...even when it has nothing to do with the content they make.
I like horror genre stuff, especially analog horror, ARGs, video games, etc. and I usually enjoy watching YTers that coveexplain analog horror series both to cover things I might have missed, get different perspectives/theories, and so on. And it's all fine and dandy, except that some popular YTers in the field feel the need to bring up that they're Christian. Constantly. And it's so off-putting, but there's no point trying to point out that it's off-putting or out of place because they're guaranteed to just respond with "Well it's my belief and I won't be silenced! You're trying to prevent me from spreading the Truth of Jesus Christ!"
It's the whole "religion is like a penis" thing. Great to have one, great to be proud of it, but please stop whipping it out in public. I have no problem with your penis. It's great. I just don't want to see it. I don't want to hear you talk about it. I'm here for your horror analysis videos and let's plays.
The worst is when they cover a series that has religious themes or when the horror has to do with demons or Satanic cults. Then they go full God Warrior and have to talk about their beliefs and how they're not afraid because they've got Jesus, or they get absolutely offended and have to derail the whole video to bitch about it. I essentially had to stop watching one YTer after they were doing a Let's Watch that had a horror short film in which a character threw away her rosary, and he stopped the video to throw a fit about how awful it was she was giving up on her faith and deserved to have what happened to her and so on. Just made me lose all respect for him in that moment. Stopped watching another popular horror YTer's streams because he'd talk about Bible shit constantly inbetween waiting for videos/games to load.
It's not just annoying, it's borderline triggering. They have no respect for their audience members who survived religious trauma. Oh, you don't want a heaping helping of Jesus with your horror videos? Go watch someone else, then! I'm a loud and proud Christian and I won't be silenced!
Come on, man. Just let me get my spooks and giggles in peace.

Hello!
So me and my friend work the graveyard shift, and I am playing cyberpunk to pass the time. When I got to the point of going with Rouge to hunt Adam Smasher I noticed her license plate said Rouge1. I pointed it out to my friend and said it was most likely a Star Wars reference. Que a few minutes of discussion where we end up with him saying essentially the following. "Mike Pondsmith deserves the credit for the Easter egg." I said no that the dev who came up with it or the game director or similar deserves the credit.
My friends points basically boil down to the following. 1. Mike Pondsmith made the world of cyberpunk and filled it with references to pop culture and its this atmosphere that brought about the Easter egg. 2. Mike Pondsmith had final say over everything in the game. After some debate he stated that if not Mike then it should be the person who made rouge the character when they were playing the pen and paper game all those years ago.
My points are that Mike Pondsmith had an enormous influence over the game, and I'm sure he had a lot of input. However I highly doubt that he had final say over every little thing like this. I also pointed out to him that Rouges character should belong to whoever made her, but the specific easter egg would not.
We finally compromised after much geeking out and debating by stating that IF the person had put on her character background the license plate number then it would be hers but if not it was most likely not her idea.
TLDR: My friend argues that the easter egg should be credited to Mike Pondsmith, or Rouges original creator. I Argued that it should go to the Dev. What do you guys think?
u/therealmaxmike I have been told that Mike is actually sometimes on Reddit so on the off chance he sees this 1. Your table top game is really fun. 2.Could you please settle this dumb ass debate? Nothing short of you saying yea or nae will change either of our minds.

Is it just me, or is the writing for these games going down the drain? Or am I missing something?
I really loved the series to begin with. Loved the Liberl arc. Then I loved Crossbell. And now I'm invested and want to see it through, even though I didn't really like Cold Steel 1 and 2. Cold Steel 3 felt like a step up again, but there's some bad writing now and then. It's like the writers have NO IDEA about how to write realistic human motivations.

WTF is up with "The Ironbloods"??

In the final chapter... I'm thinking of Millium and Claire. Both of these characters have been mostly portrayed as sympathetic. As people with conscience. People with "a good heart". Yes, they've been loyal to Giliath Osborne as well, but they have also seen what he has done the last few years up close. Millium was a member of Class VII, and she even declared out loud that she would stand with Class VII, right? Then she went back on that promise and sided with the Ironbloods until the very end. Claire made no such promise, but from everything that happened I'd expect her to pick the right side by the end.
The issue here, with the writing, is that the motivations of the Claire and Millium is 100% UNBELIEVABLE!
Rufus was questionable for most of the time. And Lechter even more so. That they would "pick the dark side" doesn't seem that crazy. But the other two...? Keep in mind that this is after the royal palace was turned into some kind of glowing evil egg, and Giliath Osborne had joined Ouroboros.
I just started Cold Steel IV (because I've gotta see these games through now...) and I'm writing this just after the scene where Claire opened the two week old email from Millium and started crying. I'm assuming there will be a redemption arc for a few characters in this game. But still...
Thoughts? I feel like this isn't the first example of such bad writing, but it's unbelievably bad.
And couple more things I just thought of... After Millium had died, and Rean lost his mind, killing the dragon, and then slowly (SLOOOOWLY for some reason) walked towards the two Gilliath and the other bad guy, his class mates were screaming "NO! Don't do it!" or something to that effect. Wtf was up with that?? If there was ANYTHING right and proper at that moment it would be to rush those motherfuckers and splice them into little pieces! Right? Why object to that? Just for plot armour reasons??
The Trails series stood out to me in the start for it's good writing. It felt like the world made internal sense. The pieces of the games fit together better the more pieces I found. There were some mysteries all the time, like Ouroboros and what their plans and motivations were, but I trusted it would be revealed and make sense. Now idk if I've missed it, or if this is gonna be a mystery for the rest of the games. But it's starting to annoy me that I still don't know what it is about Ouroboros that makes their member so loyal to the cause. At the moment it makes no sense Sharon decided to go back to Ouroboros after being loyal to the Reinfords for so long. She went on and on about her "love" for the Reinfords, and also seemingly for Class VII. This, again, bothers me a lot, because it's more of the same issue, the issue of motivations that don't line up with actions.
Is it just me? I just want the world to make sense, to be coherent, and for characters to have reasonable motivations. I don't have to have all the answers yet, but I need to trust that there are answers that will make things make sense.

I slapped together a copypasta of all the comments from this Thread trying to help people. https://www.reddit.com/whiteoutsurvival/comments/17j8irz/what_are_the_best_heros/
I've left parts in that are irrelevant to you but I need to include. I'll post again later if anyone cares.
Someone asked Who are the best Heroes? I went off explaining the game as I had played to that point so I figured I would put it all together in one place.
***

What are the best Heros?

That's a really open-ended question. You've got to ask a few other questions before you come to the answer.
Did you just start? What heroes do you currently have? Are you willing to pay money?
Per rule of thumb, every time a new generation of heroes comes out they will be more powerful than the last so keep that in consideration.
With that being said, in the beginning Sergy is your best infantry option unless you're willing to pay for Jeronimo. In that case Jeronimo is your best best but he's pricey.
I forgot to mention Natalia. Her and Jeronimo are the best infantry if you are willing to pay but they both cost so damn much money. If you can afford it though Jeronimo, Natalia, and Molly are 3 solid heroes to start with and improve if you're paying. If not, go with Sergy.
Also remember that some heroes are good for exploration while others are better for expedition. Exploration is the Arena and the Exploration place where you fight. Expedition is battlefield or PvP.
Molly is hands down the best Lancer you'll get in the beginning of the game for both expedition and exploration. Jesse is good for expedition as well with her damage skill and Patrick is good for both exploration and expedition as a healer. Don't underestimate having a healer.
The best Marksman are going to be Gina for Exploration and Bahiti for exploration and expedition at least until you can get Alonso.
Once the new heroes come out select them as you can upgrade them. Certain new heroes like Flint and Alonso will replace your other heroes.
Molly is the only hero that you will have a while so for sure level her up before anyone. As soon as you can get Flint and Alonso do it and then once the new heroes come out get Logan and Greg (great for expedition) and so on.
I've got charts and graphs and could probably play this game professionally as could my wife. lol This game is SO IN DEPTH it's amazing.
*** Links to charts and graphs: https://www.reddit.com/whiteoutsurvival/comments/18bi341/im_only_going_to_post_this_once_to_help_all_the/ ***
I just hate the whole "pay 2 play" system. I think you should be able to pay for the game once and then enjoy the fruits but whatever...
Exploration- Molly, Natalia, Bahiti, Serg (for now) Expedition- Molly, Natalia, Bahiti and/or Serg as well. I wouldn't even put skill books into any blue characters exploration skills. Their expedition skills for gathering resources are what they're good for.
I'd highly suggest Patrick before the others.
I chose to go with a healer and Patrick was my only option. It really turns the tide in battle if you can get the rest of your heroes powered enough in arena and on tiles. I'd also suggest raising hero skills sparingly so you can decide who will lead the party and effect skills used.
*** Here, read this. It's complicated but it's very relevant.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyN7AOLoWlS/
***
I started a new farm account and ONLY put skill books into Molly, Patrick, and Flint and I've to like 250 stage of exploration. I've saved all my other skill books until I really actually need them.
Don't use gems for VIP level up. That's a huge waste. Only use gems for the Wheel (to get new heroes and hero shards) or in the Hall of Heroes or whichever one it is that allows you to obtain new heroes.
Also use gems in the VIP shop to get skill books or other things you need. The only time you want to purchase VIP points is from the alliance shop that refreshes daily. Always buy any VIP points you see as you pay with them using alliance coins obtained by donating to the alliance skill tree.
You should be able to get to VIP 4-5 doing this. The rest you'll have to spend money to get to quicker since most packages give you VIP points.
As for spending money, the construction and march queue are excellent. You can get extra march queues through the research center later on also. I bought both queues in the beginning and I know have 6 march queues which allows me to gather all 4 of the resource types AND have 2 extra marches to auto rally with daily.
Chief Gear materials will be really needed.
Once you get that high you'll need to buy nothing but design plans from the Foundry shop (you won't be able to use them yet but buy them anyway cuz you'll need them. And also polishing solution from the Alliance Championship. You can buy alloy there too but you can also get alloy from polar terrors it just takes a LOT longer.
For mythic hero armor you need to buy it through the Arena Shop. MAKE SURE to do your daily mission thing EVERY DAY as you'll get a lot of perks and points to use in shops. Make sure to mine rss every day. Fight in the arena 5 times every day and complete your lighthouse missions as well as contribute rss to your alliance tech tree.
Oh , also, do NOT spend stuff like hero shards, speedups, chief gear stuff, unless it's for an event. SAVE THEM. You'll get points and rewards for using them during events so save even though it's hard. You won't regret doing so.
Keep your army camps training and your research center researching 24/7. Both of those things make a huge difference as you progress.
I would be more than happy to help you out but I doubt you'd want to come to my state. I'm here if you ever need help though.
I've got a wealth of images and graphs for this game.
My woman has been playing since it started and I started a few months after her. She has spent a shit ton of money on this game but I've only spent a small amount as that's all I feel it's worth. I love and HATE this game so much because of what they've done with the pay 2 play BS. They took the skill out of it and just made it where whatever little rich phuk can come along and rock your world with daddy's money.
If you haven't encountered whales yet, you will. It really sucks and can be depressing at times but don't let them get you down.
Let me know if you need any more help or need advice. You can DM if needed

one of the best mangas that i have read till now !! but i have a query that why did the falling(of jk) and all take place i mean it was all so content before and very damning cute all lovey dovey but they made jk fall which in turn put her in a coma i mean like why so chaotic very messy tho and also they are planning to end the series in 5 ch !!!! without any reason new characters were being introduced and the story was extending w/o any reason they could have simply shown her graduating and ending up with jin (the sensei) it very chaotic rn tbh kinda like how they ruined death note by making light yagami lose from mello and that other guy !
idky but i don't like it when they extend the series for way too long and abruptly change the manga so that it ends TT__TT.
no hate towards the mangaka tho ! awesome characters and story and the best character design and drawings !

Caution: Long Post
The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is without doubt and still is to this day one of the most influential, powerful, and iconic figures in American history due to his steadfast and nonviolent commitment in the fight for Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice during Jim Crow Segregation in the United States. The highlight of his career as an activist came in 1963 in which he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in which he envisioned a nation in which his children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. This resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be passed. Even after his assassination in 1968, his legacy inspired many similar Civil Rights Movements around the world.
Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. is hailed by both sides of the American political sphere as a beacon of hope on how to fight for justice and equality for all during turbulent times. But it's the Conservatives who constantly claim that they truly support him and follow his dream, especially in modern times and they've expressed it in a rather whitewashed and partisan fashion. The most obvious being their use of his "I Have a Dream" speech by quoting the one line that has often been cherry-picked and misinterpreted quite a lot in which they judge people not by skin but by their character. The main reason they do this is to give them the appearance that they are colorblind as their way of opposing racism. And in doing so, they consistently criticize Liberals of trying to divide the country into special interest groups and promote favoritism. As a result, they always claim that Dr. King is a Republican, let alone would've been one in this era given his views, along with the fact that he was a Christian. His niece, Alveda King even emphasized it herself.
Some of the ways that Conservatives try to supposedly live up to Dr. King's "colorblind" dream is by opposing supposed "Wokeness", Critical Race Theory, and the practice of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion everywhere. They also express it by opposing Affirmative Action and the use of racial quotas when it comes to applying for schools, universities, and jobs because they believe it causes Reverse Discrimination. In terms of nonviolence, Conservatives express their disapproval of the Black Lives Matter movement. On the basis of Christianity, Conservatives believe that Dr. King supported a fixed moral code as indicated in his Letters from Birmingham Jail since he led with love and not racial hatred by changing the lives of people and not the laws itself, along with the notion of self-sufficiency. Seeing all this, it seems like Conservatives are really desperate to prove how much America has progressed in this post-racial world in order to debunk accusations that it isn't a racist country and that's why they always prop up Dr. King by claiming that they follow his dream and will continue to do so. Well.....up until now.
During this year's Martin Luther King Day, a string of prominent Conservative activists and organizations suddenly turned on him. Starting off with Charlie Kirk of the youth Conservative movement Turning Point USA, who launched a blistering anti-MLK campaign in which he supposedly dispelled the alleged myths surrounding his popularity. He accused Dr. King of being a "bad person" and that his "sainthood will cause Black voters to realize it's being used against them to suppress the individual." He even went further by stating that "we made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s" accusing it as "a way to get rid of the First Amendment". A while ago, the organization marketed the Conservative image of Dr. King when they sold $55 T-Shirts with his name as well as stickers of him with the words "Let Freedom Ring". Kirk was later joined by the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh who accused him of being a "communist". In fact, he railed against Dr. King a few years ago by accusing him of being a Womanizer, Adulterer, Plagiarizer, etc. Coming after Walsh was Human Events editor, conspiracy theorist, and fellow Turning Point USA alumna Jack Posobiec, who labeled Dr. King "a God of the Left" and stating that "the real legacy of the 1960s was enshrining Racial Discrimination and Race Consciousness into the Federal Bureaucracy." And finally, a popular Conservative Twitter account called "EndWokeness" called Dr. King "a Racial Marxist" because he "did not support a Colorblind Meritocracy" after it cited his quote on Wealth Distribution. What's even worse is that even non-White Conservatives hate him. Two examples include a commentator named Vince Everett Ellison and former football player and sports columnist, Jason Whitlock. The latest editions to the lineup of Black Guilt Conservatives, they railed against Dr. King and the passing of the Civil Rights by stating that they worsened the Black community by drifting them away from God into "Democratic Dependency". They even accused him of the same crimes as Walsh did.
With the sudden change in tone and emphasis from the Right against Dr. King, you have to ask yourself why they're doing this and what caused them to believe this way. And this is not an extremist fringe of the Right that some would expect to hear from. All of these are Mainstream Right-Wing Figures who have direct lineage to the GOP, including the current presidential nominee, Donald Trump. That's as Establishment you can get. Their remarks have been criticized by a lot of people from both sides and surprisingly by some Black Conservatives. One of them was Pastor Darrell Scott, a former faith advisor of Trump, who these days, is one of a few Black Conservatives who has been calling out other Black Conservatives for tearing down their own race in order to elevate their status among others, a very notorious habit of them. He criticized Kirk for inspiring a Hitler Youth. Another was Kimberly Klacik, who in 2020, gained viral for her campaign video stating that Black Lives don't matter to Democrats when she was running for Maryland's 7th Congressional District following the death of civil rights leader, Elijah Cummings, who was the incumbent. She criticized Kirk for his remarks stating that his rhetoric will prevent Blacks from voting Republican. Even with that said, there have been instances in which Conservatives themselves have questioned the Civil Rights Act and many of them have been pretty negative. If you check out other Conservative websites and especially here on Reddit, many of their criticisms echo the same sentiments as those Pundits stating that it was unconstitutional and that in infringed on the First Amendment, particularly the Notion of Freedom of Association.
That being said, there is some silver lining to this. Now, that they exposed themselves for what they really of think Dr. King, I think it's time for them to admit that they never really liked him in the first place, let alone understood who he really was and what he really stood for. In fact, they never really liked him at all. All they did was whitewash him and cherry-pick his ideas and speech for own Partisan Agenda. Dr. King constantly talked about the notion of Black Pride and campaigned about the need for Reparations. He also supported Affirmative Action stating in 1965 that "a Society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro. Dr. King realized that our society was created in a way that managed to disadvantage the many for the benefit the few, and that America's Racial Hierarchy was connected to its Class Hierarchy. He also had political beliefs that manifested through both Racial Reconciliation and Concrete Policy Changes that could help restructure and benefit a divided and unequal nation. This is the reason why he referred to himself as a Democratic Socialist as he wanted a "Radical Redistribution of Economic and Political Power". In fact, he argued that true Equality can only be achieved, not just through legal rights, but through an equal distribution of resources. This is evident when he said “Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children.” This is the exact vision that Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders believed in. After all, he did participate in the March on Washington in 1963. In regards to Police Brutality, while Dr. King opposed violent protest, he did acknowledge that a riot is the language of the Unheard and that it came from a place of Desperation. In fact, in his "I Have a Dream" Speech, he stated that Blacks could "never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the Victim of the Unspeakable Horrors of Police Brutality." After all, he was hounded by the FBI, was called a Communist, broke the law in protest of race-based Segregation and Violence, was thrown in jail, advocated Protests and Sit-Ins, opposed White Rule of Society, and was assassinated for his Race and his views on Race. Regarding the quote about the Content of Character from said speech, Dr. King's daughter, Bernice King stated that using solely that quote diminishes the purpose of the entire speech because her father's dream and work included "eradicating Racism, not ignoring it."
If anything, this goes to show that is Dr. King were around today, he would be heavily criticized for being Woke, politically correct, a Communist, a Race Hustler, and a member of the Radical Left. And we all know that the Right hates those ideologies passionately. But here's the thing, he never considered himself a Democrat, let alone a Republican. He was an Independent as he felt that both parties are the same. And reducing his legacy to a single quote diminishes the gains that he fought for and believed in. This especially goes to a lot of Conservatives out there who claim to follow his lead using that quote because they interpret them in a way that benefits them today than how he meant them back then. For you to claim that he didn't care about Skin Color is like saying Susan B. Anthony didn't care about Gender. And to those Conservatives who now hate him, including Black, I hope you're OK with people getting treated unfairly, including your own. Who knew being seen as an Equal is a Negative in your eyes.

Birthright Israel is real fuckin weird groomer cult behavior. According to Max Blumenthal they try to get colllege kids to fuck the military.
An old gf showed me a YT video of her group doing military exercises and demolishing walls with a hammer. Then they took the kids to a balls to the wall Tel Aviv rave with rampant ecstasy use. It technically wasn't Birthright sanctioned behavior but raves gonna rave. Immediately after the rave, they took the kids all mollied up to a bonfire where they spoke lovingly of Israel as their new home and then said prayers for the hypothetical Jews that never ever got to exist because of Hitler's extermination of so many Jews. Say all the prayers about em you want. You have a point but don't do it right after the rave. Don't have a rave.
My gf was a recovering methamphetamine addict. MDMA is chemically similar to methamphetamine. We had known eachother for years but just started getting together in the months before birthright. We were both bipolar and she was definitely the closest to a manic pixie dream girl I've ever been with and at 9mos is my longest relationship was with her.
I didn't question her on any sleeping around on birthright. We weren't that serious. We got serious after she returned with 4 Israeli flags and blue and white Christmas style lights. She still described herself as an anarchist communist but attempted to square that with zionism.
So we were bipolars and both had substance abuse issues. I was on probation for a DWI and had a most of a 12 pack a night pbr habit. However she was already a drinker. I ended up drinking less as the burgeoning relationship brightened my mood. We indulged in our Rxs sometimes. She was on so much meth and research chemical speed that she required both a Vyvanse and Dexedrine ER script. I had an IR Adderall script and clonazepam. All these are controlled substances but we controlled our use. I was finishing up a bachelors degree and she was in school to be an EMT for the exact purpose of saving drug addicts. That is natural empath. We were in the south in an area pumped with drugs. We were doing good..
After birthright and her MDMA and other RC use under the supervision of the IDF we started to slide. We were using more Rx speed then before. Getting 40s and Manischevitz. We argued Israel a lot. Because her views had changed on israel a bunch it was natural like she wanted to convince herself Israel were the good guys. We loved to argue for fun. We slid even more into drugs but I figured as she was okay as long as no meth. She started scheming to get codeine and hydrocodone cough syrups and getting more into weed and these legal highs called sleepwalkers and kratom. My grades slipped hers didn't
There are casualties to this program. It's crazy sketchy. A lot of Americans fight in the IDF and they die. There's probably other relapses and mental health conditions caused by this program. All her borderline, bipolar and substances seemed to start with birthright. I ended up getting blackout drunk and thrown out of a baseball games and fighting 2 of my friends.
T is brilliant and they still got to her. I had been doing standup comedy 3yrs and made a bit of a name for myself but T was better than me in 3wks.
One thing I'm proud of is an oped expose on the birthright program. It detailed how all of Israel is safer than NYC and London yet they randomly blare their sirens to keep the public in perpetual fear. I also detailed the young men that died fighting to keep an unjust situation intact. Birthright is just a microcosm of the sick society that Israel is.
If she or we seen like imperfect characters in this story. Please remember that Birthright kids are probably all running from something. They intentionally send out a call to Europe and the US for the lost kids, impressionable and malleable. They indoctrinate the ones who stay and make them fight their wars. There was this group Syria and Iraq that did the same thing. It's a tough uphill slog unless you've got the backing of the US and EU.

I have made a post regarding ideas that fall on the ridiculous/silly side of the tone scale, and I have made a post regarding the exact side that has nothing but serious stories, so now, the compromise.
Basically, this just means that the AU idea is neither too serious nor too silly: it’s 50/50 on both, though yes, the story can tilt to the other side other time, which I highly advise looking up the term Cerberus Syndrome for.
(In fact, here’s the link to TV Tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/) (Also, I would highly consider checking the Media Adaptation Tropes page, it’s shockingly helpful: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MediaAdaptationTropes)
Other than that, same as with the darkest and ridiculous AU ideas post, meaning just state the basic idea, and even give it a name if you want.
However, I will state this: there is a key difference between an AU and an alternate continuity, alternate timeline, and what-if scenario, that being scale of impact. In order, what-if scenarios are the most limited in their impact and don’t even get a place next to the podium, much less receive a medal, alternate timelines get the bronze medal, alternate continuities get the sliver medal, and alternate universes stand on the top of the podium at first place wearing the gold medal.
I’ll state my idea first to try and provide an example. My idea, currently named For Want Of A Nail, Mario, which I only recently started on regarding the planning phase because I actually have a decent liking for the idea, which is an alternate universe where the basic idea is that Mario’s character development from the Waluigi Arc and onwards sticks without him going back at all, with the same applying to other characters who underwent character development/growth. However, the elements of using fan fiction to fix things I don’t like is kept as minimal as possible, mostly just involving rerailing character personalities to having more than one-trait (example: Bob actually becomes humbler after the Rapper Bob arc) like they do now, removing episodes or post-Anime story arcs, and also just throwing whatever at the wall and seeing what stuck, which if anyone asks about what stuck? Er… you’ll see.

I am STILL NOT the Original Poster. That is u/ta-bff-234324. He posted in AITAH and amiwrong but posted the same text in both subreddits. I chose to use the ones from AITAH
Thanks again to u/Literally_Taken for the rec and to Choice Evidence and u/chickenoodledeprived for letting me know about the update!
Previous BORU here. New update marked with ****\*
Trigger Warning: racism
Mood Spoiler: tentatively happy ending
Original Post: April 1, 2024
My (29M) best friend Jess (29F) keeps on mentioning my ex (29F) in front of my fiancee, and I am thinking of cutting her off. I want to know if I am overreacting, or if Jess is in the wrong.
For context, Jess and I went to the same high school and the same college. We were friends in high school. However, since we both went to the same out-of-state college, we became best friends since then. We have always been there for each other during the best and worst times. However, things have always been platonic, and she is more like a big sister to me, who made sure I stay on the right track.
I have only been in two long-term relationships so far. One was with my ex Lisa for 7 years. We met in college and dated all through our college years. Lisa and Jess also became good friends, too. After college, Lisa and I just grew apart and had different goals in life. I became "boring" after college as I was working on my PhD while doing a full time job. Lisa broke up with me as she wanted to party on weekends, while I was home studying. I was heartbroken, but I don't think I ever blamed her or had resentment towards her, as I understood my decisions were selfish and should not hold her back from having the best life.
Jess always stood by me and comforted me during that time. Jess and Lisa were good friends and Jess always kept on telling me that Lisa loves me and will be back one day when I am ready. I foolishly held on to that hope and stayed friends with Lisa. That was until I met my fiancee Yang. After I finished my PhD, I got a nice job in a big tech company. Yang joined our team a year after me. We started going out for drinks, and dinner and we started dating seriously pretty soon. We are happy together, and financially in a great place. Needless to say, I stopped talking to Lisa after I started dating Yang.
I proposed to Yang a year after we started dating and got engaged last year. Jess has been acting weirdly since we got engaged. One of the first things she said to Yang after we got engaged was how I had planned the same thing for Lisa (proposing on a local hiking trail). It was a bit off-putting that she was bringing up Lisa whom I broke up with almost 5 years ago on such a happy occasion. However, Yang asked me to not spoil my mood, as she felt Jess was just commenting on how I had that plan in mind for years. Since then, every time we meet, Jess without fail brings up Lisa and how the things I am doing are all the things I had planned with Lisa. This happened when we bought a house, planned for vacations, etc. Jess always starts with some nostalgic story and then brings up how Lisa and I were so happy together. She is still good friends with Lisa and keeps giving me updates about Lisa and how great Lisa is doing at work when no one is asking for it. It felt like she was painting a rosy picture of Lisa to Yang and telling Yang that she would always be second to Lisa.
Yang told me Jess's comments bothered her, and I also felt the same. I have brought this up with Jess many times and asked her not to do it. However, she says she will try but since I dated Lisa for 7 years, she would be part of many stories from the past. Also, she asked me why talking about Lisa bothers me and if I still have feelings for her. I have reduced hanging out with Jess. However, she is close with my mom and is always invited to all our family parties and holidays.
I talked to my mom and sister about this and they feel I am overreacting. They feel Jess is just telling stories and since the stories are mostly from college days and later, Lisa will be a character in the story. They also feel I should not be bothered by Jess mentioning Lisa since we broke up a long time ago. I feel that it's disrespectful to Yang as she doesn't need to hear about all the fun Lisa and I had when we were together and how we were planning to get married. Do you think I am the asshole to stop here or Jess is truly acting out of line?
Relevant Comments:
Commenter: Probably need to separate your time with your fiancé away from your friend. ... On a side note, your friend comes across poorly on one other aspect. When you were too busy to date so you could study. She is encouraging you to stay available while your ex goes about dating around? Think she ever encouraged your ex to not? Or do you think she was telling your ex she could have all the fun she wanted cause you'd still be around? Food for thought.

OOP: She thought we were 24 when we broke up and she always justified that Lisa was young and it's natural to date around before you settle down. She also encouraged me to do the same. However, after my breakup, I decided that I would not be in a relationship (based on what happened to the previous one) and never dated anyone until after I graduated.

Commenter: Not wrong, in fact it's thoughtful of your finace's feelings. " Jess always kept on telling me that Lisa loves me and will be back one day when I am ready." - yikes.
An easy: "Jess, you keep bringing up my ex, and keep making comments which are dismissive of my relationship with Yang. I am telling you point blank that this is harming our friendship and it saddens me that you dismiss my feelings as being unimportant on this topic. If you can't respect me, and my relationship with Yang, please understand why it will likely end our friendship."

OOP: We have had this exact conversation. Jess then proceeded to ask Yang is she offended by her telling stories about me. Yang was polite and said she is ok. Then she told me I am being too sensitive.

Commenter: Op do you know if Lisa is married? Maybe Jess is trying to sabotage your engagement so you can be with Lisa.

OOP: I know Lisa is single. She has not been in any serious long term relationship after me. Infant, Jess always makes it a point to bring that up regularly and update me, even after I tell her I have no interest. My mom loves gossip and they also discuss a out Lisa regularly.

Jess is just being a mean girl/have you talked to Lisa at all?
At this point, I suspect Jess is just being mean to Yang. I would have cut her off long ago if she was not so close to me or my family for so many years.
Lisa is out of the picture, to be honest. I have completely gone no contact with her for the last 2 years.
Jess has feelings for you:
That's not true. I did not write it since I thought it was irrelevant, but Jess is happily married and has a 3 year old kid.
There is no consensus bot on AITAH, but top comments were NTA
Update Post: April 23, 2024 (22 days later)
I wrote a post a month ago regarding my friend Jess mentioning my ex constantly in front of my fiancée. Thanks to everyone who commented, and how inappropriate it was. However, the last month has been nothing but crazy and I still trying to make sense of what happened so far.
After my post, I decided to talk to Jess and gave her an ultimatum not to speak about my ex Lisa again. I know Jess and Lisa are still friends, but I was uncomfortable of her comparing my fiancée Yang with Lisa all the time. I broke up with Lisa 5 years ago, and she is nothing but a faint memory in my past. Jess kept on defending herself and telling me that I was with Lisa for most of my adult life and it's hard to tell any stories from the past without including her. She also blamed me for being emotionally childish and just forgetting about Lisa when she was with me for 7 years. Finally, Jess agreed that she will not bring up Lisa in front of Yang, and I should also not treat Lisa as she does not exist since she is still Jess's friend. I informed Yang about our conversation. Although she was appreciative about it, she said I did not need to do it and she knows how much I love her and every time Jess brings up my Lisa, she feels sorry for Lisa that she let a guy like me go.
Yang went to visit China two weeks ago for a month as we plan to get married in her hometown. She is taking care of her shopping as well as preparations for the wedding. Jess invited me to her house that Friday for dinner as I was home alone. I am also good friends with her husband, and we were all just chatting and drinking in the living room. Around 7.30pm, the doorbell rang, and Jess excitedly went to open the door. To my surprise, it was fucking Lisa at the door. She was all dressed up as if she were ready for a date and came in. I had not seen her in person for almost 3 years and I was shocked to see her. She sat down and started making small talk with me. I was extremely uncomfortable and went into the kitchen to talk to Jess. I was angry at her and asked her what was going on. She kept on telling me that it's been 5 years since the breakup and to get over it and be nice to Lisa. She said Lisa was excited to meet me and she thought we were all adults and could have one fun evening together. We had a fight and I told her that she should not have invited Lisa after our conversation the other day and I do not want to be friends with her anymore. I went into the living room and politely excused myself and told everyone that I had a work emergency and had to leave early. Lisa looked sad, but I genuinely felt uncomfortable to be made to hang out with my ex without my consent.
I came home and called Yang. I have never seen her more furious, and she told me she is not comfortable with Jess anymore as she has some agenda that we do not know about. It's different to talk about Lisa, but to invite her without consulting is not ok. I also felt the same and I called Jess the next day and told her that she crossed a line, and I was terribly upset with her. I stopped taking her calls and ghosted her. I also told my mom and sister about the whole incident.
Last Sunday, my mom called me for lunch. When I got there, I saw Jess was already there. I told my mom that I do not want to talk to Jess and can't stay. However, she asked me to sit as they all wanted to talk to me. I have a glutton for punishment and decided to hear them out. My mom started with how Jess has been there for me all these years and only has my best interest at heart. She kept on telling me that they are the three people (mom, sister, and Jess) that love me the most. Jess started saying how she felt that I was making a big mistake in not having to hear what Lisa had to say. She told me that Lisa was my first love and Lisa is now ready to settle down and we can pick where we left off. She reminded me how broken I was when Lisa left me and how life is giving me a second chance. My sister also chimed in and said how they all liked Lisa more than Yang and how we both looked so great together. Finally, my mom started saying how our culture was so different than Yang and it is hard for them to relate to her. I asked them in what way, and my mom said that they did not understand what Yang says sometimes and have nothing in common with her. Then my mom asked me to think about how Lisa and I would have such wonderful looking kids, while if I marry Yang, our kids will look so different. I started getting their drift and I probed more. My mom told me how our kids would look Asian with "small eyes" and not like any others in the family.
I asked my mom if she cared about my kids looks more and not about how smart they will be since Yang has a PhD. She blew it off, and I realized she just did not want me to marry Yang because she was Chinese and not white. My mom told me to forgive Jess and my mom asked Jess to talk to Lisa on my behalf and asked her if she would be interested in getting back together with me. My mom was adamant that since I loved Lisa so much, I should be happy and pick up things where we left off as that is the best for everyone. I have never been so angry and may have said a lot of unkind things to all of them before I left
I am so depressed right now. I not only lost my best friend, but also am not sure how I can move on from what my mom said. My mom and sister raised me and that is the reason where I am today. However, I cannot get over how racist they are being and how they were just pretending to like Yang all these years while actively working on breaking us up. I have been so shocked that I have not told any of this to Yang so far. I might wait for her to come back next week and talk to her in person.
Again, thanks everyone for all your messages on the last post as they helped me a lot to think through the situation. My life is more fucked up than I could imagine, and I cannot imagine how dejected Yang will feel after hearing all this.
*****New Update Post: May 7, 2024 (5 weeks after OG post)****\*
I wrote a post two months ago regarding my best friend Jess constantly bringing up my ex when talking to my fiancée Yang. I wrote an update two weeks ago about my mom, sister and Jess scheming about trying to get me back with my ex Lisa because they were uncomfortable with Yang being Chinese. They tried to do it when my fiancée was visiting her parents and I felt so betrayed by their actions.
As I said in the previous post, I blew up on my mom and sister about what they said and immediately left. I did not take calls from them or answer texts for the next several days. Their messages initially were anger towards me on why I left before they could finish what they wanted to say. However, I think they realized on day 3 that they might have crossed the line this time and became extremely apologetic. I finally messaged them to leave me alone and not to contact Yang or I until we contact them. Jess did not message me the whole time.
I did not tell Yang about the situation until she came back home 9 days ago. I initially did not know how to bring up the subject, but she sensed something was wrong and asked me about it. I was so worried about hurting her, but I told her about what happened. I was upfront about the stunt Jess pulled and she was angry at Jess. I also told her about my visit to my mother's place, but she did not react with any anger. She just asked me if I was ok.
The next few days were confusing where I was more upset than Yang. She was just excited showing me all pictures and telling me stories. Finally, on last Thursday evening, she opened up and asked me if I was ok about my mom's behavior and what I plan to do. I told her my thoughts and how I cannot forgive them for what they said about her being Asian and them wanting me to marry a Lisa because she was white. I asked her why she was not more upset as it was bothering me.
She told me that when she told her parents about me, they had the exact same reaction for her dating someone who was not Chinese. Her family is very traditional, and her parents were very upset about her decision. It took them a few months to warm up to me and accept me. She never told me about this because she wanted me to have good relationship with her parents. She told me that now they are the most excited doing arrangements for our wedding.
She told me that she has always felt something was off when she talked to my mom, my sister or Jess and they did not like her. My mom and sister would be very friendly with her in front of me, but never invited her for anything when I am not around. She suspected that it may be due to fact that she is not white and does not understand the American traditions. She said she is not upset with them and now that this is in the open, she should talk to them and assure them that she would be as good of a wife as Lisa or any other girl. She said that she does not want to break a family in order to start a new one.
Despite my protests, Yang invited my mom and sister for lunch on Sunday. She said that it would be good for us to talk about everything and hear why they are concerned about her marrying me. I was really not happy with this, but Yang spent most of Sunday morning cooking for them.
When my mom and sister arrived, there were a lot of waterworks and apologies. My mom apologized to Yang and me for her behavior and told us that she would never bring it up again. My sister also was quiet and had tears in her eyes. There were a lot of blame games. My mom and my sister were blaming Jess for constantly telling them how Yang might not be great for me and how she won't fit into our family. My mom and sister fought with Jess after I left and Jess blamed Lisa. Based on Jess's story, Lisa has been depressed for the last few years and when I suddenly got engaged to Yang, it became worse. Jess thought I was also depressed after Lisa left me, because I did not date anyone for 3 years. In reality, I just wanted to focus on my work and studies and never had time. So, Lisa convinced Jess that she has to get back together with me as that is what I wanted too. Jess said how sorry she felt for Lisa as she was her longtime friend and listened to her plan as she thought it was good for everyone.
My mom and sister told us that I should stay away from Jess because she orchestrated the whole situation. They kept on hugging Yang and apologizing to her. Yang in turn also started crying and telling them that she will do better to fit in with them. It was all a big mess. I am still skeptical of my mom's change in heart, but I also want to see Yang happy. However, I think it will take a lot of time and healing before I could truly trust my mom and sister.
Currently, my mom invited us to lunch at her place next week and told me that Jess will not be there. Jess has still not message me or Yang. I really don't know what I can do in this situation. I am still upset and furious at my mom, but I also want to respect Yang's effort to keep the family together. Thanks to everyone for all the messages and supportive comments. It really helped reading them when I was feeling very sad.

I’ve been dating a spiritual narcissist and feel hopeless
I feel like I have no voice. If I ever try to speak up, he will diminish what I say, dismiss what I say, and or gas light me. The worst of it all, he had a whole secret life - another partner of 9 years. She is living in Belize. He doesn’t take any accountability or responsibility for cheating or lying. He doesn’t see it this way. We have been together almost a year. I feel trapped. I’m out here on a ranch with him, and I’m on the other side of it crying. I just want to get back home. I want to get all of my things and go… he is just awful. I asked him for help with something so I could get a credit line, and he told me that absolutely I shouldn’t have any credit line. I said what about emergencies? I have no money… he told me well how will you pay it every month. I said it was only 500 credit line, I don’t think it will be that big of a deal, except for that I’m in the middle of no where with him so for now dependent on him… no car of my own. He even asked why I wanted one.. if it was so I can leave him? Ugh. Moments after his telling me how I shouldn’t even have a dollar basically, he starts dancing and bragging how he made 12k in the stock market with his trade and am I so happy for him…. 😒 He also is annoyed if I ask him to drive me and my things back to Houston. The ranch is an hour away. Nights like tonight, after all of the put downs and insults… Criticism about everything I do, how I picked up a dish, how I didn’t let the fish defrost long enough, how much better he would have done things… I feel like I can walk away. Ugh. This is the first narcissist I have ever met.
Also today, I had to listen for the one millionth time about how he has special knowledge that no one else does and he notices it when he’s around others. That he doesn’t feel like he can really find people who are as enlightened as him and …prob he needs to be a teacher and lots of people will follow him bc he has assendend so high. He will brag and go on and on while I clean up the kitchen from dinner, he won’t help. He will watch for me to mess up so he can pause his bragging and criticize how I breath or something. He is always repeating the same scripts… and he likes to talk about from the second he wakes up… how in 5th grade he was the smartest, the teachers All knew…how he this or that…. he said that I wouldn’t have been on his level at kindergarten age.. or he will say things like… what movie do you like? Then I say, and he says that’s a movie with little character development, I haven’t entertained those types since middle school.. or he will play one of his spiritual lectures and at the end say, that was too deep for you to understand. Wtf. It’s like all day, things like this.
And I’m heartbroken that he has this other girl. He told me she’s his stability and so he will stay with her and I’m allowed to be the mistress and publicly the assistant. She is coming back to the US.
I just hate him. I want to leave rn and somehow have him erased from my memory so I won’t cry over this. Ugh. I feel trapped.
Once I leave, I am worried about how much this is going to hurt. Just all of it…. Has anyone dealt with a narcissist? Was it hard to let go? 😒

I apply to countless minimum wage jobs and attend countless interviews = I’m never hired unless the company is desperate. I graduate = I’m in debt for life and my degree is useless. I make art and put it out there = no one wants to see it, no one would notice if I never drew anything in my life again. I make stories and characters = no one cares what will happen, no one would blink if I never thought or spoke of them again. I have a friend = I tire myself out being socially confused, I don’t know how to contact them, how to have them over, how to be in anyone’s life really. I don’t have a friend anymore. I work hard at my creative pursuits = I know nobody in the industry, it doesn’t matter anyway because making and keeping a friend is a one in a million chance. All that work has no worthwhile outlet. It may as well have never happened. I go to therapy = I can no longer afford it, I lose my progress if I made any in the first place, I don’t get better.
It’s summer, I had so many ambitions, so many things I was excited to do when I finally had time. Now I wake up, eat food, apply to jobs, and do some little errand. Then I rot online for hours while I try to figure out what on earth I can do that will either make me happy, or matter to someone.
People always sugar coat it but getting up over and over does not guarantee eventual success. The only thing I can see so clearly about my future is that I will die in the same cycle of falling down and getting up. If I am not capable (I know because I never have been), if I am not wanted (I know because I can see it, I can feel it), if I wasn’t supposed to be here, why am I here? Why do I do anything? How do I find worth in any fleeting thing I have ever or will ever attempt?

So i only finally got my first Fully-awakened Weapon+Terminus-like+Warpath with Twen a few days ago and certainly enjoying how Proto bahamut and Behemoth runs feel alot faster, though its certainly driving home the half burn out i feel on the `grind` still, even when i only do a few runs a day.
So thought it be neat to maybe see what some others might want out of the game before they feel its a `complete` game overall.
Just to start off the list here`s a few i feel it could really need, especially would of been nice day 1 of the game: -Proud mode versions of the Primal Beasts and Tayu`itar: I spammed about it multiple times already around the reddit for this game, but I`m sure many would agree that its half a pain to get multiple copies of dread-tails, sequester manes, Tayu`itar head units and Ukar units. Problem aint present with the Avia Commanders thanks to Wolf and Veil.
-Probably over-used, but a Rogue-lite mode or a `Proper bonus reward system` might be nice, maybe to replace quick quest itself: Since i seen plenty, including myself complain there`s nothing really to justify the grind one has todo even after acquiring the `base stuff` of a good sigil combination or put all the effort into fully awakened a weapon. Plus how sparse the end game feels since its just boiled down to Proto Bahamut, then Lucy and now Behemoth, which even if the latter feels way more interactive and you dont have bosses constantly spamming either cutscenes or being out of range causing forced fixed down times of no damage or SBA generation...
...Well them doing something to FIX a problematic mode that had the intention of doing multiple quests back to back for a goodie reward would of been kind of nice, especially since many games whether triple A or not seem to want to include a Rogue-lite every since stuff like Slay the spire popularized it and it fits into many genres. So just like how Dragon Quest: Infinite Strash started right off with a rogue-like for the sake of grinding levels/materials/etc. GBF: Relink could take a page from that or even how Warframe a f2p online looter-shooter made its diviri paradox into a rogue-lite gamemode of collecting buffs and getting more and more ridiculously powerful in that mode in particular.
In GBF: Relink`s case, this could simply be done where each quick quest could add a small resource & drop rate multiplier, which could probably either reset 24 hours after you did the first one or when doing a non-quick quest, and after 3 or maybe 5 quick quests it could gurantee a gold dahlia badge and give an additional chest till maybe it caps to giving 5 additional chest rewards (after say, 15 quick quests for that `24 hour period), every quick quest past that and a gold dahlia badge every quick quest. While having multi player double the rewards instead of guranting the badge and the tickets would just let you add +1 to it period, no online requirements at all so one can stop staring at 99/99 gold tickets in storage. Very least this way when the ability to play online for GBF: Relink can`t happen anymore, it would let it still work as a stand alone game.
As for how they could push it into a rogue-like mode, well, a solo only version of quick quests might be nice that maybe trade off chain bursts and link time by giving buffs as you progress that could serve as an alternative way to get dahlia badges and maybe push players to enjoy favorites more then `meta cheesies or something.` Probably be too much to ask for at this point, but if they were to suddenly take a Xenoblade chronicles 3 approach due to game popularity, i can totally see them re-rigging some content with some basic tweaks and easily adding a dozen or two dozen new kinds of buffs you get for running thru hyper scaled up versions of particular bosses and having things like movement speed buffs, break power buffs and more could even fix some issues in particular characters, make them feel awesome like most rogue-lite modes in many games do, even when the character itself is normally `bad` in the standard gameplay loop of said game.
-Quick-scrap during Transmute/marvel screen and max capacity of Vouchers when GBF:Relink team?: Deeeefinitely one of my earliest complaints because im sure even if its to match up with the cap of 30, on multiple transmutes, it would be nice while looking at the list of pulled sigils, if i could say, press Square on my PS5 controller and immediately scrap those back to vouchers, when i `exit` the results screen, like how a number of games have with similar `pulling` systems. With of course, i think it would be nice to loop around 400~ sigils per voucher cap stock instead of going back-forth every 40, even if multi-rolls cut the spam down from 39 `rolls` to only 2, even if it might of been smoother to let us have a button to just roll as many time as we have vouchers instead.
-With just to finish things up, probably a more tuned up filter system: This is more of a minor gripe but it would be nice if i could select a specific sigil effect so i can only see sigils of that specific type. Despite the fact they have icons to SLIGHTLY differ certain effects(Too bad thats not the case with all so its a dissonance design headache with that), its still a bit of an eye-sore when i could be checking 10 or more sigils of a specific category. Especially if im say, wanting to only look at my sigils with Critical hit rate to drag out a particular combination i want to optimize-match up a build without overlap issues.
Anywho, what else do you guys think the game could use, if we are guranteed further updates, even if they will be `unplanned` after 1.3.1, which as far as im aware of, outside of impossible Lucy and Sandy, is mostly just additional character improvements and transmutation Synthesis, which we still have no idea what kind of resources it will require, if it will be locked behind defeating impossible lucy first and if it will be more unreasonable by requiring something like 10 copies of a sigil with a specific effect to `allow` you to remove the secondary effect on a sigil to replace it with the one you want from the 10 copies.
Probably wont be that extreme, but its likely not gonna be as simple as Transmarvel i would think, to force people to keep having to burn vouchers for `sigil fodder` atleast...

I’ve been dating a spiritual narcissist and feel hopeless
I feel like I have no voice. If I ever try to speak up, he will diminish what I say, dismiss what I say, and or gas light me. The worst of it all, he had a whole secret life - another partner of 9 years. She is living in Belize. He doesn’t take any accountability or responsibility for cheating or lying. He doesn’t see it this way. We have been together almost a year. I feel trapped. I’m out here on a ranch with him, and I’m on the other side of it crying. I just want to get back home. I want to get all of my things and go… he is just awful. I asked him for help with something so I could get a credit line, and he told me that absolutely I shouldn’t have any credit line. I said what about emergencies? I have no money… he told me well how will you pay it every month. I said it was only 500 credit line, I don’t think it will be that big of a deal, except for that I’m in the middle of no where with him so for now dependent on him… no car of my own. He even asked why I wanted one.. if it was so I can leave him? Ugh. Moments after his telling me how I shouldn’t even have a dollar basically, he starts dancing and bragging how he made 12k in the stock market with his trade and am I so happy for him…. 😒 He also is annoyed if I ask him to drive me and my things back to Houston. The ranch is an hour away. Nights like tonight, after all of the put downs and insults… Criticism about everything I do, how I picked up a dish, how I didn’t let the fish defrost long enough, how much better he would have done things… I feel like I can walk away. Ugh. This is the first narcissist I have ever met.
Also today, I had to listen for the one millionth time about how he has special knowledge that no one else does and he notices it when he’s around others. That he doesn’t feel like he can really find people who are as enlightened as him and …prob he needs to be a teacher and lots of people will follow him bc he has assendend so high. He will brag and go on and on while I clean up the kitchen from dinner, he won’t help. He will watch for me to mess up so he can pause his bragging and criticize how I breath or something. He is always repeating the same scripts… and he likes to talk about from the second he wakes up… how in 5th grade he was the smartest, the teachers All knew…how he this or that…. he said that I wouldn’t have been on his level at kindergarten age.. or he will say things like… what movie do you like? Then I say, and he says that’s a movie with little character development, I haven’t entertained those types since middle school.. or he will play one of his spiritual lectures and at the end say, that was too deep for you to understand. Wtf. It’s like all day, things like this.
And I’m heartbroken that he has this other girl. He told me she’s his stability and so he will stay with her and I’m allowed to be the mistress and publicly the assistant. She is coming back to the US.
I just hate him. I want to leave rn and somehow have him erased from my memory so I won’t cry over this. Ugh. I feel trapped.
Once I leave, I am worried about how much this is going to hurt. Just all of it…. Has anyone dealt with a narcissist? Was it hard to let go? 😒

Hello! Back in the day, when games came in pretty big cardboard boxes, I used to have D2 and LoD expansion. As the years went by, I lost interest, gave it away, cd key and all, lost forever.
Now, 24 years later, I've downloaded a 1.14d cracked version in an old Windows 7 2010s PC and I'm having some fun doing crazy Oskill Aura Charged items builds with Hero Editor and GGM's Item Pack and playing it sandbox style in Hell difficulty. That's what I'm up to, just to have some single player off time fun. I use the "trainer" up to level 72 and fool around the game in Hell a little bit. I don't care about grinding and farming, ladder, battle net or buying the game again in any kind of version. That time is past.
I made a bowzon build (most of the time I play with melee characters) and noticed how awfull small is a 800x600 stretched screen for ranged attacks. Enemy just rushs as you are shooting from the ridiculous distance of 10 meters away. Which leads me to my questions in this post:

1. I've found about Plugy and D2Multires mods, it looked interesting. Will I still be able to use Hero Editor and the GGM's Item Pack in single player with the mods intaled? Will my save games be compatible with the mod? Any other compatible trainers?
2. I read the AI get's glitchy in wide screen. How bad it is? I'm using a 1360x768 screen, will it be too easy for a ranged character? Is there any single player mod that fixes this?
3. Any other of fun single player mods with trainers suggestions? I'm looking for something that doesn't turns the game completely into something else (I played Median XL a bit, not interested into that), some new stuff here and there are ok, but I still want to play "Diablo 2". Looking for some mods that add new areas, new enemies, new item, content from multiplayer, ubers, changes their placement, but without completely changing the original content, mostly adding to it. I really like the way the original Act V feels in a certain way like a more epic blending of all the previous acts with bits of different kinds of enemies from them.
4. Any kind of "sandbox" mod for Diablo 2, perhaps even some kind of area editor like warcraft World Editor? I wish I could play with that.
5. I'm not tottaly averse to multiplayer, just find it unlikelly to find a server I'd like, for the reasons above. Any notable community server I would like for some less serious fun?

I commented this on a separate post but thought I’d develop it more and hear your guys thoughts,
Essentially, I think the world of one piece back then (pre-floods), consisted of one large or a couple large continents comprised of the Ancient Kingdom, tribes of the various races we’ve seen so far, and the 20 other kingdoms that eventually founded the WG, each being much more secluded with closed borders as the lack of oceanic borders and shared landmass made every country much more territorial and constantly at war (similar to our own world). I think the Ancient Kingdom must’ve had a strict status quo, with Joyboy paralleling Oden being the natural born adventurer who wanted to explore. Refusing to follow the rules of his Kingdom, he became the first pirate and first person to actually set out to sea and encounter all different sorts of people and races.
Through his explorations around the world and infectious ability to bring smiles and make friends/allies wherever he went, he was able to bring all races together to the Ancient Kingdom and usher in a sort of prosperous utopia where everybody working together contributed to it becoming the most advanced civilization. Think about it, a country where the fishman, giants, sky people, buccaneers, minks, and etc all use their unique abilities and knowledge in unison to make the best kingdom, what a beautiful concept that’s reflected also in Luffy’s crew and extended allies. Who wouldn’t want to leave their shitty oppressive country and be a part of this? This scared and threatened the other kingdoms, which led them to team up against the Ancient Kingdom and segregate the world again to maintain their social hierarchy (void century, creation of the red line, celestial dragons, etc).
This would line up with several other existing theories, where all the races seem to worship some sort of Sun God and have a variation of a sun-esque tattoo, symbolizing their allegiance to the Ancient Kingdom. It also follows the Pangea theories but I won’t go to deep into all those.
A key element to this theory comes with the character Toki. Being someone who personally knew Joyboy and of his eventual return, she fell in love and decided to have her child with Oden because she thought he was the spitting image of Joyboy’s adventurous and infectious spirit, and believed that their child would inherit that same will and be the Joyboy of the current era. She likely saw the same thing with Roger and that’s why she put her full faith and trust into them being the men who would help her set the pieces in motion for the next generation to bring the Dawn (maybe she was Joyboy’s lover back in the day, who knows). Obviously neither Ace or Momonosuke became Joyboy, but it would’ve made sense for her to make that wager. It’s a common theme in One Piece for inherited will to not come from actual genetics, but nonetheless Roger and Oden still were critical in influencing the next era and Luffy (Joyboy’s actual return).
What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your guys thoughts

Having spent a few dozen hours in the game & menu loading a save file that had 230 gold bricks……. I realized how frustrating this game was and the potential it could’ve had. I just am at a loss for words on the game. This game had SO MUCH POTENTIAl but had too much focus on the toys, & bugs or game breaking engine problems.
I haven't touched dimensions in a hot minute but.. really wish lego added more PATCHES before they shut down the game & wish it got its own remastered lego game without the toys…. or some version with a % meter & better save system…. Feel like if TT worked longer on it, they could have been better fixes with the game & the other lego ip dlc’s.
I noticed a few times HOW ANNOYED I was when my many save files from 2019, 2023, & 2024 all were gone….. on ps4 I just gave up caring and was disappointed even after completing it & saving the game to my console. so furthermore after I just stopped playing, not sure if this is a bug but was annoying.
Starting with the dlc's i noticed things felt off like each dlc was the weakest or too short for a game entry story, or more specifically the simpsons one recreating the episode with homer & the chilli cook off, of all the new story levels it was fun but felt weird. All the other lego film games got it down very well gameplay wise so, why not do a lego batman movie or a lego simpson's game? & have it's own game... instead of dimensions? ALSO THE PUZZLES THE COLOR PUZZLES THE KEYSTONES all annoying. DOING THEM EVERY DAM TIME I GOT SOOOOOO BORED… decent game, fun worlds, annoying locking content in it and no 100% to finish. Only letting the player use a character…. That was Dedicated TO THAT SPECIFIC world locking you out… is annoying also cant access mini-kits without said character… This is not fun TT…. but moving on to a few other things, did not care for switching the keystones, and using vehicles for every dam puzzle or ramp.
The best level was probably fantastic beasts & that could’ve & should have been added in its own lego Hogwarts FB saga game.
I enjoyed the lego ninjago game more then I thought I would, & the first lego movie game was cool just felt weird they put Lego Batman movie in dimensions vs its own separate actual lego game.
The movie scene cutscenes for each dlc were recreated in the dimensions in-game engine & had a fun charm to them. But at times was very disappointing as the quality difference is very noticeable. On the contrary, The LEGO Movie Game used movie cutscenes beautifully and it worked out really well. Could be a licensing issue, but if not I have no idea why they didn’t just use movie cutscenes where they could. I understand not wanting to release 60% of the movie in the game, but they could always shape it around the scenes shown in the trailer. The batman story pack felt like devs rushed it…. Not bringing actors back for discount va’s. Robin sounds like a kid in this dlc not anything like Michael cera. I can understand if they didn't get every one back for the game for rights or contract issues but just was weird. & newt or the FB story were interesting using new keystone & magic abilties. The ghostbuster ones were weird since I never cared for the movie..
There are a few differences like In the dlc levels, Batman is picked up by Alfred outside the power plant and heads directly to Commissioner Gordon's retirement party. In the film, he heads home and the retirement party is the next evening.
Some of the voice work is off. Many characters don’t sound like they did in the movie (I know they’re different VA’s) Alfred sounds nothing like movie Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), Robin sounds nothing like movie Robin (Michael Cera), etc. Other LEGO projects have had fairly good voice replication.
The LEGO Batman Movie expansion is all and all a success. It’s given us the best portal base so far, as well as the first expansion to give us 2 mini-figures which are both great. The game is great and funny as well as a decent length. The game only suffers from occasional bugs and terrible voice acting.
Maybe I just really disliked the keystone puzzles but I was really disappointed in it overall. The scenes were funny bringing in joker & all the villains, I enjoyed seeing the gremlins & agent smith from matrix & sauron’s eye but wish they made a lego Batman game not within dimensions.
If you want to play around in the LEGO Batman Movie HUB world you can access to the HUB world for maximum fun. Id say just try the hub level if you are interested but I felt bored with the lego batman movie game dlc levels. Sadly its REPLAY-Ability was a 5… compared to fantastic beasts and others.
imagine what they could've done with a full roster of batman's villains & heroes in a full open linear game with gotham, & sure we've had tons of batman games but just loved will arnett's version of batman. I really love will arnett so felt like dimensions needed more of that batman.
Too much clutter & focus on building vehicles when they aren't all that interesting or useful…. Switching from the ecto car to the ghost trap each time felt stupid. Even tho they fixed it in 2016 with the characters instant traps. Flying characters freak out when you are next to the edge of the map & fall off repeatedly or just stand there hovering… did NO ONE THINK about patching that?
I also understand this is not a typical lego game & the audience is for kids but at least try to juggle both demographics for those who dont want to waste time?
No percent on gold bricks collected, or the items…. Why couldn’t they added a save system where if you lose your file you can save & quit with the bricks you found why is it on ps4 ps5…. Somehow deleting the game doesn’t remember where you left off?? Was this a patch that they never fixed?
Also, anyone else find it weird that the courtroom from Ghostbusters 2 isn't in the world? They even have the whole Titanic, something that only appears for 30 seconds in the movie, but one of the most important scenes isn't in the world at all or hell adding more side characters or locations why not explore inside of a building?
Also X-PO talks too much, every line of him talking during hints. I've made the choice to leave the main campaign unfinished just so he can stay silent while I play other levels. In the actual campaign and cutscenes he's fine but they made a huge mistake making him react to puzzles.
The bugs and lack of polish ruin the game..massively this is a massively outdated engine and the more they keep adding to it the buggier the games get. I'd love to see a new one built from the ground up for next gen capable created of anything they can think of with some impressive graphics. When you look at the fidelity of ratchet and clank on PS Pro there's no reason this game can't look as good as the Lego movies or very close, it's just laziness and greed (lack of investment from WB wanting to just churn out content quickly on the old engine) even on ps4 its annoying losing your save file deleting the game then reinstalling It AND LOSING ALL YOUR PROGRESS!!!!
So many boring hubs, & races locking variety or enjoyment, too many hubs that had New York…ghostbusters 1980 New York, ghostbusters 2016 New York……. FB New York…..Lego Batman movie Gotham hub just looks like New York.
Characters like the witch newt Gandalf all have the same magic ability, not interesting since they all do the exact same thing.
The vehicles are very boring, not very interesting too small. Why is chima here??? Random moments that just feel weird the battle arena was fun but after a while I got bored.
Also, I kinda wish there were in game unlockable characters: Like if you bought the Sonic dlc, beating quests would unlock the ability to buy Amy, Tails, Shadow etc. or The Simpsons allowing you to buy Marge, Lisa, maggie or each of the ghostbusters, etc. with studs.
Overall there were a few interesting levels but could’ve been cooler if we got a lego Batman movie game, or a lego bttf game, or a lego ghostbusters game, yada yada..... & just surprised at it not being its own game instead of within dimensions. I know sadly this likely wont happen tho.. it disappoints me that the game is mostly looking at build instructions, back & forth again and again….. I am very upset dimensions wont ever be remastered added with better patches because what I had played felt muddied & not crafted well. I don’t mean to be so negative but it was weird having these problems front & center. in the end too many glitches & gameplay loop moments.

At DCA today, I was standing outside the animation academy looking at the schedule with my 6 year old. A 16(?) year old came up behind my husband and yelled very loudly in his eapersonal space, “where the FFUCK is ______(character)”. My husband was pissed so as we walked away he said, “wow what a loud mouth.” We’re standing by couches in the middle when she walks by with her friend and yells, “wow calling someone a loud mouth is crazzzyyyy.” My reflex was to yell, “wow saying the F word in front of a 6 year old is crazzzzyyyy.” Her: “that’s WILDDDD…” Me: “YOU ARE WILDDDDDD.”
I know I shouldn’t have wasted my energy, but the fact that she was confidently defending her shit attitude just made me snap in that moment.
PSA to any teens/young adults free ranging the parks, try to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around you. You may be in a rush to grow up, but remember you are literally at a children’s theme park.

Hi, I'm new! I was referred from the cptsd sub to the maladaptivedaydreaming one but their rules say you have to be suffering from it, and I don't think I'm suffering from daydreams so here I am. Their rules listed this sub.
I daydreamed a lot and made up my own world, with characters aka imaginary friends, starting at 11 as a trauma coping mechanism clear through high school and into college. It's how I got to sleep everynight and distracted myself during the day and coped with everything. TBH I still have them...just don't rely on them as much. Nobody knows cause I feel like they'd all think I'm crazy.
Where did all of your characters come from? Idk the term but that's what I call mine. They're all almost exclusively characters from animes, games, or tv shows. The very first character was Kururu from the PS1 video game Rhapsody: a Musical Adventure.

I'm aware of how people like to shit on the game and judging by the subreddit's description it was made specifically to shit on Vanguard
The campaign was fun for what it is considering most of the missions are just flash backs when I got to the Fourth Reich (last mission) I was thinking this is where the game really starts imagine my disappointment when I found out it was the ending so back to the title of this post
Is that it? I mean am i missing something? Is that really it? I mean estavlish the characters via a their own flash back missions and just wrap it up? Seriously?