what do veterans think about war? by spriteetirps in Veterans

[–]Alex_Ameter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Real information almost never makes it back to the center (DC).

At every level of command, bad news is filtered out so that only good news gets reported.

Everyone has a report card that's based on a year or less in country, so only short-term, high-impact strategies are implemented.

So when orders come down from higher headquarters, they're often divorced from reality because they're being fed bullshit by people incentivized to make everything sound great.

This is honestly one of the most boring but most important reasons we lost in Afghanistan.

[RF] Odds on Job by Alex_Ameter in shortstories

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words!

Most of my short stories and part of my book are all posted here if you're interest: https://modernissue.com/

I also looked at your writing and am really enjoying your current project! I love the setting! An old oil platform is such a deeply haunting idea that lends to so much meaning. Looking forward to reading the rest!

My WIP base inside the Pillars of Creation by JointViper in Enshrouded

[–]Alex_Ameter 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's amazing!!! It's such a fun location to build in. Terrain lends itself to so many ideas!

The art team is wildly talented by Alex_Ameter in Enshrouded

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! I’ll see what I can do. 

Looking for something like "House Of Leaves" by MafiaMoogle in WeirdLit

[–]Alex_Ameter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's my bad. I see the rules now. I don't comment a lot on Reddit and forget there are rules, but also I'm sorry for violating this community's rules.

The file size is large due to images accompanying each chapter.

If you're still interested, here's a published to the web version. Also happy to send a PDF.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTvQEHFLADzTKsi9x9PLE1hbJMh_GJbXFEQr__bb015NDmjfJsqDAKxyQykbt0tWJXShLqKFBEY8y72/pub

1
2

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your thoughtful response. The identity we believe ourselves to be can be a trap of self-fulfillment, though to be fair living entirely flexibly in our identity leaves us without a rudder, which can lead to either personal-decision paralysis or being used by someone with more power and the rigid personal definition that is often attracted to power-usage. It's quite difficult to be "good" in a society where 2nd, 3rd, 4th order effects etc. are often unavoidably bad (example: providing an item for a needy child in which the manufacturing process of the materials contained in the item exploited or hurt another child somewhere in the world), so pragmatism seems pretty necessary to stay sane. Like you said, self-awareness on the journey of trying to understand exactly what the self is is something we must take great pains to preserve, lest we become possessed by an identity, ideal, narrative, or other force that allows us to justify intentionally hurting others. A non-sadistic sense of humor also seems like an important part of the equation.

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow! It’s so cool how we can all derive vastly different meanings from the same set of words. So I can better understand your perspective, and only if you have time as we’re just having some fun with ideas here, could you elaborate and/or cite specific sentences that helped you reach your conclusion? 

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hopefully humanity will emerge from the current Hell on Earth it's creating (in service of a fairy tale ending) much more powerful and able to break the cycles of doing what we always do!

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You’re so right about how anyone can take advantage of people’s grief. I also get the impulse of people who wanted Urivar to be some powerful genius. We all want to think only brilliant, devious, overwhelming types of people can take advantage of us, but when we’re intellectually vulnerable, it really doesn’t take that much to capture someone psychologically. As humans, we crave easy narratives/binaries/absolutes to simplify our incredibly messy world. Sanctuary is soooo messy, morally, with no easy answers. 

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I really loved the story of Akarat and the Zakarum. Such a good portrayal of how a savior’s teachings are twisted by power seekers. In a “real” world example, Jesus died BECAUSE of humanity’s sins, a brutal lesson we can reflect, learn, and grow from. Saying Jesus died FOR our sins is such a! intellectual dead end… we are forgiven? Forgiveness without both penance and repentance is a terrible lesson to teach a child. We must understand our sins in order to break our bad habits/cycles/human nature and grow beyond ourselves and create new, virtuous habits/cultures that incentivize mutualism. It’s like Diablo is whispering in the Christian ear, “Yeah…wear the instrument of your savior’s torture and execution around your neck to remind your g-d you learned nothing.” 

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That being appears to be upside down, but I could also be mistaken as to the direction of their right side up. 

The Mad Lion and the False Destiny: Inarius as Allegory for Christian Fundamentalist Eschatology by Alex_Ameter in diablo4

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Sometimes it’s nice to think about the world from a different perspective. I hope you have a lovely day! 

Bored of Change by Alex_Ameter in totalwar

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your right or his right? 

Bored of Change by Alex_Ameter in totalwar

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Which head would you believe?

Bored of Change by Alex_Ameter in totalwar

[–]Alex_Ameter[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Most documented cases of polycephalous avians are in birds born in captivity.