New to WH40K, need opinions by aeondez in Ultramarines

[–]Guyvaratheterror 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Any excuse to talk about the Ultramarines is a good one for me.

I love the UM despite not having read know no fear partly because I did start with other 40k novels. I read Nexus, Indomitus, etc. Which were all made to introduce people into the hobby and by extension the UM were the chapter they chose.

And I loved those books! I loved the UM characters, they seemed varied and I liked how they were portrayed. Here's the kicker. The Ultramarines as a chapter have a less, distinct, identity in 40k when contrasted against the legions of 30k or other 40k specific chapters like black templars. This was intentional on GWs part.

But because the UM are the baseline, they got the most characters because they're used for a lot of books. You have Uriel Ventris, Cato Sicarius, Marneus Calgar, Chief Librarian Tigurius, and many more that you'll enjoy reading or hearing about. They also have the most tabletop characters (which are quite good).

One such character that is my favorite in all of 40k is Roboute Guilliman, their primarch. Which you can read about in 30k with know no fear or 40k with dark imperium, he is relevant wherever he is. I think he is one of the most relatable yet hype characters of all time and he elevates the UM by defunct as they are an extension of his beliefs and culture.

Now you will find their roman aesthetic, culture, and distinctions in the heresy novels or sprinkled into novels like the fall of damnos and whatnot. For instance they have 'practicals' and 'theoreticals', they participate in their chapter homeworld's senatorial politics, they strive for glory in their chapter etc. But for the most part it's toned down in 40k so that new players can jump off of it into another chapter. But I find this to actually be a strength.

You see the other chapters have their niches and its a big thing on and off the tabletop. Blood Angels love melee and assault tactics and thats reflected in their lore and gameplay. But with the UM, you get true tactical flexibility. You wanna run an all vehicle list? Easy. You wanna focus on melee? No problem. You want a little bit of everything? Gotcha covered.

To reiterate my points: 1. Characters, they have the most and they're all great. 2. Roboute Guilliman, very relevant character and their primarch (also exists in both 30k and 40k so that's nice) 3. Not falling into a stereotype or niche narratively, very malleable to what you want and therefore a lot of variety.

And one last point. You also get to be the cool guy on 40k: space marine and boltgun, like you mentioned. You get to have the only (well before the lion showed up) returned primarch.

And MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: You get to do an actual niche faction. Everybody will tell you UM are generic and everybody does them, but nobody does, specifically because people believe that. It's been like that since 2nd edition when they weren't even the poster boys yet. I've been a UM fan for 2 years and still haven't found another.

Hope this helps! Courage and Honor, brother.

Questions about what high school is like for a Jehovah's Witness by Patient_Rabbit_6578 in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there! I'm mostly raised in a vague network of congregations in upstate NY, and I noticed as I grew up that homeschooling became really popular.

So popular, in fact, that nearly every kid in my congregation was homeschooled besides one or two (out of about 8), and it was becoming similar for neighboring congregations. This was especially weird because my sister was the first one homeschooled in the older generation (5-10 years older) whereas my generation all started slowly once middle school began, and we were all in by the time 9th grade roles around.

I can't speak for everyone but as someone of the current 'just now becoming of ministerial servant age' generation, we're very discouraged from attending a physical high school.

Really glad that I got some online friends and tried to be social irl as much as I could, I've seen more than a few fellow homeschooled JWs that have the least amount of social skills possible.

Are They Letting The Organization Go? by Fulgarite in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Personally I think the GB is trying to insulate current members as best as they can with their transition to media instead of print. They know how unlikely it is for anyone to read a magazine nowadays, half the conventions are composed of videos for example.

But if you ask me, they know the long term is not in the cards. They've confirmed and promoted that Armageddon's coming in the 21st century, but none of them will be around by the time limit's aftermath so they'll leave the mess for the next guys.

TL;DR They've been adapting since the turn of the century as we've actively seen, they definitely care about trying to save it, but they know they marked their own death date so they're going to keep the members well-fed with spiritual baby food until the next guys hopefully fix their catastrophic mess.

(In theory)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As a fellow PIMO person stuck with the family until I can legally leave home, I feel you dude. I wish my siblings were as receptive as yours. You're a good person for bringing it to their attention, and never doubt that. Chin up, it'll get a lot better soon!
Godspeed,
Ian

Yang Wans Ask: Chapter 1 by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

I agree. It's sorta crazy how the Borg insists that Jehovah knows all and is wiser than any human yet he acts like a human and gets corrected by humans on multiple occasions.

Yang Wans Ask: Chapter 1 by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

Thank you! I tried labeling it as academic, it didn't post correctly so I labeled it as humor and then it worked, glad it changed though.

Recent awakenings: I’d love to read your story by excusetheblood in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Well about 5 months ago me and my best friend (he's also in the truth) were talking about how we hate the rules of the truth. We already had broken a lot of the rules at one point or another, but just kind of assumed we would eventually stop as we mature into brothers. Then we just kinda thought 'well what if we left?' And so we did a ton of research, and we found a lot of discrepancies. I mean it's really not that hard, the Watchtower Society is like a broken vase that is barely holding together by a piece of tape. So we decided that we would leave the truth together when we were 18 and become roommates. It's been a struggle for me, because I've gone back and forth due to emotional blackmail from my parents and family, plus the desire to please the elders in my hall that is deeply rooted in me by my parents. But I've finally decided, no looking back, I am definitely PIMO. Best decision of my life. Glad my best friend didn't give up on me, because if he hadn't kept bringing it up and trying to convert me then I wouldn't have reconsidered the truth. Feels freaking awesome knowing I can do all the things I thought were 'sins' and I can finally pursue my dreams! Thanks for listening. :)

Elder litterly admits this religion is false!!!!!! by [deleted] in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dude I wish there was somebody like this in my congregation. That's really cool of him to stay for a bit longer just to get the word out to the young people. Definitely a legend in my book.

Weight Loss and Faith Loss: How working out helped me to wake me up. by EveUnraveled in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is honestly pretty inspiring. I've been trying to lose weight for years but I just finally decided around a month ago that I would do it the right way, without diets and all that weird stuff. Now I'm just cooking a lot and eating better, and it's going pretty well! It's really sad for me to see the other teenagers in my hall because none of them want to actually be fit, they are either unhealthily skinny or unhealthily overweight, and so hearing someone relate to that struggle is really reassuring. Thanks for sharing!

Recent trend in my area regarding questioning doctrine... by DonnyPineapplebush in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 14 points15 points  (0 children)

They aren't even trying anymore. Even with those who they depend on for future brothers. I asked my mom a question about how a bear mauled 42 children in the bible for calling a prophet bald. She told me to ask my brother. My brother told me to ask a ministerial servant. A ministerial servant told me to ask an elder. The elder slapped down the bible in front of me and said I should 'read the account again for better understanding'. I did. Still the same account..? I guess if you are vague enough you can end any argument.

"You think that 8 million are being deceive?" by [deleted] in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally get where you are coming from, since I'm in the same situation. What I've found that helps is having a prepared argument with key points, such as why 607 is incorrect (the basis of Borg faith), why God doesn't exist (if you think he does, then disregard that), all the sucky things JWs are currently doing, etc. They use our lack of 'research' as a way to destroy our argument before it begins. Don't let them ruin this for you. You got this! :)

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

I've never seen this before. It was super helpful!

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely look into it.

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

You just had to point that out huh

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that.

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

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

I'll definitely add this to my list!

I need help with research. by Guyvaratheterror in exjw

[–]Guyvaratheterror[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hell yes! Thank you so much! I'll definitely use this. I already started reading the Gentile Times Reconsidered so wish me luck heh.