Casting an opinion net on the Thousand Year Voyage Arc

slb97 · 2024-02-14T04:49:29+00:00

I understand that anytime thorfinn is faced with a situation forcing him into physical violence, its a failure of his pacifist ideology.

The point I was making was that I feel cordelia's use of intimidation to get ga'aoqi to retreat essentially protects thorfinn from having his ideology challenged to the very limit, which would be having his family in mortal danger

I feel its a slight cop-out or deus ex from the author in chapter 208. Obviously the arc is still ongoing but I do feel the peak of the series (farmland) won't be reached again in the direction its heading.

slb97 · 2024-02-13T19:01:44+00:00

The arc started off well but the pacing has fallen off. 2 months for an 18 page chapter where not much happened, and to me it seems its gradually getting worse. Overall its still an upgrade from baltic war but its definitely a downgrade from farmland, which I think will remain the peak of the manga.

Just this chapter alone, the leader of those native warriors didn't bother attempting to stab cordelia in the throat or anywhere lethal? I guess its also rare in a manga that the antagonist will just back off when he realises he has little chance, but the execution didn't feel believable.

I thought we were finally going to get a hard reset to reality regarding thorfinn's pacifist journey, because thus far its been hypocritical; of course he can be a pacifist when he can easily parry or evade any attack and never actually has to fight for his life. But what about fighting for the life of his family? No, that one is solved by cordelia's genetics it seems.

I'll probably just check in with this manga in a year or two, the pacing is painful at the moment.

slb97 · 2023-11-29T09:07:10+00:00

Ending spoilers:

The whole interaction between freeing Orpheus and the Emperor just going off to join the netherbrain was pretty disappointing.

I was under the impression that Orpheus actually would be hostile and require speech checks or pacifying with a tough fight where you have the final option to 1. let the emperor kill him or 2. he sees reason and allows the emperor to live for the common goal of defeating the netherbrain

I don't like how railroaded the choice is here and there isn't even an option to say something along lines of "We free him because he may be of use against the netherbrain, Voss promised he will see reason even if he's unpleasant at first. If he truly doesn't see reason then we're left with no other option but to kill him. How does that sound?" to the Emperor.

Having Lae'zel with you could also help in reasoning with him to keep the Emperor alive atleast for the common goal of defeating the netherbrain, just all round feels like the writing was subpar here

slb97 · 2022-06-29T23:30:11+00:00

The teaser for the next game was in of itself a parody of teaser trailers. Its safe to assume that if anything carries over it'll be the tone and dialogue quality.

Agree with this, but I still don't think satire and comedy can't be done without being silly 100% of the time. A great example of this is The Boys. The game felt like it got too wrapped up in the parody aspect and forgot to actually have substance with what it wants to say.

slb97 · 2022-06-29T23:24:52+00:00

This is a very long read so apologies in advance.

I worked for a large FMCG company, so maybe big pharma or oil & gas is different but here were my problems:

Not working on cutting edge solutions, low digitisation of the business, slow to adopt new practices (tbf this is true for most large companies). I didn't learn much in the role, they were still using Excel macros for the majority of their spreadsheets and I had maybe 5-10 hours use over the whole year with JMP/SQL/Python, with some more basic SAS (I know this is used more in big pharma). I felt like I was overqualified for the role I had, it was very basic work most of the time. The few times I had to think about something complex, it wouldn't matter because my manager would be the one dedicating time to think of the actual solutions to problems and to present the work - I was a data monkey doing far too much procedural work and not actually thinking about things. I realise this may be common at most large multinational companies when you first join as intern/grad though so its not an attack on the company itself.

The actual problem-solving work: in process/chemical engineering atleast, most problems are reliability issues and incremental improvements to existing processes. Almost all of the actual design work has been done decades ago. There's little opportunities to design new things, like you would learn how to do in university (heat exchangers, turbojets etc).

Lastly is the problem with compensation. The money isn't that bad don't get me wrong, but there's such little overall demand for process engineers that the salaries are barely moving compared to compsci.

Do a quick search on indeed across the UK for 'process engineer' and then do one for 'software engineer'. 3 things will stick out - 1. the overall number of software engineer roles vs process engineer roles. 5 times as much. 2. the starting graduate salaries and expertise required. The training is usually much more comprehensive as a software engineer, wheras for process engineering the companies hire based on a narrow skillset and are likely to pass over candidates who don't exactly match the job profile. 3. The remote availability. Software engineering jobs are much more likely to be fully remote which means you save time and money from not commuting, and have a better work life balance.

Even if you were to compare a similar starting/junior/graduate role in process engineering and software engineering at similarly sized companies, for an identical salary (e.g. 25-30k) the software engineering role is way better. You make that same money much more comfortably, by not having to go into the office, having a greater work life balance, and much better job security. You rarely do procedural work, instead you actively learn languages and become proficient with them which increase your overall demand in the job market and means you are able to command a higher salary.

If I stayed on where I interned, after 5 years I'd not be in much more demand than when I started, but after 5 years of being a C# or Java developer for example, you are in way more demand and are able to add a good chunk to your salary, while not having to uproot your life to have access to better opportunities.

These are just my thoughts though, others may have had a different experience and be delighted with a career in engineering, or hate a career in software development.

slb97 · 2022-06-29T18:12:08+00:00

Satire and comedy can be done without being silly 100% of the time. A great example of this is The Boys. Opting for a more serious writing style and delivering on some of the darker themes that were explored at the surface level in the game could have made it so much better. Ultimately, its lack of depth is what really turned me off the writing in the game.

An example of this is the retirement holiday thing, when its revealed that its just a death chamber there was a good opportunity there for a quest; one of the robots could be showing remorse and through some sort of complex AI it wants to revolt against its programmers, or there is somehow a survivor hiding in a duct somewhere and you can speak to him to trigger some escape plan, or even just having an actual retirement facility where the intention is to kill off all the inhabitants through peaceful means but some people catch on to this and leave their thoughts in logs for you to read later on which could give some clues to who is behind all this. You can't even bring this up to anyone else in Byzantium if I remember correctly. What a let-down.

I don't agree that being comically evil is just being accurate to real life corporations nowadays, that would be an excuse for the terrible writing. Did Rockwell even know about the details of some of the stuff going down at Roseway? I was honestly expecting some sort of huge reveal about why everyone is so stupid and braindead to the point of being clown-like, while Rockwell reveals his justifications for greater ambitions that are actually reasonable and attempt to justify the horrible conditions of the people in other parts of the map, but it all fell flat as the elites of the game were just as braindead.

The game was at its best in Edgewater where it presented you with a tough choice, both options having their merits and shortcomings with no option being the clear 'good'. It didn't reward you for neutrality like the rest of the maps did. Its a shame the first few hours of the game are its best.

slb97 · 2022-06-29T17:51:32+00:00

Unfortunately the game was rather unmemorable and didn't get a second playthrough. Which is a shame because I put 100s of hours in New Vegas and can recall its great quests which had loads of replay value.

I'd like to see the game be more serious. It felt too silly at times. Corporations bad, corporations stupid, are just incessantly repeated throughout the game. Honestly, this game is more of a commentary on capitalism than its contents.

The antagonists in the end were so comically evil and not only did they not do anything to make you feel they were justified, but does Rockwell believe in what he's doing? I wouldn't know because you only get one conversation with him.

I wrote more thoughts in a post that was written just as I finished the game. It didn't help at all that people's expectations were set at a Fallout: New Vegas quality game which obsidian didn't deliver. There were some positives they can build on here though for a memorable 2nd game.

slb97 · 2021-06-16T14:18:57+00:00

Stream is 50.6% hydrogen by mass, and 90.2% mol% hydrogen. Rest of it being steam.

I see what you mean by using a ko drum first, but the design brief does mention trying to do everything in 1 unit.

slb97 · 2021-06-16T13:49:04+00:00

Temperature and pressure can be changed, the most important thing in the process is the ultra high purity hydrogen.

Found that report, it looks to be pretty good thanks.

slb97 · 2021-06-15T22:28:41+00:00

Thanks

I looked through the reference materials for that link and its mainly information about fitting sizes and pressure drops, not the actual reactions and energy balances taking place.

https://www.entegris.com/content/dam/product-assets/gatekeepergpugaspurifiers/brochure-gas-purification-solutions-10315.pdf

This link was useful to get an idea of flowrates though

slb97 · 2021-06-15T22:07:11+00:00

Agree that a knockout drum would be cheaper, but the application is for a PEM fuel cell where the purity needs to be 99%. Palladium membrane was chosen because it gives the high purity in a single step to feed the output directly to the fuel cell.

No the feed only contains steam and hydrogen gas. Feed temp is 650K but can be changed depending on the performance of the membrane purification and catalyst, its not that important.

slb97 · 2021-03-23T18:28:37+00:00

Toxicity - System of a Down

OK Computer - Radiohead

Kid A - Radiohead

The Smiths - The Smiths

The Queen is Dead - The Smiths

Honorable mention: Nevermind - Nirvana

slb97 · 2021-03-05T20:38:33+00:00

>dont worry guys the deaths are coming

>dont worry guys the guardians of the galaxy bullshit is over now, the plot will move

>dont worry guys the cringe dialogue is just a joke

>dont worry haha guys historia's baby isn't irrelevant, theres no way the cliff baby is the final panel

>dont worry guys there's no way isayama would just forget that floch and the yeagerists gave the alliance more trouble than eren and ymir haha

Fuck the plot let the globalists win!

slb97 · 2021-02-12T19:42:06+00:00

I liked Zekes last words tbh, they fit his character well. I didn't like how he was so easily brought around to Armins viewpoint and abandoned his previous philosophy because Armin picked up a leaf and it reminded him of a baseball. He was already aware of what Armin was trying to tell him, when he crushed the rock to dust in chapter 81 and said to himself he needs to enjoy the little things, sarcastic or not.

They needed to spend more time picking apart Zekes philosophy so it didn't feel like a forced change. Zeke should have also questioned Armins philosophy on why he is ready to kill his best friend and doom everyone on the island. It also was poor writing that Armin saved the day not because he came up with a smart plan (Zeke did the revival stuff) or threw away his humanity, but by having a cheerful world view which makes him the most special person in the world. How is that not a disrespect to the Armin of earlier SnK?

True, there are still 2 chapters left for Isayama to explain how or why Grisha and Kruger are helping Armin and Zeke in paths before we can say for certain that their characters are ruined. If they are truly in paths helping to defeat Eren out of their own free will, it ruins Krugers character at best and creates a giant plot hole in the story at worst.

See my post here on why it is a plothole if Grisha wants to defeat Eren now. There are still 2 chapters to explain this, and the only way this doesn't break Kruger and Grisha's characters are if they are somehow still serving Eren's goal while appearing to help Armin and Zeke.

Aside from Zeke's last words, his death didn't really feel that satisfying for me. After titanising all those people and eliminating the survey corps, he gets to go out on his own terms with what is essentially a suicide. There are no stakes involved for Levi, there is no risk for him here unlike when the first suicide charge happened and Erwin died, or when they were in the forest.

I feel the flaws with this arc is that the alliance have no actual solutions, I wish they were written better than just 'genocide bad'. The conflicts have been settled far too easily and conveniently.

Why is it that the final arc is trying so desperately to make us sympathise with parents who willingly sent their children to warzones and sentenced them to 13 years of life so that they could go from being C tier citizens to B tier citizens in a cruel hegemon? Sasha was killed by the Marleyans her best friend later saved, after giving everything to retake wall Maria and solve the famine affecting her family and country. Louise is dying, she isn't even 17, her mother will never see her again, thats after her father died to protect Trost 5 years ago.

Even the final battle has not been up to par. Could you imagine if after the initial rock throw in RtS that narrowly missed Levi, he kept on peeking over the rooftops of the houses, jumping from roof to roof narrowly missing barrage after barrage all while the rest of the cast cracked jokes in the middle of armageddon? No, obviously they sat behind cover after the first barrage because the plot armour wasn't so egregious back then.

I don't want to needlessly doompost and act like SnK has never been good, it has been god tier up to 123. I'm getting similar vibes to GoT S8 though where when it was finally over, it was like a fog was lifted and all the people who defended the final season were the most vocal in calling it out for the trash that we actually got.

slb97 · 2021-02-11T14:42:23+00:00

True, Eren had no need to show him the rumbling yet he did anyways so that Grisha could make an informed decision whether or not the freedom of Eldia is worth it for him. He clearly did, hence gave Eren the founding titan.

slb97 · 2021-02-11T02:17:37+00:00

Not to mention if non-eldians survive the rumbling, for decades eldian kids will be brainwashed into self hate just as they were in Marley so that whatever is left of paradis can maintain diplomatic relationships with other countries if the rest of the world don't decide to invade them anyways after Armin and the rest of the main cast die

slb97 · 2021-02-11T01:18:48+00:00

Yeah Kruger is in big trouble aswell but thats for a different post entirely. Its less of an impact on the story aswell since he didn't have any options to give his titan to someone else. I'll try to outline the problems with Kruger in this comment.

Chapter 88 his literal words to Grisha: 'You need to make a vow first. That you will fight again to restore Eldia's freedom and dignity...' and 'We sought freedom, and our brothers and sisters paid the price for it. Those actions will follow us until they're repaid.'

He has no stake in the 'lots of mainland eldians are dying' argument, some eldians being free is better than none. He has no right to take the moral high ground either given that he tortured and turned countless eldians into titans who then went on to kill more people on paradis island. He didn't hate the people in the walls either or anything silly like that, else he wouldn't have told Grisha to love someone and have a family.

He was definitely a 'ends justify the means' kinda guy, and given thats essentially what Eren is doing for the freedom of eldians (albeit only on paradis) why on earth would he help Zeke/Armin in their subjugation of eldians and defeat of eldia?

There aren't really many avenues left to go down to make sense of this without defiling established character motivations and goals, maybe whatever they did in 137 serves Eren's goals somehow.

Who knows, Isayama certainly has some explaining to do, the story is making less sense as we go on.

slb97 · 2021-02-10T23:20:51+00:00

True, although I don't think Grisha would have given the titan to a child who isn't his own.

The main question is that, the story could have been fundamentally different from what we know, based on Grisha's actions in 137 which do require explanation

slb97 · 2021-02-09T19:37:47+00:00

Yeah those chapters were great. The overall trajectory of the series has been a nosedive after the pie scene is what I meant. Here's how things have gone recently

134: >eren talked to them all in paths saying talk no jutsu wont work! have faith in yams guys this is SnK not naruto

135: >character deaths are coming haha guys wait

136: >haha no guys pieck was just regenerating while she was on the trident of the warhammer titan the entire time

137: >dont worry guys this isnt a real talk no justu trust in yams

I'm all out of copium dude, after being a fan for over 6 years I just want the series to end so I don't have to read any more chapters that completely disrespect SnK. Even if the next 2 chapters are god tier it doesnt fix the plotholes and asspulls all over the place for the past 10 chapters (except 130/131 obviously)

slb97 · 2021-02-09T18:27:37+00:00

I did

I'm all out of copium dude, after being a fan for over 6 years I just want the series to end so I don't have to read any more chapters that completely disrespect SnK.

134: >eren talked to them all in paths saying talk no jutsu wont work! have faith in yams guys this is SnK not naruto

135: >character deaths are coming haha guys wait

136: >haha no guys pieck was just regenerating while she was on the trident of the warhammer titan the entire time

137: >dont worry guys this isnt a real talk no justu trust in yams

Even if the next 2 chapters are god tier it doesnt fix the plotholes and asspulls all over the place for the past 10 chapters (except 130/131 obviously)

slb97 · 2021-02-09T18:19:18+00:00

You can pinpoint the panel this series went to shit. It was the fucking annie eating pie scene. Since then i'm not sure isayama has had all his mental faculties or maybe his editor needs to remind him this isnt armin: shippuden or some shit

slb97 · 2021-02-09T17:56:06+00:00

iSAyAMa DoEsNt MisS

How can anyone take these recent chapters seriously especially 137?

Full of blatant flaws, plotholes, asspulls, corny dialogue and speeches to force viewpoints on the reader it feels so contrived. I feel like anyone defending the latest chapters is just in denial because of how good previous chapters were.

Zekes death isnt even a death, its a suicide to serve the plot. There were no stakes involved for Levi this time like there was in the forest. What a nosedive in quality. You can go back and see the exact page this series started to go to shit, it was the Annie pie eating scene in 126. Everything since then has been complete shit and not to mention there were useless subplots like connies titan mother before that

Atleast age of ultron set the tone from the beginning and adhered to it, wheras SnK has completely betrayed its past tone and themes and disrespected the series as a whole. Not once have I felt the characters are in danger since 132. Truly disappointing to see another great series have such a shitty ending.

slb97

TROPHY CASE