Hello! I'm just making a general post because I'm looking for orchestras/music groups in NYC to join in the fall.
I'll be a freshman attending an engineering school in midtown east/the lower east side so I'm looking for an orchestra (relatively) in that area. My school doesn't have much music at all and it really pains me to drop playing Oboe and English horn. As a junior & senior in high school I made all-state and was one of the top players in New York, and while I'm not pursuing music, I'd like to keep playing at that level and continue to participate in the arts.
If anyone has any ideas, recommendations, or contacts, I'm open to anything!! Thank you guys so much.
Also, I've already reached out to NYU, Greenwich Village Orchestra, Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra and the NY session symphony.

I'm pretty active during this period of time, though I like to have good friendship in art to be not lonely. Just want to have fun with chat, casual & about art. Study ideas & share thoughts about stuff, like for motivation to draw for fun. My art is very much in my profile, which should show what I like to draw.
I'm not great or perfect, but I like to be happy and spend time with others dabbling.

I basically want my game to include a pixel art painter that's able to draw and erase single pixels in colors of a given color palette and export them as PNGs and I'm not quite sure if I got the right idea using TileMaps for this- how would someone more experienced tackle this I wonder?

Today I’d like to talk about greed, see we can all agree that corporations by and large exist for the sole purpose of extracting your hard earned funds from your pretty little pockets in the sleaziest ways possible. In the worst scenarios as far as video games go, we have seen corporations leverage aggressive monetization schemes that closely mirror gambling in the form of loot boxes, or developers will lock significant content required to advance the game behind expensive paywalls.
Now, that being said, can we stop pretending that Multiversus is doing anything even remotely similar. Not only is there free access to premium currency, for both the cosmetic section, and the fighter section there was clearly a lot of work put into other aspects which are being neglected.
The Net-Code appears to be fixed, no more rubber-banding or getting hit early or late unless you’re the problem, and I say that as someone who lives in the literal middle of nowhere.
There’s start up lag and whiff lag which makes reads more viable, as well as the addition of parrying, so we see a lot more dynamic play potential with those additions. Punishing is consistent, and dodging doesn’t feel as oppressive or free as it did before which ultimately makes things feel more fair especially in terms of neutral play.
The slower pace isn’t a bad thing, I think once you’ve got a grasp on a character the movement starts to flow more naturally, and every character is equipped with ways to continue combos and chase enemies.
Some people are complaining about the zoom affecting their ability to see bars or keep projectiles like Jerry in sight. You shouldn’t be walking across the map with someone in Jason’s bag, or held in Jake’s stomach, you should have a clear idea of what’s next, and where your combo is going, hence my assertion that sometimes I don’t think the game is slow, instead it seems players are. As for Tom and Kamikaze Jerry players, from a technical standpoint, it doesn’t feel like you’re supposed to be launching Jerry across everything on the map, he plays close by design, and he’s great for shutting down enemies in the air, you’re missing your shots if he’s out of your line of sight. Imagine if you were playing the Ice Climbers by killing one every time, that’s dumb and it’s not the developers fault if you’re playing that way.
Then on top of all that, they added single player content that’s meant to give less competitive players something they can enjoy without feeling pressure. It’s got a story, mini-games that increase in difficulty as you progress, boss fights, unique interactions, and animated cutscenes, all of which give you more access to more stuff.
Moving along to less important more dope things,
The character models are all polished and look really good, there’s a lot of love that went into the design of these models and it shows. Jason fits the art style strangely well, and his kit is one of the most fun in the game to date while still staying thematically consistent with his source material. The Batman Who Laughs, and the Killing Joke skins are both really genuinely great, not to mention this will ostensibly be Mark Hamill’s last Joker performance in honor of Kevin Conroy. So, looking at those two facts alone, Player’s First took Jason from the terrible development hell he was in and brought him to his first appearance in a video game in years that doesn’t have to lamp-shade him, and they reunited two of the most iconic characters in comic book history voiced by arguably the most legitimate and well known people to portray said characters.
Dexter’s Lab is beautiful, and it plays like a dream, the moving map, and the changing hazards are a work of art. Townsville and MoJoJoJo are so much fun as well, and I haven’t heard anyone really mention any positive things about the tangible ways Player’s First listened to feedback and expanded on what was already a fun experience.
And they did all that, and they gave it to you for free, if you supported them in the beta, they’re essentially giving you a free character, free access to all future battle passes, and cosmetics which contribute to your prestige points so you can get more skins and cosmetics for free. And yet somehow people still consider them to be greedy because they’re not giving you 10% of the content which they clearly worked incredibly hard to produce.
We as gamers need to step back and look at ourselves because some of you are the most entitled insufferable people on the planet, and you’re going to kill what has the potential to be a genuinely great gaming experience because they wouldn’t give you exactly everything you wanted, just 97% of it.
TLDR: PFG did their jobs, and did well, most of you are what’s wrong with modern gaming.

“Bingo!” The call echoed through the hall, followed by the collective groans of the other assembled Hellspawn. Askeraz the Malfeasant looked away from the trapped heroes and towards his demon army. They cowed.
“What was that?” Askeraz asked, his voice carried every shadow of the night.
“Uh, sorry, your Dark Lordliness, please ignore me.”
Askeraz looked at the heroes. He had been in the middle of his victory speech. Shouldn’t he just continue? This was his moment of triumph but-
“Let me see what you’re holding,” Askeraz commanded as he held out a fell hand toward the demons. The Demon that had yelled bingo, Kalim the Fleshrender, sheepishly handed the card to Askeraz, who began reading.
He was aghast at the first square.
“Tremble before me?” Askeraz asked, indignant. Based on the other squares, he’d already figured out what the card was. They were playing bingo with his speech but… “Tremble before me is a staple of the craft! A victory speech without it is a classless rant!”
“Sorry sir.”
“And beside it! ‘All Hope is Lost’. Pardon, you might as well be asking me not to use vowels!”
The heroes, trapped in the Soul Cage, were, almost, more confused than frightened. Almost.
“Sorry again, sir.”
Askeraz held out his free hand and collected another card. He repeated the process frantically, checking each and every entry that the Hellspawn had brought to the moment of his triumph.
That they were playing bingo right now? Bad enough, but considering victory was partially about celebration Askeraz could forgive party games. What he couldn’t forgive was the lack of understanding inherent in the cards. That had to be corrected now.
Askeraz waved an arm, and hellish magic swallowed the souls of the heroes. While they screamed, he approached his assembled generals.
“To begin, if you’re including ‘Behold my power’ on the card, you might as well have a free space. Konrad the Black, one of the original masters of dark triumphant speech, a wretched man who truly codified the forms of the modern art, said in his Soulbinding Treatise that a speech which does not include reverence to power, should not be considered a victory, nor a speech.”
Askeraz pulled out a large scroll for notes and continued. “Additionally the position of phrases on the grid completely ignore the accepted structure of the genre. For example, fundamental structural understanding is that a speech cannot have a reference to the power of light and dark within the opening of the monologue. It’s poor form. Both light and shadow motifs are central to the theming of closing statements. If you look into the research of Brimhilda Bladeheart—one of my favorite scholars of the craft—it’s clear her ideas on genre and managing audience expectation are central to my execution. I hope it’s clear at least. She’s an inspiration.”
Askeraz trailed off. There was just so much wrong. He snatched the cards away. He would show them. He would craft a tense game of bingo, where the chance of victory was equal on each card based on a proper understanding of the sacred art of villainous monologue. None of this new-age free-form hippy bullshit. Before he could make a game, though, there were more lessons to teach….
“And furthermore!”

Hello I have the following games for sale, All games are CIB unless mentioned. Shipping is not included in price for Atari lot. Everything else shipping is included in the price.
All friends and family, no goods and service purchases. I’m getting to the limit this year before the IRS has their way with me. If you’re uncomfortable with that, I completely understand and appreciate you looking regardless :)
Will take pictures when requested

Rune factory switch bundle $70

• Rune Factory 3 Special sealed- $40
• Rune Factory 5 sealed- $40

Sea switch bundle $180

• Sea Horizons Limited Edition- $40
• Seven Pirates H Limited Edition- $160

Playstation 2 bundle $425

• Ed Edd Eddy’s Mis-Edventures- $30
• Shadow the Hedgehog (no manual)- $30
• Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2- $65
• Dragon Ball Z budokai Tenkaichi 3- (works 100% time on fat ps2s (was told has 60% to fail for slims, no idea why as when I bought it, I have a fat ps2)- $210
• Fat ps2 (Cables, controller, no memory card or box/inserts)- $130

Random Gamecube Game assortment Bundle $200

• F-Zero GX- $85
• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (disc label has common problem wear)- $100
• Namco Museum 50th Anniversary (no manual)- $25
• Taz Wanted (no manual, box art has slight water damage)- $15

TMNT GameCube Bundle- $110

• TMNT 1- $30
• TMNT 2 no manual- $40
• TMNT Mutant Melee- 60

Star Wars GameCube bundle- $40

• Rebel Strike- $25
• Rouge leader players choice- $25

Loose Pokemon Gameboy Bundle- $130

• Pokémon red (repro sticker, fresh battery, comes with manual)- $80
• Pokémon Yellow- $65

Super Monkey Ball GameCube bundle- $50

• Super Monkey Ball- $30
• Super Monkey Ball 2 Players choice- $30

Loose N64 Game bundle $75

• Mario Kart 64- $50
• Zelda ocarina of time (grey cartridge)-$35

Atari lot bundle- $150 obo

• This lot i won’t be selling separately. Looking to sell whole. Price charting sees it around $316 (probably more $270 since console needs cables) just want it gone. As shown, 7800 non cables and all untested accept for flashback 2. Pls take it off my hands. Flashback 2 console is tested and working!

7800 console untested as no cables
Comes with these games
Asteroids 7800 Boxing 2600 Combat 2600 Cosmic Ark 2600 Dodge Em’ 2600 Donkey Kong 7800 ET the Extra Terrestrial 2600 Freeway 2600 Galaga 7800 Ghostbusters Blue Label 2600 Grand Prix 2600 Moon Patrol 2600 Pac-Man 2600 Pole Position II 7800 Spider Fighter 2600 Video Pinball 2600 Winter Games 2600 Yars’ Revenge 2600

Now that MultiVersus has returned, there is debate as to whether the game arrived with either positive or negative additions to the now fully finished, polished, and launched game. Many argue that the new mechanics have actually improved on the gameplay from the Open Beta alongside other neat additions, while others argue that the execution of the Beta versions gameplay amongst other details were remarkably better than the excuse for a finished game in these people's minds. In my opinion, the Open Beta beats the Official Game "quality" by a huge landslide, and here is why I believe that.

1. "The Camera Zoom And Slow Paced Gameplay:" A lot of people seem to be aware of the camera zoom system that was implemented in MultiVersus (Which by the way, cannot be modified to where it is completely gone), alongside the dramatically slower movement. It seems that a possible reason for why Player First Games included this monstrosity of an addition was because of players reporting the spam of attacks in matches alongside the seemingly way too swift gameplay, which of course lead to Player First Games including the previously mentioned implementations in the relaunch, thinking that players would "think outside the box" with attacks when playing. Back in the Open Beta days, there was a little something called "Attack Decay!" Sounds wonderful right? Well, my friend, here is a description of this glorious mechanic; Attack Decay basically made opponents attempts at spamming attacks utterly useless! This mechanic rewarded players who were already thinking creatively when utilizing their fighters moveset splendidly, but it seems that everyone at Player First Games thought that this aid for players who aren't spamming the same move forgot its existence to where it is M.I.A in the Official Game. About the fast-paced gameplay, let me present a question; Do you really prefer the new slow-paced gameplay, or the way the movement worked in the Open Beta? The movement was arguably floaty during the Beta days, but you would think that the gameplay that for the most part did not need any fixing whatsoever (in most peoples eyes) would be perfected by only editing the very small grievances and glitches in this way of playing the game, right? Nope; we would instead get gameplay that really shows the transparency of the playable characters not fitting in the new gameplay style at all (Iron Giants meets the Dexter's Laboratory Map for example) that seemingly only a small portion of players seem to be content with. I am willing to bet that if a dedicated fighting game enthusiast were to playtest both the Open Beta and Official Game versions of MultiVersus, the enthusiast would prefer the Open Beta's almost near perfect fluidity that was fun to participate in compared to the clunkiness of the Official Game that feels like a chore to play through after a couple of matches.
2. "The Corporate Similarities To Other Free To Play Games:" From the removal of the beautifully drawn 2D renders in game to make way for the ugliest 3D renders, to the layout of the Fighters menu quite literally being the FTP Battle Royale Locker, to the exclusion of a proper fighting game character select screen, almost everything about the new UI for MultiVersus screams "Fortnite" and "Stumble Guys'" unoriginality instead of a celebration of a company's Intellectual Properties with colorful, vivid, and creative design that actually was in the Open Beta. When you launch a game like Super Smash Bros or any MARVEL VS. CAPCOM game besides Infinite, you can feel the authentic love and passion poured into every single aspect of the game. When you log on MultiVersus, you are bombarded with microtransactions that probably cost as much as a wedding ring when accumulated together. Adding to these problems, fighters who should be carefully selected and handpicked with the intent of being well thought-out inclusions to the roster are treated like the average skin that adds no value to the gameplay in the average FTP game. So many people are fine with the idea of MultiVersus having an infinite number of character slots and franchises one day that could give Fortnite's colossal library of franchises a run for its money, but has anyone thought about the example of not having every participant in a baseball game receiving the big trophy, as well as keeping the roster at a reasonable limit to avoid having the roster the same size as a MultiVersus fan roster on DeviantArt? We have characters like Banana Guard before Scooby Doo, Samurai Jack, and many other characters who are objectively better picks for a celebration of Warner Bros as a whole; and yes, every good fighting game has a good selection of joke characters, but MultiVersus has not even reached the excellence of other platform fighters with their current strategy (putting emphasis on the most laughable and unnecessary aspects of a game) to add a joke character in a roster that has missing combatants that are way more important to Warner Bros history. But hey, Warner Bros and Player First Games have to make that green paper somehow, and they more than likely don't care about the fact that adding a "Passion Project" like Banana Guard before Daffy Duck is a massive slap to the face to people who want beloved characters added to the game that are not treated as muses to sell rubbish.
3. "Miscellaneous Stuff That Doesn't Need It's Own Category!!!:"

The Minigames are boring and suck for the most part, except for the Target minigame.
The coloring of the opponent and allies team color on the fighters looks atrocious and weird.
The game has crashed and disconnected over 20 times due to lag that will come at you even if you had the best Wi-Fi and/or Internet on the planet. They really should have prioritized working on the netcode instead of ruining the fluidity of the Open Betas gameplay.
If they were trying to make the graphics better with Unreal Engine 5, they failed miserably! Everything looks shiny and gross compared to the Open Betas graphics. "Work Smarter Not Harder" I guess.
The new dash attacks feel very clunky most of the time.
The scrapped Guilds mode sounds a lot better than Rifts mode. They are more or less the same, but the details about Guilds sound much more interesting than what we got in Rifts.
You cannot play as characters you don't own in offline modes such as "The Lab." (They took out the Training map from the game too)
People are missing the characters they purchased with real money???
The characters are so huge now and need to be their original size in the Beta.
Hopefully everything gets fixed, as I do want the game to succeed and be in the greatest state it can be because right now, everything is a dumpsterfire compared to the very low lows of the Open Beta days. If you guys have your own problems with the game or have anything to say about the game, leave a comment and have a great day!

Loved this artwork of my boy Timberino in DC Pride 2024 by artist Robin "Zombie" Higginbottom, but I have no idea who the other character is! Searched high and low but no dice so far figuring it out on my own. Side note, this makes me wish DC would list characters featured in the pinup art for these specials as they do for the stories! Thanks in advance for the help.

I've been thinking about this a lot, how can a Music/song be considered objectively Good? So I've gathered a few points to enlighten this subject.
Firstly, music like most things can be quantifiable and arranged. By definition, music is the art of composing different sounds to form a melody or an harmony so that should be the basis of what would be a good song, in other words a nicely arranged group of sounds. Now, there are different rules when arranging these sounds and musicians throughout history have developed whole lot of theories about it that are still used today to actually make songs. With different instruments we should be able to make sounds that represents something like a feeling or an image and that's what makes them so meaningful. Like the song on the beach in the movie "her" for example, it was made in a way that we feel the warmth and love the two characters are experiencing or in exit music by Radiohead where the music crescendo into that incredible peak where whe know it's the culminant point of Romeo and Juliet's story. Well obviously it isn't only about following rules and making textbook music it's also about mixing and breaking rules.
Secondly, my all time favorite about creating art especially music is experimenting. Obviously genres where created so we can locate ourselves in this big musical iceberg but they can also be used in a way to create revolutionary sounds by mixing them and getting creative with them. I know it can be a double-edged weapon and it can turn into a disastrous load of "what the f am i hearing" but sticking to only one rule could get boring overtime and we constantly need evolution in our world. Most of the music we know today would never existed if it wasn't for the pioneers that dared to experiment. I think one of the biggest example of that is Hip Hop, a pillar of modern music right now that wouldn't exist if it weren't for DJs that looped drums and old music samples and the MCs that had the idea to rhyme over a beat. Now that we're talking culture, what makes a Music good is also it's cultural value, right?
So thirdly, the quality of the music could be mirrored in it's values for us the listeners as an individual and as a community. Music as an art has the burden of carrying years and years of history and culture so it has a considerable impact on our society as a whole. Music weights heavy on how we perceive things and helps us at better understanding ourselves and each other, it serves as a catalyst whether it's for the artists or the listeners. Music can bring the wind of revolution or the sweet taste of nostalgia, it could represent a whole movement or just one tortured soul in a bedroom. Professor John Keating once said "Poetry, Beauty and Romance... These are what we stay alive for" and for me Music is the embodiment of that and should be truthful to that in order to be considered good.
To wrap it up, music must then be well arranged while fused with different inspirations and should represent something powerful to be considered objectively Good. However we can't ignore the subjectivity variable because we all have our own tastes, vulnerability and cultural belonging to judge music.

After powering through Wheel of Time in three months (well worth it), I'm struggling to stay focused on anything else I read because it just doesn't live up. I've started several books and been bored a few chapters in and gave up, even though they're books I typically would like. Or, I'll find myself barely even paying attention and suddenly I'm halfway through and have no idea what's happening.
I'm looking for something that will grip me from the start. I'm not overly concerned about much beyond that. Would prefer a standalone or series with 4 books or less, but open to longer -- I just need an exciting, fast-paced plot and maybe a twist or two.
I'd prefer big-name recommendations...I've read a decent amount of fantasy, but not so much that I've covered even a quarter of this sub's top 100 and I'm tying to get there. Open to lesser-known works though, especially if they fit a bingo square!

I don't really want this to go viral or anything but sincerely just want to put all in one place all the things I know about the situation because I don't think it's with people I know irl....
TDLR: true off my chest, my mom is almost certainly emotionally cheating on my dad based on what he's told me and I know way too much about this situation.
My mom was the typical housewife when I was growing up, very young mom to another guy whose out of the picture entirely; I literally can't even remember the dude's face.
My real dad met her when she was still young, single mom and he still fell for her. He loves her so much. His devotion is really boundless for his family; he was a kind of typical dad when I was growing up, working long hours to move up the corporate ladder, make money to get the four of us out of an apartment and into a house. Us older kids, we were his kids, no doubt about it, even when they had two more kids.
He wasn't perfect. He got angry when he dealt with shitty clients all day and came home to a chaotic household. He would get mad/sulky if I didn't great him at the door. He spanked the boys. He broke the glass table once, when he was really angry.
At the time, obviously, my mom was the stay at house mom, cooked and cleaned.... With hindsight, I think her child rearing could've really used some work. We were left alone a lot, her still in the house, but working on finishing school. We were put into after school activities to keep us engaged, but she never really played with us or gave us activities like I feel a stay-at-home mom should. She let me tell her about her day, but she never really engaged with what I said to her, just listened. Maybe she didn't listen.
I remember one time she had a college class and I can't even remember how old I was.... maybe 4? But she left me outside the class as it got dark, because she knew I was a good kid and wouldn't go anywhere.
They were probably too young for this many kids, or maybe even kids at all. Us older kids definitely contributed to raising the other two, we'd babysit on date nights, etc. Not often. But enough.
But my parents eventually made their way to a couples therapist. things got a lot better, for a few years. My dad worked on his anger issues, mellowed out a lot, and they became all about the love languages and how to love each other and us well.
When I moved out for the first time, things seemed good. They seemed stable at least.
But now, 6 years later things have felt.... Weird. What I type below is a mix of things I saw and things my dad told me.
With hindsight, my mom definitely has taken up a lot more space for herself. She works a lot of hours and put the youngest two into a LOT of extracurriculars. The youngest, she said, should be well rounded with their extracurriculars.
Sports. Music. Scouts. She wanted to put him in an art or language class to be "well-rounded". I personally feel like she just doesn't want to raise the kid after school. They're left home alone A LOT. As in, I will call them in the afternoon and they're home alone because everyone else is at work, or the gym or whatever.
I worry for that one.
During last Thanksgiving, my dad said my mom is starting to "blossom". She's always been an introvert, never had many friends, has been a touch judgemental, and stayed off social media. But now she's making work friends, engaging with the community and totally leaving my dad and the kids behind to some degree. She never invites anyone, they have to ask.
But he wants her to grow. He wants her to have friends, so he encourages it.
He starts stepping up around the house; with the pandemic, he became able to work from home half the week, so he does, he drives the younger kids when they need it, manages the house, even learned to cook.
My mom makes a new friend. A guy.
And she's had guy friends before. But my dad says the majority of her texts are with him. She's now on social media.... Posting things for him.
When they go to family events and things, she text him pictures of the events and pictures of herself... Nothing sexy as far as I'm aware, but I can't think of a single guy friend she'd be texting photos of herself unless he's gay and she's looking for fashion advice (he's not gay). And she always seeks him out.
My dad told me this, basically crying. This is the moment I think she may be emotionally cheating.
How can you spend all your time thinking about someone your not with, talking with them almost 24/7 unless you're intensely emotionally invested?
I personally fuck with the LGBTQ+ community, I think my mom is demi and this is so very very close to cheating, as close as you can get without touching.
SHe meets this guy a lot without my dad.
So my dad begs her to go back to couples therapy with him, and she does.
She puts up the boundary that my dad is not allowed to interfere with her friends, that he's just being overly jealous. The therapist poses the thought to my dad "if she decides to cheat on you, there's nothing you can do". The boundary, she told me. The words, my dad told me.
Obviously that hurts.
My dad asks her if she's in love with him (my dad). And she says no.
Obviously my dad is so hurt by this, but their time is up and they have dinner plans with friends.
My dad does not want to go. He begs her not to go.
She makes him go.
She makes him go put on a happy face with their friends when she just probably broke his heart.
I was there that night, for the holidays at that point. I sat with my dad, put a shoulder to his. I didn't know the details of it all, but I saw my dad texting their therapist and saw when he came home and it wasn't good.
When we get home, my mom says "so what do we want to do, family movie? Game night?" I balk. What the fuck is she talking about? Why doesn't she give a shit about my dad, someone she's spent twenty years with who's never shown her anything but devotion?
I say no, and entertain my siblings while my parents go upstairs and talk? for literally 3 hours.
I get called in when I'm getting ready for bed, trying to ignore anything coming from their room.
My mom promises it's nothing crazy, they're not getting divorced.
What?
I just want to go to bed at that point.
The next day, my mom takes me out, explains some of her side of the story but never elaborates on how she hurt my dad so much , just saying he's not allowed to interfere with her friends. I don't ask about that guy.
She says "your dad asked a question that he didn't want the answer to. He got upset when I answered honestly, because you know I'm always honest"
She's a snob and judgemental of emotions so I just stop asking questions.
My dad is trying so hard to keep it together guys.
He has all these tools from dealing with his anger issues, hes's meditating, he's taking complete care of the youngest kids, as best as he can.... He once told me he was scared to lose my mom (like, her dying) because he'd have no idea how to take care of the kids. I kind of think that's what happened.
He's no longer himself. He's quiet. He's very thoughtful. He's so self-controlling.
All this, changing almost everything of himself and she says nothing. He asks her for acknowledgement, a thank you and she says "You should be changing for you, not for me"
I am almost scared for him.
On mother's day, he did everything to make it special for her. He encouraged the younger kids to make her breakfast, take her out for the day, she got to go to the spa with her lady friends.
She never thanked him. She never thanks him for his support.
He finally realized that it's a fight. someone has to give in, either her, just SEE him, or he's going to give up someday.
How do I feel about all this?
I might hate my mom. She's a shitty partner, and not a very good parent right now either. I think regardless of how she views it, she is putting this one guy on a pedestal over everything else in her life. I think she is just waiting for my dad to give up.
Part of me wants to tell him, that she's stubborn as al hell and she's not gonna give up. I think he knows it.
But he loves her so much, and I don't think I should know even half of any of this, but I've seen too much. I know too many things that I'm not allowed to tell anyone.
should I encourage him to tell her that even if she doesn't see this coming to a divorce, that's where it's heading? Should i encourage him to divorce her?
Should I explain to him what emotionally cheating is?
God, the youngest kids. They're the ones suffering the most of this and I don't even know if they know it.
I wish every conversation I had with anyone in that household doesn't have me standing there with the question on the tip of my tongue; "do you know this is going to end and painfully?"
I wish I could see my mom as a good mom again. I wish I could see my dad a whole person again.
Thanks for reading and while this is a true off my chest, god I'd probably take any advice.

I'm planning to make a martial artist character to go into the DLC with, and I figure who better to model it after than the Turtle Hermit himself?
I've already got the Caestus and Spiked Caestus that I'm gonna switch between with different AoWs for my "fighting techniques", along with the turtle shield and talisman for that extra stamina regen. I'm also planning to get the night and flame sword and/or Comet Azur to act as my Kamehameha.
If anyone's got further ideas for weapons, weapon arts, or clothing options, I'd love to hear it. I just cant wait to get whatever DLC weapon gives me those sick flying kicks.

"I want to pick *points* this player and *points* that pl— oh wait, that's just a mannequin in similar clothes."

Mannequin (Outsider): Once per night, when a player chooses a player, they might register as choosing you instead, if legal. You then learn the real chosen player.

The Mannequin quietly takes the place of one player in up to one choice each night.

• Resolving the affected ability happens between the two sentences of the Mannequin ability. Any effects the ability would have on the Mannequin are applied before they learn who they replaced. If they are no longer a living Mannequin when they would learn this, they don't.
• The change is momentaneous, not maintained: Once the choice has been misregistered, it remains changed for the purposes of anything that later checks what was chosen before, even if the Mannequin is dead or droisoned. The choice itself was recorded incorrectly, and the record isn't fixed by the Mannequin not having the ability to do that again.
• Players who think they have an ability but don't can still choose players. It might not affect anything through the ability they don't have, but the Mannequin still learns their real choice.
• A droisoned Mannequin can't redirect any choices while droisoned, but they can wake to learn an arbitrary name anyway. If they're droisoned by the ability they redirect, they can learn an incorrect name, or not wake at all.

Jinx

• Butler: If a player with the Butler ability has their choice changed by the Mannequin, they learn who the Mannequin is.

I don't know why you'd do this as an ST, but the Butler ability doesn't work unless the Butler knows who they're choosing and why, so it needs a jinx.

Examples

The Monk chooses to protect the Fortune Teller. The Mannequin is protected instead, and learns the Fortune Teller's name.
The Fortune Teller chooses the Imp and the Soldier. The Fortune Teller receives a no. The Mannequin wakes to learn the Imp's name.

If the picker chooses multiple players, the Mannequin only replaces one of them, and only learn the one they replaced.

The Vigormortis chooses to kill the Sage. The Mannequin dies instead, and does not learn the Sage's name.

The second part of the ability never resolves because the Mannequin lost the ability partway through.

The Alchemist Poisoner chooses to poison the No Dashii. The Mannequin is poisoned instead, and may or may not learn a player's name.

This poison does not undo the "choice" of the Mannequin instead of the No Dashii. The poison does however come into effect before the Mannequin would be told who was really picked, so they may learn the wrong player or nothing at all.

The Alchemist Devil's Advocate chooses the Poppy Grower. The Mannequin is protected from execution. The next night, the Alchemist Devil's Advocate chooses themself. The Mannequin cannot replace this, because the ADA would have chosen them two nights in a row. (The ADA could also legally have chosen the Poppy Grower.)

"if legal" prevents the Mannequin from being "chosen" by a character that shouldn't be able to choose them tonight.

The Lunatic chooses to "attack" the Ravenkeeper. The Mannequin learns the Ravenkeeper's name. The Lleech learns that the Lunatic chose the Mannequin. The Lleech follows suit and kills the Mannequin.

Why does it learn?

Even working only once per night, this seems like it would be a rather destructive form of misregistry, likely enough that most players with this ability would self-nominate day 1.
But I also want getting rid of the Mannequin to be a valid option for the good team, for the same reason. Thus, no "even if dead".
So how do we keep it from being unfun to stay alive longer than necessary?
The information part of the ability is a carrot for the Mannequin. If the Mannequin can work out who was affected, it can be used to reverse engineer how and why the ability was used, and facilitate some amount of confirmation between the Mannequin and players whose abilities were redirected.
It also acts as a balancing measure against STs using the ability in certain overly punishing ways.
For example, imagine you're the Mannequin in the Fortune Teller example above, and you manage to connect with the Fortune Teller. Hmmm, kind of interesting that the Storyteller used the ability to redirect an FT's pick away from the Imp player, isn't it? That's arguably more suspicious than an FT yes on its own, considering the existence of the red herring mechanic and the ambiguity of which of the two players is giving off the yes. But only if the FT and the Mannequin are able to trust each other.
This also makes it potentially useful for ST's to occasionally use the Mannequin ability even when it wouldn't actually change the result, for evil players to bluff having picked the player the Mannequin is claiming to have learned, or for Minions to bluff being the Mannequin (wouldn't recommend it for Demons without a backup life).
In short, I think the Mannequin learning who they replaced is far more interesting for everyone involved, including the Mannequin themself. It gives the Mannequin something to do while alive and a chance to mitigate or even utilize the damage their ability does without necessarily sacrificing an execution and a good player's democratic powers.

Interactions

Townsfolk

• Alchemist: Some Alchemist abilities are often avoided because the Alchemist might pick the Demon. The Mannequin could mitigate this a bit... while alive.
• Amnesiac: If you use this on an Amnesiac that hasn't bingo'd, you might be a jerk.
• Chambermaid: One of the reasons the Chambermaid is so strong is that most Demons wake every night. The Mannequin can give the Chambermaid a +0 instead of the Demon's +1, since any Mannequin that can still mess with Chambermaid info tonight necessarily has not woken yet. (The Mathematician has a jinx to account for it waking after the Chambermaid, but I see no reason to do the same favor for a Mannequin that is actively being used to mess with the Chambermaid.) The trade-off is of course that the Mannequin learns who they subbed in for, which could be devastating if it gets back to the Chambermaid.
• Dreamer: There's a really mean thing an ST could do here: Each night, the Dreamer picks a different player... and gets "Mannequin / [evil character]".
• Exorcist: Like in the DA example above, the Exorcist can't be Mannequin'd two nights in a row.
• Huntsman: If you use the Mannequin on a Huntsman who actually picked the Damsel for once, I become the Huntsman and hunt you down. I bet you added the Damsel on top of the Outsider count too.
• Lycanthrope: Usually when the Lycanthrope's kill doesn't land, it implies the target is evil or the Lycan droisoned. But the Mannequin can attract the Lycan kill to itself, saving the target while still preventing other deaths that night. This doesn't actually say anything about the Lycan target's alignment, but it's worth questioning why the ST would deny both the Lycan and the Demon their intended kills using an Outsider ability. If the target is evil, it offers deniability. If they're good, why were they saved? Is evil stomping? Are they another Outsider?
• Mathematician: I've been going back and forth on how exactly this works (specifically whether the Math reacts to the redirection if it has a different outcome, checks whether the outcome was correct with the Mannequin chosen, or both), but it boils down to "math makes headaches".
• Nightwatchman: "Hey, Andy, I got some mail addressed to you. It said Benny is the Nightwatchman."
• Professor: The Mannequin isn't a legal target for the Professor while alive, and so can't redirect the Professor's pick. Which is good since a Professor somehow picking a living Outsider would doubly fizzle.
• Ravenkeeper: As seen with the Dreamer, I think there's something extra funny about interactions where being Mannequin'd causes the picker to be shown the Mannequin token.
• Snake Charmer: The Mannequin is not the Demon (usually), so it can be used to prevent a charming (good for the Snake Charmer, bad for the good team). But if the Snake Charmer later comes out with who's definitely not the Demon and which nights they picked them, the Mannequin can recognize that they replaced a pick.
• (There is a possible but convoluted interaction where the Mannequin gets handed Lil' Monsta, fails to get themself executed the next day, then gets indirectly Snake Charmed. The Snake Charmer picks the Sailor, then gets told they're the Mannequin holding the baby. The Mannequin becomes the poisoned Snake Charmer; they don't learn the Sailor's name. Then later that night the Minions wake to move the Lil' Monsta, having no idea anything happened.)
• Village Idiot: Like the Dreamer bullying and bird violence earlier, it's entirely possible to use the Mannequin to show a sober VI good every night. Or just that one time they pick the Demon.

Outsiders

• Barber: The Mannequin can intercept a Barber swap, swapping characters with one of the real choices. They don't learn who was really chosen. This should be done sparingly since it's an Outsider messing up an evil player's use of another Outsider ability.
• Drunk: The Drunk's choices can be affected by the Mannequin; this only matters in that the Mannequin still learns the real choice, which ensures that your choices lining up with a Mannequin doesn't indicate you're not the Drunk.
• Goon: If a player chooses the Goon, but the Mannequin redirects the choice to themself, the picker never chose the Goon. The Goon does not flip and the picker is not drunked (but gets info on / affects the Mannequin instead).
• Klutz, Moonchild: Neither of these can be affected, because the Mannequin ability only works on choices made at night.
• Lunatic: The Demon can see the Mannequin as the Lunatic's choice. As in the example above, this might be worthwhile if the Demon is following the Lunatic's choices and the Lunatic chose someone the Demon shouldn't kill for their own sake (such as themself, a Minion or a landmine Townsfolk). Since this can also be a reason to redirect a real Demon kill, the Lunatic learning that the player who died was the Mannequin, and maybe that their target was a landmine Townsfolk, might still believe they're the Demon afterwards.
• Ogre: This is yet another nice thing about the Mannequin learning who they replaced. If not for that, Ogre/Mannequin would need a jinx similar to Ogre/Recluse or Ogre/Spy, for the same reason: It's unfun for the Ogre if their alignment isn't solvable at all. But because the Mannequin knows they replaced the Donkey in someone's choice on night 1, they'll be looking for someone who picked the Donkey, and can inform the Ogre that they're good even if the Donkey is evil. (That said, stopping the Ogre from turning evil is again using an Outsider ability to interfere with an Outsider ability to evil's heavy detriment.)

Minions
Many Minion interactions are more likely to be relevant to an Alchemist than to the actual Minion, because this is an Outsider and should ideally be used to interfere with good more than evil. As such, I will treat the Minions below alignment-agnostically unless otherwise noted, with good ones probably being Alchemists.

• Assassin: The Assassin's "even if for some reason they could not" clause does not prevent the Mannequin from jumping in front of the knife and dying in the target's place. The Mannequin doesn't interfere with the Assassin's ability trying to kill, say, the Sailor; it interferes with the Assassin player's choice of which player the ability should try to kill in the first place. Now, if the Mannequin can't die for some reason, the Assassin ability can still kill them.
• Cerenovus: Poor Cerenovus, wondering why the claims they ordered are coming from the wrong part of town...
• Fearmonger: Oh, this one's rude.
• Harpy: The Harpy might be even more confused than the Cerenovus, since the Mannequin could replace either the player who's supposed to be mad or the player they're supposed to be mad about.
• Marionette: See Drunk. Also, a Marionette thinking they're the Mannequin might wreak havoc on town's info, getting names that imply their ability was used on players who actually got exactly the info they asked for.
• Pit Hag: This works just like you'd expect it to. It is worth noting that the Mannequin-turned-something-else doesn't learn who the Pit Hag really picked, because the character change resolves in the middle of the Mannequin's ability.
• Summoner: Yes, the Summoner choice can be redirected to turn the Mannequin into the Demon. No, you probably shouldn't do it to an evil Summoner unless you want a rerack. Either way, the Mannequin-turned-Demon doesn't learn the real choice.
• Widow: The Mannequin can soak up Widow poison and be unable to proc later. The main benefit to doing this would be that the Mannequin can be told their ability was used on choices that were never made, confusing the Mannequin and making them look evil, or on choices that gave correct information, misleading other players. But the Widow can also see that the Mannequin is in play and decide whether they want to do this themself, so it might be a little rude.

Demons
Demons in general (with a couple exceptions) can have their kills redirected to the Mannequin. This is mostly useful if they were about to kill a landmine character.

• Al-Hadikhia: I imagine even with the carrot, most Mannequins would be okay with dying to prevent an Al-Had sweep. Unusual case of the Demon learning immediately that one of their choices was redirected to the Mannequin. If the Mannequin chooses to live and there isn't a sweep, the Mannequin learns who the Al-Had really picked.
• Fang Gu: Out of all Demons, the ability for the Demon kill to be redirected to the Mannequin is probably the most useful to the Fang Gu, which jumps if it hasn't already. The Mannequin ability becomes a safety hatch for the ST to drop the Demon through if necessary. The dead Fang Gu might want to be careful about outing to the player they targeted, though.
• Kazali: "You'll have the Mannequin player as your Minion and you'll damn well like it!" Better than letting the Kazali pick the Soldier, but otherwise probably best avoided.
• Lleech: Yes but don't: The Mannequin can become the Lleech host instead of whoever the Lleech chose. If it weren't bad enough for the Demon to not know the host is the wrong player, there's also the fact that Mannequins are likely to be okay with dying early.
• Pukka: The Mannequin being poisoned after a choice is redirected to them doesn't mean they weren't chosen.
• Vortox: Since the Mannequin is an Outsider, the information on who they replaced is not affected by the Vortox.
• Legion, Lil' Monsta, Yaggababble: Can't have their kills redirected because they don't make picks, but can kill the Mannequin at the ST's whim anyway because it's how they work in the first place.
• Leviathan, Riot: Can't have their kills redirected because they don't kill at night at all.
• Ojo: Can't have their kill redirected because they choose a character, not a player. There is an argument to be made that they choose a player via a character, like how the Courtier and Ojo can become Goon-drunk, but that's not how the Mannequin functions. The Mannequin replaces choices before they're filtered through the ability they're made for.

Travelers
Most Travelers can't be affected by the Mannequin because they either don't make picks or pick in the daytime.

• Barista: If the Mannequin gets a Barista 2, it might be time to call for exile.
• Bone Collector: The Bone Collector runs into the same issue as the Professor: The Mannequin is an illegal target for the Bone Collector while they have their ability, unless they've already been Bone Collected. A Bone Collected Mannequin can in fact redirect a Professor's ability, though they're not resurrected because they're not a Townsfolk.
• Bureaucrat: I think the paperwork that says this Mannequin should have three votes might be forged.
• Harlot: "Choose a player." "James." "Alright, one moment... ... ...Kate has accepted your invitation; you learn that she is the Mannequin."
• Thief: "If you have to steal people's votes, take mine instead."

I was going to post this in Japan. But it's not allowed. So I thought of presenting this here to get more direct answers:
I was looking for news related to the Japanese monarchy. I stumbled into an English site dedicated to news from Japan:
90% in Japan support idea of reigning empress: survey
Here are the 3 comments under this article that stood out to me:

1. "What's the point when the Emperor or Empress has no power nor Empire?" (12 likes/9 dislikes)
2. "I support the idea of disbanding the entire imperial system, along with all systems of royalty across the world." [...] (15 likes/ 13 dislikes)
3. "The 90 percent that don't count, like so many other decisions in Japanese political, socioeconomic scene." (13 likes/14 dislikes)

I believe the article was deleted because it was littered with negative comments. I'm not sure if they are Japanese because they used English profile names and they commented in English. The article is very recent so it seemed unusual to delete it for housekeeping. Also, Japan Today is a Tokyo-based online newspaper. So this must be the Chrysanthemum Taboo phenomenon.
According to Wikipedia: "The chrysanthemum taboo is the Japanese social taboo against discussion or criticism of the Emperor of Japan and his family, especially Emperor Hirohito/Showa (1901–1989)."
This made me think: Do ordinary Japanese avoid discussions of the Imperial Family?
I went to a random Japanese news site to look for an article on the same topic:
90% of people are in favor of a female emperor! The momentum for the realization of "Emperor Aiko" is growing within the Kishida administration, causing concern for "Princess Kiko's feelings"
I translated the Top 3 comments under this article:

1. "If the Kishida Cabinet were to steer the ship while ignoring the will of 90% of the people, wouldn't that be a failure of democracy? Furthermore, I feel that Princess Kiko's feelings are irrelevant, and that she should instead be considerate of the Imperial Family." (45,000 I empathize/I see 383/Hmm 2767)
2. "The world is moving towards a new era. I don't see the need to be obsessed with male lineage. Above all, it's wrong to put pressure on women for something they cannot control, such as having to give birth to a boy. Now that we don't know what will happen in the future with the coronavirus, war, earthquakes, etc., seeing Aiko's Mary-like smile is very reassuring and healing. I sincerely hope that Aiko will become the Emperor." (11,000 I empathize/I see 36/Hmm 524)
3. "I think Aiko is a good choice. The Emperor and Masako were educated, so I think they will be able to be close to the people. It's the Reiwa era, so I want them to stop treating women as superior to men. Looking at Mako, Kako, and Hisahito, Aiko, who grew up in the Imperial family, is the best!" (32,000 I empathize/I see 103/Hmm 1324)

It seems like people are not only talking about the Imperial Family, they also openly talk about members they like and don't like.
But this does not extend to Japanese pop culture. They barely mention the Emperor of Japan or his family. Most of it was indirect. Known examples:

1. In the anime Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There! (2015) - The Emperor was hinted to allow the evacuation of civilians to the Imperial Palace.
2. In Sword Art Online (2012) - Kirito and Asuna were talking about the Imperial Palace's digital services being separate from the rest of the internet.

Weirdly, I can identify specific three older Japanese animation movies where the Emperor was directly mentioned:

1. In Hayao Miyazaki's Grave of the Fireflies (1998): A soldier committing seppuku cried out "Tenno Heika Banzai!" (Long live the Emperor!).
2. Memories (1995) - In the second part of the anthology, "Stink Bomb" mentions the Emperor refusing to leave Tokyo despite the mass evacuation of citizens.
3. A late 90s/early 2000s anime about the romance between then-Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako. I forgot the name.

In criticism of the monarchy, I know an Australian journalist wrote a book detailing the difficulties Empress Masako experienced when she was Crown Princess. Japan managed to control its release in their country, with the help of nationalists who harassed publication houses, but they failed to control/persuade the author. It helps that he is a foreigner.
A political breach of taboo could be the end of a person's public service. In Post-war Japan history, I read about ministerial resignations caused by leaking Emperor Hirohito's opinions on sensitive issues, usually related to foreign and military affairs.
After the 3/11 tsunami, Diet member Taro Yamamoto gave a letter to Emperor Akihito about the plights of the victims. Politicians demanded his resignation. He likely heard some things from crazy nationalists. But today, he is still a Diet member.
So the Japanese people do talk about the monarchy. The extent of their opinions on the Japanese monarchy is mostly limited to news and gossip and written in Japanese so foreigners do not immediately notice the discourse around them. Anything more than that, like publishing critical deep-dives on the monarchy, references in fiction, and fictional portrayal, is rarely done and prone to attacks from nationalists. But breaking the taboo isn't as serious as it was during the Showa period. What do you think?

To preface admittedly I M22 am not super religious, so I might be a little out of touch with Christian values. It started at work. We both were friendly for my first month working there but didn’t really start talking daily till a month ago.Turns out we have a ton in common. Music, surfing, art, plants, shared life experiences, etc.
so she F21 asks me one day in the middle of our conversation for my phone number to go surfing or for me to go to church with her. We set plans up later that night and I go with her the coming Sunday. We go and sit down together and have a great time and I learn a lot about her values/life. I go on vacation abroad the next week and bring her a gift back and she’s super happy and later that day she asks if I can join her for her youth group at her church.
It also goes great, and we go out to eat with some of the other group members. On our way back to the car after dinner she compliments me and says “i like how tall you are” and gazes at me. I accept her compliment and continue the conversation. Her and I go back to her car and have a super nice vulnerable conversation about our lives for a long time.
Keep in mind she’s set no boundaries and I’ve done everything so far at her pace. She tells me then “hey I didn’t invite you here to convert you you know I really like spending time with you” We have a really long hug and I go home. (I mentioned I grew up Christian but don’t go to church a lot) Another work week of growing closer goes by, by now we’re constantly finding excuses to be around each other. I arrange for the weekend for us to hang out with a mutual friend.
But the friend flakes, and I approach her the other day and say “hey so __ couldn’t make it tomorrow, I’m still down to hang out together if you are”. What happens next confuses me she says “hey I don’t know if it’s a great idea to hang out one on one if we are just friends. We should do more of a group thing like my youth group, or church ”. I wasn’t even asking her out, I mean I like her but I don’t understand since she is constantly initiating with me and was the one who invited me to hangout both times.
I accept her boundaries and continue our other conversations like nothing happened. She clocked out shortly after. Even today though she seemed very much interested in me. She is a very sweet kind person. Is it possible she likes me but sort of caught herself before things escalated? Or values wise was I making her feel rushed by asking to hang out 1 on 1. I’m fine with being her friend too, it’s no issue. It’s just the signals I’m receiving are still very strong. Should I just take things slow and wait for her to give me a sign?

Hello. I am lucy. And i woudl like to make a fangame with the open source of pokemon tectonic thats based on the midwest. Ive never done a project this big! (Or at all) But im enthused to help and if necessary bankroll some art for fakemon and trainers. I've created a discord for archival and community purposes! Ill take whatever can be given! Balance help, design ideas, artists in need of comms, sprite artists willing to be commed or willing to teach, probably writers, programmers. Really even just some exposure will do me wonders for creating this project. I want to be a game developer someday so why not start with a property im very passionate about! Ive got a lot of fakemon art and ideas and a solid vision. So if anyone would want to join please let me know in the comments and i will send you a invite to the discord! Thank you!