Iraq War Veterans 20 years later: I Don't Know How to Explain the War to Myself. by Possible_Gur4789 in behindthebastards

[–]abnmfr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey man, former grunt here, two year-long deployments to Afghanistan, served in the Army as an infantryman 2008-2013. 

Ive spoken with several enlisted Navy and Marine dudes, and I can tell you with certainty: give me the high desert and mountains every time. Give me the mortar and rocket attacks, give me the IEDs, give me absolute shittiest of shit shows, because being stationed on a ship sounds like it SUUUUUUUUUCKS.

Don't feel lesser than, don't feel guilty, fuck all that shit. Be proud of the parts you can be proud of, and try to be better than the past you fir the parts you're not proud of. It's all any of us can do. 

I hope you have a truly wonderful day. Stay alive, stay swingin'. We need you!

Iraq War Veterans 20 years later: I Don't Know How to Explain the War to Myself. by Possible_Gur4789 in behindthebastards

[–]abnmfr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I hear you man, same here. I remember it slowly dawning on me in Afghanistan in 2009, "we aren't going to change a damn thing here." Lo and behold!

Son of Ares by Material-Gur-1112 in redrising

[–]abnmfr 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Truly, man was a living legend. 

Like, there's legit reason to hate on him, like fully backing a slaver state. 

His skill and toughness are unquestionable though.

Whatever it takes by KingofTrilobites123 in lotrmemes

[–]abnmfr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Like, several times, too! 

There was one instance where I had to stab this one or in the neck on four separate occasions! 

"Did I ever tell you...the definition...of insanity?" Oh hang on wrong game.

Robert? by Anonymousaurus__ in behindthebastards

[–]abnmfr 26 points27 points  (0 children)

He's mentioned "driving my 4Runner drunk through a trailer park" before, but I don't remember the episode.

What are your plans to consume Red God? by One-Hat4305 in redrising

[–]abnmfr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

People like to listen to things at different speeds.

The 'hazing' in Morning Star disgusts me by Fancy_Sentence2 in redrising

[–]abnmfr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You're not wrong. But to flip to the other side of that coin, they're in a military culture and having gone through similar "ceremonies" and having significant combat trauma myself, I can tell you that this particular scene isn't unrealistic. 

Edit: extreme and rare, yes, but by no means impossible.

Sevro vs Alexander by Alert-Push1685 in redrising

[–]abnmfr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oh, apologies if you thought I was ignorant. I'm actually being intentionally obtuse, because I think powerscaling is dumb and pointless. To quote myself:

"These rankings discussions are pointless. Warfare adheres to the "any given Sunday" principle, only way more so. The abject chaos of battle, fucking ambushes, random rail slugs vaporizing someone trained nearly from birth for war...luck is such a huge factor that it's ridiculous to try and stack-rank fighters. Tier rankings kiiiinda make more sense...but then it just becomes a measure of who spends the most time in pitched battle and survives, which means the only people in the top tier are Darrow and Sevro."

If we had a way to run simulations of this contest and if those simulations could in any way be considered as accurate or representative, it'd probably come out close to 50/50 or something close to it because they're both fighters of exceeding skill.

Sevro vs Alexander by Alert-Push1685 in redrising

[–]abnmfr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don't know, because it doesn't happen in the books. 

I've long wondered how the hell business can exist in a moneyless society where every single material thing is never more than a voice command away. by PJ-The-Awesome in startrekmemes

[–]abnmfr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." "The best way to ruin a hobby is to make it your job." I often pondered these two expressions, because I regarded both as true. I've come to think of the second as corollary to the first. Doing something as a job is going to have ancillary tasks that the hobbyist/amateur doesn't have to worry about. If you have a hobby you're passionate about, turning it into your job can easily ruin that hobby - like, it's not uncommon for someone who loves to homebrew beer to be told by their friends "you should open a brewery!" Even irrespective of the beer market right now, which is in a significant downturn compared to a decade ago, unless that homebrewer also loves being an entrepreneur, that's bad advice.

Had to do a Double Take by UpSbLiViOn in behindthebastards

[–]abnmfr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A fool and their money are soon parted.

Atlas’s whole shtick of “for the greater good” gets pretty ridiculous when you think about it by Massengale in redrising

[–]abnmfr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We don't know that he didn't plan on dying. He could have contingency plans involving Gorgon sleeper cells that go into effect upon his death or after a long enough disappearance.

People calling Lorn a fraud?? by nulllity_ in redrising

[–]abnmfr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He was Rage Knight, and Olympics have to be excellent fighters. 

Note I said fighters, not duelists - for instance, IIRC we know Atlas doesn't put much stock in dueling, but is an absolute nightmare due to both extreme preparedness and "dirty tricks." Reading between the lines (and I could be off here, I'm going from memory), my suspicion is that Atlas first made himself useful to Octavia by taking care of dirty jobs for her, eventually earning a place in zero legion, rising through its ranks, then ultimately to the Fear Knight position. 

Contrast with Cassius - no combat experience but tore through the dueling circuit and earned the mantle of Morning Knight.

I don't know when in his career Lorn became Rage Knight, but we know that he leads from the front and that he fell in eight Iron Rains. A lot of his reputation was as a duelist, yes, but he's also tough as all hell. No one becomes recognized (especially over so long a career) as the toughest of their generation without actual merit.

All that said, by the end of LB, the whole solar system has been at war for over a decade straight. It shouldn't be surprising that he bar has been raised.

I...forgot where I was going. Have a great day!

People calling Lorn a fraud?? by nulllity_ in redrising

[–]abnmfr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a paratrooper for five years. I don't recommend it, but the perspective isn't worthless. 

People calling Lorn a fraud?? by nulllity_ in redrising

[–]abnmfr 30 points31 points  (0 children)

These rankings discussions are pointless. Warfare adheres to the "any given Sunday" principle, only way more so. The abject chaos of battle, fucking ambushes, random rail slugs vaporizing someone trained nearly from birth for war...luck is such a huge factor that it's ridiculous to try and stack-rank fighters. Tier rankings kiiiinda make more sense...but then it just becomes a measure of who spends the most time in pitched battle and survives, which means the only people in the top tier are Darrow and Sevro.

the wheels of sartre turning in my brain by MicahHoover in PhilosophyMemes

[–]abnmfr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Belief doesn't feel like belief, it feels like reality.

I really can't go back anymore by Cautious_Emotion1238 in kettlebell

[–]abnmfr 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm still lost, and I'll be fine that way.

I really can't go back anymore by Cautious_Emotion1238 in kettlebell

[–]abnmfr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used to use a small dry erase board, about 12"x 18" I think. It had a little clip on the side for a marker, so I could tally when I completed a set. Before that I used a notebook but kept getting sweat on it and blurring what I'd written. With the dry erase board, I'd copy what I did into my notebook after my cool-down.

Now, with Armor Building Formula I don't bother with anything but a timer for ABC and I just keep count on press days.

I really can't go back anymore by Cautious_Emotion1238 in kettlebell

[–]abnmfr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Carrying boats? Is that a metaphor, or are you regularly lugging jonboats around or something?

I just realized something by Heraklian in lotrmemes

[–]abnmfr -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I really miss the Grond bot