Example recommendation letter reading tutor

You can read everyone and every situation perfectly.
No one can hide their true feelings from you, so they’ll never be able to catch you off guard. This includes noticing when people have toxic tendencies, a hidden temper, or even psychopathic/sociopathic tendencies. Even if you meet them as a kid.
You can immediately pick up the vibe in the room. For example: when you walk in, you’ll know if you interrupted something, what you interrupted, and how everyone feels about it. You’ll never miss a cue, basically.

U/Yass_0w0Had Made a list of possible ways/reason's that Signora would be reseructed.
Some examples Moth/Butterfly themes, affiliated with new life throu transformation/rebirth.
Her having given up her physical form already ...
But me being me I have taken up to my self to dive a bit into his concept's ( I'm not obsessed nor unhingedly interested into genshin/fictional characters I just enjoy to theories and take a look on them , I'm an artist/sketch artist ( or at least that's what I am called by my friends and family) and I wish to one day work on designing games and characters and there Stories as my profession/side husel)
Most credit is to u/Yass_0w0 check him out!!!
Signora/her moth interrupting the reserection of another character; She could interrupt the reserection of the old Pyro Archon, Take over there body/place/title and thereby claim ownership of the gnosis but the new archon won't let that be but till she(Signora) is beaten she will have given the gnosis over to dottore/capitano/Columbian and would be left to die, which makes her join us.
Dottore will reserect her, as part of an experiment or as part of a trap(dottore is unhinged and cares little for life) which wouldn't make it surprising if he reseructed her just so she could be the bait to be killed by the archon/tribes of natlan while he follows his own Agenda taking gnosis and burning irmensul as seen in that one scene and revealed by one of the Devs to happen in the future.
Capitano(if he is the blood stained knight) resurrecting her; His respect for her and his former master ( her lover) would make him feel it kind of as a duty to bring her back or at least try so, but he will fai or not even tryl to bring la signora back, instead he will reseruct Rosalyne the gentle version (with maybe memory holes).
She gave her body up, but was it destroyed? We know that she nearly killed herself while transforming into CWoF for the first time. Her giving up her body does not mean she destroyed it, it could be somewhere in natlan hidden/protected by a temple or in the liquid fire she drank(I remember reading that there was the sea of liquid fire) where she could have dived into and emerged as a bodyless version of her self that uses elemental energy to manifest a physical form. Or since we know that she was an akademiya student she could have preserved her body somewhere by artificial means.
Cracky theory I'm a giant fan of both la signora and Sandrone, seeing as we have gotten a puppet character in an hoyo game already (Herta HSR) I wouldn't be surprised getting one in genshin(yes balladeer is a puppet of raiden but technically missing the puppet aesthetic) and while Herta is pretty basic in her design she was probably used to test the waters on how to give a character such depth in its design as to produce clear and authentic puppet aesthetic(especially with the hints of us getting a 5 star version of Herta later in the game),comming to the theory What if she will be ,,reserected" into one of sandrones puppets maybe even one in image of a younger(former version)of Rosalyn like the one on arlechino story trailer with less detailed/accessories like her crown/eye patch thingy. A factor for making me think that is that sandrone who was supposedly meant to appear in fountain never did so so her having little bit of influence even if not by showing up in natlan at all would be pretty expectable not to mention hoyo wouldn't be stupid enough to neglect the customer's/players wishes especially seeing as Hsr has become the companies mayn trademark and genshin has not been doing so well since Hsr released(yes arlechino banner was very successful but you have to take into account that 3 new characters are appearing in the next patch,all of which are very popular and are expected to do very very well in getting players to pay for gems, battle pass..., as well as it being suspected that 2 other fan favourites will appear the version after that(2.4).
She won't be reseructed at all (in natlan)she is dead and won't make a return untill shneznaya where we will face her casket/coffin in the palace and then the tsaritsa will reseruct her(having the all gnosis) just to pay her back for her devotion and her having been let go/relieved of her duty will make her join us (since all Archons will be playable we will join with the tsaritsa) and so Signora would join us by default.
I was writing this while it's late and I should be asleep so it's Very cracky but alas I'm just a humble Enjoyer of the fictional worlds and there characters who wishes to share laughter, knowledge, Opinions and all of the other shareable things I'm not able to think of. And this helps me get tired for sleep 😴 Thanks For reading have a lovely day/morning/noon/afternoon/night and over all have a peaceful day...

This is a long one and the details are important to the situation so there won’t be a TLDR. Let’s get into it:
I’m (32M) a real estate agent and a few months ago I went into an open house and met a lovely agent (31F) from another company. (Because of the nature of how real estate works, agents know other local people within the field possibly more so than in any other business. Two accountants at two different car companies probably will never cross paths, but two real estate agents at two separate firms almost certainly will, so this is an ever se slight “shitting where you eat” situation. Anyway.) We chit chat a bit and part ways. This happens a few more times until the third time I make a joke off a particular situation that was happening and she started dying of laughter (this was about 2 months ago). I friend requested her on instagram later that day and messaged her a continuation of the joke. We haven’t messaged much but we have liked a few of each other’s posts here and there and we’ve seen each other a few more times for work between then and now, having some banter each time.
Recently (about 10 days ago) I was at an open house she was sitting and when I walked in we greeted each other and she went for a hug. Not one of those polite one arm hugs you give to an acquaintance or that aunt you don’t like, a full double arm wrap around hug. We chit chat and she does it again as I’m leaving. I see her again about a week ago and she does the same thing. We’re chatting a bit and I think of a movie I wanted to recommend to her but couldn’t think of the name but said I would text it to her. A few hours later I go to text her and realize I don’t have her number. I message her on Instagram instead and say “this is the movie I was talking about earlier. I was gonna text you but apparently I don’t have your number.” She responsds “Ahhh, I’m gonna have to watch it!” And then “lol it’s (number) in case you ever need”. I respond “I’ll have to think of a reason… maybe some more movie recs” as a cheeky light flirt. I text her a quick message saying “hey, here’s my number”. The next morning she thumbs up reacts to the text and then 10 minutes later she “likes” the Instagram message from the night before with the standard heart reaction when you like something on instagram.
What I am confused about now is if my light flirting was received well. In my head the like reactions feel cold but I might just be reading way too into it. What are some ways I can further test the waters?
I want to tread carefully with this, as no matter the outcome, we will have to see each other for work. Any advice and insight is greatly appreciated but please keep things positive.

Hello! I'm hosting a wine tasting for friends where I want to learn to distinguish oak aging. I figure Chardonnay and Pinot noir would be good subjects. I'm looking for recommendations for unoaked, moderate oak aging, and very highly oak influenced examples for these two varietals. I'm assuming we'll include a Chablis and maybe something with malolactic fermentation.
Looking for fairly widely available wines as I'm in Ontario. Bonus points for something good from Ontario. Budget is $30 CAD, but I can go up or down on certain bottles.

Hello everyone. 24, Male, 270lbs, 5'11", quit smoking like 2-3 months ago.
So I'll start from the beginning. On June 22nd 2023 I moved to USA from a country in Europe. Everything ok at first, no issues at all. Used to live with a couple of people and it was all good. On October 1st I moved to another state where i was alone.
It was around March when I started feeling dizzy, vision was "blurry" like my peripheral vision was somehow bothering me and I was tired. I've been to an Urgent Care where they took some blood samples and did an XRAY of my chest. I posted pics with them but they looked like they are okay (normal for a 270lbs man).
After, I went to a cardiologist that did an echocardiogram and an EKG. He said everything is fine and gave me some Meclizine 12.5mg for dizziness.
Went to get my eyes checked for my peripheral vision and they said it's also okay. When I try to read something I just lose my focus also.
A week went by and some friends from my country visited me. During their stay I felt nothing, it felt like I had zero issues. They left and time passed by. Last week, May 10th I got a bit sick, with a sore throat, I lost my voice for like a day or two, had a little bit of fever but felt better after.
The problem now is the following. My blood pressure (I've been monitoring it home) ranges from 120/70 to 150/90(for example when I take it the first time might be 150/90 but after 5 minutes it can be 140/80 for example). My throat goes sore like I'm hoarse before going to sleep and when I wake up, but during the day is ok. I have crazy shortness of breath now, my eyes are again bothering me like I feel that something it's not normal.
When I do some effort, even the slightly effort I just can't breathe. Yesterday I went up 10 stairs, down 10 stairs and lost my breath. Went back in the apartment so I can take my blood pressure out of curiosity when I couldn't breathe and it was 180/99/89. When I do workout in the gym, the first minute cuts my breath but then I am not tired at all, I am okay and I can breathe normally, it's only that I'm just yawning quite frequently. After the stairs incident yesterday, been to the gym, did my workout cardio, climbed 11 floors and 5 min after my workout I took my blood pressure and it was around 140/80 (forgot to save it). Also when I press with my finger in the middle of my sternum, kinda hurts a bit but it feels like it's the bone that hurts from the pressure.
I will post pics with the EKG, Echo, Carotid Duplex, Blood Samples, everything.
People told me it's literally from anxiety/stress since I am alone and so far away from family. What should I do? The shortness of breath that I have right now I can really feel it, and it's bothering me so much.
BTW, I want to mention that I have a cat and we live in the same room, but I don't think it's from the cat.
Thank you very much!
There are the pictures with everything.

Are there any good mangas that you guys would recommend I read? I'm mostly into genres like isekai, super power, action, adventure, and fantasy.

Does Korn have any lost or scrapped albums, or just a scrapped idea for an album that never turned into one? I read on this subreddit that they planned to make a concept album about the 5 downfalls of humanity but it got scrapped and turned into Korn 3, is that true? Are there more examples of stuff like that happening with them?

hi! i am doing powerpoint night with friends and i have decided to make my powerpoint on the crimes of enstars characters because i can LOL
i've not read all of the stories from the ! era or the !! era so i was hoping that you guys could help me come up with some for everyone
they don't have to all be serious, for example i've already listed one of ibara's crimes as looking really hot when he's dressed as a girl and one of natsume's crimes as calling anzu "kitten" alongside some more obvious and real crimes lol

I’m in Downer’s Grove, a suburban locality southwest of Chicago. I’m sitting at a brewery having earned an internal reward for writing up another edition of the Week Ahead newsletter. Now I’m going to sit here writing up these blurbs for Charlottesville that double as a prompt for tomorrow’s radio appearance on WINA. I was going to skip tomorrow so I could explore Chicago, but there’s so much happening this week that I want people to know about.
So, let’s go:
DOWNTOWN MALL
I’m quoted in this week’s C-Ville Weekly article on the Downtown Mall which is also weird because I write a weekly column for that publication as well. On Monday, Council will be presented with recommendations from a committee that has suggested ways to reform the mall and how it managed. They’ve also made suggestions that have been floated before but didn’t get anywhere, such as adding parking meters and adding more seats. They also suggest a revisit of how outdoor cafes are regulated, with a possible idea of changing their boundaries to allow for more pedestrian flow. Also possibly charging more. There’s a lot in the report worth reading. (there’s a link in my summary).
150 to 190 AFFORDABLE UNITS at 10th and Wertland
We can now look at the first image of what a six story building at the corner of 10th and Wertland would look like. This is the first major development under the new Development Code, and the first of three projects in the University of Virginia’s affordable housing initiative that seeks to construct between 1,000 and 1,500 units on land owned by them or the UVA Foundation. The Board of Architectural Review will take a first look at their meeting on Tuesday. Take a look at the picture with this segment. This infill development will transform Charlottesville and make a move to a more urban character. But is that road even close to handling the traffic? What do you think? (read more)
TRANSIT PLANS
On Tuesday, Charlottesville Area Transit will hold a virtual meeting on their transit strategic plan. Public comment is being taken through May 31, and this webinar offers an opportunity to learn how changes will be implemented gradually as the number of buses come online. I admit I follow this closely because I’m an avid fan of taking a bus if I don’t have to drive. But I really want people to pay attention to transit policy as the core of Charlottesville community prepares for more density. (this is a story I wrote last week) (learn more about the meeting)
PRIVATE SCHOOL REQUEST
At this point, I cannot provide empirical evidence that private schools, particularly Christian schools, have seen increased enrollment in the past few years. I do know that entities like the Christian Community Academy state that they have more and more applicants but don’t have the space to accommodate them. This Thursday, the Places29-Rio Community Advisory Committee will have a community meeting about a special use permit request from CCA that seeks to be able to build 9,000 square feet worth of modular buildings to accommodate their middle school enrollment. As part of the packet, they’re saying they will come back with a rezoning for a new building and to increase enrollment further. I’d like to read a story about the growth of private Christian schools that seeks to understand why. But not one that demonizes the parents who make the choice to take their kids out of the public option available to them. Is this how we further the cultural divide that threatens to tear us all apart? (learn more about the meeting)
OTHER ITEMS:

• Louisa County Supervisors will consider a budget supplement of around three-quarters of a million dollars to cover a shortfall for fire and rescue services (learn more about the meeting)
• The Albemarle Architectural Review Board will consider an amendment to add five more units to what had been proposed as six (learn more about the meeting)
• The MPO Policy Board will adopt the long-range transportation plan and endorse Smart Scale candidate projects, a process that is transparent but depends on reporting to let the public know what’s happening which is what I do. (learn more about the meeting)
• Nelson County’s Planning Commission will discuss a series of recommendations about how to alter the zoning code to better implement the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan. (learn more about the meeting)

Any extra edge in this installment is created purely by writing this in Downer’s Grove, Illinois, a place right next to the place I spent years four through six. I am beginning to feel like so much of me comes from here, a place I spent formative years but then ended up in a suburb of Lynchburg. I’ve not been here for 44 years, and here I am for one more night only. I’m convinced my sense of place and community is created by being ripped away from this one. I know at least one of the reddit readers prefers it when I don’t talk about myself, but my journalism wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t learned to read about three miles away from where I hit send.

I keep reading nightmare stories about car rentals. Im flying into San Jose in July. Any recommendations?

Hello everyone! I am visiting Maui with my partner and I have benefited greatly from this blog. Therefore, I wanted to share our experience doing Road to Hana and Haleakala park in the same day.

1. We stayed at the Hilton in Kaanapali, so we started driving at 6:30 AM. We put Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread as our destination and aimed to be there by 8:30 AM. The drive was beautiful and easy at that time (definitely no traffic at all). We had read many posts saying that it’s a tough road and that we could be sick from the curves, but honestly it wasn’t that bad. We also saw many families with children, so if that’s your case and they are used to travel don’t hesitate to bring them with you!
   
2. The banana bread is wonderful! One of the mini loafs is approximately $9 and they also sell nice smoothies. It’s a good place to stop, they have bathrooms nearby, and phone signal is strong.
   
3. After this, we went to Waianapanapa to see the black sand beach. Make sure to reserve your spot the day before on the website since they have time slots to arrive it’s like $10 for parking and then $5 per person but you need a reservation. The beach is beautiful, they have some trails around as well. Highly recommended!
   
4. Started driving to Hana around 11:00 AM, aiming to be there by lunch. The town is very cute and they have a couple of options for food, however there is a Thai food place called Thai Food by Pranee which I highly recommend! It’s operated by a mother and her two daughters; the food is delicious and they make it quickly!
   
5. We headed towards Haleakala park at around 2:00 PM aiming to be there by 4:30-5:00 PM. We put “Haleakala Park Summit” in our Maps app and that took us where we wanted. Make sure to get your tickets online, otherwise you can buy them at the entrance. The drive from Hana to Haleakala feels a bit different since you will be mostly on the cliff side of the road and the path is narrow, but it’s totally safe as long as you respect the speed limit and let locals pass.
   
6. Once in Haleakala, you will drive up until the second visitor center, and from there you can walk down to the sliding sands. The view is astonishing, it’s a very quiet place with a bit of wind, an incredibly humbling experience! You can go down as far as you want walking, but remember you will have to come back at some point. Make sure to take it slowly since you can get a bit short of breath.
   
7. We headed back to the visitor center parking and made it there by 6:00 PM, and drove up to the summit to claim our spot for the sunset. Many people sit down with chairs or with blankets, and you can eat your food there (bring some since you cannot buy anything up there). The sunset view is beautiful and the community is amazing!
   
8. After that, around 7:30 PM, the sky became darker and we stayed to watch the stars. The moon had like 70% of luminosity so it was not ideal. Try to plan it for when it’s a new moon!
   
9. Finally, we drove back to Ka’anapali at 8:30 PM. It was safe, no animals on the road. We recommend this for a day if you slept well and don’t mind driving too much, but it’s doable and we loved it!
   

Thank you all again for sharing your stories here!

I’m looking for some good fanfics that are based off the following criteria:
Ash is a ghost type specialist or a OC just please no isekei
Ash or a OC is a fairy type specialist
Ash or a OC is a dragon type specialist
Doesn’t have to follow criteria I’d love to read all the fics I can that are good and not one-shots so if you have any that are good and more realistic based that’d be great! Thank you for the recommendations!

(apologies in adv, I have no idea how to format and am on mobile)
hello! I always like to be listening to something so I am looking for some headphones that are pretty solid all around general use. I am currently using 3 different headphones for different use cases and would like to just get 1 nice one to downsize the amount of clutter I have (they are also all starting to crap out). They would be used for gaming, music prod, enjoying music, watching media. my priorities are gaming and music prod though. I also would like to prioritize comfort, and wireless would be super super nice too (understandable if not tho)
Budget - 200$ usd but can go a bit more if the increase is pretty justifiable
Source/Amp - just into my pcs motherboard or the direct monitor thing on the focusrite solo and bonus points If I can use it with my phone (usb-c and will need to get an adapter thingy if wired). my pc has Bluetooth but unsure about latency and the codec thing.
How the gear will be used - playing games (fps/story), music production (amateucasual), enjoying music during long commutes I practically have headphones or earbuds on ALL the time so I tend to run through gear pretty quickly, I also wear glasses if that's important! I don't care about active noise cancelling but if it has it I will use it.
Preferred tonal balance - I don't have a preference, what ever is objectively good for gaming and music prod (even though it's hard to do both, I understand) I am unsure if I prefer closed or open back, I think I've only tried semi-open and closed?
Preferred music genre(s) - I listen to a lot of stuff that is not really mixed properly I'm not even gonna lie so this part might not matter as much but, I'm into bedroom bop indie stuff, hyperpop and breakcore and mathrock and EDM. I enjoy picking through drums, guitar, sub-bass and synths. I also enjoy clear cutting vocals.
Past gear experience - (kind of long, maybe annoying so feel free to skip) massdrop akg white m220 - I don't super like the stock muffs, they get pretty hot for me after long use and are in general are a bit too big for my head since the I can't adjust the band any shorter, sound pretty flat and want something a bit more fun but these are the main headphones I use when I do any music prod. I don't like the wire, it's kinda rubbery and gets tangled easily. also the muffs r like super tough and stuff which doesn't feel that good.
hyperx cloud flight - I reallyyy liked the comfort on these headphones as they didn't really have much clamping force but the audio itself had a lot left to be desired in terms of bass punch and didn't really sound good for music listening. these were my favorite though simply coz I could use them forever w out fatigue. liked that it was wireless but was USB dongled so couldn't use wireless with my phone. the battery only lasts for 30 mins after charging and almost has no padding anymore so they don't get much use anymore.
razer black shark (V2?) - comfy but gets hotter than the hyperx ones, I think the bass is better than it too but still wasn't my favorite for listening. also only lasts for 30 mins after charging. also wireless which was nice but still USB dongle.
astro a40 - these sound the nicest to me for gaming but Jesus I get so much fatigue from wearing them and hate the wire sm. it's also kinda rubbery like the m220 and gets really tangled against other cables. currently using these but really not happy w them.
30$ IEM that has an anime girl on the box I forget but a lot of rhythem game players recommend. this is the worse offender of cable tangle and I just rather not deal with them most of the time. prefer headphones to in ears too because they can get hot/sweaty over long periods. they sound very nice tho but they r the only IEMs ive tried so far.
pixel bud-A - I like these a lot but also not ideal for long period of times. I enjoy how seemless they connect to my phone/pc but these r abyssmal for gaming and I use them solely for music during commute. I like the audio but am missing a lot of the mids.
Sony wxm4 - these are soo nice but I am only borrowing them and have to return them soon but I really enjoy the comfort and lightness. However I think the noise cancelling is too aggressive and only really use for listening to music during commute. also I don't really think they sound that great when I also consider the 350$ price tag.
TLDR: using akg m220 for music prod, astro a40s for gaming, pixel bud-A/Sony wxm4 for music listening during commute but kinda hate all of them and just want 1 pair of all arounders.
RN, considering the ath-m50xBTv2 but hear it's not that comfy (which is a high priority for me) also mixed opinions on sound quality and the massdrop senhesier hd58x but unsure if they would be usable during commute and not wireless (which is less of a priority but still) would love to hear input still as I am really inexperienced with this kind of stuff. Thank you for reading and input, first big purchase for me!

So I'm kind of wanting something that came out within like the last 5 years or so what I've been reading a lot of image comics lately but I'm wanting something that hasn't been around too long yes I don't want something that's been out for like 30 years and have to read over like 200 issues or whatever and it doesn't matter if it's image, DC, Marvel, Dark horse Or whatever other comic brands there are

He’s a writer for a newspaper. Yet, he doesn’t read books. Writers read. A lot. He also doesn’t know the meaning of so many words. When Deborah points out that it’s sub-conscious not unconscious when he forgets to mention her in a speech. She also points out that he can’t pronounce stomachache. Among other examples.
He pitched a book he wanted to write to a publisher, yet he has a terrible command of the English language.
His character doesn’t come off as a hard working writer or career oriented.
I can suspend belief a lot of the time, which we do with sit com’s, but I think they could’ve shaped his character to match his career better than they did.

Two questions I understand going back to my home of record will be on me. But if you're single will they allow a delayed pack out? I understand and read in the guide this is common for married employees. I was not sure about single.
I currently live in a three bedroom house that I plan to either sell or rent out. I don't mind getting rid of things. However, will state pay to continue storing my belongings or bring my items to a storage center I can pay for when I am stateside. An example would be, let's say I get NYFO or some other very expensive first post for my first assignment I'll be lucky to rent a bedroom in an apartment so I wouldn't need most of my belongings, VS DC or Miami I can at least afford a 1 bedroom apartment. I would prefer to pack out after finding out my first assignment so I can sell items I won't need. However, if they will pay for storage then I don't mind packing everything before hand and figuring it out later. Some key large items I am thinking about as well are patio furniture, grill, riding lawn mower, spare bedroom set, 2nd couch.

I keep seeing posts about how to get certain scores on the mcat so I guess I’ll give my advice.
The main thing you need to focus on is not taking advice from Reddit… sounds harsh and a bit ironic considering but please understand that Reddit is not the real world. These people have never met you and do not know your work ethic or actual characteristics. So ignore Reddit and Student doctor network for actual advice.
The second thing to remember is that you’ve already seen this material. You know this stuff! Get out of your head and stop convincing yourself that you somehow know absolutely nothing about these topics. Since middle school, you have been learning basic biology and chemistry. You have seen these topics at least once throughout your life. Now, you should be focused on reinforcing that knowledge and filling in any gaps. You are not clueless and you are not incapable of doing very well on this exam.
The last thing, don’t try to adapt an entirely new study method just for this exam. If you received an A in general chemistry by watching lectures and not reading the textbooks, then you shouldn’t be trying to learn the Kaplan textbook for your content review. Instead use khan academy or vice versa. Stick to the methods that have already worked for you and these topics. You can worry about developing new study methods during medical school.
Also keep your study resource simple. There’s no reason why you should be switching between 5 different platforms for practice exams. I recommend 2 sources for content review and 2 sources for practice questions. I used the following:
Uworld, Khan Academy, AAMC Qbanks, Miledown anki
Score was 515 for first try and 521 for retake.

recently i got myself an iq test and since i scored ~150 i was really blown away and i shared that with my family (parents, siblind and aunt)
my aunt was happy for me but also said that they already knew as i got diagnosed as a child which got me confused as to why i never heard of it so i started asking my mom questions and one of things i found out was that i have been diagnosed with autism and god damnit, my life makes so much more sense now.
like my odd behaviors i had as a child, the social stuff, etc. but also the unexplainable hate i felt from my mother all my life (even till now) and the worse treatment then any of my siblings that i received (like she was never as harsh, mean and cold to them. she never forced them to overwork themselves as much as me. like for example she was forcing me to work since 14yo which is illegal so she had to find me odd jobs, while my siblings never had to work even through some of them are over 18 now).
she also for example often overwhealmed me, i think even on purpose as she never did such stuff to my siblings and never acomodated me for such stuff.
just wanted to vent a bit. its not all that i have on my mind now but i guess its enough. if yall had any useful input in this matter i would be really thankful
also sorry if this is hard to read. i am still trying to sort out my thoughts + its quite late

This post is very long. This first section, before the first triple-line-break, is the summary. Details follow that.
__________________________________________
SUMMARY
__________________________________________
So, I was very much looking forward to Legendary Tales for a while now after hearing so many great things.
I bought it on sale a couple days ago and played the first hour or so, completing the tutorial and entering the main hub. Then I uninstalled and refunded it.
This is not a 'hate post' and I hope that this post will not only help people understand some of the issues of this game, and what this game is NOT, but also help people understand what this game is and why you might love it. I talked about my criticisms with others who love the game to help me approach this and hopefully deliver some useful thoughts. It's worth noting that I got lots of agreement about my criticisms from the people I talked to - who still love the game.
In short,
People love this game for the combat development in the context of a 40+ hour adventure. All the depth to the skill trees, which of course in my hour I didn't touch. The creativity of building the mechanics of a character RPG style - except you get to physically battle in VR. The reward of unlocking that cool skill you've been excited to try out, or finding a legendary that's a blast to use. Even in my short time with the game I could feel the beginnings of this with the parry system. I did have fun fighting skeletons with a simple sword and no skills, and felt the challenge as I had to aim my sword deflections well and time my counterstrikes. There is an effective mechanic preventing waggle-fest and I can begin to imagine all the room to develop your combat mechanics in a way that is, fun and rewarding, and uniquely VR.
Sounds great right? To some it truly is.
But to me, not so much. Why? Because everything else is lacking to a degree I did not expect.
I've been playing a lot of The Light Brigade lately. And although these two games are totally different, it's a useful game to bring up because The Light Brigade excels in all the ways that Legendary Tales significantly falls short.
Atmosphere - music and sound, lighting and colours, art design, character and enemy models
Interfacing - Onboarding and intuitive learning, UI design and fluidity, control mapping, options, grabbing/interacting with objects, general polish
Storytelling - Plot, lore, world building, characters, character and enemy expressiveness, writing
For many people who play games, combat is at the forefront of their interests. For me, it always takes a backseat priority - if its present at all - to the above three aspects. The combat in Bloodborne is great, but it is because it excels in those 3 aspects that it's one of my favourite games. I also love lengthy games like Pentiment, Disco Elysium, Planescape Torment, and Pathologic 2, which have minimal or no combat and lots of reading!
Legendary Tales is simply mediocre in those three bolded aspects and for me that's a hard pass. If these aspects were serviceable to me - done well enough to facilitate the combat - I might have kept going. But I don't use the world 'mediocre' lightly. This is the appropriate word to me, and because of that, I did not want to spend 40+ hours in this world.
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DETAILS
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For those interested, or for the developers, I will continue with a breakdown of these aspects I am criticizing, trying to go through everything I felt about them in the first hour or so of playing.
Main menu was my favourite part. I liked the scene + music together. Nice. I was looking forward to playing and this had me feeling fuzzy and ready to enjoy the game. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
The very first issue I noticed was that the game felt washed out. Even in that main menu I liked, I was feeling like it was a bit washed out. So I tried adjusting brightness down... then the darker areas felt better, but the light areas felt off. The more I played and tried to adjust to find the right equilibrium, the more I realized the lighting and contrast is just not good and adjusting brightness can't save that.
The second issue I noticed was the menu cursor to select things. It felt like an early VR game that hadn't quite figured out VR menus yet. It's useable but not fluid and pleasing.
The third issue I noticed was the unintuitive controls. I thought that this was the kind of game, kind of like a Souls game, where you aren't taught everything but learn things as you go in an organic manner. Maybe some of that exists in this game, but mostly it's simply bad control design and a bad tutorial. It's the difference between having barriers that have purpose, purposeful friction, and feel good when discovered vs barriers that feel pointless and just build frustration without purpose. The controls feel like a mess and while it's apparent that people can get used to them as they play more, it's not in a justified sense.
Along with this are interfacing issues. For example, grabbing items feels very awkward. The motions are clunky, for example the way a weapon will slowly glide into place in your hands. There's so many interfacing issues. The interface to see weapon/item stats on weapons that are laying about is clunky, the interface to switch weapons is clunky, the magic interface is clunky, dialogue boxes feel clunky,... all of these things feel clunky both in terms of feel and also aesthetic.
A very straightforward and obvious example is dialogue. Character dialogue is presented in a large bland text on a page. To progress through the dialogue, there's no obvious place to click or button to push. In fact, you have to click a particular area of the page, which feels totally arbitrary and unintuitive. Sure, once you learn, you can do it fine, but it's just bad interface design.
To go back to The Light Brigade, think about the difference in both feel and aesthetic to opening a chest or breaking a pot. Grabbing a gun and how it arrives to your hand. The attractive dialogue boxes. Watching a reward pop out of a chest, picking a tarot card. Putting objects into your waist pouch or taking them out. These interactions are all comfortable, beautiful, fluid, and intuitive.
The next thing on my mind was sound.
As I played the tutorial, the soundscape was barren. There was a wind loop, which didn't loop correctly leaving a solid second of space between the end and beginning. Sounds didn't feel like they were placed quite right in 3D space. Point-based sounds (like the crackling of a campfire, that comes from a specific point in space) had too small of a zone (the sound should be heard from further away). In general the soundscape was very barebones. And when I encountered the first character, not only did the character look totally goofy and out of place, but they made no sounds when 'speaking', not even grunts or gibberish sound.
To skip ahead for a moment, I also felt the music did not match the environments enough. The music was quite pretty - that's not the problem. It just didn't feel like the environments were quite synergized with the music.
Again for both music and sound, think of the gun sounds, the ability sounds, the sound of the enemies as they spot you, the sound of the environment, the footsteps and dash, the grunts of characters when the speak, the music... not only does it all sound great, but it all feels like expressions of the unique world of The Light Brigade. This is excellent sound and music design, that truly bring the world to life.
Although a minor complaint, I also noticed lots of grammar and spelling errors. Although I understand the team is in South Korea, and I appreciate the challenges of translation, just like with everything else I was just expecting... more polish. I thought it would feel like a full package, at indie scale. But it feels very much like a partial package.
And that segues into the writing...
There are games with simple and/or unmemorable story, where the story is still servicing and facilitating the gameplay.
And then there is just plain bad writing.
This is very much the latter.
Maybe a bit of this goes back to translation but I am doubtful that it fares much better in original Korean in essence.
The writing is goofy, juvenile, poorly structured, and generic.
I was also seriously turned off by a couple lines in particular, that I'm sure affect me more than most but I will mention anyways. One was something like "valuable gem missing. And a hot girl". Like... There's nothing inherent about calling a woman (or a man) hot that I don't like. Yes gamers, you are allowed to find women attractive, relax. But it's the way its written,... I'm not going to turn this into an essay about male gaze but the way its written simply services a particular male audience that casually objectifies women.
Even worse was the final line I read, a quest line. Paraphrasing, but the primary descriptive words are all exact: "Go kill 10 kill peasants in a refugee camp". I don't think I need to elaborate, people who are on a similar page to me will understand why this was just an incredibly gross line.
I know the above two dialogue criticisms will not be shared by everyone and not affect everyone the same way. I am expressing them as part of what I felt, my personal criticisms and experience, just like the rest of what I'm sharing.
Again to compare to The Light Brigade... every line feels thoughtful and builds character and develops the lore. Whether its the forlorn lines of NPC members of The Light Brigade, or the scenes that appear between runs, and other bits and pieces you get. The Light Brigade develops so much world with few words, it's quite impressive and again a beacon that Urban Wolf Games can learn from.
The final issue I'll discuss was something that struck me earlier on. That is, player character model and lack of customization.
First of all - again an issue that the majority here probably won't be affected by - I could not pick my character model until after completing the tutorial. Specifically, I was forced to do calibration as a male character model, and then had to play the tutorial as this character. Minor complaint but again just another polish issue.
Both male and female models are just... boring designs, and the female model is again very juvenile, obviously serving a primarily male audience, whether intentionally or not.
But more importantly, there's no character customization. Not even the tiniest bit. Even the ability to change just skin colour and hair only would go a long way. Especially in a lengthy adventure like this, I need to be able to identify with my character. Especially with multiplayer it seems essential to me, but even if it were single player, and as someone who plays primarily in single player, character customization is hugely impactful to me.
This does not really have a contrast in The Light Brigade - there's no character customization in The Light Brigade either, although the kind of game it is, it's not as relevant. That said, I do think it would be a nice touch if there WAS some minor character customization in The Light Brigade, and especially if you could play as a woman instead of man if you so choose. Although maybe lore-wise it is intended that all members are male except for 'Mother'. This hasn't been established with any good reason though. So on this point I would lightly criticize The Light Brigade as well.
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ENDING THOUGHTS
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Ultimately, Legendary Tales is quite simply a very indie game that probably had a very small team and limited funds. I don't know for sure, but probably there *wasn't* a dedicated writer, a dedicated UI and interface designer, etc.
However, these things are still failings of the game and its design. The greatest indie games to me are ones that successfully recognize their scope limitations and develop something complete within that scope. Whether it's the roguelike world of The Light Brigade, or the very short and stylish Tiger Blade, or Jeff Minter's trippy games like Akka Arrh and Polybius, or the retro Silent Hill aesthetic of Organ Quarter, or the suspenseful hotel of Propagation Paradise Hotel... all these games are made by small teams but successfully navigate their limited funds to deliver a full package within an appropriately limited scope.
On the one hand, I really value and support BJ's push for indie games to be respected and for that respect to reflect in the price consumers are prepared to pay. But after being totally on board with the price of Legendary Tales based on what I read from BJ and reviewers and many regular players too, I have to disagree with this game's pricing. This game is not polished enough, and is not a full package. That the game sucked out so much funds is an error of scope.
Maybe I will be in the minority, and Legendary Tales has been a success so it seems that I am, and so good on them for knowing the value of their game to the demographic they targeted I guess. And regardless, even if the pricing and attempted scope of the game are an error on the dev's part, I'm glad for the dev to earn back as much as they can, or even turn a profit hopefully.
But to me, reflecting back to the question the devs put forward: "Do you want to see deep combat development like this in VR for a 40+ hour adventure from indie devs?" The answer is no, I don't. I do consider the scope of this game an error on the part of the developers. It sounds like they did not even turn a profit enough to allow them to expand their team (but maybe I'm misunderstanding). I hope that they do continue with VR development, but instead focus on a much smaller scope game. Deliver a polished, complete package within a smaller scope, implementing a much tighter budget that will allow for potential turning of profit with an appropriately lighter sale price (maybe targeting a $30 game?).
If that is successful, do it again, and again, until they can expand and eventually work toward their dream adventure RPG, hiring actual writers and UI designers and sound designers etc. For me personally, this is simply not the kind of game you can half-bake. It should be attempted again when, and only when, they feel they have budget to do this in a truly full and polished manner.
I had the pleasure of meeting BJ briefly at PAX East. He struck me as friendly, kind, totally genuine, and incredibly passionate as a game developer and a VR game developer in particular.
I do wish this team good luck and despite my own harsh criticism I am glad so many ARE enjoying this game, and also feel the price point is justified. I want devs to earn money, including Urban Wolf Games. And I hope that they will continue to develop and bring more VR to the world.
I hope that my criticism is constructive and useful toward these same goals.

I've posted about a year ago regarding my then 7th month old scratching his head and hurting himself in the process. You can find the old post here: https://www.reddit.com/Parenting/comments/139ip9z/baby_wont_stop_scratching_his_head_until_it_bleads/
Recently I've had 3 different parents that have found the post and were in the same situation, inboxing for an update/solution, so I decided to make an update post in case more parents are looking for answers. Sorry I took so long. I know the despair you feel. I assure you it will get better if you persevere. This is an extremely long post, so I have bolded the several topics, in case you don't want to read everything, so they are easier to find.
To update on my son's situation: He's now 1y and 7 months. He is allergic to milk and he has a combination of cradle cap and eczema. In addition to this, he was also born with Hydronephrosis (enlarged kidneys) which means he is limited in the medication that he's allowed to take (no ipobrufren, as an example)
The Cradle Cap situation has improved by itself, mainly by just carrying on with what we were doing. We use the Frida Flake Fixer treatment and a cradle cap shampoo (Dentinox). We've also been advised not to wash his head every day, leave it 1 or 2 days (one doctor even said once a week). For the cuts, the best thing was indeed a Vaseline barrier to help the raw skin heal. Even though it definitely stinks, the healing is the most important part. I would put Vaseline on his scalp the day before a bath, do the treatment with the Frida Brush and then I would rub a Baby Scalp Oil (Colief) to soften the flakes on the day after the bath; I would put Vaseline on the scalp the next day and he would take a bath the next day, rinse and repeat, until the cuts were healed, and I could ditch the Vaseline step. If the cut was deep I would sometimes apply Sudocream only at night after a bath and the Vaseline was removed and he'd fallen asleep so he wouldn't take it off. He still slept with mittens inside his cuffed babygrow, but he always managed to get one or two fingers out, I kid you not when I say, that sometimes I would sleep holding his hand to prevent him from scratching his head when the wounds here at it's worst. All of these steps have contributed to has improved the cradle cap lot and eventually disappeared in about a month's time. He's going trough a second outbreak now, a year later, but no where near as bad as it was then, he's not scratching himself to death.
The Eczema situation. Right....... this situation has improved for a few good 7-8 months with the Aveeno Baby Dermexa Emollient Cream. I would use it 3 times a day or more to fight of dry skin. The areas where the skin folded were the worst. Arm folds, neck folds, behind the knees, there the eczema would install and spread, That could only be controlled an Hydrocortisoid Cream, 1% w/w. It did eventually disappeared save for one spot -- just behind the right knee. He developed a habit of scratching it with his left foot. But, lets put the Eczema situation on hold for a moment, while we talk about:
The Milk Allergy situation.... Oh Boy..... this is about to get very long.....
In my previous post made at the beginning of May 2023, I stated that my son had been to the A&E (a week before the post) for an allergic reaction to porridge, so he would either be allergic to Milk and/or Gluten. We were told a referral was done to our GP for a visit by an allergy team who would walk us through to process of slowly introducing allergens so that my son would hopefully be able to safely be exposed to them in the future and advised to "only feed him vegetables and fruit". We were given an "prescription" for an antihistamine to continue the treatment and to use as an SOS in case of another allergic reaction in the future. No allergy tests were done for my son at all.
We were told that, it would take a couple of weeks before we were contacted by the allergy team and to contact the GP after two weeks if we hadn't heard from them. We waited a month and nothing. At the end of May, I went to our GP to ask for updates on this situation. Imagine my shock when the GP told me that they didn't even have ANY information about my son being in the A&E. They've spent 1h contacting the hospital to get the paperwork from the A&E that SHOULD have been sent to our GP. In said paperwork, it states that the hospital would like the GP to sort out the allergy appointment. So, no allergy appointment had been made for an entire month and if I hadn't enquired about this situation, the GP would have had no clue about the need to make one because they didn't have the necessary paperwork! I was given an apology and scheduled an "assessment appointment" 2 days later. I enquired about an Antihistamine prescription, since my son was gonna start nursery in a couple of weeks when my maternity leave would end and I needed to provide a bottle for them in case of an allergic reaction, because we still didn't know what my son was allergic to.... Lo and behold, when the GP staff looks at the hospital paperwork, it was stated that no more antihistaminic was necessary, against what we were advised, as we should have one antihistamine as SOS, I had to press the GP to provide us with an prescription (which the lady was very quick to do after seeing me ready to implode regarding this absolute incompetence) so the nursery could have one antihistamine with themselves as we couldn't keep juggling our bottle back and forth with them.
The assessment appointment which basically consisted in 5 mins of asking for details about the allergic reaction, all of which was written in A&E's paperwork and only then being referred to a dietitian's team. I was given no ETA, no info about where it would be, no contact that I could call to at least be put on a waiting list in case of a cancellation, nothing. I was only asked to wait and when confronted, the practitioner admitted that this appointment COULD have been made straight in the hospital's A&E, instead of this ridiculous and time wasting bureaucratic football between the Hospital and the GP.
You might think this was the end of the miscommunication and incompetence.... Oh oh But no,.. of course not!! I waited another month of silence. At the end of June I called the hospital's appointment hotline enquiring about my son's appointment, only to be told that he doesn't have one because a referral hadn't been made yet! I was fuming!! I immediately called the GP who have assured me that a referral has been sent to the hospital's Paediatric and gave me it's referral number and they would enquire....
If you are in the UK like I am and you see that your baby/child is being ignored by your GP / Hospital and not getting the appropriate care, then do as I did and contact PALS near your area. That was the best piece of advice that I have received from people at my local breastfeeding group, and if being a mother has taught me anything, is that sometimes, you will have to be a momma bear (aka Karen to the eyes of the target) and advocate for your child. I work in retail, I despise Karens and I have no wish to be one, I am usually a pushover. But I will not allow anyone to trample on my son's health. And while I do have respect for the NHS, seeing has my brother in law works there, I know damn well, by his own words, that the main problem is not the lack of funds, but the pockets where they go and the terrible disorganization.
At that point I had enough of excuses and I made a complaint to PALS about both the GP and the Hospital. My son was almost 9months and still breastfeeding but eating mostly Vegetables and Fruit as solid food as per A&E'S guidelines, delaying his weaning and feeding development and causing stress with the nursery and our family as we didn't know what he was allergic to and couldn't move on to full meals. I flat out asked them if they were intent on my son completing an entire year of life being fed only Vegetables and Fruit besides breastmilk, and called them out because an 8 month baby should not be put on the back burner over and over again due to the incredibly poor communication between these two organizations and have his health jeopardized. I demanded a resolution ASAP and forward this to the Paediatrician as I did not trust the hospital to be able clearly communicate between their departments and whom I suspected had not been told absolutely nothing regarding all this. Two days later the allergy team specialist rang me to personally and profusely apologise and take the situation under her control and give me her allergy guidelines which I should have been given since the beginning. I was still forced to wait until early July for a allergy test - Milk was found to be the culprit.
I still thank everything that I had enough perseverance to stick with breastfeeding and never, ever, though to look at formula. I tremble to think about the consequences, Even though I'm aware that dairy free formulas exist, me being a 1st time ignorant mother, chances were I could have picked a wrong one. Fortunately I produced more than enough milk and my son had a good latch. Also because my son was not making any allergic reactions to my milk, this meant there was a higher chance that he could grow out of his allergy, as he was still getting enzymes from the dairy that I consumed. From here on, food introduction was a breeze. He's a real foodie, he loves to eat and he loves to eat with us. Adapting our diet was a bit of work, as I have IBS and my husband is diabetic so there might be some foods that will be a trigger or might not be the most ideal to someone in our family, but we managed to strike a good balance. Vegan options do help and we are having fun exploring that.
The problems then came with the nursery. After letting them know that my son was allergic to milk and other things were fine, the cases of allergic reaction in the nursery stated to increase and he started getting very bad reactions. First we suspected cross contamination, then that he might be allergic to something else, but the foods they were saying he was allergic to made absolutely no sense as he was just fine having those at home. We came to the conclusion after several events in the softplay area - that involved no food at all - that the culprit might be their cleaning products and further pressed after two different members of staff said they themselves were allergic to that product - Milton. After several bickerings between us and the nursery and us visiting our origin country for Xmas where my son ate in 4 different household and 5 different restaurant with absolutely no allergy reaction (in comparing to the then daily cases of reaction on the 3 days that he stayed at nursery), we finally convinced the nursery to change their cleaning products - they are now using Sanell. In addiction to prevent cross contamination, my son was given his own high chair, that no other child uses. Happy to say the cases of allergy are nearly non-existent now. His recent blood results also came back with amazingly good improvements, so we got the thumbs up from the Allergy Team and the Paediatrician to start the milk ladder and slowly and gradually adding milk to his diet. Currently he's in stage one and having half a teaspoon of malted milk biscuit daily with no reaction. It will probably still be able two months until he can have a full biscuit, but I can't wait to see his smile when we get to this stage - he loves taking the little piece of my hand.
Because of the back and forth with the nursery and them insisting that the allergic reaction could be due to other foods, the allergy team at the hospital was more concerned with that than his Eczema situation. We had to insist about it, since we suspected the reactions might be Eczema instead, stating that I was still waiting for the promised skin specialist appointment since end of April last year. The lead Team Speciallist, again showed her amazing professionalism and chased up the situation and we finally got our appointment jointly with her and the skin specialist in January of this year. She gave us a few products to try but said that the Eczema situation was relatively controlled. The samples that she gave were:

• Dermol 500 Lotion - we still use this for his bath as a soap substitute
• Adex Gel - kind like an emollient cream, it was ok-ish
• Cetraben Cream - didn't seem to make any difference, but can also be used as a soap substitute so we'll give it a go after Dermol is finished
• Zerodearm Ointment - didn't seem to make any difference, but it has a Vaseline like quality to it, so might try again

About a week after the appointment, my Son had an mild outbreak of Eczema on his legs. We tried several combinations of above products that seemed to temporally control the situation but didn't complete solve it. In Early March of this year the Eczema appeared in his back. He has a huge red birthmark the size of my hand on his back, so that skin is very sensitive. He started to scratch and rub his back against things and it didn't took long to break the skin. It didn't bleed but it was oozing/weeping which would make the skin get stuck to his clothes and then get raw, so no treatment was going to work on that as it would slide off with the oozing/weeping. I despaired then as I had a year ago.
So I went back to the thing that worked last time - Vaseline. This time though, it was on a place that I couldn't exactly leave uncovered. My son was about to do some blood tests so hospital had given us numb cream to put on the inside of his elbows and some clear medical film. He had this done before and I remembered that the film had been resistant enough to keep the cream in and didn't hurt his skin, so I though, maybe I could apply the same theory. So I bought some clear medical film (Tegaderm Film), put a good chunk of Vaseline on the wound and sealed it with the film. I changed this twice or three times a day, depending if he was in the nursery or not. It worked like a charm and it allowed the skin to heal. For reference, the nursery manager, whose son suffers with really bad eczema has suggested me the AproDerm Ointment which also has a Vaseline consistency to it, but my son's situation cleared up before I had to use it.
The skin specialist by then had prescribed a treatment with another hydrocortisoid cream ( Daktacort 2% 1% w/w, needs to be kept refridgerated ) and an emollient cream - Epimax Oatmeal Cream. For the other patches of Eczema (that were not in wound), I would use Daktacord, once in the morning, once in the evening, and I would use Epimax to keep the skin moisturized along the day, whenever I would change a diaper. The skin specialist told us to keep using Daktacord twice a day for a week, then drop it to once a day on the following week, and then drop it to every other day on the week after. This has worked brilliantly and it solved all Eczema patches, including the stubborn one behind his right knee, We were able to drop the Daktacord and we now only use the Epimax emollient regularly about twice a day.
Thank you if you have read everything so far, I hope you have found something that could be of use to you. Happy to answer any questions that you might have, or if you're feeling desperate like I was and just need some reassurance, just drop me message!

So I've always wanted to see Iceland and Sigur Ros is one of my fav bands, so I decided to buy 2 tickets for their upcoming show in December. Well now I got the tickets, the only thing that's missing is you. Preferably I'd like to find someone and see if we click and then maybe we end up going to Iceland together. If this interests you, hit me up.
About me:
I'm a 42 years old, living with my dog in Philadelphia. I would like to meet some new people for chatting, friendship or maybe more depending on how things go.
When I am not going on adventures with my pup, I like going to concerts, from Childish Gambino to Sigur Ros (seeing them in December in Iceland!!). I love going to art museums and just walking around and appreciating everything or science museums and seeing some dinosaur bones or other cool stuff. I enjoy going out to eat and trying new restaurants. I am also a fan of traveling, was in France over the summer and now my total count is 11 countries and would love to check out some more. I enjoy watching movies and TV, playing video games(switch and series X), and some reading. I am also 420 friendly if that is something you are into.
I am a great +1 at weddings since I'm an amazing wedding dancer. With my patented moves such as the sprinkler or the bus driver. I am sure to impress or embarrass.
I am really good at bad jokes, or bad at good jokes? I know that they are bad, but I enjoy them anyway. Feel free to laugh or roll your eyes, or both. Your call.
Example: There are 2 fish in a tank, one looks at the other and says "how'd we get here?" the other one replies, "that's a great question, though a better one is who's driving this thing?"
Honestly I am just looking for someone to help me ride in the carpool lane or if that doesn't work, to spend time with, have stupid inside jokes, goof around on dreary days, keep me entertained at boring social events and all that fun stuff. Maybe you want those things too if so, feel free to hit me up if you wanna chat, can start there and see where it goes. And thanks for reading all of this.