Hey all! This is a bit weird for me being almost 40 and looking for friends. But here I am anyways lol. Mainly looking for someone to message throughout the day and get to know. Maybe game with if we have that in common. I do work from home so there’s no one to really talk to during the day.
I’m married and have 2 kids, a 6 month old son and a 9 year old daughter. I’m into basic nerdy things. Gaming, star wars, super heroes, DnD, etc. Also trading card games like Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited.
I watch a ton of Critical Role stuff especially Campaign 3! Currently on episode 74, so if you watch too, let me know! Also like to watch Battle of the Brands on YouTube.
I’m also into movies and tv, some sports, pro wrestling. Collecting action figures and retro games is one of hobbies as well. Anything 80s/90s nostalgia i absolutely love so if you want to talk childhood and growing up back then, i’m down! I miss the good old days where we went to arcades and italian sunday dinners at the grandparents and where the world just wasn’t as nutso as it is today lol.
My kids are everything to me and I do love talking about them. Love being silly with them and spending time with them (when they aren’t driving me crazy 🤪 lol)..I would prefer you be around my age and have kids as well just so we have that stuff in common off the bat! I’m socially awkward most times but very easy to get along with. I’m definitely considered an introvert. But once you get to know me I break out of that awkward shell. I do like to use sarcasm, and mostly like to try and make people laugh because a world without laughter would just be horrible.
Alright i’ll shut up now but I’d like to think i’m an awesome person to get to know and hopefully there’s more you’d like to know so feel free to DM me! (I looove using GIFs so if you message me, open up with a funny one! Especially since then i’ll know you actually read this 😂)

Took around 8 hours and almost 40 attemps.
Not sure if this has been posted before. Most people seem to think the nameless king, Sulyvahn, the watchers or some boss from the dlc:s I have not played are the hardest, but nobody is saying the siblings. For me Sulyvahn took 2 attempts, the watchers took around 12 and the nameless king took 8. I never did reaserch for what weapons I should use until I fought the siblings and no boss made me ever spend as much time just running through an empty landscape in order for me to have another attempt. That elivator is just the worst.
I get that nameless king would've taken longer if I went into it without fixing my build, like I did with the siblings fight. However, this shouldn't matter since the bossfights difficulty is relative to the players powerlevel at the time. In a vacuum, nameless king is way harder than the watchers, but things are different since you fight the watchers way earlier than the king. Plus, walking to the nameless king fight is waaaay quicker than all the other bosses.
I should mention that healing, telegrafing what attacks are being used and actually seing the boss is way harder with the siblings than any other boss, mainly due to all the teleporting. He literaly teleports behind you. Not to mentiom how you can kill the brother endlessly without winning since winning is only achived through killing the sister. I had to kill the brother 3 times on my winning attempt.
Yeah, this is alot of text, but I didn't wanna skip over anything. This is also my first soulsgame, so learning all the items and stats took quite a while. I'm happy I never gave up and actually beat the game.

I've been wanting to make a shining style game for literally decades but thought artwork was too hard. Turns out I should have probably just tried, my pixel art is actually not awful lol. Whoops! Anyway...
We've all seen dedicated fans proposes clones, remakes and 'spiritual successors' to our favourite retro games and shining force is no exception. Problem is though, often the project is in its highly enthusiastic infancy and doesn't actually materialise. Most times, not even close.
So at what point in a proposed shining clone's development do you want to hear about it, and what are the main elements you would want to see before taking it seriously? I know I have my own personal bar for this, but how high is yours?
Let me know in the comments - my project is most definitely in its infancy and I'm very receptive to input. Everything is very malleable, even small things like artistic choices have already affected the whole story and world building process, so you never know what impact even a small comment might make!

Hey all! This is a bit weird for me being almost 40 and looking for friends. But here I am anyways lol. Mainly looking for someone to message throughout the day and get to know. Maybe game with if we have that in common. I do work from home so there’s no one to really talk to during the day.
I’m married and have 2 kids, a 6 month old son and a 9 year old daughter. I’m into basic nerdy things. Gaming, star wars, super heroes, DnD, etc. Also trading card games like Disney Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited.
I watch a ton of Critical Role stuff especially Campaign 3! Currently on episode 74, so if you watch too, let me know! Also like to watch Battle of the Brands on YouTube.
I’m also into movies and tv, some sports, pro wrestling. Collecting action figures and retro games is one of hobbies as well. Anything 80s/90s nostalgia i absolutely love so if you want to talk childhood and growing up back then, i’m down! I miss the good old days where we went to arcades and italian sunday dinners at the grandparents and where the world just wasn’t as nutso as it is today lol.
My kids are everything to me and I do love talking about them. Love being silly with them and spending time with them (when they aren’t driving me crazy 🤪 lol)..I would prefer you be around my age and have kids as well just so we have that stuff in common off the bat! I’m socially awkward most times but very easy to get along with. I’m definitely considered an introvert. But once you get to know me I break out of that awkward shell. I do like to use sarcasm, and mostly like to try and make people laugh because a world without laughter would just be horrible.
Alright i’ll shut up now but I’d like to think i’m an awesome person to get to know and hopefully there’s more you’d like to know so feel free to DM me! (I looove using GIFs so if you message me, open up with a funny one! Especially since then i’ll know you actually read this 😂)

The United States has seen some whopping mishaps and scandals in the oil and gas industry over the years, from Teapot Dome in the 1920s to the collapse of Enron in 2001 and the Deepwater Horizon, Exxon-Valdez and Santa Barbara oil spills.
However, the largest, most egregious and most profoundly damaging scandal is still underway.
The unholy alliance between America’s governments and the fossil fuel industry has been going on for decades, undeterred and unpunished. Federal and state governments subsidize and facilitate the production and consumption of oil, natural gas and coal despite knowing these products are permanently damaging life on a planetary scale.
Many of our elected officials have participated in a carbon cartel that has blocked effective climate action. U.S. scientists began warning in the 1950s that fossil fuels were changing the climate. Yet fossil fuels still provide about 80 percent of U.S. energy, and America has become the world’s biggest oil and gas producer.
The Teapot Dome scandal involved oil industry bribes of a single public official. Today, the oil industry can influence elected officials with unlimited campaign contributions, unrelenting lobbying, and expensive advertising campaigns to burnish the industry’s image.
Open Secrets reports that the oil and gas industry spent over a trillion dollars on election campaigns between 1990 and last month. Between 1990 and 2020, five big oil companies reportedly spent at least $3.6 billion on advertising. While scientists have determined that most of the world’s underground reserves of fossil fuels must remain, the U.S. oil and gas industry keeps drilling, netting an average of $2.8 billion a day over the last 50 years, according to Statista, a data analysis firm. Statista says the industry made more than a trillion dollars annually for much of the past decade.
The industry could have invested these enormous outlays and profits to lead the world’s clean-energy transition. Instead, it has conducted a long campaign to deceive policymakers and the American people and intimidate critics.
For its part, Congress has done virtually nothing to phase out fossil fuels with mandates or market forces. It continues giving the industry billions of dollars in yearly tax breaks that promote oil and gas production. It allows the industry to “externalize” more than $750 billion in social and environmental damages. The damages are not reflected in the market price of these fuels, making it hard for clean alternatives to compete. In 2022, the hidden costs amounted to $2,243 for every man, woman and child in the United States. Congress had an opportunity to correct this market “imperfection” with carbon pricing in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. But it failed to act.
So, Americans pay for fossil fuels four times: first through tax subsidies, second in energy bills, third with health care and environmental cleanup costs, and fourth with the rapidly growing costs of climate-induced disasters.
Before industrialization began, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). In the 1980s, it reached 350 ppm, still considered safe. Despite international promises to cut CO2 pollution, scientists expect the concentration to reach nearly 427 ppm this year, higher than it has been in millions of years.
The industry’s deceit and obfuscation is well documented, and a congressional investigation has just confirmed it. But some of the industry’s most recent are worth noting.
For example, oil and gas companies frequently sue environmental organizations (so-called SLAPP suits) that oppose even free speech and assembly. Researchers at Duke University reported as long ago as 1993, “A pattern is emerging across the United States in which citizens and local community groups are being sued for what has long been considered ‘ordinary’ public participation.” SLAPP lawsuits rarely prevail in court, but the industry uses them to intimidate and drain the resources of environmental organizations.
Exxon is even suing some investors who want it to adopt more aggressive climate-stabilization policies. A spokesman for one of the investment groups explains it wants only to “safeguard the long-term future of the company and the global economy in view of the climate crisis.”
Oil-producing states have joined this litigation strategy. North Dakota, Texas, Montana and Wyoming have sued the U.S. Interior Department over a rule to reduce methane leaks, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas operations. Yet new research at Stanford University shows natural gas infrastructure leaks three times more methane than the Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Researchers say economic and public health costs amount to $10 billion annually.
Over the last six years, states, cities, counties and tribal nations have countered with at least 32 lawsuits against oil majors to seek compensation for climate-related damages or penalties for deceptive business practices. The industry tied these suits up for years over jurisdictional issues.
In the meantime, oil producers are engaged in public relations games over their role in climate change. Major producers jumped aboard the “net zero carbon” wagon when oil prices were low, but they backed away and made record-breaking profits when prices rose. Their production plans belie their net-zero promises. “Exxon touts its support for the Paris Agreement while at the same time boasting to investors that it will increase oil and gas production 25 percent by 2030, a scenario that would be game over for the climate,” the Center for Climate Integrity explains.
Oil majors reportedly donate hundreds of millions of dollars to leading universities “to build relationships that could help the industry avoid taking climate action.” And Exxon CEO Darren Woods is trying to shift the blame for climate change to energy consumers. “The people generating the emissions need to be aware of and pay the price for generating those emissions,” he told an interviewer. As Grist explains, “Oil companies make the case that it’s a demand problem – as long as people are driving cars, and thus demanding fossil fuels, then they have to keep producing the gas.”
Democrats in Congress just issued the results of a 2.5-year investigation that found the oil and gas industry has deceived investors, Congress and the American people in a long covert operation of “deception, disinformation and doublespeak” using “dark money, phony front groups, false economic and relentless exertion of political influence to block climate progress.” These findings warrant an investigation by the Justice Department to determine whether the industry broke any laws, including those against racketeering.
But that’s not likely to happen before the election. It’s up to voters to end this scandal by electing a president, Congress and legislators who support policies like these:
Put a price on carbon, as Europe has done. Its emission trading regime produced a 15.5 percent cut in carbon emissions from polluting industries and power plants last year and a 47 percent reduction since 2005, when emissions trading began. End federal tax subsidies for fossil fuel production. Stop leasing public lands for fossil-energy production and suspend all unused leases. Codify state and national “just transition” plans to end all but the most essential fossil energy production in the United States. As U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin put it, the industry’s greed has led us to a “civilizational emergency,” the threshold of a world where suffocating heat, floods, storm surges, wildfires, drought and rising seas are the norm. And unless we stop Big Oil’s scam, we will cross the threshold with no way back.
William Becker is executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), a nonpartisan initiative founded in 2007 that works with national thought leaders to develop recommendations on national climate and energy policies. He is a former senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Hi everyone,
I recently went through a bizarre recruiting experience with Blue Gravity Studio, and after doing some digging, I feel compelled to share what I've found.
The Initial Contact: It all started when a recruiter from Blue Gravity Studio found me on LinkedIn. They said I was perfect for a game developer role. We scheduled a 15-minute interview, which was conducted by someone in Brazil. Despite having high technical skills, they turned me down citing insufficient soft skills. Oddly, they even asked for my Discord username during the interview.
The Claims: From the beginning, something felt off about Blue Gravity Studio. They made several grand claims:

• Their team supposedly helped design Defense of the Ancients (DotA) during its early development phase.
• They claimed to have worked with Jagex on vertical slices for upcoming titles.
• They boasted about setting gaming world records.

The Investigation: Intrigued and a bit suspicious, I scoured the internet to verify these claims. Here's what I found:

• There's no evidence supporting their involvement in DotA's early development.
• I found no links between them and Jagex.
• Guinness World Records has no records of their supposed achievements.
• Even more troubling, their CEO, Terry Jin, claims to have a PhD in Astrophysics from Cambridge, a claim for which I found no evidence.

The Old Name: It turns out Blue Gravity Studio was previously known as Team LSW Limited. Searching for this name didn't clarify much either, as similar grand claims were associated with it, none verifiable.
Why Post This?: My goal isn't just to vent, but to potentially save others from wasting their time or getting misled. I also hope to gather feedback from anyone else who might have had similar experiences or can provide more insight.

I've never posted on Reddit before so apologies if this is too long. I just wanted to make sure I painted the full picture.
For background, I’ve (22f) had the same two best friends, who we’ll call G and K, since high school. The three of us have always struggled with severe mental illness our entire friendship, in fact we met at an adolescent mental health treatment center. Graduating high school was tremendously difficult for all of us given the circumstances, but we managed to do it anyway which is huge for us. G and K graduated high school in 2021 so they actually had ceremonies but I graduated in 2020 so I never had a real graduation before, which is why my college ceremony was so important to me.
G and I attend the same school however, she just transferred in this semester. She had a lot of credits from the last two colleges she attended so she only needed a few more classes to graduate which she’s taking this summer. There’s only one ceremony per year so if you’re finishing school in the summer, you still get to participate in the spring ceremony. I told G about this in January because I was excited that we’d be graduating together, and she explicitly said, “I don’t care about the ceremony,” then later said, “I care about your ceremony” (because I asked her if she would come to mine).
Yesterday was my commencement ceremony. I graduated with high honors, and as someone who skipped nearly all my classes in high school, had a 2.5 gpa, got a 1190 on my SATs, and attempted suicide, this was a HUGE deal for me. G also had similar struggles and would have graduated with high honors as well so this would have been a huge deal for her too. During the ceremony, G and K found out that G’s name was on the program because, as I said, she would have been a part of the ceremony if she chose to. When she texted me about it I jokingly said, “go throw on a cap and gown” and she said “no I told them(the school) I don’t want to.” Afterwards, G,K, and I met up and walked to our favorite restaurant to celebrate. As we were walking, G, once again, she didn't care about the ceremony and wouldn’t’ve walked, but kept talking about how she wished she got a cap and gown and the other grad memorabilia. I’d like to point out, for the past several weeks I have been talking about my graduation/my ceremony, while G said nothing about it until tonight when she saw her name on the program. I told her that I wish we would’ve graduated together. She said that during the ceremony she wanted to go and ask a staff member for one of those degree holders but said she couldn’t because K told her it was my day. G said she’d been receiving emails about graduation, ordering a cap and gown, etc., but she assumed they were “general emails” for the entire student body, so she never read them.
While we were sitting down, G talked about how much anxiety the ceremony gave her, that she'd had an anxiety attack about it all day, and that she almost didn’t come. Then she said that if she had work earlier that day, she wouldn’t’ve come. Like I said we all struggle with severe mental illness and I’ve also had times where my anxiety was that bad. So I was glad she came, but what she was saying made me sad because in my opinion she was essentially saying this was a giant inconvenience to her, which made me wish I just gave the ticket to someone else. We left the restaurant because they were really understaffed and it was taking a long time to order our food. We went to the next restaurant and on the way G was talking to K about how she wished K got her a graduation gift.
The next restaurant was also understaffed (no one’s fault, the whole world is understaffed) but we stayed anyway because we were all really hungry and tired and nothing else was open that late. The restaurant we were in was packed which made all of us anxious. K tried to get us to play a word game to pass the time and cut the tension and I suggested a different game. G said she hated that game and I begged her to play because I love it. I said, “please, it’s my day” and to that she snarkily said, “Seriously? You think because you walked across a stage it’s your day?” The vibe changed immediately so I just kept quiet and pulled out my phone. Then to change the subject she said that we should play a different game and asked me if I remembered a game our old teacher used to play. I genuinely did not remember so I said no but in the same snarky tone she used, then went back to looking down at my phone. It was silent for an uncomfortably long amount of time and then she finally said,“Don’t you think it’s my day too?” and I said nothing and kept looking down at my phone. No, I did not think the day of the ceremony she did not want to be a part of was about her. A few more silent moments rolled by and then she got up and left. Her boyfriend came to pick her up later.
The food came out and K and I were silent the entire meal and most of the drive back to my house. I told K that I feel like this is the last time we were all going to hang out because I was so upset. I tried to keep it in but I sobbed all the way home. I hate when people make me cry and I was just so upset that this was how one of the most important days of my life ended. G and I have gotten into a lot of fights over the six years we've been friends, but out of all the things that have happened between us this hurt so deeply. I was so excited for myself and she knew that. I’m trying to empathize with her anxiety and consider how she was feeling during that time and what feelings might have arisen after seeing her name on the program to try and explain/justify why she said what she said. But whenever I replay the scenario in my head, my heart hurts because I genuinely cannot believe she said something like that, and said it in the tone she did.
K texted me the next morning to apologize for not saying anything during the situation. I forgave them and said we should talk later in person, but I haven’t heard anything from G. I am genuinely confused if I did something wrong here. Obviously, I’d like an apology, but for some reason, I feel like I’m missing something here. Am I not considering her situation/feelings enough? I would’ve loved to celebrate G’s graduation, but just on a different date, considering she did not participate in the ceremony. The only reason we were together that day was because of my ceremony. K said that she could see how both sides felt, but that pissed me off because, to me, only one person is in the wrong here. I’d like to believe I’m right, but I tend to believe I'm right in every situation, which I know is not healthy, so that's why I’m posting this here.

Hi everyone,
I recently went through a bizarre recruiting experience with Blue Gravity Studio, and after doing some digging, I feel compelled to share what I've found.
The Initial Contact: It all started when a recruiter from Blue Gravity Studio found me on LinkedIn. They said I was perfect for a game developer role. We scheduled a 15-minute interview, which was conducted by someone in Brazil. Despite having high technical skills, they turned me down citing insufficient soft skills. Oddly, they even asked for my Discord username during the interview.
The Claims: From the beginning, something felt off about Blue Gravity Studio. They made several grand claims:

• Their team supposedly helped design Defense of the Ancients (DotA) during its early development phase.
• They claimed to have worked with Jagex on vertical slices for upcoming titles.
• They boasted about setting gaming world records.

The Investigation: Intrigued and a bit suspicious, I scoured the internet to verify these claims. Here's what I found:

• There's no evidence supporting their involvement in DotA's early development.
• I found no links between them and Jagex.
• Guinness World Records has no records of their supposed achievements.
• Even more troubling, their CEO, Terry Jin, claims to have a PhD in Astrophysics from Cambridge, a claim for which I found no evidence.

The Old Name: It turns out Blue Gravity Studio was previously known as Team LSW Limited. Searching for this name didn't clarify much either, as similar grand claims were associated with it, none verifiable.
Why Post This?: My goal isn't just to vent, but to potentially save others from wasting their time or getting misled. I also hope to gather feedback from anyone else who might have had similar experiences or can provide more insight.

If you’ve already reached out to me from my last post i’m running the same game with seperate groups so you aren’t being ignored!
It's December 15th, 2012, and amidst the holiday cheer and preparations for winter break, five strangers in london all end up at an underground rave. Some drawn others dragged by friends into the promise of an unforgettable night, they find themselves offered a drug that would unknowingly change the course of their life forever.... and mark the beginning of their unlife.
As you drift into unconsciousness, your mind dances between hallucinations and euphoria, leaving you to awaken to a pounding headache…the memories of the night before ripped from your mind as you are thrown into a world where the veil of humanity is thin, and the shadows hold secrets darker than the night itself. Transformed into Kindred, you must navigate the delicate balance between your lingering humanity and the insatiable hunger that drives your newfound existence.

Game Information:

► Party Size: 0/5 players
► Starting Level: Neonates (Newly Embraced Vampires)
► Gamedays: TBD
► Starting Items: TBD

Player Requirements:

► Okay with Mature Content
► Decent Mic
► At least a beginner Understanding of Vampire: The Masquerade
^ This isn’t mandatory i’m more then happy to teach people how to play one of my favourite systems!
► Willing/Open to explore mature themes and topics .

Disclaimers:

This game will delve into mature content, including violence, horror,drug use, human trafficking etc.
https://forms.gle/wPY255RRGDcJ99ibA
fill out the form above!

Conspiracy theories involving “elite” pedophile rings have recently been dominating social media in a disorienting frenzy. They have been around for some time but in this century rose back to popularity during the 2016 Election cycle. This crop, at least, took root with what became known as “Pizzagate.” Promoters of that conspiracy theory in 2016 used social media platforms to make unfounded but viral allegations that Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats were running a pedophile ring out of the basement of a pizzeria even though that restaurant had no basement, or any ties to known politicians other than the typical flesh pressing (Phrasing I know) moments fit for a picture hung on the wall. Since then, the dark theme of Pizzagate has found new life with permutations forming part of the #Qanon conspiracy theory, incorporated under the umbrella term “pedogate.” The gist of the #pedogate conspiracy theory is that global elites (politicians, celebrities, and wealthy businesspersons) are covertly involved in a far-reaching ring that uses young children for sexual purposes. “What most of these conspiracy theories involve in one way or another is laying accusations of pedophilia or involvement in pedophile rings at the feet of people that they despise or hate, and during the 16’ election cycle, Democrats were a wide target for an opposing political movement that had hijacked the rival Republican party. Pizzagate originated with the “alt right” and “alt lite,” far right extremists who range from outright white supremacists to those who publicly shun racists but otherwise fall in step with their belief systems. Pizzagate jumped from the fringes to the mainstream because as it denigrated Hillary Clinton, it sucked in supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump. After the election all mention of pedogate seemed to be put on a simmer while other National outrages boiled over (#Covid #RussiaGate #BLM) and just like clockwork (heading into our next election cycle has been turned back up. The pedogate conspiracy and all associated stories employ a centuries-old tactic: playing on deep-seated human anxieties by conjuring images of imperiled children, the purest and defenseless victim of any manner of injustice. An example in the modern era of weaponized conspiracy was the satanic panic of the 1980s, in which a wave of hysteria over alleged child molestation at daycare centers swept the nation. But while that phenomenon was a moral panic attributable, at least in part, to social anxiety over white middle class women entering the work force en masse for the first time and entrusting their children to others, the current conspiracy theories about pedophile rings equate to similar propaganda. They carry a danger for stirring up violence. If you want to elicit violent action the way to do it is through hate and fear. Once you target and label a population as pedophiles, you can do anything you like to that population with full excuse being given to the myth you’ve wrapped around it. That’s not to say fears of child abuse or sex trafficking are unfounded. There are many as pedophilia has ancient roots and in many cases was encourage by many world cultures and religions a lot later into Civilization than we’d like to admit. The International Labor Organization reports that 25 percent of the world’s 40.3 million victims of human trafficking are children. The most vulnerable, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, are migrants, runaways, the homeless, and youngsters who have been victims of violence. Despite their obsession over the topic, conspiracy followers aren’t worked up about those children who are in true harm’s way. In the world of propaganda, it’s never about real children. Instead, it’s about what children represent. The children imperiled by conspiracy theories, in other words, are only metaphors. Children carry a vast amount of weight in any society, but especially modern ones when they’re expected to survive past the age of five. It wasn’t as intense before the 18th century when child mortality rates were really high. They represent the future, and all that is beautiful and decent and honest in a society, because they are innocent. For most people also, the meaning of their existence is rooted in their children. Children are eschatological, they represent death for us, and what is coming behind us after we are gone. They also represent the threat of loss, if they disappear, if they die, that is the death of society. That’s why they became so crucial and central to Cold War propaganda. The real terror of the nuclear holocaust would be the death of the children, because that’s the death of everyone. A recent example of this is in a recent police investigation into conspiracy claims of PizzaGate style accusation of Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts. Detectives attempted to contact the person accusing Voodoo Doughnuts on social media of running a pedophile ring. The accuser did not cooperate with investigators and it’s been documented in other coverage online that they had become agitated and accused the Police with complicity when tracked down in person, even though they were attempting to investigate. The pendulum of conspiracy theories about systematic child abuse has swung back and forth for centuries. Examples such as blood libel, when Jewish communities were attacked over false allegations of murdering and consuming Christian children in the Middle Ages. In Europe, During the Thirty Years War, entire villages were put to the sword because it was believed they were abusing children of the other religions. One characteristic that helps Pizzagate-style conspiracy theories gain popularity is that they function like a puzzle game and give its audience a large level of involvement through social media. A lot of conspiracy theories are oracular, where the information comes from one source an oracle. Then there are others where there are a few people who promote the notions, almost like gurus or a conspiracy priesthood. But Pizzagate, it’s more of what one would call a participatory conspiracy theory. Participatory conspiracy theories lay out a scenario or situation and then they ask their audience, ‘what more can you find out about this, what more can you add?’ It turns the audience into willing participants, some knowing they are creating a destructive madlib and other (potential real victims) caking on mystical distraction to issues that have been unreported or scars that have not bee properly treated. The thing about participatory conspiracy theories is it can really create a devoted following because it gives people something to do, it makes them feel they can solve the whole thing or uncover new aspects to it. Once you get that energy going it’s almost self-sustaining. Followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory, call themselves “bakers” because their protagonist “Q” pops up on Internet message boards and leaves “crumbs” (i.e., clues), and they are tasked with picking up the crumbs in order to solve the puzzle. (“Q” is supposed to reference the character’s government security clearance level).
#Q followers believe an even more incoherent version of Pizzagate. This is largely a right-wing fantasy that originated in a series of incoherent posts on #4chan in 2017 by someone calling themselves #QAnon. Following on the heels of similar idiocy such as Pizzagate, it advances a fantastic web of deceit that wraps up Trumpism, deep state fearmongering, evil, satanic pedophilia rings controlled by the Democratic Party, investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, the Las Vegas shooting, and New World Order paranoia into a package easily and wholeheartedly promoted by internet cesspools and far-right personalities such as Alex Jones. The premise is that President Trump is secretly working to take down a global ring of elite, cannibalistic, satanic pedophiles. And the investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election, led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, is actually an investigation into the so-called “deep state”, where a cabal of evil, globalists, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are responsible for everything from a global pedophile ring to the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. According to the enlightened, when Trump awkwardly took a drink from a bottle of Fiji water at a press conference in November 2017, it wasn’t because he was thirsty; it was actually a secret signal to those in the know that the annihilation of deep state pedophiles had begun (or was about to begin). Because as everyone knows, Fiji is a hot spot for child trafficking. ( I could go on and on with this poorly thought-out shit, I will spare you ) The role the Internet and social media play in helping to spread such insanity can’t be underestimated. Just a few decades earlier, conspiracy theorists would identify each other using letters to the editor printed in newspapers and magazines. It was a lot harder to identify your fellow conspiracy theorists. You would have to physically meet to swap your stories or send letters or call. They would set up these groups that would communicate by newsletter. They would meet in a physical space, like someone’s living room. I personally witnessed people from my childhood, dutifully photocopying newsletters they had received in the mail to give to others (Primarily at my #JW congregation, how ironic). Now obviously it can go much more quickly, because you can identity people immediately. You can quickly share ideas and the data you’ve collected. The Internet allows such people to exist in bubbles where they rarely have their beliefs challenged. The extraordinarily polarized society we’re in right now has made people less willing to seek out other view points. Because of the internet you have less chance of doing this. There’s very little incentive to look outside one’s own bubble once they have become invested in a conspiracy theory. Once you start to act out on those behaviors you are forced to double down by repeating the act to prove it was a just act. Eventually you get caught up in a movement that totally defines your conscious and you can’t get out of it. The second you step out of that world view your actions go back to being reprehensible. Now the question becomes, “What’s the harm? If it sheds light on child abuse, then isn’t it still productive?” The answer in this case is a resounding NO. In my opinion and PAINFUL experience, the root cause and sustaining factors of institutionalized child sex abuse are all things that would counter your typical Conspiracy Nut’s world view, thus causing a complete blackout to the problems. The entity taking part in the harming of children on a local and tangible level aren’t some suit and tie wearing global elitist. It’s a guidance counselor, youth pastor, unvetted young substitute teacher, aunt/uncle/cousin/neighbor. It’s anyone who has been given routine private access to a child’s mind and body because of the social conventions that have been protected for generations by our relatives whether they themselves are guilty of abuse or not. In all the Qanon madness I also kept very close tabs on the pending prosecution of the Boy scouts of America and never saw any widely shared memes about their involvement in the abuse syndicate. Why is this? How is this so? Aren’t these people watching the news, seeing the court records and hearing the individual cases being brought against Scout Leaders (SOME OF WHO RAN THEIR OWN NETWORKS!!)? When I would find mention of accusation it was met with the ever scarce “skepticism” because if the media is covering it, it must be a plot to destroy the organization. There are now non-for profit organizations setting up victim funds and protections for people to come out with their stories and somehow THIS is the fake ruse. Some that know me know that I was a Jehovah’s Witness as a youth/teen/young adult. That chapter of my life could fill many chapters and the research on the organization, the real true black and white history of the religion would honestly surprise you. I saw what I now know was abuse, I personally experienced abuse in many forms. The perpetrators involved are either still Witnesses or are dead or have moved “away from the organization”. But one thing that was left intact in each situation was the secret that they prey on children. The parents, these organizations and the collective promise to keep up appearances are directly to blame for the suffering untold thousands, millions of children and broken adults. All for what? Pride and Vanity and a commitment to all involved to protect them from the “mean old world” despite allowing predators to eat their children from within. Being a #JW was a very interesting experience. It provides a very efficient form of insulation from outside society and allows people involved to view the chaos from afar. There is this persistent (albeit false) sense of shared peace that members have. It’s as though for three days a week you go to this meeting where no matter what, everyone has a smile and feels about things EXACTLY how you do. There is no cursing, there are no politics, there surely isn’t any destructive influences that would tarnish your chances of salvation. For a parent this is a refuge when raising a child in a world that is dangerously unpredictable. A Child that you are unable (or unwilling) to teach coping skills to get along by societal standards, A child you want to protect by hiding. This is problem #1. As an adult the congregation presents an avenue for which you can act and behave in a way that allows you to reconcile your past, a way to have less of those nights awake because you think about past wrongs you’ve committed against people. It’s the proverbial band-aid for a guilty, bruised, destroyed conscious of any size. Coming into the organization takes nothing more than the desire to change, publicly declaring your willingness to hand over your life to God (The organization). Bam, You’re in! No credit check, no background check. This is problem #2. A JW is taught that “every facet is an asset” (Ministerial Servants know what I’m talking about). What this means is that every facet of your life is an asset to the organization to spread its word. If the world see’s their product’s application into your life and thereby how much better it is than a normal person’s, then they’ve made an “Effective Witness” to the world. This causes Witnesses of any age to allow almost every facet of their life to be a tool by the organization. For a parent this includes their children. This is problem #3 When you get a culture that insulates itself from the real world, that allows you to enter without any coherent vetting, give access to children whose parents feel obligated to present as a “witness” to the lifestyle. You get a twisted corridor in which victims can get lost for a lifetime and predators can hide in plain sight. For any proponents of the “Save-The-Children” movement to not take a step back and really analyze their local community and lifestyle through these lenses only illustrates that child abuse is being weaponized politically at the expense of others whom you aren’t willing to save because it would look bad for ‘your side’. If you truly care, you wouldn’t be sharing email forwards about what evil unverified unmentionable thing you read some celebrity or politician did. Instead, you’d be drawing back on your experiences as a child. Even if nothing happened directly to you, I’m sure you know some one that had an experience that forever harmed their life. Who did it? Was there a pattern or social condition that allowed for this as was laid out in the JW example? How could it have been avoided? Would you have stopped it if you saw the signs? Are you willing to stop it in the future, knowing what you know now? If you can answer any of those questions with a yes, then you have all you need to WRITE your own material to reach real victims and their families. Does your action cause problems for your ‘side’? It shouldn’t matter and you know that. If it does make a difference to you then you are no better than the shadowy pedophilic cabal that you are so obsessed with.

I have two reddit accounts, so if these stories are familiar, that's why. Someone commented that one of these sounds like abuse from my Christian parent to me. So I've compiled all most of them here. (Most of them are to do with Christianity, the hypocrisy of Christianity, or the consequences of my choice to leave it.) Please be honest but also recognize that this isn't all the times sometimes these are amazing people and I love these people but for my sake I need to know if it's really that bad.
"I'm rather young. My mom (42F) and my dad (41M) both grew up in the church. My grandfather is the pastor of his own church and my mother was raised by her grandmother who played piano in the church. Growing up I'd say I was the perfect little Christian girl. I liked praying and went to church, I wanted to help the world, and I wanted to be baptized before I even started kindergarten. I remember that vividly. I was sitting in the kitchen in one of our folding chairs because we couldn't afford real ones and I was begging my mom to let me get baptized.
My family and I are African American. The church I went to when I was little was a black church. My mother was the praise dance choreographer so of course I did praise dancing. I'd go to Sunday school, I wore the big puffy dresses, and I knew all the songs. Of course I had the common experience of being assaulted in a sexual manor by someone I went to church with. But we were both the same age and I just knew I was uncomfortable and she just knew that's how people bigger than us touched each other. All that came of me telling my mom and me not having to go to her house anymore. I was always told that I was intelligent and I believed everything I was told without question. Then my sister was born and we moved. At first everything stayed the same. We ended up having to switch churches as the previous one was an hour away from our new home. We found a new church. A church were you can wear your hoodie and jeans like it's a Tuesday. I made friends and played sports and nothing really changed until I was eight. When I was eight there was a girl on my softball team I'll call E. E is Jewish and at the time I thought everyone was Christian. As in Christianity was the default and only option. But my friend E's church wasn't called a church but a synagogue, and she couldn't eat specific foods together. E also talked about BaBat Mitzvah's. When I brought that up to my mom she said my friend was Jewish and that being Jewish is like being Christian but they read from the old testament exclusively but they don't believe in Jesus.
Which a while later caused me to spend all night crying because I put the two and two together of: Believing in resurrection Sunday and that Jesus was gods son is what got us into heaven and I cried worrying one of my closest, sweetest friend and her nice family would go to hell. Then school, which had always been easy, became hard. Which made me feel dumb. Especially since my self worth was put into how smart I was and I wouldn't dare get below an A or high B because I was scared I'd get punished. Like the time I slammed my fingers a metal door on accident and spent the next fifteen minutes in tears and my mom told me if I kept crying she'd take me to the hospital to have them cut off my fingers. Because of moments like that disappointing my parent or having to big of an emotional reaction was not okay and it made me scared and uncomfortable. They knew I was struggling, they were the ones who stayed up till four something in the morning with me trying to explain the concept. But with every minor and major struggle I felt like my worth was slipping away. But the better I did in school the more my outstanding grades became the expectation which resulted in acknowledgement for my academic achievements disappearing. I felt like I was falling apart so I'd spend hours pray and begging god for help. To take the feeling of being worthless away. I developed an eating disorder sometime before ten. Specifically binge eating. My parents would find the trash, not understand that it was more than just "the sin of gluttony" and yell which made me feel threatened and eat more food.
And then I'd pray on my knees on the hard wood outside my room door with nails and splinters in it and hurt myself because not only was I a dumb glutton but I also apparently wasn't good enough for god to save or help. It made me think if he wants a relationship with me so bad why does he ignore me? I'd hold a knife to my wrist when I'd wash dishes to see if I felt him then. I questions if I'd even go to heaven. For all my problems the answer was to pray but the problem was I'm doing that but my prayers aren't being answered. I was having thought of death no twelve year old should have. On my birthday I was like a puppet simply going through the motions. Then I started questioning my sexuality. Not to mention, I'm now cut off from the world because this is all during covid, on the bright side they gave me my door back. Now I'm older and I have questions like. How was Adam able to name all the animals and understand god not wanting him to eat from the tree and their need to stay in the garden, but not comprehend his nakedness? How was Eve able to be tempted and not understand her nakedness? Why did they and apparently god think being naked was wrong? How are we not all messed up from tons of inbreeding and how do animals still exist after the inbreeding the would've occurred after Noah's ark if he only saved one male and female of each species? Why did god want to flood the Earth and purge it of it's evil humans if he was the one who decided free will would be a good idea? Since he is perfect and all knowing their shouldn't have been a moment of let me make something I'll destroy, wait nvm. My parents have changed a lot since I was little and have let me go to therapy. Of course I have a Christian therapist. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that every time I bring up trauma that's linked to religion or need advice in terms of how to change a bad behavior or over come anxiety the advice is to pray. And at times I feel like I'm in a moment of doubt she feel she should try and pull me back in. But they also said I have to volunteer in the childern ministry at church.
I used to work with children ages three to five. Now I'm in one to three. And it feels like I'm spreading propaganda. They tell me what to say and what the goal is for the kids to believe by the end of the month. After I can't help but feel dirty. I'm at the point in my journey were I don't believe. But I have to keep working in the childern ministry, I have to go to church every Sunday, my parents are both devotional authors with published books. I'm the only one in my family who doesn't believe both extended and intermediate. I just wanna know I'm not crazy. I feel like I'm being brainwashed or something. Like drink the blood and eat the body of Jesus!? It's all too much. And now that my parents know they're trying to make me go back to believing. And I listen to them talk and it's like I can't have a conversations with you. You put your faith above all else. You believe whole heartedly, my point of view is automatically wrong to you because faith trumps logic so why would I share it with you? But at the same time it's majority of the music they play, it's all their advice, I go every Sunday, my classmates and friends are majority Christian and yet I even though I see the flaws and hypocrisy, I still can't help but wonder, am I the crazy one?"
"My grandma would grab me and call me "big booty Judy." And my butt was grabbed, spanked, and frequently talked about. Sometimes she'd just sit there tapping it while she talked. It started when I was around three or four and just continued. Though now I'm in my teens and rarely see her. But my breast were also a topic for a while. Comments like "where'd you get those from?", "she's bigger than you.", and "her sisters the tall one but she's the curvy one." They felt icky but I didn't dwell on them. But she's also an alcoholic along with many other things. She dated my mom's friends when she was in college, gets shit faced in at events like birthdays and funerals. Shakes her ass on family members and frequently offered us alcohol. But I always took pride in being her favorite grandchild. Which she constantly reminded me I was. She also has a serious spending problem. But the funny thing is. She goes to a church church. She's in the choir and used frequently as a look example. She hosts church events and potlucks. She even remarried in the church. Never mind the things I just said that'd be considered sins. She's the perfect Christian woman."
"How do you cope with the level of disrespect? I'm not eighteen yet, but I'm still able to be disrespected. My main problem is the disrespect from my parents. My parents who wish to be respected in their beliefs and don't want their minds to change. But at the same time, my dad has sent my scriptures and stuff for the past couple of months since it came out. I don't believe in God or Jesus. They force me to serve and volunteer at church and attend every Sunday. They paired me with a not so ethical Christian therapist. Then both gang up on me about it and take my silence as defeat when I'm just respecting their beliefs. I'm literally the only non Christian in my family. I also have mental problems from staying with them and just in general, but they won't test me because I don't behave in such a stereotypical manner. I want to say they love me, but does someone who blatantly disrespects you love you? I'm having a hard time with seeing if I should do something as drastic as no contact after I reach a certain age.
But at the same time their those awful parents who don't just blatantly suck but also have messed me up quite a bit, resulting in me not feeling like I have a right to be upset. I've told them about how Christianity mixed with their parenting drove me to suicidal thoughts, almost going through with it, and an eating disorder I'm still battling. I also can't just leave and close the door behind me. I'm the oldest, and their are two more kids just like me, and if I turned my back on them, I'd never forgive myself. They're my siblings, but they're also what stopped me from going through with the bad thoughts I was having. They need someone who will be honest, say the weird things, and answer the ignored questions. So, how can I deal with the blatant disrespect so that I'm around for them? What skill for stress management can I use? How do I block out the constant religious gaslighting that happens in church? Because I have over two more years of this."
"My dad said if people don't wanna have a baby, they shouldn't have sex even if they're married. But sir, you had three babies while financially unstable because you couldn't keep your damn hands off my mom. You were planning me, but your job fell through, and when my mom went to get back on birth control, it was too late, so I'll give you a pass with me. But my siblings were both surprises. So, quit judging and practice what you preach. But that's not what pissed me off the most. He said women will put all their time into work and not their husbands, and that's why some men cheat, but the way he said it, it was like he was justifying it. But my dad, he'd go to hooters alone, and when I needed tights, he got them from a woman their and it made me think what if. And I know it's stupid, but that what if. It is so loud.
And it's not even the first time he's said something along the lines of justifying it and almost blaming the woman who gets cheated on. But then he likes to be all up in arms about how his friend married a woman who cheated on him multiple times. My dad's like, I wanna pour into my kids but then makes no effort, and when we spent time with him, we had to initiate it. He doesn't do the hey you wanna . . . stuff. But he has his own company, and they can't get any work right now, so he spends most of his time at home. And then says I'm just to tired to spend time with ya'll.
My mom was sick to the point of being half passed out in a drive-thru after taking my brother to karate and having to pick up dinner. I would've offered to drive him if I could. I'm still leaning, and I'm bad at staying in one lane. But my dad was really busy on his PS5 with his made-up football team. So busy he couldn't take my brother to karate nor could he pause his game to get dinner. I'm kinda starting to hate him. He's also done a couple of other things, but that's what recently has made me mad. But I don't feel like I have a right to be mad because he's here and a lot of my friends dad aren't, and he's not physically abusive like my best friends dad is. I just don't know how I should feel. Is everyone's dad like this?
Edit: It's mothers day and he couldn't be bothered to get the food, pick up the groceries, nothing. #1Dad guys."
​
So is it truly a horrible go no contact at eighteen situation, a be watchful situation, or is it fine? I know some of this stuff is a lot but some of it was also in a moment of extreme emotion. Remember like I said in the beginning they're not always like this.

I have two reddit accounts, so if these stories are familiar, that's why. Someone commented that one of these sounds like abuse from my Christian parent to me. So I've compiled all most of them here. (Most of them are to do with Christianity, the hypocrisy of Christianity, or the consequences of my choice to leave it.) Please be honest but also recognize that this isn't all the times sometimes these are amazing people and I love these people but for my sake I need to know if it's really that bad.
"I'm rather young. My mom (42F) and my dad (41M) both grew up in the church. My grandfather is the pastor of his own church and my mother was raised by her grandmother who played piano in the church. Growing up I'd say I was the perfect little Christian girl. I liked praying and went to church, I wanted to help the world, and I wanted to be baptized before I even started kindergarten. I remember that vividly. I was sitting in the kitchen in one of our folding chairs because we couldn't afford real ones and I was begging my mom to let me get baptized.
My family and I are African American. The church I went to when I was little was a black church. My mother was the praise dance choreographer so of course I did praise dancing. I'd go to Sunday school, I wore the big puffy dresses, and I knew all the songs. Of course I had the common experience of being assaulted in a sexual manor by someone I went to church with. But we were both the same age and I just knew I was uncomfortable and she just knew that's how people bigger than us touched each other. All that came of me telling my mom and me not having to go to her house anymore. I was always told that I was intelligent and I believed everything I was told without question. Then my sister was born and we moved. At first everything stayed the same. We ended up having to switch churches as the previous one was an hour away from our new home. We found a new church. A church were you can wear your hoodie and jeans like it's a Tuesday. I made friends and played sports and nothing really changed until I was eight. When I was eight there was a girl on my softball team I'll call E. E is Jewish and at the time I thought everyone was Christian. As in Christianity was the default and only option. But my friend E's church wasn't called a church but a synagogue, and she couldn't eat specific foods together. E also talked about BaBat Mitzvah's. When I brought that up to my mom she said my friend was Jewish and that being Jewish is like being Christian but they read from the old testament exclusively but they don't believe in Jesus.
Which a while later caused me to spend all night crying because I put the two and two together of: Believing in resurrection Sunday and that Jesus was gods son is what got us into heaven and I cried worrying one of my closest, sweetest friend and her nice family would go to hell. Then school, which had always been easy, became hard. Which made me feel dumb. Especially since my self worth was put into how smart I was and I wouldn't dare get below an A or high B because I was scared I'd get punished. Like the time I slammed my fingers a metal door on accident and spent the next fifteen minutes in tears and my mom told me if I kept crying she'd take me to the hospital to have them cut off my fingers. Because of moments like that disappointing my parent or having to big of an emotional reaction was not okay and it made me scared and uncomfortable. They knew I was struggling, they were the ones who stayed up till four something in the morning with me trying to explain the concept. But with every minor and major struggle I felt like my worth was slipping away. But the better I did in school the more my outstanding grades became the expectation which resulted in acknowledgement for my academic achievements disappearing. I felt like I was falling apart so I'd spend hours pray and begging god for help. To take the feeling of being worthless away. I developed an eating disorder sometime before ten. Specifically binge eating. My parents would find the trash, not understand that it was more than just "the sin of gluttony" and yell which made me feel threatened and eat more food.
And then I'd pray on my knees on the hard wood outside my room door with nails and splinters in it and hurt myself because not only was I a dumb glutton but I also apparently wasn't good enough for god to save or help. It made me think if he wants a relationship with me so bad why does he ignore me? I'd hold a knife to my wrist when I'd wash dishes to see if I felt him then. I questions if I'd even go to heaven. For all my problems the answer was to pray but the problem was I'm doing that but my prayers aren't being answered. I was having thought of death no twelve year old should have. On my birthday I was like a puppet simply going through the motions. Then I started questioning my sexuality. Not to mention, I'm now cut off from the world because this is all during covid, on the bright side they gave me my door back. Now I'm older and I have questions like. How was Adam able to name all the animals and understand god not wanting him to eat from the tree and their need to stay in the garden, but not comprehend his nakedness? How was Eve able to be tempted and not understand her nakedness? Why did they and apparently god think being naked was wrong? How are we not all messed up from tons of inbreeding and how do animals still exist after the inbreeding the would've occurred after Noah's ark if he only saved one male and female of each species? Why did god want to flood the Earth and purge it of it's evil humans if he was the one who decided free will would be a good idea? Since he is perfect and all knowing their shouldn't have been a moment of let me make something I'll destroy, wait nvm. My parents have changed a lot since I was little and have let me go to therapy. Of course I have a Christian therapist. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't for the fact that every time I bring up trauma that's linked to religion or need advice in terms of how to change a bad behavior or over come anxiety the advice is to pray. And at times I feel like I'm in a moment of doubt she feel she should try and pull me back in. But they also said I have to volunteer in the childern ministry at church.
I used to work with children ages three to five. Now I'm in one to three. And it feels like I'm spreading propaganda. They tell me what to say and what the goal is for the kids to believe by the end of the month. After I can't help but feel dirty. I'm at the point in my journey were I don't believe. But I have to keep working in the childern ministry, I have to go to church every Sunday, my parents are both devotional authors with published books. I'm the only one in my family who doesn't believe both extended and intermediate. I just wanna know I'm not crazy. I feel like I'm being brainwashed or something. Like drink the blood and eat the body of Jesus!? It's all too much. And now that my parents know they're trying to make me go back to believing. And I listen to them talk and it's like I can't have a conversations with you. You put your faith above all else. You believe whole heartedly, my point of view is automatically wrong to you because faith trumps logic so why would I share it with you? But at the same time it's majority of the music they play, it's all their advice, I go every Sunday, my classmates and friends are majority Christian and yet I even though I see the flaws and hypocrisy, I still can't help but wonder, am I the crazy one?"
"My grandma would grab me and call me "big booty Judy." And my butt was grabbed, spanked, and frequently talked about. Sometimes she'd just sit there tapping it while she talked. It started when I was around three or four and just continued. Though now I'm in my teens and rarely see her. But my breast were also a topic for a while. Comments like "where'd you get those from?", "she's bigger than you.", and "her sisters the tall one but she's the curvy one." They felt icky but I didn't dwell on them. But she's also an alcoholic along with many other things. She dated my mom's friends when she was in college, gets shit faced in at events like birthdays and funerals. Shakes her ass on family members and frequently offered us alcohol. But I always took pride in being her favorite grandchild. Which she constantly reminded me I was. She also has a serious spending problem. But the funny thing is. She goes to a church church. She's in the choir and used frequently as a look example. She hosts church events and potlucks. She even remarried in the church. Never mind the things I just said that'd be considered sins. She's the perfect Christian woman."
"How do you cope with the level of disrespect? I'm not eighteen yet, but I'm still able to be disrespected. My main problem is the disrespect from my parents. My parents who wish to be respected in their beliefs and don't want their minds to change. But at the same time, my dad has sent my scriptures and stuff for the past couple of months since it came out. I don't believe in God or Jesus. They force me to serve and volunteer at church and attend every Sunday. They paired me with a not so ethical Christian therapist. Then both gang up on me about it and take my silence as defeat when I'm just respecting their beliefs. I'm literally the only non Christian in my family. I also have mental problems from staying with them and just in general, but they won't test me because I don't behave in such a stereotypical manner. I want to say they love me, but does someone who blatantly disrespects you love you? I'm having a hard time with seeing if I should do something as drastic as no contact after I reach a certain age.
But at the same time their those awful parents who don't just blatantly suck but also have messed me up quite a bit, resulting in me not feeling like I have a right to be upset. I've told them about how Christianity mixed with their parenting drove me to suicidal thoughts, almost going through with it, and an eating disorder I'm still battling. I also can't just leave and close the door behind me. I'm the oldest, and their are two more kids just like me, and if I turned my back on them, I'd never forgive myself. They're my siblings, but they're also what stopped me from going through with the bad thoughts I was having. They need someone who will be honest, say the weird things, and answer the ignored questions. So, how can I deal with the blatant disrespect so that I'm around for them? What skill for stress management can I use? How do I block out the constant religious gaslighting that happens in church? Because I have over two more years of this."
"My dad said if people don't wanna have a baby, they shouldn't have sex even if they're married. But sir, you had three babies while financially unstable because you couldn't keep your damn hands off my mom. You were planning me, but your job fell through, and when my mom went to get back on birth control, it was too late, so I'll give you a pass with me. But my siblings were both surprises. So, quit judging and practice what you preach. But that's not what pissed me off the most. He said women will put all their time into work and not their husbands, and that's why some men cheat, but the way he said it, it was like he was justifying it. But my dad, he'd go to hooters alone, and when I needed tights, he got them from a woman their and it made me think what if. And I know it's stupid, but that what if. It is so loud.
And it's not even the first time he's said something along the lines of justifying it and almost blaming the woman who gets cheated on. But then he likes to be all up in arms about how his friend married a woman who cheated on him multiple times. My dad's like, I wanna pour into my kids but then makes no effort, and when we spent time with him, we had to initiate it. He doesn't do the hey you wanna . . . stuff. But he has his own company, and they can't get any work right now, so he spends most of his time at home. And then says I'm just to tired to spend time with ya'll.
My mom was sick to the point of being half passed out in a drive-thru after taking my brother to karate and having to pick up dinner. I would've offered to drive him if I could. I'm still leaning, and I'm bad at staying in one lane. But my dad was really busy on his PS5 with his made-up football team. So busy he couldn't take my brother to karate nor could he pause his game to get dinner. I'm kinda starting to hate him. He's also done a couple of other things, but that's what recently has made me mad. But I don't feel like I have a right to be mad because he's here and a lot of my friends dad aren't, and he's not physically abusive like my best friends dad is. I just don't know how I should feel. Is everyone's dad like this?
Edit: It's mothers day and he couldn't be bothered to get the food, pick up the groceries, nothing. #1Dad guys."
​
So is it truly a horrible go no contact at eighteen situation, a be watchful situation, or is it fine? I know some of this stuff is a lot but some of it was also in a moment of extreme emotion. Remember like I said in the beginning they're not always like this.

I manipulated my platinum screenshot and I couldn’t care less lmao. There were so many to choose from but these were my favourites among cutscenes.
172 hours later (40 main story, 100 open world+mini games+farming/grinding, 20 VR sims, 10 hard mode) and this might be my game of the generation so far.
As frustrating as some aspects of the game were (high scores for mini games or VR sims), they didn’t take me too long. All you need is dedication to learn mechanics and strategies, then practice, practice, practice.
The main story’s execution was beautiful. The cinematics were stunning and the world was so rich in detail. The soundtrack was so incredibly eargasmic that I had to get tickets to the orchestra in Toronto in September. I’m genuinely surprised how much they got done in 4 years in comparison to how tight and linear Remake was. The gameplay was phenomenal. Everyone plays differently, but learning each of them lead to some awesome and fluid combat. The synergy abilities were so damn epic, I would get genuine chills just watching them play out sometimes. The only downside I had was the pacing was too slow and some character developing chapters (Red XIII specifically) were too long, they couldn’t get rid of the slow walking and shimmying portions.
Enjoyed every second of this game except for Hard mode. Hard mode was a slog and was the only part of this platinum journey that had me feeling burnout. Shoutout to Optinoob as always, could not have beaten some simulations without his easy to follow strats.

If you’ve already reached out to me from my last post i’m running the same game with seperate groups so you aren’t being ignored!
It's December 15th, 2012, and amidst the holiday cheer and preparations for winter break, five strangers in london all end up at an underground rave. Some drawn others dragged by friends into the promise of an unforgettable night, they find themselves offered a drug that would unknowingly change the course of their life forever.... and mark the beginning of their unlife.
As you drift into unconsciousness, your mind dances between hallucinations and euphoria, leaving you to awaken to a pounding headache…the memories of the night before ripped from your mind as you are thrown into a world where the veil of humanity is thin, and the shadows hold secrets darker than the night itself. Transformed into Kindred, you must navigate the delicate balance between your lingering humanity and the insatiable hunger that drives your newfound existence.

Game Information:

► Party Size: 0/5 players
► Starting Level: Neonates (Newly Embraced Vampires)
► Gamedays: TBD
► Starting Items: TBD

Player Requirements:

► Okay with Mature Content
► Decent Mic
► At least a beginner Understanding of Vampire: The Masquerade
^ This isn’t mandatory i’m more then happy to teach people how to play one of my favourite systems!
► Willing/Open to explore mature themes and topics .

Disclaimers:

This game will delve into mature content, including violence, horror,drug use, human trafficking etc.
https://forms.gle/wPY255RRGDcJ99ibA
fill out the form above!

If you’ve already reached out to me from my last post i’m running the same game with seperate groups so you aren’t being ignored!
It's December 15th, 2012, and amidst the holiday cheer and preparations for winter break, five strangers in london all end up at an underground rave. Some drawn others dragged by friends into the promise of an unforgettable night, they find themselves offered a drug that would unknowingly change the course of their life forever.... and mark the beginning of their unlife.
As you drift into unconsciousness, your mind dances between hallucinations and euphoria, leaving you to awaken to a pounding headache…the memories of the night before ripped from your mind as you are thrown into a world where the veil of humanity is thin, and the shadows hold secrets darker than the night itself. Transformed into Kindred, you must navigate the delicate balance between your lingering humanity and the insatiable hunger that drives your newfound existence.

Game Information:

► Party Size: 0/5 players
► Starting Level: Neonates (Newly Embraced Vampires)
► Gamedays: TBD
► Starting Items: TBD

Player Requirements:

► Okay with Mature Content
► Decent Mic
► At least a beginner Understanding of Vampire: The Masquerade
^ This isn’t mandatory i’m more then happy to teach people how to play one of my favourite systems!
► Willing/Open to explore mature themes and topics .

Disclaimers:

This game will delve into mature content, including violence, horror,drug use, human trafficking etc.
https://forms.gle/wPY255RRGDcJ99ibA
fill out the form above!

sVanilla Survival: The Original SMP Experience for java & bedrock geyser.

IP: corn.gg
Region: USA East
sVanilla Survival goes back to the roots of what an SMP should be. Semi Vanilla, with a few quality of life additions. We're dedicated to providing the old-school SMP experience, with a large map that never resets, no land claims, and most importantly - crystal free PvP.

So why choose sVanilla Survival?

• Survive & Thrive: On sVanilla we favor the ability of players to have freedom in how they play the game. While we do not allow hacked clients; You are free to explore the world, build extragavant builds, or simply destroy & conquer. Only the strong survive on sVanilla.
• Melee Based PVP: We believe that the current PvP meta is a detriment to the survival experience. With this in mind, crystal PvP has been disabled in favor of swords, axes, and bows.
• Quality of Life: While we love vanilla, we also understand the need for a few tweaks. We've implemented a few quality-of-life modifications to enhance gameplay without deviating from the authentic feel. Teleport, Ignore & Sethome commands are provided for convenience.
• Bartering Economy: There are no economy plugins, the server economy is based on trading with other players.
• Boundless Exploration: With no land claims and a modest 300k world border, feel free to explore any corner of the map as you wish and lay claim as you see fit.
• Permanent Legacy: Our map is permanent and will never reset, so the monuments you build today will stand as a testament to your creativity for years to come.
• TNT Duplication: Piston and slime based TNT dupers are enabled, which means you can build tree farms with ease or even create tnt machines of destruction.

Join sVanilla Survival and be a part of a community that honors the tradition of survival multiplayer. Welcome to sVanilla & enjoy your minecraft!

sVanilla Survival: The Original SMP Experience for java & bedrock geyser.

IP: corn.gg
Region: USA East
sVanilla Survival goes back to the roots of what an SMP should be. Semi Vanilla, with a few quality of life additions. We're dedicated to providing the old-school SMP experience, with a large map that never resets, no land claims, and most importantly - crystal free PvP.
# So why choose sVanilla Survival?

• Survive & Thrive: On sVanilla we favor the ability of players to have freedom in how they play the game. While we do not allow hacked clients; You are free to explore the world, build extragavant builds, or simply destroy & conquer. Only the strong survive on sVanilla.
  
  • Melee Based PVP: We believe that the current PvP meta is a detriment to the survival experience. With this in mind, crystal PvP has been disabled in favor of swords, axes, and bows.
  • Quality of Life: While we love vanilla, we also understand the need for a few tweaks. We've implemented a few quality-of-life modifications to enhance gameplay without deviating from the authentic feel. Teleport, Ignore & Sethome commands are provided for convenience.
  • Bartering Economy: There are no economy plugins, the server economy is based on trading with other players.
  • Boundless Exploration: With no land claims and a modest 300k world border, feel free to explore any corner of the map as you wish and lay claim as you see fit.
  • Permanent Legacy: Our map is permanent and will never reset, so the monuments you build today will stand as a testament to your creativity for years to come.
  • TNT Duplication: Piston and slime based TNT dupers are enabled, which means you can build tree farms with ease or even create tnt machines of destruction.

Join sVanilla Survival and be a part of a community that honors the tradition of survival multiplayer. Welcome to sVanilla & enjoy your minecraft!

Hey, so I started playing with the new Update and there is a problem. I loaded into my main world with my main character and everything went fine. Then I logged out and wanted to visit another world with my main character and it doesn't work. The game just crashes every time. Loading into my main world works like before but I can't access any other world anymore. Is this a bug or is something wrong with my laptop?
The game crashed before but after I updated every driver and stuff on my laptop it was fine for months until now. I checked my system and everything is up to date, so I don't know why this happens.
Please help!

Hello everyone, I'm diving into the world of Warhammer for the first time and I'm excited to start building my army. However, as a newcomer, I have a question about unit conversions and army composition that I hope you can help me with. I've noticed that the Deredeo Dreadnought is listed in legends, but I'm keen on including it in my Death Guard army. I'm unsure if it's permissible to run it as a Helbrute, provided it's equipped with the same weapons and is based on the correct size. Could anyone clarify if this is allowed in both casual games and tournaments? Additionally, if you have any specific rules references or insights based on your experience, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Hello! My name is Tai, and as the title says I'm 28 years old, born and raised in Western Canada. I would consider myself an incredibly kind, caring and compassionate person capable of being empathetic and non-judgmental and hope to find someone similar to learn, grow and experience the best of life and humanity with.
A bit about me;
I'm biracial Asian and white, born to an Asian father and white mother. I'm beyond passionate about music! I'm a self-taught pianist, I need to sing like I need to breathe and I'm currently teaching myself to play guitar. If I could make music for a living and share my art with the world, move people with my sound and bring people together, my heart would overflow with happiness. I love fashion as as art and one of the highest forms of self expression. I love seeing the confidence and comfort in those who find their style and rock it unapologetically. I'm just as comfortable staying in and gaming or binge-watching a good show as I am going out and exploring the wilderness, though I do genuinely and wholeheartedly appreciate any opportunity I have to just soak in and be in awe of nature. Animals. I have the softest spot for any and all animals and grossly sob watching rescue videos on Instagram. If you have animals, I want to see them please and thank you.
More importantly though, I'm really big on communication and active listening, and though sometimes struggle as we all do from time to time, always do my best to ensure others feel heard and validated so we can work on the problems at hand effectively and thoughtfully.
We're all humans just trying to piece together and make our way through life for the first time and I acknowledge that we are all far from perfect, I just want to find someone who wants to put in the work with me to kind of just have a beautiful and fulfilling life full of the good and bad that we can get through together.
Thank you for reading

Obviously the game is amazing, I don't mean to reduce that at all, just voicing what I feel.
Chronos seems a bit over-tuned (maybe skill issue but i've beaten him several times and it always either feels stupidly easy bc i'm op, or way too hard)
Eris has a lot of attacks that are very hard to dodge if shes standing in fire (and she is always standing in fire), but is also literally the weakest npc in the game if you have the "destroys projectiles and scorches target while sprinting" boon. That feels like its maybe not the best design?
I think the hardest boss in the game outside of Chronos is any sort of difficulty scaled Polyphemus, and it doesn't feel close. It's probably a skill issue but a lot of his attacks are a few frame reaction times, the charging sheep modifier is insanely brutal, and the stomp waves often just hit me despite what looks like a good dodge through them.
Scylla is a super fun fight
Charybdis and Hecate could probably be significantly harder.
as for enemies, anything that's so fast it feels like it ignores casts are such a vibe killer, and the shriekers in the first area of erebus are the creature responsible for the most dmg i've taken in 25 hours i'm sure of it.
some builds (skulls and some axe mods especially) feel like they get TURBO punished by the millions of rapidly spawning harpoon fish if you can't attack quick enough.