TWOIAF)

That line 'just so happens' to neatly embody the sigil of House Hoare, which depicts literal forged bonds — silver chains, like the "forged" chain of a maester, bound to serve — connecting symbols of the Arbor, Oldtown, Bear Island and the Iron Islands: that is, visually embodying the connection of and ties between the Iron Islands "and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms", so to speak.

'Rhyming' Youths

The one line describing Quellon's youth—

In his youth he earned renown as a warrior, fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea. (TWOIAF)

—'rhymes' with Qhorwyn Hoare's son Harwyn Hardhand's youth from TWOIAF:

A belligerent boy by all accounts, and third in the succession, Harwyn Hoare was sent to sea at an early age. He sailed with a succession of reavers in the Stepstones, visited Volantis, Tyrosh, and Braavos, became a man in the pleasure gardens of Lys, spent two years in the Basilisk Isles as a captive of a pirate king, sold his sword to a free company in the Disputed Lands, and fought in several battles as a Second Son.

• "In his youth he earned renown as a warrior" → "a belligerent boy by all accounts"
  warrior → belligerent; youth → boy; renown → by all accounts
  
• "In his youth he earned renown as a warrior" → "at an early age" he "sold his sword… and fought in several battles"
  
• "fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea" → "sailed with… reavers in the Stepstones", "captive of a pirate king in the Basilisk Isles", "fought… as a Second Son"
  fighting → fought; corsairs → reavers + pirates; slavers → captive; SS → SS
  

But where "As lord… Quellon preferred to walk the road of peace" (like Qhorwyn), as King Qhorwyn's son…

Harwyn had no use for peace, but much and more for the arms and armor that his father forged.

Qhorwyn's Son & Quellon's Sons

Qhorwyn's son Harwyn was in that respect just like Quellon's son Balon, then, the story of whose youth is told in a manner whose form/structure is borrowed for Harwyn's story, above:

Balon the eldest and boldest, a fierce and fearless boy who lived only to restore the ironborn to their ancient glory. At ten he scaled the Flint Cliffs to the Blind Lord's haunted tower. At thirteen he could run a longship's oars and dance the finger dance as well as any man in the isles. At fifteen he had sailed with Dagmer Cleftjaw to the Stepstones and spent a summer reaving. He slew his first man there and took his first two salt wives. At seventeen Balon captained his own ship. (AFFC The Prophet)

At the same time the details of Qhorwyn's third son Harwyn's time spent abroad in Essos feel like they're also a recursive, 'rhyming' iteration of Quellon's third surviving son Euron's exile to Essos. (Where Harwyn was captive of a pirate king before returning home to overthrow his older brothers, Euron, a king who looks like a stereotypical "pirate" and who likely was "The Corsair King", seemingly overthrows his older brother and takes his brother Aeron captive.)
Qhorwyn's eldest son died of greyscale:

When Harwyn returned to the Iron Islands, he found his father Qhorwyn dying, and his eldest brother two years dead from greyscale.

Quellon's eldest son was likewise dying of greyscale—

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands. Harlon, Quenton, and Donel had been born of Lord Quellon's first wife, a woman of the Stonetrees. … Harlon [the eldest] he recalled but dimly, sitting grey-faced and still in a windowless tower room and speaking in whispers that grew fainter every day as the greyscale turned his tongue and lips to stone. (AFFC The Prophet)

—when Quellon's third surviving son Euron murdered him, recalling the fratricidal treachery that brought Qhorwyn's third son Hardhand to power:

A second brother still stood between Harwyn and the crown, and his sudden death even as the king was breathing his last remains a matter of dispute to this day. Those present at Prince Harlan's passing all declared his death accidental, the result of a fall from his horse, but of course it would have been worth their lives to suggest otherwise. Beyond the Iron Islands, it was widely assumed that Prince Harwyn was behind his brother's demise. Some claimed he had done the deed himself, others that Prince Harlan had been slain by a Faceless Man of Braavos. (TWOIAF)

That story of Harwyn's fratricidal treachery toward his older brother is also clearly contrived to 'rhyme' with what we've been told about Euron killing Balon to take power, right down to the older brother dying in a fall and the rumors that a Faceless Man was involved.
The detail about the brother dying "even as the king was breathing his last" reworks Euron murdering Harlon by "pinch[ing] his nose shut" so he could not breath. (TWOW The Forgotten)
The way Qhorwyn Hoare died "even as" his son died a "sudden death" 'rhymes' with Quellon's wife dying even "as the midwife drew a stillborn daughter from her womb". (The phrase "sudden death" evokes "sudden infant death syndrome".)

Summing Up TWOIAF & Its Hoare-esque Quellon

So clearly Quellon Greyjoy as described in TWOIAF is is blatantly Hoare-esque, not just because his policies recall (both in their substance and in how they are written about) those of the Hoare Kings but even inasmuch as certain actions of his children evoke the actions of Qhorwyn Hoare's Hoare sons. And clearly we're supposed to notice this.

The "Quellon Greyjoy" of ASOIAF Proper Is Also Hoare-esque. Or Rather: A Bit Whore-esque

If TWOIAF makes it abundantly clear that Quellon was Hoare-esque, AFFC makes it abundantly clear that Quellon was nothing if not a prolific sperm cannon, siring nine sons on three different wives:

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, but only four had lived to manhood. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, and Victarion was the strongest of them, a bull of a man, fearless and dutiful. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons were born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, and I was the least of them, as weak and frightened as a girl. (AFFC The Prophet)
"Nine sons were born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy. One was mightier than all the rest, and knew no fear." (AFFC The Drowned Man)

It would seem that Quellon Greyjoy liked to have sex rather a lot . . . which might make him seem (to someone not perversely committed to language-policing in the name of said sex-positivity [or whatever]) like something of a whore (or 'man-whore' or whatever).
And thus it turns out that what we're told about Quellon in ASOIAF proper in its own way paints Quellon as every bit the figurative Hoare/whore that AWOIAF does.

Why Paint Quellon As A 'Hoare'/'Whore'?

The question, of course, is "to what end?"
Is it just a little joke? 'Ha ha, Quellon is Hoare-ish and whore-ish', and that's all there is to it?
One thing I will note apropos of that question: ASOIAF loves to use the term "whoreson". Once we're aware of the existence of House Hoare, though, the term makes us think of Hoare sons.
Could Quellon be a Hoare son, of sorts?
While we can presume Quellon's father was a Greyjoy, we have no idea who his mother was. Regardless of her family name, might she have descended from House Hoare, making Quellon a Hoare-ish Hoare son? Was she a Volmark? The Volmarks descend from Qhorwyn Hoare's daughteHardhand Hoare's sister—

Qhorin Volmark, a minor lord on Harlaw, was the first man to claim the kingship [after Aegon's conquest]. His grandmother had been a younger sister of Harwyn Hardhand. On the basis of that tie, Volmark declared himself the rightful heir of "the black line." (TWOIAF)

—and some say they are the "true heir[s] of the black line" of House Hoare:

"Tarle the Thrice-Drowned was heard to say that Maron Volmark is the true heir of the black line." (AFFC The Iron Captain)
Volmark is a callow boy, but he has Black Harren's blood in him through his mother. (AFFC The Reaver)

(It's unclear whether Victarion is thinking that Volmark's mother is a Hoare, or whether he is confusing and conflating the Volmark's older maternal Hoare lineage with the blood of Volmark's mother.)
Thus setting sex aside, the Volmarks may well be as much "Hoares" as they are "Volmarks".
So perhaps Quellon being Hoare-esque and a bit of a 'man-whore' might have something to do with his having a Volmark mother. Maybe that's what calling Maron Volmark "the true heir of the black line" is about: suggesting it's the Volmarks, not hte Greyjoys, who are truly 'Hoare-ish', notwithstanding that Quellon was a maternal Volmark and hence Hoare-ish.
Or maybe it's (also?) about something else . . .

As I will never tire of pointing out, it's my belief that (seemingly endless) 'rhyming' recurrence is baked-in to and at the core of the Song we're reading — ASOIAF — as is foregrounded in A Feast For Crows, when Arianne explains House Toland's sigil to Ser Arys Oakheart by telling him "all things come round again". (AFFC The Soiled Knight)
We see this in the countless 'rhymes' between ASOIAF's invented histories (as conveyed in AWOIAF and Fire & Blood) and ASOIAF proper, and in the parallels and 'rhyming' reversals between the storylines and characters of ASOIAF and one another, which follow and extrapolate on the formula laid out for us when Areo Hotah foregrounds the 'rhyme' between himself and the aforemention Ser Arys:

The white knight. The captain frowned. Ser Arys had come to Dorne to attend his own princess, as Areo Hotah had once come with his. Even their names sounded oddly alike: Areo and Arys. Yet there the likeness ended. The captain had left Norvos and its bearded priests, but Ser Arys Oakheart still served the Iron Throne. (AFFC The Captain of Guards)

Here I want to dedicate a post solely to drawing attention to one such 'rhyme' — a 'rhyme' I've frequently pointed out in passing in service of this or that 'greater' point.
I want to talk about the fact that Quellon Greyjoy is very clearly written so as to seem "Hoare-ish": to be a Lord of the Iron Islands who recalls in various ways everything we're told about the Hoare kings of the Iron Islands.

The "Quellon Greyjoy" of A World of Ice & Fire

Consider first everything AWOIAF tells us about Quellon Greyjoy:

Near the end of Haereg's great work you will come to Lord Quellon Greyjoy, the wisest of the men to sit the Seastone Chair since Aegon's Conquest. A huge man, six and a half feet tall, he was said to be as strong as an ox and as quick as a cat. In his youth he earned renown as a warrior, fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea. A leal servant of the Iron Throne, he led a hundred longships around the bottom of Westeros during the War of the Ninepenny Kings and played a crucial role in the fighting around the Stepstones.
As lord, however, Quellon preferred to walk the road of peace. He forbade reaving, save by his leave. He brought maesters to the Iron Islands by the score, to serve as healers to the sick and tutors to the young; with them came their ravens, whose black wings would tie the isles to the green lands tighter than ever before.
It was Lord Quellon who freed the remaining thralls and outlawed the practice of thralldom on the Iron Islands (in this he was not wholly successful). And whilst he took no salt wives himself, he allowed other men to do so but taxed them heavily for the privilege. Quellon Greyjoy sired nine sons on three wives. His first and second wives were rock wives, joined to him with the old rites by a priest of the Drowned God, but his last bride was a woman of the green lands, a Piper of Pinkmaiden Castle, wed to him in her father's hall by a septon.
In this, as in much else, Lord Quellon turned away from the ancient and insular traditions of the ironborn, in hopes of forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. So strong a lord was Quellon Greyjoy that few dared speak openly against him, for he was known to be strong-willed and stubborn and fearsome in his wroth.

In short, Quellon Grejoy pretty much acted exactly like the historic kings of House Hoare.
How so?

Wives & The Faith

Where the Hoares "took maidens of [Andal] ilk to wife" and were proclaimed "ungodly" by the priests of the Drowned God for (among other things) tolerating and even welcoming the Faith of the Seven to the Iron Islands, Quellon not only wed a non-ironborn maiden of House Piper of the (formerly Hoare-ruled) Riverlands, but was wed to her by a septon of the Faith "in her father's hall" on mainland Westeros (rather than on the "holy islands" of the ironborn). These actions were surely seen as "ungodly" by the priests of the Drowned God.

Anti-Reaving & Pro Cultural and/or Commercial Exchange

Quellon "forbade reaving, save by his leave". Sounds like the Hoares:

The Hoare kings… discouraged the practice of reaving. And as reaving declined, trade grew. (TWOIAF)

(No, we're not explicitly told that "trade grew" under Quellon, but it is pretty much impossible to conclude that it didn't, given that Quellon was dedicated to "forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms" and to "[tying] the isles to the green lands tighter than ever before".)

Bringing In Outsiders

When Quellon "brought maesters to the Iron Islands by the score", it was an echo of the Hoares opening the Islands to the septons of the Faith:

[I]t was under the Hoares that the Faith of the Andals came to the Iron Islands for the first time. (TWOIAF)

Thralls & Salt Wives

Quellon "freed the remaining thralls and outlawed the practice of thralldom", while taking no salt wives and "heavily" taxing those who did.
Both the substance and verbiage of these policies 'rhyme' with those of Handsome Harmund Hoare, who banned reaving, "outlawed" salt wives and was about to "end the practice of thralldom" when he was overthrown by a priest-led rebellion. (TWOIAF)

Fearsome In Their Wroth

Quellon probably wasn't loved by all for his liberal policies, given the widespread influence of the Priests of Drowned God and the deep-seated ironborn predilcection for reaving and war, but…

…few dared speak openly against him, for he was known to be strong-willed and stubborn and fearsome in his wroth. (TWOIAF)

This, too, compares neatly with the Hoares:

Few of their subjects ever loved them, but many had good reason to fear their wroth. (TWOIAF)

Quellon & Qhorwyn Hoare

We're told that Quellon was "the wisest of the men to sit the Seastone Chair since Aegon's Conquest". Since the Hoares, then.
We're told that wise Lord Quellon raised taxes, "forg[ed] stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms" (surely entailing trade), and "spent most of his long reign avoiding war".
In these things he clearly 'rhymes' with "shrewd" (see: "wise"), "avaricious" (see: raising taxes) Qhorwyn Hoare, who "spent his entire reign… avoiding war":

A shrewd and avaricious king, Qhorwyn had spent his entire reign accumulating wealth and avoiding war. "War is bad for trade," he said….

Where King Qhorywn said "War is bad", but spent heavily preparing for it just in case, Quellon fought in "the War of the Ninepenny Kings" (get it? a war named after money…) but "as lord… preferred to walk the road of peace."

Forging Stronger — Hoare-ish — Bonds

Consider again the line about Quellon "forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms":

Lord Quellon turned away from the ancient and insular traditions of the ironborn, in hopes of forging stronger bonds between his own domains and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. (TWOIAF)

That line 'just so happens' to neatly embody the sigil of House Hoare, which depicts literal forged bonds — silver chains, like the "forged" chain of a maester, bound to serve — connecting symbols of the Arbor, Oldtown, Bear Island and the Iron Islands: that is, visually embodying the connection of and ties between the Iron Islands "and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms", so to speak.

'Rhyming' Youths

The one line describing Quellon's youth—

In his youth he earned renown as a warrior, fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea. (TWOIAF)

—'rhymes' with Qhorwyn Hoare's son Harwyn Hardhand's youth from TWOIAF:

A belligerent boy by all accounts, and third in the succession, Harwyn Hoare was sent to sea at an early age. He sailed with a succession of reavers in the Stepstones, visited Volantis, Tyrosh, and Braavos, became a man in the pleasure gardens of Lys, spent two years in the Basilisk Isles as a captive of a pirate king, sold his sword to a free company in the Disputed Lands, and fought in several battles as a Second Son.

• "In his youth he earned renown as a warrior" → "a belligerent boy by all accounts"
  warrior → belligerent; youth → boy; renown → by all accounts
  
• "In his youth he earned renown as a warrior" → "at an early age" he "sold his sword… and fought in several battles"
  
• "fighting corsairs and slavers in the Summer Sea" → "sailed with… reavers in the Stepstones", "captive of a pirate king in the Basilisk Isles", "fought… as a Second Son"
  fighting → fought; corsairs → reavers + pirates; slavers → captive; SS → SS
  

But where "As lord… Quellon preferred to walk the road of peace" (like Qhorwyn), as King Qhorwyn's son…

Harwyn had no use for peace, but much and more for the arms and armor that his father forged.

Qhorwyn's Son & Quellon's Sons

Qhorwyn's son Harwyn was in that respect just like Quellon's son Balon, then, the story of whose youth is told in a manner whose form/structure is borrowed for Harwyn's story, above:

Balon the eldest and boldest, a fierce and fearless boy who lived only to restore the ironborn to their ancient glory. At ten he scaled the Flint Cliffs to the Blind Lord's haunted tower. At thirteen he could run a longship's oars and dance the finger dance as well as any man in the isles. At fifteen he had sailed with Dagmer Cleftjaw to the Stepstones and spent a summer reaving. He slew his first man there and took his first two salt wives. At seventeen Balon captained his own ship. (AFFC The Prophet)

At the same time the details of Qhorwyn's third son Harwyn's time spent abroad in Essos feel like they're also a recursive, 'rhyming' iteration of Quellon's third surviving son Euron's exile to Essos. (Where Harwyn was captive of a pirate king before returning home to overthrow his older brothers, Euron, a king who looks like a stereotypical "pirate" and who likely was "The Corsair King", seemingly overthrows his older brother and takes his brother Aeron captive.)
Qhorwyn's eldest son died of greyscale:

When Harwyn returned to the Iron Islands, he found his father Qhorwyn dying, and his eldest brother two years dead from greyscale.

Quellon's eldest son was likewise dying of greyscale—

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands. Harlon, Quenton, and Donel had been born of Lord Quellon's first wife, a woman of the Stonetrees. … Harlon [the eldest] he recalled but dimly, sitting grey-faced and still in a windowless tower room and speaking in whispers that grew fainter every day as the greyscale turned his tongue and lips to stone. (AFFC The Prophet)

—when Quellon's third surviving son Euron murdered him, recalling the fratricidal treachery that brought Qhorwyn's third son Hardhand to power:

A second brother still stood between Harwyn and the crown, and his sudden death even as the king was breathing his last remains a matter of dispute to this day. Those present at Prince Harlan's passing all declared his death accidental, the result of a fall from his horse, but of course it would have been worth their lives to suggest otherwise. Beyond the Iron Islands, it was widely assumed that Prince Harwyn was behind his brother's demise. Some claimed he had done the deed himself, others that Prince Harlan had been slain by a Faceless Man of Braavos. (TWOIAF)

That story of Harwyn's fratricidal treachery toward his older brother is also clearly contrived to 'rhyme' with what we've been told about Euron killing Balon to take power, right down to the older brother dying in a fall and the rumors that a Faceless Man was involved.
The detail about the brother dying "even as the king was breathing his last" reworks Euron murdering Harlon by "pinch[ing] his nose shut" so he could not breath. (TWOW The Forgotten)
The way Qhorwyn Hoare died "even as" his son died a "sudden death" 'rhymes' with Quellon's wife dying even "as the midwife drew a stillborn daughter from her womb". (The phrase "sudden death" evokes "sudden infant death syndrome".)

Summing Up TWOIAF & Its Hoare-esque Quellon

So clearly Quellon Greyjoy as described in TWOIAF is is blatantly Hoare-esque, not just because his policies recall (both in their substance and in how they are written about) those of the Hoare Kings but even inasmuch as certain actions of his children evoke the actions of Qhorwyn Hoare's Hoare sons. And clearly we're supposed to notice this.

The "Quellon Greyjoy" of ASOIAF Proper Is Also Hoare-esque. Or Rather: A Bit Whore-esque

If TWOIAF makes it abundantly clear that Quellon was Hoare-esque, AFFC makes it abundantly clear that Quellon was nothing if not a prolific sperm cannon, siring nine sons on three different wives:

Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, but only four had lived to manhood. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons had been born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, and Victarion was the strongest of them, a bull of a man, fearless and dutiful. (AFFC The Prophet)
Nine sons were born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy, and I was the least of them, as weak and frightened as a girl. (AFFC The Prophet)
"Nine sons were born from the loins of Quellon Greyjoy. One was mightier than all the rest, and knew no fear." (AFFC The Drowned Man)

It would seem that Quellon Greyjoy liked to have sex rather a lot . . . which might make him seem (to someone not perversely committed to language-policing in the name of said sex-positivity [or whatever]) like something of a whore (or 'man-whore' or whatever).
And thus it turns out that what we're told about Quellon in ASOIAF proper in its own way paints Quellon as every bit the figurative Hoare/whore that AWOIAF does.

Why Paint Quellon As A 'Hoare'/'Whore'?

The question, of course, is "to what end?"
Is it just a little joke? 'Ha ha, Quellon is Hoare-ish and whore-ish', and that's all there is to it?
One thing I will note apropos of that question: ASOIAF loves to use the term "whoreson". Once we're aware of the existence of House Hoare, though, the term makes us think of Hoare sons.
Could Quellon be a Hoare son, of sorts?
While we can presume Quellon's father was a Greyjoy, we have no idea who his mother was. Regardless of her family name, might she have descended from House Hoare, making Quellon a Hoare-ish Hoare son? Was she a Volmark? The Volmarks descend from Qhorwyn Hoare's daughteHardhand Hoare's sister—

Qhorin Volmark, a minor lord on Harlaw, was the first man to claim the kingship [after Aegon's conquest]. His grandmother had been a younger sister of Harwyn Hardhand. On the basis of that tie, Volmark declared himself the rightful heir of "the black line." (TWOIAF)

—and some say they are the "true heir[s] of the black line" of House Hoare:

"Tarle the Thrice-Drowned was heard to say that Maron Volmark is the true heir of the black line." (AFFC The Iron Captain)
Volmark is a callow boy, but he has Black Harren's blood in him through his mother. (AFFC The Reaver)

(It's unclear whether Victarion is thinking that Volmark's mother is a Hoare, or whether he is confusing and conflating the Volmark's older maternal Hoare lineage with the blood of Volmark's mother.)
Thus setting sex aside, the Volmarks may well be as much "Hoares" as they are "Volmarks".
So perhaps Quellon being Hoare-esque and a bit of a 'man-whore' might have something to do with his having a Volmark mother. Maybe that's what calling Maron Volmark "the true heir of the black line" is about: suggesting it's the Volmarks, not hte Greyjoys, who are truly 'Hoare-ish', notwithstanding that Quellon was a maternal Volmark and hence Hoare-ish.
Or maybe it's (also?) about something else . . .

I'm trying to learn how to use JavaFX to develop "free" cross-platform software.
By cross-platform I mean both mobile and desktop. Java is a natural choice because its original design goal was "write once, run anywhere" and it it now widely used on mobile, desktop and server platforms. JavaFX is a natural choice for an application framework because it is able to target all those platforms.
My idea of "free" includes being able to build software using command line tools that are themselves free software. Ideally I want to be able to use a script invoking javac, jar, dx, aapt and other low-level tools to build an application. Some of the Java IDEs are nominally free software, but they are so huge that the programmer can never really understand what they are doing. Likewise, many build examples on the web show a command line that invokes gradlew, which in turn downloads gradle, which in turn implements recipes that the developer knows nothing about. I'm not dead set against using an IDE like Eclipse that hides many details from programmer, but I do not want to be dependent on a huge IDE that produces an application package by a process that is essentially magic.
The big stumbling block in implementing this concept of "free" cross-platform is the Android implementation of JavaFX. I admire and salute Gluon for supporting the continuing existence of JavaFX on Android. But most of their examples use their proprietary "compile to native code" tools. No doubt there's a big performance advantage for that approach. But I so far have not found a clear example, reasonably current, showing how to build and run a JavaFX "Hello World" using just low-level free tools.
Comments or suggestions would be welcome.

Hi, this is my first time I write in this sub and just cause I don't got any response on my last Mails/Tickets from the Sparta Support... (Spartan Germany/Austria)
Me and my friends (8 people total) bought Tickets for the Spartan Night Race which should have taken place on 1st on July 2022 in St. Pölten (Austria)
On the same night, after we arrived in St. Pölten - we got the information that the race is canceled cause of Rain and heavy storm. (the wind torned down Barries)
The next Day we all got an E-Mail with promo codes, which should be replace the costs of the ticket next year.
The mail text ".. All registered Night Sprint participants can take part in tomorrow's Sprint or in a future Sprint/Night Sprint in Austria up to and including St. Pölten 2023 free of charge..."
3 Weeks ago me and my friends met together and wanted to registebuy the new ticket for the sprint on 1st July 2023 in St. Pölten (Sprint). Then we realised not a single Promo Code from any mail is working.
Then I opened a Ticket on Spartan Germany Ticket homepage (and sent a extra mail). Until now, I got not a single response from the Sptaran Support Team and I don't really know - what I can do now. We really don't want to pay the Race again - particularly cause we allready paid last cancled years race and got a Mail which states that we register free next year (so this year)...
Anything I can do about it? How is the Support this bad so far, that I dont got a single respsonse?
Thanks all!

Hello! 10th grade student in ontario. This essay is worth 30% percent of my grade and i want to do my best! Please tell me what you think and what you would rate it. I am writing this argumentatively using supportive opinion paragraphs made of subtopic-point-proof-analysis-conclusion method.
** I am worried abt grammar, use of semicolons, and the line "Nature versus nurture is an enduring debate dating back centuries, argued by many famous scientists and philosophers in history - notably Plato and Descartes, who believed that behavior was inbred and organic to human structure. Correspondingly, it can be argued that personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are innate. " in particular.
​
Nature Versus Nurture
Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate over the true determinant of how personality is formed and how the human mind works, with nature being the winning force, shaping the fabric of human disposition. In relation to this, the book And The Mountains Echoed, and the television shows Hannibal and Better Call Saul illustrate the following ideas: primal and intrinsic characteristics are unaffected by external influences; personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are instead innate; people revert to their base instincts when pressed. These ideas prove that in the discussion of nature versus nurture, nature reigns supreme, wielding its power over the fundamental genetic traits that mold humanity and define the very essence of human existence.
To begin, primal intrinsic instincts are unaffected by external influences. Regardless of the strength of the influence or environment, a person’s true nature and hereditary traits will be impervious to change. A compelling example of this can be found in the television show Hannibal, whose title character is a brilliant psychiatrist and a cannibalistic psychopath (Hannibal). Hannibal began experiencing homicidal inclinations at a young age, indicating his nascent psychopathy, which fully manifested when he willfully ate his sister’s remains after her death ("Digestivo"). Despite later being adopted by his loving uncle, studying fine arts and medicine, and living the rest of his adolescence in the lap of luxury, Hannibal’s urges were ineffaceable, and he used his anatomical knowledge as a tool to kill and consume more people ("Oeuf"). Despite genuinely loving his sister and mourning her after her death, Hannibal could not deny himself his inherent psychopathic urges and consumed her. Though he eventually left his home to pursue his studies and escape growing suspicion from local authorities, changing careers from surgery to psychiatry and experiencing different environments, he remained unchanged and guiltlessly continued murdering and cannibalizing peers and strangers alike. Although Hannibal’s love for his sister was genuine and he was well cared for by his uncle, his surroundings and influences could not suppress his innate psychopathy and character, exemplifying the power that nature exerts over fundamental human traits.
Nature versus nurture is an enduring debate, argued by many famous scientists and philosophers in history - notably Plato and Descartes, who believed that behavior was inbred and organic to human structure. Correspondingly, it can be argued that personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are innate. Human personalities are passed down through generations through genetics and are unshaken by outside pressures. This can be observed in the case of Pari in the novel And the Mountains Echoed. Pari was an Afghan-born girl who was adopted away from her village by a wealthy family and taken to France, all at a very young age (Hosseini 90). Pari’s adoptive mother was a rebellious, troubled, and romantic woman, as well as a talented poet; traits she tried to instill in Pari, who rejected the influence and grew into a humble and family-oriented individual, aligning with the characteristics also exhibited by her biological brother (Hosseini). Though Pari had no memory of her childhood in Afghanistan or of her birth family, she still developed personality traits similar to them due to their passing down through her genetic lineage, leading her to develop her identity and resist her adoptive mother’s attempts to alter it. Pari’s experience supports the claim that personalities resist external influences because they are formed from inherent and natural traits, which hold the most power over the formation of human temperament.
Finally, people revert to their base instincts when pressed. An individual’s base characteristics and natural traits will present themselves in moments of stress or when making snap decisions, often overriding learned behaviors and other external factors and influences. Jimmy "Slippin’ Jimmy" McGill, from Better Call Saul, is a perfect example of this: a clever scam artist turned corrupt criminal lawyer. Jimmy strived to be a law-abiding citizen and uphold a moral code (Better Call Saul) but often manipulated courts, clients, and evidence if he felt it necessary, resorting to immoral schemes and deception when pressed, as he learned to do during his time as a con artist ("Fall"). Jimmy’s instinctual responses to challenging situations voided his attempts to improve himself, instead proving his unchangeability to his loved ones, who correctly believed he could not overcome his nature. Jimmy’s inability to truly alter his innate instincts demonstrates the sheer strength of nature.
As evidenced in Hannibal’s, Pari’s, and Jimmy’s experiences, base characteristics are unaffected and unsuppressed by external influences, as are personalities, and these fundamental character traits always rise to the surface in a person when pressed, thereby proving that nature, thanks to its power over the underlying genetic features that shape people, overpowers external factors and reigns triumphant in the age-old debate between nature and nurture. Humanity is formed by the hands of nature, with biological factors predominantly molding human disposition and the way the human mind functions.
​
WORKS CITED
Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
“Digestivo”. Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
“Oeuf”. Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
Better Call Saul. Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, High Bridge Productions, 2015-2022.
“Fall”. Better Call Saul. Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, High Bridge Productions, 2015-2022.
Khaled Hosseini. And the Mountains Echoed. Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 2018.

Krakens Cove NO WIPE 6 Map Cluster Windows 10 /xbox
Overall

XP - 5x Harvest - 10x Taming -30x Fuel Consumption - 2.x Maturation - 90x Imprint Period - 0.028935 Imprint Stat Scale - 1x Mating Interval - 0.03x Incubation - 80x Imprint Timer - 13m 53s

Player Stats

Max Player Level – 100 Health – 10x Stamina – 10x Oxygen – 10x Weight –1000x Melee - 5x Movement Speed – 5x Fortitude - 50x Crafting Skill – 5x

Dino Stats

Max Level Dino – 400 Max Level Tek – 480 Max Wyverns – 506 Max Crystal Wyverns – 600

Structure Stats

Decay Times Thatch -10d Wood and Adobe - 20d Stone – 30d Metal and Greenhouse – 40d Tek – 50d
*Increased stack sizes *Auto Engrams *Soap Element Transfer *Custom Currency (Berrybush Seeds) *custom spawns

Maps:

Crystal Fjourdur The island Gen 2 Extinction Ragnarok

CODE for discord: krakenscove

Singles/ICYMI
If Not For Me - Demons
Revaira - When I‘m Gone
Code Orange - Grooming My Replacement + The Game
Moodring - WOULDYOUWAITFORME?
Within Destruction - Vengeance
Eighteen Visions - Rot of Humanity
Sylosis - Poison for the Lost
To Kill Achilles - Chemical Counterpart
Causality - Introspection
DVST - Opportunist feat Consvmer
thrown - guilt
Bilmuri - All Gas
Happy Hour - Mental Hellth
Fever 333 - $wing
Albums/EPs
Pupil Slicer - Blossom (Chaotic Hardcore/Mathcore)
Atlases - Between the Day & I (Post-Metal/Metalcore)
Queen Kona - All Hail EP (Metalcore)
Scarnival - The Hell Within (Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore)
Dethrxner - Taunt EP (Hardcore/Nu-Metalcore)
Writing The Future - Caught Between Heaven & Hell (Metalcore/Electronic)
American Nightmare - Dedicated to the Next World EP (Hardcore/Punk)
Shadowteeth - Liquid Sun EP (Progressive Metal/ Metalcore) out now
Semper Acerbus - The Heart and the Machine EP (Metalcore) out now
5pm Promise - Decentralise EP (Post-Hardcore/Alternative Rock) out now
Aeffect - Theory of Mind (Technical Death Metal)
Avenged Sevenfold - Life is but a Dream…
Don’t Sleep - See Change (Hardcore/Punk)
Brooklane - Stay Toxic EP (Pop-Punk)
Superlove - follow:noise (Alternative Rock/Electronic)
Title Holder - What Better Time (Punk-Rock)
Rancid - Tomorrow Never Comes (Punk-Rock)

Thanks for providing so many great tips and advice on this sub! I've read through many of these in the lead up to our 1st trip ever next week. Any advice that anyone can provide on the following questions as I finalize plans for our weekday trip next week would be greatly appreciated!
As background, we do have platinum passes and this will be our 4th CF park after Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and Kings Island. So, parking and ERT are a couple of benefits that we already have. We will have at least 2 half days + 1 full day at Cedar Point (2nd half of day 1; full day; 1st half of day 2). If my work schedule allows, it will be two full days and then a half day on getaway day

• Is there any benefit (other than walking to park instead of driving) to staying at a CP hotel for someone who already has platinum passes?
• Has anyone stayed at the Best Western? It has a 4.0 out of 5 review on tripadvisor. However, there are not a lot of written reviews over the past 6-12 months, and many of those have fairly negative comments.
• We are ideally looking for room(s) with 3 beds with the 3rd being an actual bed and not a couch or futon. The Best Western 2 connecting room suite is $150 cheaper per night than the next lowest CP hotel option that I can find. It's about $50/night cheaper than some of the cheapest VRBO options.
• If we stay offsite, does Cedar Park Dr backup significantly before the parking lot opens? Best time to get in line for parking.
• What are the lowest/slowest capacity rides? For example, at Kings Island when we head back to Area 52 (Orion and Flight of Fear), we've been getting on Flight of Fear first and then Orion 2nd. Most folks head to Orion first and FoF 2nd. However, Orion chews through crowds faster than FoF can handle. If you do Orion 1st (15 minute wait), FoF is already at a 30-60 minute wait if you ride it 2nd. If you do FoF 1st (15 minute wait), your wait for Orion is still typically only 15-20 minutes.
• If yesterday's wait times are representative to what we would see next week, it looks like Maverick, SteVe, and Wild Mouse generally will have 45-60 hour waits all day w/o the FLP. I'm guessing it's best to start with Wild Mouse ERT, Millenium Force ERT, and then hop in line for SteVe is the best way to go about it?
• I've read the FLP doesn't cut as much out of the line for SteVe as it does for other coasters. About half the wait?
• Does cooler temperatures (mid-70's next week) impact wait times by having fewer people split off to the water park?
• Can you hop in a long line 5 minutes before close or do they try to cut off lines so that rides are finished near closing time? For example, if the park closes at 8pm, and there is a 1-hour wait for SteVe, are they cutting off the SteVe line at 7pm or can you hop in line at 7:55pm?

Thanks again for all the great comments and advice!

Hello!
I've been running a 5e campaign for a while now, set in a homebrew world that is made up of countless tiny islands that all have their own biomes and peoples. My intention from the beginning was to create a fantasy world that felt like Star Wars or Star Trek, where the party could go from a bustling magicpunk city like Eberron on one island to a small pre-industrial fishing village on another, and everything in between.
I have given the party a ship (they don't know it yet, but the current owner is about to retire and give them the ship permanently). I plan on using Limithron's Naval Combat rules, as it seems more interactive for the whole party than the basic 5e sailing rules.
My question is: besides having the NPC owner give them the ship, how do I give the players the opportunity to make the ship truly feel like theirs and hopefully make it something they care about? I want this ship to be their Enterprise, or their Millennium Falcon; an extension of the party, not just their transport from A-to-B.

Hello all!
We are so excited for our family trip to Fiji next month..
We have done some research but was hoping you can help. Are there are specific things we should do with our 7 year old? They love fish and we are hoping to go snorkeling. Is there anything else we should know about?
We are hoping to visit other islands, are there any ferry boat service we can take to the island, spend the day there and take the ferry back later?
Thank you so much for your time!

All my life I have always excelled in my studies. Not the first but always second. Always Bs and sometimes As. Here I am, getting Us and Ds and Es in my Alevels. Not being able to go to Uni cause I have no money and Student Finance is saying no. Getting rejected from any apprenticeship I've applied to. Not revising cause what's the point at the end. All the silent expectations of an "outstanding" sixth-form that only accepts the best of the best. My mum didn't say anything about my studies but then at the end said that I should at least get a C, continuously getting rejected from all the jobs, not having a purpose on what to do with my life, wanting to learn coding but not even starting for the deadly fear of failure. Just disappointing everyone, my mum, my college and most of all myself.

It's always sorta funny to read DMs from seniors who say something like, “I’m submitting my application this weekend, any advice on how I can stand out?”
What am I supposed to say?
“Yes. Build a time machine. Go back to sophomore year — then get an internship, go to clown school, or learn how to code. Good luck!”
I kid. The fact is, yes, the way you write about the experiences you do have has a huge bearing on how your application is reviewed, but you can't just fake it. Nothing beats legit extracurricular engagements, experiences, and learning, especially when it comes to applying to highly selective/rejective schools.
(You can read u/ben-MA's piece on how these schools review applications here.)
The week before you submit your application is too late to try to “stand out." So, given that we're just at the beginning of summer, here are some ideas on how to authentically boost your extracurricular resume over the next few months.
First, you might want to read about how competitive schools “score” your ECs and soft factors and the types of ECs AOs want to see more of.
Once you’re versed in the basics, you’ll understand that extracurricular magnitude and impact help students stand out in the process. (Key term alert!) You’ll also understand the breadth of activities you engage with outside of the classroom that “count” as extracurriculars.
Here are a few ways that students can level up their ECs. Remember, as with anything to do with extracurriculars: lead with learning and fun. This shouldn’t be some busywork boring task you do to impress some nameless admission officer. Instead, find interesting ways to use your time outside of the classroom that will also make great fodder for your application.
Combine two interests into one
The basic of this idea is to find an intersection between two of your extracurricular interests and create something new.
On the soccer team and interested in community service? Looking for something to do this summer? Maybe you volunteer with (or start!) a local organization that provides soccer clinics to low-income students. Interested in web design and on the debate team? Maybe you design a website where your team can share resources.
Here's a good one from a student a few years back — she was interested in CS and journalism. She started an organization that trained students in how to do effective data-driven investigative journalism. Cool.
Your ideas will probably be more creative than mine because you know your interests, skills, and community. Start by writing out all of your engagements and look for connections in areas you wouldn’t expect.
And remember, your project or idea doesn’t have to change the world. Heck, you don’t even have to share it with anyone for it to be a valuable learning experience.
Remember: outsized local impact can be huge
Speaking of not having to change the world. It's often students who made a difference in their local community who have the most distinctive stories to tell.
I often find that kids underestimate the impact they can have locally. There are thousands of essays about tennis and orchestra a cycle (no offense to any future Federers or bassoonists), but only one about petitioning the city to install a stop sign at a busy intersection. I've seen so many compelling applications from students who joined their local school boards, organized protests, helped get a bill passed, or built a website so their local library system could keep track of books on loan across branches.
You know your community as well as anyone. Think about problems in the area. Maybe start with a local paper. What do you bring to the table? Who could you organize? What can you improve?
Think like a startup
This harkens back to this post I wrote long, long ago. The examples I gave there combine all of these ideas.
The idea — startups understand three things. You can get something off the ground that has meaning and impact if you adhere to them:

1. The customer is always right. I.e. that’s where the demand is. Is there a demand for what you’re doing? Is there a need? What actual human beings need and will benefit from what you're creating? If you can identify them, and verify the need, you’re on the right track.
2. Time is your most important resource. Get off the ground as quickly as possible. You don't need to launch something perfect. Perfection comes later, or never comes at all. Focus on starting and launching.
3. Define success appropriately. See notes on local impact. Success can mean a lot of different things depending on the context.

So, what should you be thinking about as you approach senior year?
As far as admissions goes, for the most part, you should be focusing on a balanced list of schools (likely, target, reach) that you would be excited to attend from top to bottom. You should be visiting schools if at all possible, researching them online, and learning about the application process.
Complete any unfinished school research and understand if any of your schools track demonstrated interest and plan accordingly. Attend online information sessions and tours. Learn about major pathways and competitiveness. Research supplemental essays. And consider your strengths as a student and applicant and how you’ll weave that into a cohesive narrative in your application.
Don’t skimp on this part. I see a concerning number of A2Cers obsess over schools because of rankings that have nothing to do with them. Do your research.
As far as extracurriculars are concerned, you’ve likely done most of what you’re going to do in high school. Still, I always recommend finding a summer plan that dovetails nicely into senior year and, ideally, gives you something to write about in one of those supplemental essays. To that end, commit yourself fully to one or two extracurricular engagements this summer where you’ll learn a lot and have something to write about in your essays.

So I am like two weeks into Linux (Ubuntu), and I really like the feel of GNOME, I have installed some Extensions to it, Steam, a really nice Firefox Adwaita custom theme, and it all just feels really nice and fresh (except for the GRUB and few little things). Overall, I'm very happy with the user experience I'm getting, but somehow I still want to get a ultralight Windows 10 ISO, and stick with it. It's just that, this nostalgia that goes along with Windows, because you know, you used it since you were 13. The fact that I understand how registry works, maintenance of the system, being used to many Windows built in tools, errors, handling crashes is just really really familiar. And here on Linux, i installed a clipboard manager, that runs in the background, and when I tried to shutdown the PC, I realized that the fact that this process was running, broke my "Skip the 60 second shutdown/restart delay" and I didn't knew what to do, where to look for, since problems that I am about to encounter will be very niche. Another example: I wanted to have two shortcuts for one function, and when I pasted the code that was supposed to be the solution, it just didn't worked, and I wouldn't figure it out myself, because I don't have the knowledge, and the familiarity with all the tools that Linux comes with, to understand the problem and make it work. Windows gives me that toxic girlfriend vibe, where you can't leave her, but then you see Bing being integrated into the Menu, or the search just not fucking searching for the thing that I want (or search in files in general - It's a massive BS that just seems to be working fine on Linux) so you want to get away as far away as possible, but then all the good EXEs, familiarity, and the workflow that I have developed over almost 10 years, starting from Windows XP, all the way to 11. I just really really need like a breakdown guide, going into every detail possible of the very system itself, the files, structures, how to handle programs, how to manage all sort of things, because I watch videos, and i hear: customization, Open Source and all, but me personally: I don't really get to really touch on that stuff, but I hope that will change...

The updated bracket is here.
​
Yesterday's match-up was definitely a tough one for a couple of fan favorites, but it looks like Ethan beating up Jack is more exciting for the group than Henry Gale's debut as All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues advances.
​
Today? Today is most likely a blowout, I'm not going to lie. An iconic Season 1 episode against an early Season 3 episode generally spells doom for the latter. But there's always the possibility I'll be proven wrong on that. Synopses are below:
​
"Do No Harm" is the 20th episode of Season 1. Jack and Sun work to save Boone while Kate is sent to retrieve Sawyer's alcohol for sterilization. On the way back, she runs into a clearly-in-labor Claire. She calls for help, Jin hears her, and is given the alcohol to take to Jack. Kate stays and helps Claire deliver Aaron, while Jack gives his greatest efforts to save Boone, ultimately having Sun try to stop him from giving his own blood to save Boone, and only giving up when Boone tells him he can let him go. In flashback, we see the events surrounding Jack's wedding to Sarah, where he tells her that she saved him, not the other way around. On island, after Boone's death, Jack vows to go after and confront Locke.
​
"The Glass Ballerina" is the second episode of Season 3. In flashback, we see Sun having an affair with Jae Lee, which Mr. Paik has found out about. Paik sends Jin to take care of the problem, but does not tell Jin what he knows. Jin beats up Jae Lee and tells him to leave and go to America, to never show his face there again. Jae instead relents, committing suicide by jumping off the balcony of the hotel room. On island, we get more of Jack in an aquarium (Where Ben shows him footage of the Red Sox winning the World Series), Sawyer and Kate in the cages and their work in the quarry, and Sun, Jin, and Sayid on the boat. Sun, Jin, and Sayid find a decoy village and are confronted by The Others, leading to Colleen being shot and their boat being taken.
​
So which one gets your vote?
​
Poll Link: Do No Harm VS The Glass Ballerina

Hey everyone,
I'm a few months into developing a Plants Vs Zombie fan game. The game design and coding part is going very smooth, and has been since the start of development.But as I'm reaching to release an open demo of the game publicly, we still need a map artist.
The maps are very barren and have little to no effort put into them. I'm looking for someone who is good with pixel art, and interested in making maps based on the real world. (With a unique style, something like Kingdom Rush)
Since the game takes place all over the globe, the maps would need to resemble that. I.E. A middle East map, or North America map. While more detail can be put in, that's the basis needed. And not all art will be needed right away, so after this demo releases, there would be little to no time restriction.
Pixel art is the only option, as the rest of the games art, follows this. The largest sprite needed would be 1024 x 1024 Pixels in size. Animation is not needed. And some maps will vary in size, not requiring the entire 1024 x 1024 to be filled.
If you'd also be interested in making the lawns for the game, which are the background for the general gameplay. That would also be very useful, but more difficult as it would have to match the already established art-style. This is not at all necessary.
Background other than the map may also be needed, but maps are a priority.
Accepting this, you'll get instant access to the game, and everything related. unfortunately due to copyright, this has to be non-profit.

Hello everyone.
I'm a 28 year old woman, currently working in Europe as an English teacher. I did a TEFL course to teach abroad, but am now realising I'm not cut out for teaching - low pay, additional unpaid outside of work hours, no real possibility for growth. I did a creative degree at university, which sadly did not get the type of career I envisioned (1.5 year lowest ranks of film industry, other years working in retail).
Now, at 28, I am having a wake up call and want to create a stable career path for myself with good job prospects. I am a woman of colour and I come from a small working class family. I have limited personal finances and connections. I would like a job that I could train / get certified in, and likely have a job by the end of it. I'm relatively smart and motivated more than ever. I'm looking for a job that provides stability, fair pay and career progression.
I would really appreciate any and all advice...
Possible things I've considered: - IT certifications (ComptiaA+, net+, sec+) - learning to code - Online courses to become skilled at Adobe creative cloud (video editing, graphic design) - Going to uni for a master's degree in unrelated field (possibly online 1 year program) - community college - urban planning
(I'm passionate about photography however this doesn't seem stable at all) I speak English and French, am willing to relocate anywhere in the world. ( I have permission to work in EU and UK)
Thanks in advance for all responses, it means a lot! :)
TLDR: 28 yo woman, all previous jobs minimum wage/unstable, wants to retrain and find career path, any suggestions?

Introduction

During the development of our card game Conflux we wanted to have an easy way to create various abilities for our cards with different effects and at the same time wanted to write smaller amount of code per ability. Also we wanted try and add a simple modding capability for abilities.

Format we introduced

Some of you may be familiar with MoonSharp LUA interpreter for C#, often use in Unity engine to add scripting support to your game. That's what we took as a base for writing the code for abilities. Each ability can subscribe to different events such as whenever a card takes damage, is placed on the field or ability is used manually on some specific targets. Besides having event handlers we needed a way to specify some metadata like mana cost of abilities, cooldown, icon, etc. and in the first iteration of the system we had a pair of JSON metadata file and LUA code file.
It was fine initially but we quickly realized that abilities typically have ~20 lines of JSON and ~20 lines of LUA code and that having two files per ability is wasteful so we developed a simple format which combines both the JSON and LUA.
Since LUA code could never really be a valid JSON (unless you are ok with slapping all the code into a single line or is ok with escaping all the quotes you have) we put the JSON part of the abilities into the LUA script. First LUA block comment section within the script is considered as a JSON header.
Here is an example of "Bash" ability in LUA (does damage and locks the target cards):

--[[ { "mana_cost": 0, "start_cooldown": 0, "cooldown": 3, "max_usage": -1, "icon": "IconGroup_StatsIcon_Fist", "tags": [ "damage", "debuff", "simple_damage_value" ], "max_targets": 1, "is_active": true, "values": { "damage": 5, "element": "physical" }, "ai_score": 7 } --]] local function TargetCheck() if Combat.isEnemyOf(this.card.id, this.event.target_card_id) then return Combat.getAbilityStat(this.ability.id, "max_targets") end end local function Use() for i = 1, #this.event.target_card_ids do Render.pushCardToCard(this.card.id, this.event.target_card_ids[i], 10.0) Render.createExplosionAtCard("Active/Bash", this.event.target_card_ids[i]) Render.pause(0.5) Combat.damage(this.event.target_card_ids[i], this.ability.values.damage, this.ability.values.element) Combat.lockCard(this.event.target_card_ids[i]) end end Utility.onMyTargetCheck(TargetCheck) Utility.onMyUse(Use) 

Inheritance for abilities

It may be a completely valid desire to have a way to reuse the code of some abilities and just make some small adjustments. We solved this desire by having a merge function for JSON header data which will look for a parent field within the header and will look for the data based on the ID provided in this parent field. All the data found is then merged with the data provide in the rest of the current JSON header. It also does it recursively, but I don't foresee actually using this functionality as typically we just have a generic ability written and then the inherited ability just replaces all it needs to replace.
Here is an example on how a simple damaging ability can be defined:

--[[ { "parent": "Generic/Active/Elemental_projectiles", "cooldown": 3, "icon": "IconGroup_StatsIcon01_03", "max_targets": 2, "values": { "damage": 2, "element": "fire", "render": "Active/Fireball" }, "ai_score": 15 } --]] 

So as you can see there is no code as 100% of it is inherited from the parent generic ability.
The way a code in the child ability is handled is that the game will execute the LUA ability files starting from the top parent and will traverse down to the child. Since all the logic of abilities is usually within the event handlers then no actual change happens during the execution of those LUA scripts (just info about subscriptions is added). If the new ability you write needs to actually modify the code of the parent then you can just unsubscribe from the events you know you want to modify and then rewrite the handler yourself.

MoonSharp in practice

MoonSharp as a LUA interpreter works perfectly fine IMO. No performance issues or bugs with the LUA code execution as far as I see.
The problems for us started when trying to use VS code debugging. As in it straight up does not work for us. To make it behave we had to do quite a few adjustments including:

• Create a new breakpoint storage mechanism because existing one does not trigger breakpoints
• Add customizable exception handler for when the exception occurs within the C# API. By default you just get a whole load of nothing and your script just dies. We added a logging and automatic breakpoint mechanism (which is supposed to be there but just does not work)
• Proper local/global variables browser. Existing one just displayed (table: 000012) instead of letting you browse variables like a normal human being.
• Passthrough of Unity logs to VS code during debugging. This one worked out of the box for the most part when errors were within the LUA code, but anything that happens in our C# API is only visible in Unity console (or Player.log) and when breakpoint is triggered good luck actually seeing that log with Unity screen frozen and logs not flushed yet (can flush the logs in this case I guess too?)

What is missing

While we are mostly satisfied with the results the current implementation there are a couple things worth pointing out as something that can be worked on:

• When you are done writing the ability you can't really know if the code you wrote is valid or if the data within the JSON header is valid. Linters within VS code I tried either complain about LUA code when highlighting JSON or ignore JSON when highlighting LUA code
• Good luck killing infinite loop within the LUA code (though same is true for C#). Execution limit needs to be implemented to avoid that problem, better to have invalid game state then having to kill the process.
• By placing the metadata of the abilities within the same code file you lock yourself out of the opportunity to have a unified place to store all your ability metadata (e.g. having a large data sheet with all the values visible to be able to sort through it and find inconsistencies). This can be addressed by having a converter from those LUA files to say CSV file or having a dedicated data browser within the game

Why not just write everything in LUA?

It is possible to convert the JSON header part into a LUA table. With this you get a benefit of syntax highlight and comments. The downside is that now to read the metadata for the ability you have to run a LUA VM and execute the script if you want to get any info from it. This implies that there will be no read-only access to ability information because the script will inevitably try to interact with some API that modifies the game state (at the very least adds event listener) or you will need to change the API to have a read-only mode.
Another point is that having a simple JSON part in the file let's you use a trivial script to extract it from the .lua file and it then can be used by some external tools (which typically don't support LUA)

TL;DR

Adding JSON as a header to LUA has following pros and cons compared to just writing C# code per ability:
Pros:

• Can hot-swap code with adjustments for faster iteration
• No compilation required, all the scripts can be initialized during the scene loading process
• Can evaluate the same code an ability would use within a console for testing
• Allows abilities to be modded into the game with lower possibility of malicious code (as long as exposed API is safe)

Cons:

• Requires compatibility layer between C# and LUA (you will still have to write API in C# to reduce the code bloat, but there is an extra layer that you need to write to pass this API to LUA)
• MoonSharp VS code debugging is buggier than using VisualStudio debugger for C#
• Doesn't really reduce the number of lines of code you need to manage. While you avoid boilerplate code, with smart management of this boilerplate code you can reduce it down to just a good base class implementation for your abilities with almost no overhead

​
https://preview.redd.it/unor9nznkf3b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=e853b4a6426871dd58633ac84d79bc37a03138ef
Introduction
After watching all 12 episodes of Brand New Animal twice (except for Ep 12, which I watched just once) and watching several YouTube videos reviewing the anime, I discovered that BNA's story desperately needs improvement. The show becomes a "meh" level of quality when its stunning art style and jaw-dropping action scenes are combined with poor worldbuilding and irrational character decisions. There must be a way to change the writing while still keeping all the parts that viewers love about BNA - the concept of humans turning into anthropomorphised animals.
I have an idea of how this might be achieved.
​
Proposal
Note that this proposal focuses on fixing all the plotholes in the story, not how to best integrate the signature "Trigger" action into the writing.
Currently, its writing has tons of problems, meaning all the characters act irrationally and the plot is full of "pretzel logic".
For example:

• "Beastmen VS Humans" makes zero sense.
• Beastmen prefer to live like humans and appear in human form (they all have human forms) despite the war crimes that humans repeatedly committed against them.
• Beastmen keep attacking their own kind irrationally.
• Nirvasyl Syndrome (or "Angry Beastman Disease") defeats the theme of racism.
• Backstories make no sense/not elaborated.
• Michiru Kagemori is the dumbest protagonist ever.

But, the show also has a lot of good things that fans would like to see more of.
For example:

• Action-packed fighting between Beastmen resembling various animals.
• Beautiful art style.
• Potential for great conflicts and themes.
• Very cute protagonist (see Jackisboy's video).

​
I might have a solution that can solve all the plot holes:
Instead of Beastmen and Humans always having been separate species, change the lore so that Beastmen and Humans used to be one and the same - normal human beings. Beastmen would be re-defined as Humans who have gained the ability to transform between a Beast form and a Human form.
This way:

• Humans hate Beastmen due to the impression of a diseased race of people.
• Beastmen prefer to live like humans and appear in human form because they are all still human at heart.
• Beastmen attack their own kind because they abuse their animalistic abilities, and it is not limited to just angry beastmen.
• Nirvasyl Syndrome - we can either do away with it, change it into propaganda spread by Beastmen haters, or change it into an artificially-made disease made by Sylvasta.

As for the protagonist's poor decision-making and lack of backstory, that can be changed by elaborating on her backstory in the first episode and tweaking her personality so that "heroic dumbass" is an explicit part of it.
​
If I could re-write BNA...
... I would stretch the original plot from 12 episodes to 3 seasons with 12 episodes each.

Season 1
Michiru escapes to a island that has been transformed into Anima City. She learns to become comfortable in her own skin and gains friends there, including Shirou Ogami and "the bears", who are a basketball team (and NOT a baseball team)
In the background, Mayor Rose is doing a bad job at being the mayor of the city, which leads to lots of social-economic issues in Anima City, which leads to lots of crime.
[insert human terrorists here]
[insert beastmen mafia here]

​

Season 2
A new religion has arisen in Anima City that claims to be led by the "Silver Wolf" god. Turns out it's just Michiru's high-school friend, Nazuna. Michiru faces off with Nazuna as she builds her religion.
Shiout Ogami reveals himself to just Michiru to be the true, original, Silver Wolf.
In the end, Nazuna's lie falls apart and all the beastmen rise up against her. Nazuna gives up seeking to become an "idol" and leaves Michiru's life once again.
In the background, however, Alan Sylvasta of the cooperation Sylvasta Pharmaceutical is running to be the new mayor. In the end, he is finally elected as the new mayor and Mayor Rose is kicked out.

​

Season 3
After achieving a good research & development company and gaining political power, as well as the favour of the Beastmen, Alan Sylvasta can finally chase his ultimate goal: gaining divine power and becoming the god of the Beastmen.
He rebuilds a ton of infrastructure in Anima City, not just to improve it and serve its citizens better, but to replicate the appearance of the "first Animal City", which is where Shirou was from.
He also researches how to become a beastmen and uses Michiru's DNA to secretly turn himself into a wolf beastmen.
In the end, Alan Sylvasta builds a giant pentagram stage. He stands and the centre and holds a giant congregation all around the centre. He replicates the series of events that turned Shirou Ogami from a regular wolf beastmen into a deity and succeeds in becoming a big yellow wolf god thingy.
Shirou Ogami transforms into his god form and fights Alan Sylvasta. An epic flashy god fight ensues. Shirou wins.
The remaining beastmen who are still alive decide to flee Anima City because they no longer believe that they will ever get a good leader. However, Michiru convinces Shirou to lead the Beastmen and be the new-new mayor of Anima City.
In the end, Shirou reluctantly agrees to lead the small portion of Beastmen who still believe in Anima City.

Note that I'm not sure if a re-make of BNA should repeat all the storylines from the original. While that would give a lot of respect for the original, I am afraid that it might be boring to see the same thing playing out in a different way.
After all, this is a world that should be more about the tons of humans being discriminated against because they gained the ability to turn into animal-human hybrids, not a world where two people are trying to become God! A "furry" show should be about the "furry concept" and all its ethical issues!
​
Additional Notes
BNA currently dances around many themes, but one theme that should stand out the most is "Identity". It is better for the show to focus on this central theme and branch off from it for different characters.

• Season 1: Michiru could struggle between choosing to rebuild her "human" life or to develop a new "beastmen" life.
• Season 2: Nazuna believes that because she has powers like that of a god, she ought to assume the social status of a god (to become popular).
• Season 3: Alan Sylvasta is power hungry??? The theme of identity does not fit very well here. Perhaps he thinks that a good leader should gain god powers or something.

Theme is very important. The YouTuber LocalScriptMan talks about themes much better than I can.
I'm not a writing guru. I only picked up writing as a hobby about a year ago. These are just my thoughts on the show. If anyone wants to pick up on this idea and re-make BNA, please do.
Credit me.
​
Video Links
The YouTube reviews I watched:

• Bna (Brand New Animal) Worst Written Show This Season - LostTrigger
• How BNA (Brand New Animal) Handles Racism - LostTrigger
• Brand New FURRY Anime (BNA Review) - SonicHaXD
• Brand New Animal Isn't That Great - Kross
• BNA could've been better, I guess - Bruce Juice
• BNA (Brand New Animal) is terrible, and here's why - Jackisboy

​
TL:DR - change BNA lore so that beastmen are humans that have become beastmen so the plotholes regarding "Beastmen acting like humans" are all filled up and so better conflict can be imagined.

Hello everyone.
I'm a 28 year old woman, currently working in Europe as an English teacher. I did a TEFL course to teach abroad, but am now realising I'm not cut out for teaching - low pay, additional unpaid outside of work hours, no real possibility for growth. I did a creative degree at university, which sadly did not get the type of career I envisioned (1.5 year lowest ranks of film industry, other years working in retail).
Now, at 28, I am having a wake up call and want to create a stable career path for myself with good job prospects. I am a woman of colour and I come from a small working class family. I have limited personal finances and connections. I would like a job that I could train / get certified in, and likely have a job by the end of it. I'm relatively smart and motivated more than ever. I'm looking for a job that provides stability, fair pay and career progression.
I would really appreciate any and all advice...
Possible things I've considered: - IT certifications (ComptiaA+, net+, sec+) - learning to code - Online courses to become skilled at Adobe creative cloud (video editing, graphic design) - Going to uni for a master's degree in unrelated field (possibly online 1 year program) - community college - urban planning
(I'm passionate about photography however this doesn't seem stable at all) I speak English and French, am willing to relocate anywhere in the world. ( I have permission to work in EU and UK)
Thanks in advance for all responses, it means a lot! :)
TLDR: 28 yo woman, all previous jobs minimum wage/unstable, wants to retrain and find career path, any suggestions?

First I will start with the good: I LOVE both the new maps, they're beautiful, they play well and they play very differently from all the other maps in the game! El Alamein needs good MGs, Snipers, Tankers and AT gun crews to work, and the whole team needs to be coordinated and have a good grasp of map control to win! Driel I like just a bit less, as it feels a bit cheap to cross the water anywhere I want, but I guess that's better than Remagen... A system of pontoon bridges on one side and shallow water and island crossing on the other would be better I think, instead of being able to cross the river under the bridge where no one is looking! Also, some open houses with second-floor windows would be nice for Driel! Both maps do need some optimization, as they stutter a lot, and drop FPS in some locations and sight lines, but that will probably get fixed in a patch.
Now for the bad: Both the British and the Germans need at least 1 set of FREE desert uniforms! Anything else, you monetize, I don't care, so long as there's a single desert option like there's a winter one!
As for the gameplay itself, these are all possible options to balance the Brits (and Soviets) out and fix the other U14 issues (From a +1000h HLL Vet):

• You need to improve the sight design and strafe behavior of ALL British weapons to match other factions! Lower the flip-up ladder on the Lewis and just give it a V-notch, make the aperture and front post on Sten slimmer, also, slim down the Bren aperture a bit maybe? Lee Enfield No.4 has perfect sights, don't touch them!
• Give all Brits the Lee Enfield No.4 as the starting weapon, P14 should be optional or removed except for snipers! No.4 has absolutely GREAT sights and 10 round mag! Give them a Semi-Auto pistol (like the Browning Hi-Power) for MG and tanker classes, like you did for the Soviets, the Germans have 2 semi-auto options. Also, give them more Sten, less Lanchester! It should stay in for variety, but it shouldn't be the Brit's main SMG
• Give L-E rifles a RAPID bolt cycle rate like IRL (They don't have a semi-auto rifle like the Germans) and increase the range of all rifles from 200m 1HK to 250 or 300m 1HK, this will help a lot of people not feel cheated out of kills when they hit a target 201m away on the new very open, long sight line maps. Currently, if you hit someone with a bolt action once, they quickly zig-zag to cover, use a bandage and then continue on their merry way, zigzagging again making it impossible to hit them even once, let alone twice!
• Add a bipod to Bren and increase 1-Hit-Kill to 200m (or just 150 because you can aim it without a bipod deployed?) like rifles and other MGs, it fires a full-size caliber like them.Also, do this to FG42 (this will actually give us a reason to use an FG42 instead of the STG, as currently, it is inferior in every way: Sights, Recoil, Mag Size, Ammo carried) and BAR, but not STG44, it should stay 100m 1HK as it fires a much smaller caliber than Rifles, LMGs, and Auto Rifles! I, personally, would also love to see German MG get the option of an FG42 loadout, like the US has the BAR, but that's just me!
• Give the default Brits' ASSAULT loadout a DRUM mag Thompson, and a Sten for the Saboteur ASSAULT loadout, the Bren makes no sense with the Satchel! It's a very heavy, very wrong gun to run up to a tank with or storm an enemy compound and blow it up! The Bren should be an option for the AUTOMATIC RIFLEMAN and the MG, we don't need up to 3 Brens per 6-man Squad! This should also be done with the STG44 loadout for Germans, a satchel + most versatile gun in the game + grenade + 2 smokes makes no sense! Give German ASSAULT with a satchel the FG42, and move the STG44 to the other loadout!
• Add the Universal Bren Carrier for the British instead of the M2 halftrack, yes it has less troop capacity than the other ones, but no, that will not be a problem as nobody uses them as troop transports! Also, giving us a single halftrack instead of (or with) the standard transport truck @ one of the HQs at the start of each game would be really great, helping both teams establish a presence at the front immediately, if they use it correctly! Maybe even a jeep at one HQ at the start of the game, for the commander to use! They don't need to respawn like all the other starting vehicles, just let us use them at the start of each game, even if we have to spawn them in ourselves!
• Remove STG44 and FG42 (maybe even replace the G43 with a slower, 2x clip-reloading G41?) from maps that shouldn't have them! (El Alamein, Kharkov, Kursk, Stalingrad), especially as the Soviets & Brits have no equivalent (except for the SVT-40 on the Soviet side)!
• Give MG42 (and MG34) a realistic DRUM mag size of 50 (or 75 double drum for MG34) rounds instead of 250, as you did to the DP27 and Lewis, just 47 rounds in the PAN mag. Yes, Lewis also had a 97-round mag... This will have the added benefit of making the MG34 PART OF THE META, and not just an inferior MG 42 in every way, as it will use up that little drum of ammo much slower! MG mains (me) WILL complain, fuck, I will be really sad too, but it has to be done! The current system makes ZERO sense, realism for the bad LMGs, fantasy for the MG42? Also, a more realistic amount of ammo carried (6 drums of 50 instead of 250) by MG players would necessitate actually coordinating with the squads' Support or Riflemen for ammo more often, which is ALWAYS a good thing!
• The MG role could also choose between a drum fed and belt fed loadout, and if the belt fed is chosen, he could not hip fire the MG on the move, he would have to stop, drop a box of belt ammo, deploy the bipod, load in a belt and then AND ONLY THEN be able to fire! That way MGs on Omaha retain their 250 round belts without it being overpowered! If he wants to move position, he has to take out the belt, remove the bipod, pickup the belt ammo box and then he can move off to another spot! The British could get the Vickers K for this, the Soviets maybe the DShK or the Maxim?

Ok, now for the MOVEMENT:
A soldier who passed basic training could easily run MUCH FASTER than the current in-game speed (or than the average speed of a top marathon runner at the time), even with essential combat gear (which was not that much, between 15-25lbs or 7-11kg), for 100-500m, or in other words: 1/420th (NICE!) to 1/84th of a marathon-length, which is 42km! ALL HLL maps are just 2x1km!
Could he ADS so fast coming out of that run? NO!Would his aim sway a lot before he would catch his breath? YES!Could he change direction or "zigzag" with ZERO loss of speed? NO!Could he start and stop a sprint instantly, on the spot? NO!Could he dolphin dive and get back up to start running again instantly? NO!
These are all problems that need addressing (even if the old run comes back!), but the speed at which we run in the game is neither unrealistic, nor a major problem for gameplay if all these other problems are solved! Maybe the tanks should get a 10% boost too, I'm not sure about that, I don't tank enough to have an educated opinion on it, so I would love a tankers input!
I like that we are finally able to run and dive to cover, it feels like my soldier ACTUALLY CARES FOR HIS LIFE NOW AND IS SCARED OF BEING SHOT (That's why I will defend both the new speed and the dive to prone to death!), but you shouldn't be able to chain these moves to glide across the ground! I wouldn't be opposed to lowering the speed just a bit, back to 110% of what it was (or the new speed could work just for the first 100-200m after which the old one kicks in, and you have to stop and wait or walk before your quick sprint recharges), but the old speed should definitely not come back!
P.S. Where's the Crusader tank at El Alamein?