Maybe I’m actually in a toxic situation (possibly narcissistic unhealthy Enfj friend and friend group who orbits around that enfj ) and I’m just trying to avoid accepting it. But rn I’ve been in a loop of negativity such as imposter syndrome, thinking the people I surround myself with at school is being colder to me. It’s complicated and obviously I can’t explain every grey and nuanced detail in this post, but I don’t know whether it’s my Ni-Ti making me go paranoid or if it’s genuinely my gut telling me that something’s wrong.
Again I can’t explain all the morally greys, how my friends are good people too or how maybe I’m the problem and etc. There are many ways u can see it and I can’t explain that in a Reddit post.
In theory, self isolation or me distancing myself amplifies my Ni-Ti loop. In my case I’ve been getting more thoughts on how I’m worthless or of no value to the friends I care about, how if I was to just leave they wouldn’t really care. (This is because in my group of friends I always seemed invisble or I didn’t stand out as much. The enfj and others in that group used make sure once in awhile I was heard. But maybe it’s me being crazy like lately they’ve been hazing me out as well)
i also no longer feel I fit in their group and that I’ve grown out of my friendship with my them
Examples (I get a vibe that my enfj friend and I don’t see eye to eye anymore but her unhealthy fe doesn’t want to confront me about anything or she doesn’t know how without making it passive aggressive jokes. maybe my Ni-Ti is making me loose sight of what’s Fe important to her and the group. My Ti has also been getting annoyed with her black and white views on people and world issues. I find she thinks she’s very observant and well read on ppl (she kinda is ) so when she gets a hunch from Ni-Se she immediately sticks with it and then labels it as good or bad no in between. )
So when that happens I get a feeling she projects certain hunches onto me without ever asking me questions or actually talking to me about it in any way.
I also find that I’m ask ways the one listening to her issues and she never does for me. This I could be paranoid ab so take with salt. But I find when she dumps her black and white anger on me, it’s hard to pull her out of it. And so I end up just being a listening and trying to weave my advice through nicely. She doesn’t listen or ask about my problems because I think she thinks she knows it already. Again this could be the loop feeding into the negativity, turning find more evidence on my bad hunch.
And then again my other friends in that group, such as an isfj tend to gravitate and kinda lowkey suck up to my enfj bc she is good company. And she really is. We all have a good time when she’s around (or atleast me included before now)
But I’ve been feeling so drained when I see them instead of how it used to be. There’s always this suppressed dread before I spend time with them now. Before, we had similar viewpoints and humour, but now I just feel like a backup friend that will be their fall cushion after their endeavours with other people.
Does anyone have similar experiences with falling out with friends? Or like experiences with unhealthy enfjs? Or just Fe doms because my close friends from that group are enfj and isfj
I’ve always been anxious avoidant and I can see how that is a big issue with situations like this but I really love this group of friends and I don’t know if it’s just me Ni-Ti paranoïa or if it’s actually a sign we’ve grown out of each other and that I should distance myself.

This is a straight to the point buyers guide for people that are wondering if any of the AL ships are worth buying or not. I am here to give you an idea of what's worth, and what's not. I will rank them in descending order for convenience. Keep in mind that these are from my own opinions on the game: my word is not law. These are just my recommendations from my personal experience and a spur of the moment deal personally.

Best Pick: AL Montpelier

This is a premium version of Cleveland, the USN tier VIII CL. However, unlike the later AL premiums, AL Montpelier was unique in at least, a very minor way: She has tighter shot grouping due to a 2.15 sigma versus the standard 2.0 at the cost of slower reload at 0.5 sec slower (7 sec vs 6.5 sec). The result is overall consistent salvos, at the cost of just a little DPM that can be fixed with Adrenaline Rush and Top Grade Gunner, depending on how you build her.
Besides that, she also has un-nerfed version of radar, at a 30 sec vs 27 sec on Cleveland. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you run Consumable Enchantments and or Surveillance Radar Mod 1, you have a larger number that the percent based changes will take affect on. Essentially, with both the commander skill and 2nd slot upgrade, you get 39.6 sec vs 35.6 seconds on duration. So a radar build is not bad compared to Cleveland. Besides that, she doesn't have access to the catapult fighter consumable, but that is super seceded by radar and anyways so who cares.
And above all else, it is a Cleveland, which is IMO, a very competitively viable cruiser at tier VIII, with it's very small citadel, thin profile / narrow beam that leads to a lot of over-penetrations, good DPM, good concealment, and good AA. It really only lacks in the speed, gun range, and shell flight time problems, which can be remedied with skill and positioning.
As far as the commander voice acting, Rie Takahashi voices Montpelier. If you do not know who that is or do not care, and just want to know if the commander's voice is annoying or not, then be happy that she isn't overtly grating compared to some of the other commanders you can get. I find her rather composed, cool, and relaxed, fitting the trope of kuudere, if you even know what that means.
TLDR: Premium Cleveland with higher sigma, slightly lower RoF, Longer lasting radar.

Runner Up: AL Sovetsky Rossiya

This is a premium version of Sovetsky Soyuz, the VMF (Soviet Navy) Tier IX BB. Like Montpelier, she is slightly unique to her tech tree counterpart, bar being premium, by having standard battleship dispersion (USN, Royal Navy, German, etc.) instead of Russian BB dispersion formula that gets way better inside 15km. She does also have 1.8 sigma versus 1.7 sigma, for slightly tighter shot grouping. So, while Soyuz excels at mid range, Rossiya excels at long range, which does reasonably well considering the average high tier meta these days.
Other than that, you retain all the upsides of Fast action Damage Control Parties, the tough hull design of the Sovetsky Soyuz. The only other thing you DO NOT get is the AA, as she has the Hull A of Sovetsky Soyuz, and in turn has worse AA overall. In fact, she has such bad AA that only Musashi beats her out in having worse AA for Tier IX battleships. So yeah, CVs that know their targets will have free reign on you, so stick close to allies in CV matches.
Now a I'll be honest with you, Rossiya is not a super competitive BB at tier IX, so this choice is really just down to being different in few ways instead of blatant copy paste. Really, only AL Montpelier is the only super competitive option here. So above all else, Rossiya is a side grade if anything and you should not fear of having FOMO for not getting her. Besides, she's not an historical ship that is going to get removed because it was OP, so fret not (COUGH COUGH MUSASHI, COUGH COUGH ALASKA, COUGH COUGH MISSOURI).
Lastly, the commander is voiced by Manami Numakura. I can really only characterize her as cool, tough, deep voiced anime woman archetype. I dunno really how to explain it that well, so I apologize for anyone that likes her due to my poor description.
TLDR: Premium Sovetsky Soyuz Hull A with 1.8 sigma and standard battleship dispersion.
OK, with those two out of the way, I want to put a disclaimer here that the next ships are purely optional and not super worth it IMO and really only selected for being different than the rest, I.E. not something that is currently offered in other ships / premium ships already in-game.

Optional 1st Pick: AL Prinz Heinrich

This is a premium version of Prinz Heinrich, the tier VII german battlecruiser of the Ersatz Yorck class. She is a 1 for 1 copy of Prinz Heinrich: no special differences here besides premium benefits.
Now, while she is not unique in any way, she is not a bad battlecruiser for tier VII standards. This mainly comes down to the 50mm deck plating she has in a tier wrought with battleships with just 26mm of plating on their decks. Really, any tier VII battleship that has more than 27mm of plating is really competitive in this tier, simply because they don't get overmatched or full-penned by HE. It's sort of why Scharnhorst '43 is so popular and good, since she doesn't get chunked for 10k when hit by 15 in + guns (380mm guns for ya'll metric nerds).
Besides that, she's not slow as hell, going at a decent 28 knots, has 15in guns herself, has fast acting DCP, and is the first ship in the german battlecruisefast battleship line that gets that sweet improved secondary dispersion formula, which despite the 9km max range, means that she has free DPM to let the game play itself essentially. Combined with torpedoes, she can bum rush many slower and weaker battleships that the german battlecruiser line is famous for. And on top of all that, she also has hydro for better pushing to see torpedoes earlier, or push smoked up ships.
Now for some cons, the guns, while using battlecruiser dispersion have an awful 1.5 sigma, so your shot grouping is... bad. Do not be surprised if a lot of your shells in your salvo get a mind of their own. Besides that, she's on the below average end of HP for tier VII, at 56k. Also, she does have 25mm bow and stern. She does have a 30mm extended belt (colloquially known as an ice breaker), which is followed by 120mm extended belt, that protects the lower portion of the ship from overmatch bar 18in guns that she MIGHT face in the likes of Georgia, Sun Yat Sen, Musashi, and Tsurugi, and Adatara. Still, that doesn't mean she is immune from overmatch, as the odd shell can still get through her bow and stern and chunk you, so do not bet on it 100%.
Now that is for the most part, the review. However, for any true fans out there, they know that Prinz Heinrich from AL is actually a P-Class cruiser, AKA Schill in this game. Since Schill was a limited time ship that required whaling for her, and that wargaming dropped the ball and just did "Oh this ship has the same name! Here ya go!" then you know how much this kind of sucks. If you just like Prinz Heinrich, and want her as a premium, you can ignore this tidbit, but for any true fans that DO NOT have Schill, you're shit outta luck.
As far as commander goes, the voice actor, Hiyori Nitta, does a wonderful job characterizing a carefree and bubbly character. As previously mentioned, I recommend putting her on Schill if you really care about game accuracy, that is, if you even had Schill to begin with.
TLDR: Premium Prinz Heinrich copy-paste. Get it only if you really like Prinz Heinrich (the ship) which is actually pretty good for its tier, and want a premium version of it, or Prinz Heinrich as the character.

Optional 2nd Pick: AL Shimakaze

Hoo boy, this one might be controversial. This is a special ship (NOT a premium ship) of IJN DD, Shimakaze.
Shimakaze really needs no introduction. It is the old school torpedo boat that coined the phrase "Torpedo soup" or at least contributed to that phrase. It can put 3x5 23k damage, 12km Type 93 long lance torpedoes into the water. It has some of the best concealment for her tier, getting down to 5.6km surface detect, and good speed at 39 kts (42 kts when speed boost is active). It has been here since the games launch, and well, admittedly, or at least in my opinion, has seen better days.
Still, while some other DDs might have powercrept her a little, you can't mistake the fact that a well played Shimakaze can terrorize a team that lacks the tools to pin her down. Even if that is seldom the case most of the time (48% win rate on NA out of 8 million battles), the ship still has strong tools when played to it's strengths. 23k damage torpedoes are no joke... if you get hit by them at least, as they have a pretty awful average reaction time of ~9.35 sec (according to wows ship builder). Now, this can be sort of remedied with building for torpedo speed, getting torpedo tubes mod 1 and swift fish to decrease that time to ~8.5 sec, but that's still far above the average of 7.8 sec most torpedoes have in other nations. Still, if you get the right angle, devstriking a full HP battleship is not uncommon if you get a perfectly lined up shot. Thing is, it takes WAY more skill and positioning than you think it does, especially considering that most top tier players sort of know what they're doing, and that a lot of top tier ships can run hydroacoustic search these days.
Combined with the fact that she has some of the worse gun DPM of any tier X DD, and has fairly low HP for the tier, it can be fairly hard to play this ship unless you get just the best matchmaking ever. It's a real feast or famine type ship, which I would say summarizes most of the IJN Shimakaze line in general, bar maybe the mid tiers. All this really means is that Shimakaze is NOT the most competitive DD at tier X, as arguably many other nations have better torpedo boats, or better yet, opt for hybrid boats that can defend themselves fairly well, such as the Pan Euro DDs. Still, as mentioned earlier, if played to her strengths, she can be a good ship, but all I am arguing for is that she is not a meta ship, at least in my opinion.
Now, onto the whole Special Ship thing. Yes, this IS a tier X ship that can be bought for money. And YES, this is like the ARP Yamato deal, allowing noob whales to skip to tier X and forgo all the blood sweat and tears that goes into grinding to top tier. And YES, IT'S A SHIMAKAZE, THE TIER X NOOB MACHINE. I DO NOT HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR MANY AL SHIMAKAZE PLAYERS EITHER. With that out of the way, what benefit do you get for getting a special ship version of Shimakaze?
Well, to start, Special ships essentially have the premium bonus package already baked in, I.E: +50% Credits, +100% Ship XP, +100% Commander XP, +100% Free XP. On top of that, you also have a reduced repair cost compared to a standard tier X. Besides that, you can freely swap commanders onto this ship like a premium ship with no retraining required, making it a good trainer. These are the ONLY 2 reasons that make this ship more economically viable compared to Shimakaze. While the bonus package on Shimakaze can achieve 1 of these 3 effects, the other two, reduced repair cost and free commander swapping, puts this above standard Shimakaze as a result.
So, unfortunately, This is a slightly better Shimakaze. So if you REALLY like Shimakaze, and want a premium version of it, well, here it is, for a lot of goddamn money. Like $100+ expensive. Go figure ya know?
Also, the commander is voiced by Saori Hayami.
TLDR: Special Ship verison of Shimakaze. Take if you are a whale have a lot of expendable income to burn, AND really like Shimakaze (The ship), and or really like Shimakaze (the AL character).

Optional 3rd Pick: AL Yukikaze

AL Yukikaze is a similar version of the IJN DD Kagero, but with F8 torpedoes and no option for torpedo reload booster.
Now, this is the last of the semi-unique AL ships, as every other one has been copy-paste. Yukikaze at the very least is different in that she has F8 torpedoes. These differ than Kagero's choice by having less range, (8km vs 10km), higher damage (21k vs 20k), faster reload (104 sec vs 112 sec), and higher speed (76kts to 67kts) which also leads to a better reaction time of ~8.8 sec vs ~9.45 sec.
Now, does this make Yukikaze better? No, not really, as 8km is rather short range for high tier standards. It does make them almost break past ~8 sec reaction time with a full torpedo speed build, the best of any type 93 torpedo, but combined with the fact that it has no other differences in gun handling, DPM, HP, and consumables, I find this shorter ranged torpedo to be a high risk high reward setup, which already exacerbates high tier IJN DD gameplay further than it already is, being so heavily feast or famine.
I can really only recommend this ship if you really like Kagero for whatever reason and really like the 8km F8 playstyle. That and if you like the history of the ship and or like the character of the ship, voiced by Kana Yuuki, despite how annoying and self aggrandizing her character is made out to be.
TLDR: Kagero but 8km F8 torpedoes.
OK, now for the ships I really do not recommend at all for varying reasons. The reviews are going to be more brief from here on out.

Skip 1: AL Cheshire

Only get this if you really, REALLY want to get Cheshire right now. Currently, regular Cheshire is off sale, and cannot be obtained. For whatever reason you think you might need Cheshire, this is the only way to obtain her at the moment in AL form. Which more than likely means that if you want her, you are more than likely a fan of the AL character, as the ship itself is pretty bad. Kind of polarizing given that Cheshire in AL is pretty meta, and her in WoWs she's pretty solidly in D tier for competitiveness.
She is essentially a worse Albemarle, having no Spotter Plane, and garbage DPM for the tier. Really, the 9.2 in guns really only offer 59mm of pen vs 34mm, and better AP pen with overall flatter flight times, but not by much. The armor is Okayish, but trust me when you will get smacked through your bow and stern often, as you have a stepped citadel that if you get overmatched through either direction, you WILL get citadelled. While you get that 50% cit and hull repair party, it really doesn't matter that much when it happens so often, or you just get straight up dev striked. Combined with the lack of spotter plane, that 16km gun range will feel really short, especially when you are bottom tier.
You can at least be happy that the AA she has is up to par in how she is in AL, as it's best in class for her tier. Well, mostly, but her Flak Count is above average at 6+1, and combined with always having defensive fire, I recommend getting the commander skill Focus Fire Training, so you get that +1 flak cloud for 8 in total, which combined with Defensive fires flak buff, those flak bursts will do 7k a pop, Which is the equivalent to instantly destroying about 7 to 3 planes depending on the type if they run into it while DF is active.
Besides that, the commander is voiced by Shizuka Ishigami, and well, pretends to be a catgirl.
TLDR: Get this if you really really, REALLY want Cheshire and you don't have one, or because you really like the AL character.

Skip 2: AL Hornet

This is just Hornet. You can get her cheaper with a 25% discount coupon. It's also a CV, which I imagine is not everyones cup of tea.
The commander is voiced by Nozomi Yamamoto, and personally, I enjoy the happy go lucky characterization she has. This might be the ONLY reason you want to get Hornet, that or because you like the cool skin the ship has, and or the free 10 point commander.
TLDR: Get regular Hornet with 25% discount. ONLY buy this if you love AL Hornet (the character) to pieces.

Skip 3 & 4: AL Azuma and AL Agir

These two are just Agir and Azuma, coal ships, that you can get absolutely for free. They are also not really the best Tier IX cruisers anyways, as Azuma is super vulnerable to battleships, and Agir doesn't match up to the likes of other large cruisers at this tier.
That said, I can only imagine you getting these ships for the same reasons for Hornet, and that is because you are a fan of the AL characterization of these ships, as Azuma is voiced by Kiyono Yasuno, and Agir, Ayane Sakura. Or you just like the ship skins.
TLDR: Get Azuma and or Agir for free with Coal. ONLY buy this if you love AL Agir / AL Azuma (the characters).

BONUS: Commander Pack

Hahaha no. Unless you really love AL and don't mind by dropping... looks at price... 100$+ USD and getting a ton of fully voiced commanders, then go for it. The only other reason would be because you are a fresh player and need 10 point commanders for most of the nations in this game, which is really only useful if you need say concealment expert on destroyers for example, then sure, go for it if you find that to be an OK option.

The expiration dates of LEAPS (Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities) are standardized by exchanges such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). These options typically expire on the third Friday of the expiration month. Here's a breakdown of how a 39-month LEAPS cycle can end in May:

1. Start of the LEAPS: LEAPS are typically introduced in cycles. For example, if a LEAPS option is introduced in February 2021, it will have its expiration set in January 2024, which is approximately 36 months later.
2. Annual Addition of LEAPS: Each year, new LEAPS are added with expirations up to three years in the future. Depending on the introduction date, the actual duration might slightly exceed 36 months, reaching up to 39 months. For instance, a LEAPS introduced in February 2021 might have its expiration in May 2024, resulting in a 39-month duration.
3. Specific Expiration Scheduling: Exchanges often list LEAPS that align with their standard option expiration schedules. If the expiration is set for the third Friday of a specific month, and the starting point falls slightly before the typical introduction cycle, it can result in an expiration period that appears to be 39 months.

Example Scenario

• Introduction Date: February 2021
• Expiration Date: May 2024 (third Friday)

Here, the LEAPS lasts for the entirety of 2021, 2022, 2023, and extends into the fifth month of 2024, totaling approximately 39 months.
In summary, the 39-month expiration cycle for LEAPS is a result of how and when they are introduced and the alignment with the standardized expiration dates, usually falling on the third Friday of a given month. This can extend the effective duration of the LEAPS beyond the standard 36 months, making it 39 months in some cases.The expiration dates of LEAPS (Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities) are standardized by exchanges such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). These options typically expire on the third Friday of the expiration month. Here's a breakdown of how a 39-month LEAPS cycle can end in May:
Start of the LEAPS: LEAPS are typically introduced in cycles. For example, if a LEAPS option is introduced in February 2021, it will have its expiration set in January 2024, which is approximately 36 months later.
Annual Addition of LEAPS: Each year, new LEAPS are added with expirations up to three years in the future. Depending on the introduction date, the actual duration might slightly exceed 36 months, reaching up to 39 months. For instance, a LEAPS introduced in February 2021 might have its expiration in May 2024, resulting in a 39-month duration.
Specific Expiration Scheduling: Exchanges often list LEAPS that align with their standard option expiration schedules. If the expiration is set for the third Friday of a specific month, and the starting point falls slightly before the typical introduction cycle, it can result in an expiration period that appears to be 39 months.
Example Scenario Introduction Date: February 2021 Expiration Date: May 2024 (third Friday)
Here, the LEAPS lasts for the entirety of 2021, 2022, 2023, and extends into the fifth month of 2024, totaling approximately 39 months.
In summary, the 39-month expiration cycle for LEAPS is a result of how and when they are introduced and the alignment with the standardized expiration dates, usually falling on the third Friday of a given month. This can extend the effective duration of the LEAPS beyond the standard 36 months, making it 39 months in some cases.

Back after 8 months. Some thoughts as a PS5 player.

1. It's a level to know where you're at. I dropped off kind of pre Rennala in an NG+ (I know only because I left a note in an Obsidian file). I get and agree why the game and the genre has the lore doctrine it has, but obscurity by design fights against just picking things up again. I feel like this is why online discussion and support is a core part of playing and understanding the game meaningfully. I believe there are folks who really do figure things out by axiom, whether its completion paths, combinations, stacks, buffs, scaling, builds, hidden areas, while believing it's not a game philosophy that works without an internet, and to be frank without the highly centralised iteration of the internet we have today. I think we should encourage players to look at guides from the get over just do it yourself alone.
2. It's a beautiful game. More than I remember. I don't just mean the art style or that it's had ray tracing added. It's things like level of detail, extreme use of color, particle effects, and especially, high contrast. It's all very painterly, but brush brave and stroke precise in a Sargent/Rubens/ElGreco sense, or in the sense of how great mini painters emulate insane realism in 25mm. Some main things I don't love are the washed out distance fog. I get it, but it creates a flatness than undermines (mo) one of the most beautiful, awesome, worlds in video games.
3. Menus could make it an even more beautiful game. I'm left wondering the extent FromSoftware understand what some of us are doing when we play this game and spending time in the world. Me? I'm spending a lot of time in menu and using the hud constantly. The tea drenched sepia smol boxes does little good here. I would love for the on menu and hud part to get the same level of game attention as core mechanics. I feel like this is the more important criticism than saying menus are spreadsheety. And things ae just too small. The items I'm looking at are beautiful, intricate designs, with such lore. They deserve more visual real estate and even animation (why not play the gesture or provide a show action when you select it?). I also feel like item cycling lacks slickness compared to main combat, but both matter in fights. Subjectively, I tend to get killed when trying to pick the right flask more than timing a roll. And so I think menu is underserved as part of combat.
4. Sound design is out there. I hadn't realised the extent Elden Ring imprinted its sound on me, especially combat effects and character actions. This is Nintendo / 80s Arcade levels of imprint. I would say also the audio helped me attune to combat that much faster: the game sound literally tells you if you're playing and timing well. The VAs, to be clear, are excellent imo, and I wish we knew more about them and celebrated them more as actors the way other games are doing (I'm there for the Ramon Tikaram as Godrick podcast), but the direction and writing misses something and becomes limiting somehow trapped in the era that Demon Souls was made. That said, I just did come back from months of BG3.
5. Physicality. I think the audio effects can't be underestimated to help lend weight, but when you try and swing that blasphemous/gargoyle two hander thing you have going on, you really do feel their heft, whereas when I was a moonveil spammer on my first run, it was whip fast. While being a tad critical of how the game hides its mechanics, they do matter, impressively so, in the sense of gameplay. That glove vs that glove can be night and day. And what makes this amazing is how those choices really affect your overall game approach. It's so meaningful and it feels like you're playing a different game each time. And that leads me to—
6. —Length. I'm torn. On the one hand, in the last decade,I'm playing and loving games that lean to longer play throughs (AC:O/A, HFW, BG3, Elden Ring, RDR, Rogue Trader, at a push TLOU2). On the other hand, Dungeons, Field bosses, etc, start to get repetitive and even gimmicky (oh, this rune bear also has shout, ok). I wonder if there's an Elden Ring that cuts the game to a half or even a third such that I could play through more times. BG3, the game I'm coming off, to be clear has the same problem but also the same potential. Because I feel your build choices make the game really, really different. Like to the extent it's spectacularly different, not just minimaxing a load out. This evening for example, I ended up by accident beside a crayfish in Liurnia. I had to fight and because of the current build a toe to fight was a reasonable thing to do. Yet, they were such big nope in other playthroughs with different builds. So I'm left wondering, would a shorter game I complete more times be 'better' than a longer game I complete fewer times?

So: yeah, I'm thinking I'm back. One of the greatest games ever made.

Hello Reddit.
Today I finally beat the 2.3 storyline. I still have all sidequests to do, the current event and god knows what else is there. While I liked the overall story, I think the pacing in Penacony is horrible. I had to force myself to continue the story sometimes and I just want to talk about it a bit.
First of all, I am someone who normally reads everything that's available. Maybe not immediately, but when I meet an NPC I talk to them about everything. Which leads to my first complaint. The Emotion Dial was a neat idea, but overall I think it just bloated NPC dialogues and basically all of it was nice fluff, but overall pretty uninteresting. Now this is completly optional, so it's not that much of an issue, but I have to say, I am happy when this "feature" is gone.
Now to the main issue. 2.1 and 2.2 have many parts where it's just dialogue followed by dialogue followed by running from A to B followed by more dialogue. And these parts can take 1+ hour until you get to actual gameplay. I do like my visual novels, so I can deal with large amounts of text, but in this case these long stretches of just story and nothing else completely killed my vibe and I often just stopped after 1-2 hours. People complain about the Luofu storyline, but the overall pacing was still much better there. I also think 2.0 didn't have that much of a problem, even if there were also long parts with nothing but dialogue (the Firefly date for example, at least until you reached the Rooftop area). To give one concrete example:
Starting 2.2, you get some dialogue and then can explore the Dreamflux. After that you get more dialogue, a flashback and you finally reach the Moment of Scorchsand. Now All of that, with exploration and talking to NPCs and doing the story it took me somewhere between 2-3 hours to get here. I had a whooping 1 battle against normal enemies in that timeframe. This is followed by some small gameplay areas, until you meet Sunday which followes with more dialogue. After that, you get Mishas backstory until you finally reach the Theater. Thise whole section is essentially just one cutscene after another and takes anoter, oof, 30-60+ minutes? Then you play through the whole theater until you get to the "boss". Once that is beaten, you have another 20-30 minutes of just dialogue until you reach the fake ending.
I am not sure if I am alone here, but imo Penacony has just way too many cutscenes and too long stretches without gameplay. I don't really know what could be changed besides "dial back the cutscenes" though.
So anyway, what do you think about the pacing of Penacony? I still think the overall story was good, but they could have cut 1-2 hours of dialogue and nothing would have been lost, imo.

I finally muster the courage to finally resigned from my work. I thought I'd regret it, but I'm honestly feeling so relieved and at peace with my decision. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. I've always been a firm believer na if your work costs you your mental sanity, then it's not worth it.
Skl, I was working with a Customer Service Manager from an e-commerce merchandise provider in the US. I was with them for a year, and all throughout my stay, I never felt connected to the team. There were initially three of us, but one left recently kasi nag abroad. Yung goal ko lang naman sa work is simple — pumasok, magtrabaho, hit my daily goals, and end my shift in peace. However, throughout my stay, I noticed that my client treats me differently than two of my co-workers. She treats them as part of the team, and ako spare tire lang. She always acknowledges them and shower them appreciation, tapos ako breadcrumbs lang. Whenever the two commits major mistakes, wala kang maririnig sa kanya. Pag ako, which is rare tapos minor lang, she loves to make an example out of me sa team. Nage-expect akong she would slide me a DM to inform me about my mistake and what should I do better next time pero hindi ganun. Pagalit always yung tono and she loves being shady about it. Whenever I attempt to reach out and open up about how I've been feeling, most of the time seenzoned ako or busy daw siya. Yet, ang ironic kasi she always says to us na "if you ever have problems, feel free to reach out to me."
For one year, tiniis ko yan. I didn't mind it even to a point na yung mga tasks nila e ako pinapagawa. Kahit I've noticed na hindi equal distribution yung workload, e tumahimik na lang ako. But I've had enough.
The past few month has been really hectic. Nagresign yung isang kasama namin and the client doesn't want to hire a replacement. So yung workload e mas dumami and sobrang busy na. Ang unfair lang na if I get to compare my daily tasks dun sa kasama ko, I have too much na di ko alam paano pagkakasyahin in a day. To quote what the client says, "isn't your workload too much for one person?" Alas, akala ko ibibigay niya sa kasama ko yung ibang tasks pero wala. Hanggang commentary na may pa additional pang "please try to complete your tasks within the day. manage your time wisely." Naknamputa. Ako busy pero yung kasama ko sitting pretty. Lately, she started to micromanage us. Pinapasend niya kami ng daily accomplisments in a day para alam niya if we're being productive and if may room pa daw for us for additional tasks. Loaded na nga ako, and guess what, dinagdagan pa ako and yung kasama ko nada. At one point, the client reached out to my manager from the agency side and pinapatanong bakit may days ako that week na di umabot sa daily goal of 50 Closed Tickets a day. On those days, I only closed 49 and 48 tickets. Pero wala silang say na on the rest of the days, umaabot ako ng 100+ closed tickets a day. So ayun, pinapa explain ako kung bakit di ko na hit yung goal and what steps should I take to ensure I hit my daily goal moving forward. Pero ang unfair lang na wala silang say dun sa kasama kong tenured na on bihira lang maka hit ng 50 Closed Tickets a day. Yung tipping point talaga is how the client loves to make a big deal out of my responses. Ang defensive ko daw if nag aapologize ako, pag nagfi feedback daw siya madami akong salit, etc. I love feedback, but it should come in a nice tone. Hindi yung nagbigay ka ng feedback tapos ang mafi feel ng tao is demoralized. I opened this up to my agency manager, but as always, ako yung mali.
To cut the story short, I resigned and surely the best decision I made this year. Deserve ko to work with a client who values my hardwork and input sa team. Ang funny lang kasi since I still have access my Slack, nagpa bonus si client dun sa kasama ko ng $250 at pinost pa yung screenshot sa channel namin tatlo. Ang laman ng email is "Please give XXX a $250 on her next cutoff for she's been working hard for us the whole month." Para naman may ginagawa si ate talaga e ako nga lahat gumagawa ng workload sa team tsaka bago lang ako umalis sa team lol.
My next move after this is to upskill and focus on myself. Nakaipon ipon naman so I'll go back to the gym, eat well, sleeep sleeep sleeeeeeeep, and enjoy the things I love. Hopefully, I'll land to a job where I can excel, grow, and feel valued. Ekis na sa akin mga VA agency.

Played the new season for maybe 12ish hours, but item rework is an improvement andwhere it should have been at launch. However, still has some glaring issues that need work. And some other things that would be great additions. Honestly feels like this last year was Blizzards way of beta testing the game prior to their new expansion.

• blue/white items have 0 value after WT2 and shouldn't ever drop. No reason. Instead, drop a pile of gold equivalent to what the average sell price is instead.
• Rare items are essentially useless past WT3. Would rather just see a large sum of gold and/or crystals drop instead. Just as if you were to salvage it
• everything is so damn expensive. Remember when game initially released, how everyone was up in arms because it cost so much to do just about anything? It's gone right back to it. Seems like the gring up to lvl 70 was so expensive because you swap gear so much. At level 79 and finding most of my end-game gear, the amount of gold dished out slowed and am finally seeing more than $2 million steady in account. Prob more noticeable now because less trash loot equals less income from selling. I always sell rares/blue/white, then salvage the legendaries, even in new season. Have plenty of crystals so salvaging rares isn't needed.
• is red the only color pallet you can choose from in helltide? EVERYTHING is a variant of red. When summoning the new boss, it can get extremely hard to see what's going on since it all blends in together.
• we need a "Quality of life" section in gameplay settings. > add/remove highlight from monsters and scenery. > option for map overlay > option for sharper contrast in skill effects, lingering effects, and overworld scenery. > option for auto pickup when walking over item. FOR ALL ITEMS, not just consumables. Then have a slider for pickup radius. > zoom distance slider. Have a further zoom distance and a slider to adjust distance. > loot filter. There may be less items, but still a lot of trash. I still go to town and sell 90% of the items I pickup.
• we should not have our ability to socket gear locked behind world bosses. If you are going to lock it behind world bosses, then have them spawn more frequently. Or have them align with helltide more often and award multiples. Some people rarely see a world boss because of real life events. Those individuals can no longer make use of crafted gems.
• can we add mechanics, health or something to make world bosses seems more impact full? Maybe start with 1 mechanic and have an additional mechanic each of the potion ticks. So after the third tick, theres 4 mechanics the boss has actively running. Or something similar, because as of now It's a loot piniata that takes less than 10 sec to kill. Would rather click a daily login button and claim the loot as a daily login bonus.
• I've been playing druid, so I don't know about other classes, but been having issues with casting skills and character orientation. Will cast pulverize to my left, but character will face the right. I've had an entire NM dungeon where my char faced right lol. Stuff casts where it should, just trippy when it happens. Running around a dungeon always oriented in one direction is highly entertaining.
• capstone bosses are a complete joke. 1 hit first boss at lvl 40 w/ pulverize druid and completed 2nd boss to go into WT4 at lvl 50 in less than 10 sec. WAAAY to easy lol.
• feel like this game in general is just easy. Devs said in the various streams that they want to keep it easy and not complicate things, but I wonder if they say that because they truly just want an easy experience or if Microsoft wants them to keep it easily playable to boost numbers and subscriptions through game pass?
• make glyph levels sync across all characters. This will make making alts WAY more fun!
• beam colors and effects. The greater affix indicator isn't enough to catch they eye of someone speedrunning, especially since some walls and environments are similar colors and may blend together. They didn't seem to interested in beam color changes during Streams, but what about effects? Keep the colors, but add a bright blue(or other color) shock pulse that surrounds the beam and let's you know that an item with greater affix dropped? I'm almost at the point, level 79, where I'm not picking up legendaried anymore. Have the gear with affixes, tempering that I need and are all 900+. So I'm just picking them up now to upgrade the codex. Anything thats is an upgrade, is minimal percentages at this point. Having something to let me know there's an upgraded item laying there would be huge. The lightning pulse surrounding beam and framing item in inventory would be much appreciated.
• I would like to see something to distinguish Ubers from Regular Unique items as well. Maybe Ubers should have the solid red beam and knarly effect, if it has greater affixes, to get you stoked about it dropping.
• Don't feel like glyphs get enough xp from NM dungeons. From lvl 63 to lvl 79 and 2 glyphs are at 15. I took all my powder off of bonus xp from kills and put it all on glyph xp, but doesnt seems like it's a noticeable increase. Would be nice to see a secondary way to earn glyph xp. Maybe ability to craft a potion that gives you an amount in glyph XP equal to number of cinders spent in helltide. Lasts like 30min or something. Only applicable to WT its crafted in and takes cinders just to make. For example, 200 cinders and X amount of herbs craft a potion that grants you 1 glyph xp for all future cinders spent in 30-60 minutes. With helltide buffed to a level where it doesn't feel like a chore to do anymore, why not have something else to make it even more rewarding.
• buff overworld events and side quests to keep them relevant. Helltide is fun, but need a break from it and NM dungeons periodically. If you buffed side quests and overworked events, would be a nice relief and change of pace.

Game updates are overall good. Brought it back to where it should have been at launch. Will it keep me entertained the entire season? Not a chance. Im 2 days in and getting bored of the repetition. Helltides to WT4, then NM dungeon until glyphs at least lvl 15, then to the 100 stuff, if not there already. But ive also already made each character and leveled to 100 in previous seasons. So i guess the desire to make alts isnt there now, but may be for newer people playing. If you bought the game, then there's no reason why you shouldn't give it a run for a day or two, but I wouldn't buy the game just because of this patch.
Not a fan of making us pay 4 additional times just to fight the lords of hell though. What's a Diablo game without Diablo!!

I recently had a disappointing experience with Professor Messer. I found him to be unprofessional, particularly when I approached him with my concerns about the course. Despite clearly explaining my issues, he refused to offer a refund. This lack of understanding and unwillingness to address my problems has left me frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend his services based on this experience.
Not only is Professor Messer unprofessional and quite literally messy (unorganized), he WILL NOT provide money back after expressing dissatisfaction. His notes and courses on YouTube are advanced and not beginner friendly WHATSOEVER. I spent countless numbers of hours researching concepts from his videos using outside resources to TRY to understand grasp material and still end up confused. AVOID PURCHASING HIS STUDY BUNDLE $185 IT IS NOT WORTH A DIME when you're spending more time using outside sources when studying his material. His bundle comes separately and is sooo confusing to navigate. Not user friendly either.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT EASIER TO WEED OUT THE COMPANIES THAT ONLY CARE FOR A DOLLAR SIGN. HIS EMAIL SIGNATURE READS "THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HAPPY STUDYING" WHILST HIS STUDY BUNDLE HAS BEEN NOTHING LESS THAN FRUSTRATING.
Lastly, during my time studying Messer and researching concepts he fails to explain clearly, I have found the HIDDEN GEM of Ace Networker who explains all the material as if you're 5 y.o hahaha! He is a lot cheaper and explains concepts like a real human being to human being and uses real life examples to help you understand and grasp concepts. Here's his YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AceNetworker and his website https://acenetworker.com/netpasspro/ which his website also states he offers 100% money back guaranteed within 30 days if not satisfied. GUARANTEED YOU WILL BE!
SOOOO HAPPY I have found Ace Networker!
Has anyone else dealt with this mess with Professor Messer?

I recently had a disappointing experience with Professor Messer. I found him to be unprofessional, particularly when I approached him with my concerns about the course. Despite clearly explaining my issues, he refused to offer a refund. This lack of understanding and unwillingness to address my problems has left me frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend his services based on this experience.
Not only is Professor Messer unprofessional and quite literally messy (unorganized), he WILL NOT provide money back after expressing dissatisfaction. His notes and courses on YouTube are advanced and not beginner friendly WHATSOEVER. I spent countless numbers of hours researching concepts from his videos using outside resources to TRY to understand grasp material and still end up confused. AVOID PURCHASING HIS STUDY BUNDLE $185 IT IS NOT WORTH A DIME when you're spending more time using outside sources when studying his material. His bundle comes separately and is sooo confusing to navigate. Not user friendly either.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT EASIER TO WEED OUT THE COMPANIES THAT ONLY CARE FOR A DOLLAR SIGN. HIS EMAIL SIGNATURE READS "THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HAPPY STUDYING" WHILST HIS STUDY BUNDLE HAS BEEN NOTHING LESS THAN FRUSTRATING.
Lastly, during my time studying Messer and researching concepts he fails to explain clearly, I have found the HIDDEN GEM of Ace Networker who explains all the material as if you're 5 y.o hahaha! He is a lot cheaper and explains concepts like a real human being to human being and uses real life examples to help you understand and grasp concepts. Here's his YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AceNetworker and his website https://acenetworker.com/netpasspro/ which his website also states he offers 100% money back guaranteed within 30 days if not satisfied. GUARANTEED YOU WILL BE!
SOOOO HAPPY I have found Ace Networker!
Has anyone else dealt with this mess with Professor Messer?

I recently had a disappointing experience with Professor Messer. I found him to be unprofessional, particularly when I approached him with my concerns about the course. Despite clearly explaining my issues, he refused to offer a refund. This lack of understanding and unwillingness to address my problems has left me frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend his services based on this experience.
Not only is Professor Messer unprofessional and quite literally messy (unorganized), he WILL NOT provide money back after expressing dissatisfaction. His notes and courses on YouTube are advanced and not beginner friendly WHATSOEVER. I spent countless numbers of hours researching concepts from his videos using outside resources to TRY to understand grasp material and still end up confused. AVOID PURCHASING HIS STUDY BUNDLE $185 IT IS NOT WORTH A DIME when you're spending more time using outside sources when studying his material. His bundle comes separately and is sooo confusing to navigate. Not user friendly either.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT EASIER TO WEED OUT THE COMPANIES THAT ONLY CARE FOR A DOLLAR SIGN. HIS EMAIL SIGNATURE READS "THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HAPPY STUDYING" WHILST HIS STUDY BUNDLE HAS BEEN NOTHING LESS THAN FRUSTRATING.
Lastly, during my time studying Messer and researching concepts he fails to explain clearly, I have found the HIDDEN GEM of Ace Networker who explains all the material as if you're 5 y.o hahaha! He is a lot cheaper and explains concepts like a real human being to human being and uses real life examples to help you understand and grasp concepts. Here's his YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AceNetworker and his website https://acenetworker.com/netpasspro/ which his website also states he offers 100% money back guaranteed within 30 days if not satisfied. GUARANTEED YOU WILL BE!
SOOOO HAPPY I have found Ace Networker!
Has anyone else dealt with this mess with Professor Messer?

I recently had a disappointing experience with Professor Messer. I found him to be unprofessional, particularly when I approached him with my concerns about the course. Despite clearly explaining my issues, he refused to offer a refund. This lack of understanding and unwillingness to address my problems has left me frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend his services based on this experience.
Not only is Professor Messer unprofessional and quite literally messy (unorganized), he WILL NOT provide money back after expressing dissatisfaction. His notes and courses on YouTube are advanced and not beginner friendly WHATSOEVER. I spent countless numbers of hours researching concepts from his videos using outside resources to TRY to understand grasp material and still end up confused. AVOID PURCHASING HIS STUDY BUNDLE $185 IT IS NOT WORTH A DIME when you're spending more time using outside sources when studying his material. His bundle comes separately and is sooo confusing to navigate. Not user friendly either.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT EASIER TO WEED OUT THE COMPANIES THAT ONLY CARE FOR A DOLLAR SIGN. HIS EMAIL SIGNATURE READS "THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND HAPPY STUDYING" WHILST HIS STUDY BUNDLE HAS BEEN NOTHING LESS THAN FRUSTRATING.
Lastly, during my time studying Messer and researching concepts he fails to explain clearly, I have found the HIDDEN GEM of Ace Networker who explains all the material as if you're 5 y.o hahaha! He is a lot cheaper and explains concepts like a real human being to human being and uses real life examples to help you understand and grasp concepts. Here's his YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@AceNetworker and his website https://acenetworker.com/netpasspro/ which his website also states he offers 100% money back guaranteed within 30 days if not satisfied. GUARANTEED YOU WILL BE!
SOOOO HAPPY I have found Ace Networker!
Has anyone else dealt with this mess with Professor Messer?

Lately, I've been very curious as to where a lot of these far out claims that unbelievers make come from (i.e. Lilith allegedly being Adam's "first wife," the Bible allegedly endorsing rape and slavery, Jesus allegedly coming only for the Jews, etc). So, I posted in a sub of unbelievers, to inquire as to how they go about studying the Bible to determine what they think it actually says.
Do they just google "what does the bible say about ____?" Do they look to see if what they're reading is referenced anywhere else, or makes reference to another passage? Do they just read the Bible, cover-to-cover, taking notes, dog-ear pages, or maybe even consulting a commentary?
When the first few responses came back, I thought maybe my question wasn't clear enough, or had been misunderstood; no one was actually addressing the question I'd asked, but rather, they were referencing studies which claimed that atheists know more on average about Christianity than Christians, Catholics, and Mormons, or stating "there's just no evidence," or mentioning how they saw different people behave during covid. But not one person responded to the actual question: how do you study the Bible to determine what it actually says?
As more responses came, however, I realized my question was posed just fine; people (online, in the sub I'd posted to, anyways) simply aren't interested in having such a discussion. They would much rather just ignore the question, and sling whatever "evidence" they find most compelling at you in an attempt to prove to you that "the magic sky daddy is fake, your faith is a sham, the religion is a scam, and your book teaches monstrous morals." I think this is worthy of note, as something similar seems to occur during a majority of my interactions with unbelievers on social media.
This brings up two points I think many Christians need to be reminded of:
First, don't waste your breath.
If you're engaging in a conversation about Christianity, and your questions or points are being completely ignored, you might want to consider ending the conversation. It's simply not beneficial to engage with someone who is only there to argue and to prove you wrong. Now, what I am not saying is that we shouldn't be advocating for the faith, evangelizing, or sharing the gospel. But if the other party is not engaging with the goal of actually listening and reasoning with you, the conversation will devolve into an argument, and that argument will be of no benefit. I personally have taken to beginning/joining such conversations with the question, "If I could prove to you that the Christian God is real, would you believe in Him?" If the answer is yes, there's a pretty good chance you'll have a good conversation with such a person. If the answer is no, depending on the reason why (because it's pretty much always a "no, because..." answer), you may want to consider just leaving the conversation there. Don't waste your breath trying to convince someone of something they've already told you they will not believe even if you could prove it to them.
Second, trust in God's word, not your own argument. If you do run into someone who answers yes to at least considering God if you can prove Him to them, then it will be God who draws them to Himself, not your opinions, arguments, personal experiences, etc that lead them to God. What I've found during my conversations with unbelievers is that a vast majority of them have absolutely no clue what the Bible actually teaches! They may know a good deal about what the Bible says, but only what it says in this verse or that, specifically, which supports their argument; regardless if they have to take said verse out of context, disregard where another verse, in context, directly refutes their argument, etc. 8 times out of 10, what I've found is that any verse an unbeliever may use to show what they think is some horrible thing, if read within the chapter it's in, will gain the context needed to at least show their claim is incorrect (the remaining 2 out of 10 you may need to go a few chapters before or after to gain a better picture of the context).
Which leads me to my final point: unfortunately, in order to have a beneficial conversation with even fair and reasonable others, we as Christians must simply be more knowledgeable of scripture. You will not have time, for example, to read the surrounding 4 chapters of a verse to provide a full picture of its context in the middle of a conversation. You will typically need to just know it off the top of your head, or be able to find it quite quickly. This means that, among the other reasons why we should be doing this anyway, there is a benefit to reading your Bible daily. As Christians, we should know our Bible best. Are we not called to always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks an account of the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)? Should we be content, engaging in such conversations and struggling to deal with random claims which we should know are being taken out of context, and be able to refute, rather than derailing a conversation to focus on one point which isn't even scriptural?
Remember, the scriptures are the literal, recorded word of God (2 Timothy 3:16); do you reckon that you are more able to bring others to God than He is Himself? Do you think that your stories and reasoning are superior to the Almighty's? Trust in God's word rather than your own.

I really can’t believe we only have one week left, but with so MANY videos about do this, don’t make this mistake, who you should pull for….. I am getting kind of worried since I don’t know how the end game looks like (to farm more currency for pulling characters)
Should I be worried about meta? Can I just pull the charas I like and do well enough to get most of the weekly/monthly rewards?
VERY sorry for this comparison but for example in Genshin I never finished the last floor of the abyss fully and that was completely okay for me - as long as I can get the 70-80% of the rewards I am fine:(
I hope someone can give me an answer!

On the last Sunday of May, the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix and Coca-Cola 600 run throughout the day. And it would be stupid not to celebrate Motorsport Christmas at the Motorsport sub.
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How to do Signups
For each race, you can make a Pre-Race Comic or Results Poll (or both if no one signs up)
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Pre-Race Comic
This should be a regular comic centered around the race or events relevant to the race, with a panel towards the end with the race info. It should be posted before the race. Please mark it with the "Comic" flair. Example of a Pre-Race Comic
Results Poll
Similar to ones on cfbball, a results poll is a 15-25 (although we recommend to do the 25 for this occasion) slot ranking showing the results of the race. It can also be done as a Top 3 Podium poll (this only applies for F1, both can be made). It should be posted after the race and should use the official results provided by the sanctioning body. I can drop the template in the comments if ya ask. Please mark it with the "Ranking/Results Poll" flair. Example(s) of an Results Poll and F1 Podium.
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Races You Can Signup For
Now let's get into the races you make comics/polls for
-Monaco Grand Prix at Monaco (Formula 1)
-Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indycar)
-Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR Cup Series)
Other lower divisions and events following the day are fine too but are optional (such as the NASCAR Xfinity/Truck series and F1 Qualifying)
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Signups close on Tuesday, May 21 (Eastern Time). Remember follow the tutorial and rule, be civil and work things out if you and another person want to do the same thing, and always,
Happy Comic Creating!

Edit: don't respond if you're incapable of debating the idea. Making personal attacks is just weird. Just hit the downvote/upvote button to show your opinion if you're not interested in engaging intellectually
People go at Drake for THP6 but completely accept that Kendrick is pushing claims that have zero base. This is just an example of the reality that people will mindlessly believe anything if it aligns with whatever narrative they want. Let's have a look at the facts: Drake hid his kid and he had a campaign rollout for the public announcement
Drake was not in a LTR with the mother of his child. Meaning the responsible thing to do is to have a paternity test, especially when the kid comes out with blonde hair and blue eyes. After that it makes sense to focus on your family dynamic and figuring out how you're going to coparent
Any assessment of Drake's ability to be a father should be based on how he treats his kid. Anyone claiming that he should tell the world is exposing that they have some weird obsession and entitlement and ironically simultaneously demonstrating why he made the best decision
Yes, celebrities monetise their child announcements. What do you think the photoshoot Instagram posts are about? Or the magazine front cover and article? Or whatever other way they do it. Even if he had something with Adidas lined up that makes him a good businessman not a bad father lol
In the end there's zero evidence for Drake being a deadbeat or absent or even slightly bad father. Which is why the reaction to THP6 really exposed people's biasedness

Me (20) and my now ex-girlfriend (29) were together for a year (I was 19 and she was 28 when we met). We met due to studying the same course at university and we instantly hit it off. The start of our relationship was very intense. It felt perfect. We had an amazing connection, things seemed to flow so naturally, and things therefore moved very quickly. I even visited her home country and met her family after only a month of being together. We spent so much time together and we seemed perfect for each other. As a result, we both became very quickly attached to one another. Despite how perfect things were in the beginning, there were occasional glimpses of our own issues making their way into the relationship. For example, I started noticing small, sudden shifts in her moods and behaviour towards me. She was always so talkative, bubbly, and enthusiastic towards me, but there were a few instances during which she suddenly became more distant and silent, and her behaviour felt different than usual. This confused me, especially considering I didn’t know what the reason was. It left me guessing if there was perhaps a problem between us or if it was just a natural shift in her mood. Sometimes, it was due to her having a problem with me and other times it was just a natural fluctuation in her mood. However, I would always have to guess which one it was and as a result I started to become very aware of her moods and I felt like I had to start paying a lot of attention to the relationship to not accidentally upset or disappoint her in any way. When things were good between us, I rarely felt insecure, but when I suddenly started noticing shifts in her mood or behaviour towards me, I started to feel anxious and insecure.
To further elaborate, at times in the relationship, I found it difficult to read, predict, and understand her moods and her behaviour towards me: her behaviour felt inconsistent to me at times. One day she was super loving, talkative, and interested in me, and the next day it felt different. However, I didn't know if my feelings were justified or if I was simply overthinking and overanalysing her behaviour. Since she didn't tell me what was the matter even when I asked her, I was left confused and still guessing why there were these shifts in her mood.
She did tell me that she found it scary to trust others and, therefore, to be fully open with me. She told me that was why she would push me away sometimes, meaning that my feelings were not completely unjustified. She admitted herself that she could be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. She was also older than me and more the independent type, and didn't always need a lot of attention, which is also an explanation for her change in behaviour. However, I didn't know that at the beginning of the relationship.
There were times where it felt like I had to follow an exact script on how to act or what to say to not upset her. She would become upset at times, because she didn’t think I appreciated her or because I didn’t give her the reaction she had in her mind. When I didn't live up to these unspoken expectations, she became more distant and silent (or even slightly pasisve aggressive), like I mentioned before. She wanted me to naturally know what she wanted, since in her mind it was obvious and she didn’t feel like she was a hard person to to read, but it wasn't obvious to me. This didn’t happen too often, but it still had an effect on me.
To give an example of how she could deal with these unspoken expectations, there was an instance when we did grocery shopping together. I paid for it at the time, but she told me to send her a payment request for half of it and when I did so a few days later, I immediately noticed a slight change in her energy towards me. When I questioned her about this, she told me that there was nothing wrong, but when I came round her place later that day. she was extremely cold and unaffectionate towards me. Her reaction was like I had cheated on her. I wasn't allowed to sit or be close to her, she was visibly upset, she wouldn't talk to me, and I had to sleep on the opposite side of the bed. I even mentioned if me sending her a payment request was an issue, but she told me that it was fine since she had told me that I could send her one. The next day she was hot and cold towards me, going from acting normally towards me to cold and distant again. Only after I became very upset and questioned her about it again did she tell me that the reason she was acting that way was because she wanted me to offer to pay for the groceries. She had paid for the groceries last time, so she wanted me to pay for them this time (I would have had no problem at all with paying, but since she told me to send her a payment request, I did). She told me that she became upset when I hadn't offered to do so naturally, which caused her to feel like I didn't appreciate or care about her enough. This was the most extreme example from our relationship, though. However, this situation caused me to lose some trust in her and her words.
Her behaviour wasn't intentional. It seemed to be due to a mix of her character and the things she had gone through in her past. It seemed like it was more of a coping/protective mechanism for her. She was aware of this, but her awareness wasn't always enough for her to cope in a different way.
In the cases where I felt like there was a shift in her behaviour, mood, or energy, it left me guessing if there was anything wrong. I had learned to associate a change in her mood as there potentially being something wrong. I was just afraid of there being a problem between us and not knowing about it, like the payment request situation (and other situations).
At times, my insecurities, anxious attachment, and my resulting codependency from this relationship significantly affected her and put a strain on the relationship. For example, there could be absolutely nothing wrong and I would create a problem out of nowhere. I was dependent on her for my happiness and if there was even a slight bit of attention focused on someone else, it would bother me. Sometimes, this would make me overly needy and controlling. This frustrated and triggered her a lot, because she also wanted to give other people attention and felt suffocated by my unreasonable demands. This was also a reoccurring pattern in the relationship.
My fear of there being a problem between us which I might not know about, my fear of not being as important to her as she was to me, and therefore, my fear of losing her became too strong at times, which caused me to become insecure and worried. Especially the times where my insecurity and worry was unjustified affected her a lot. During those times, she felt like I was causing issues for no reason and she felt upset and frustrated that, despite her giving me lots of attention the days before, I would still need reassurance and interpret her behaviour as there being something wrong between us. This made her feel drained, annoyed, suffocated, and upset.
Her reactions tended to be quite defensive and dismissive towards me. I understand her reaction, because her feelings were completely justified, but she chose to respond in those ways to vent her frustration. She would tell me that I was annoying, way too needy, that I should stop overthinking her behaviour, and that I should work on my insecurities. She was correct though. During these moments, I would become very apologetic. I just wanted things to be good between us. There were also times I felt like I was taking responsibility for things I didn't feel responsible for, just to make sure things were okay. She wasn't completely wrong regarding what she was saying to me, but it was harsh. It was absolutely not my intention to cause a problem or to frustrate or annoy her, but because it seemed to affect her enough for her to become so defensive, I thought that my behaviour was unacceptable and blamed myself a lot. I also started feeling like my feelings were completely irrational and therefore I started doubting myself more.
Therefore, at times, I felt like I was walking on eggshells. I was afraid of bringing up a situation in which I thought there was something wrong between us, because I was afraid of being wrong and her reactions tended to be quite defensive and dismissive. She also felt like she was walking on eggshells at times due to my tendency to overthink her behaviours. She didn’t want to cause a problem either, since even small shifts in her behaviour could worry me.
During the relationship, I could at times become jealous when I was insecure, for example when she spent time with her friends or family without me, either through texting or in real life. This would obviously frustrate her a lot and was one of the most difficult parts of the relationship for her, since she was just spending time with others and didn't see how that could be a cause of insecurity for me. I tended to be rational and calm when I was insecure or jealous, but there were occasional instances where that wasn't the case and I acted in a more passive aggressive or guilt-trippy manner. I am not usually a toxic person, but I did display some toxic behaviours at times during this relationship.
We both had past issues which we projected onto each other at times. The relationship was very intense and that meant there were also many highs and lows. We had a deep affection and care for one another and we both thought the relationship was too good to be true. For me, it felt too good to be true be in a relationship for the first time and to have a romantic experience with someone I cared so much about, because I had never experienced that before. For her, it felt too good to be true that I was so kind and caring to her, because she had never felt that before from anyone else to this extent. She had always felt let down by people before in her life and she couldn’t believe that I wasn't like them. We were both afraid of losing each other. For me, it was expressed by going above and beyond for her, a tendency to be more clingy and have a need for reassurance, wanting to always feel close and connected with her, and things like that. For her, it seemed like she could show a combination of becoming distant and pushing me away, but also becoming very vulnerable at times too and showing me lots of love and affection.
My ex told me a lot about her past trauma and how life had been quite difficult for her the past few years. Her grandmother had passed away a 6 years ago and during that time she lost her group of friends (which included her best friend) after a big conflict in which she felt unfairly treated. It seemed like she had had quite a few friendships in which she didn’t feel like her needs were being met and she tended te feel unfairly treated. It was a reoccurring theme in her life.
Her other grandmother passed away ahalf a year before we met. She didn’t really have many friendships to rely on either at that time, because she studied abroad and her friends and family were obviously not present to support her. She also struggled a lot with academic stress during our time together. She had failed a few exams and fell behind, which compounded her struggles, especially since she was still grieving the loss of her grandmother. Then, her family dog passed away very suddenly 10 months into our relationship. It felt like her dog passing away was the last drop that made the bucket overflow. She loved that dog so much and it really affected her. Her grief was very intense. These incidents played a massive role in her mood shifts, especially considering she is an emotionally sensitive person and her moods already seemed quite easily affected at times.
She wasn’t emotionally stable and her emotional regulation seemed to be lacking at times too, especially considering she was 29. I was 9 years younger than her and in general life situations, I felt like the more stable and mature person for most of the relationship. I didn’t always act that way during our conflicts, though, but in general life it seemed like I was more regulated and rational. I was also the one who tended to take on a more caretaker role in the relationship due to my codependency.
Her emotions could be intense and easily triggered by other people or life stressors. She tended to attribute her behaviour and reactions more on external factors, such as her past experiences or the bad things happening currently in her life. Of course, she did take responsibility too, but often after the fact. Initially, it always felt like the world was against her. She was often the one feeling the most hurt from her past friendships. It was hard to not feel bad for her.
As a result, during the last two months of the relationship (after her family dog passed away), her emotional instability reached its peak. It was like her world fell apart. Her moods were very up and down, and she had depressive episodes during which she broke down crying a lot. During that time, I was pretty much her only emotional support. I took care of her a lot during that period. Things became very draining for me. Towards the end, I had given everything I had for her and had put all of her needs above mine. I felt more like a parent than a boyfriend. During this difficult period, we started triggering each other more frequently. I was often worried about her well-being due to her not taking care of herself very well during this period. I was starting to find it very hard to be supportive since I had become emotionally numb around that point. I had nothing left in me anymore. When I mentioned to her that I felt drained, she would feel upset. She interpreted it as me saying that her emotions was too much and she felt invalidated. Granted, I could have worded it more clearly, but I definitely didn't say it how she interpreted it. Towards the end, my behaviour also became slightly passive aggressive and controlling/possessive at times (I told her once that it bothered me how much she was texting her friends and that I wished she would text them less), and I had made an insensitive comment. I mentioned to her that I had become slightly less attracted to her and that she had gained some weight. I had become a caretaker for her, she wasn’t really taking care of herself, and I felt like this relationship was very draining to be in, and as a result I found myself feeling slightly less attracted to her. This feeling really bothered me, because I didn't want to feel that way. I loved her and wanted to feel 100% attracted to her. I thought it would be best to simply be honest with her. However, I should have worded it differently, because it obviously hurt her a lot. I should have not made it about her attractiveness or weight. I did apologise a lot and tried to reassure her that I did still find her attractive, but the damage was already done. I meant well, but I was very naïve in thinking that bringing that up was not going to have an effect on her. That is a harsh lesson learned from my side. I still feel bad about it.
However, I also felt very unfairly treated by her during that last part of our relationship. I did so much for her during that period relationship, yet she still managed to interpret some of my behaviour as me not caring enough sometimes. She seemed to become upset more frequently about very small matters and at times it seemed like she was nit-picking problems or finding reasons to become upset at me. This resulted in her becoming distant and passive aggressive towards me. That was very frustrating and exhausting to deal with, especially when I was already starting to become emotionally drained. She would say things like “Sorry for existing then” or “I guess I’ll just stop that then” when I felt bothered by something. This was also due time her own struggles and her grief at the time, so I fully understand.
Towards the end, my needs were not getting met. I just wanted to help her through this immensely tough period and it was more important to me that her needs were met than mine. I just wanted to see her happy, because as long as she was happy, I was happy.
Overall, she was generally a very loving, funny, kind woman who obviously cared a lot for me. We created so many amazing memories together and I will never forget her or the relationship. At times, things would be absolutely perfect between us and it felt like a dream. The relationship wasn’t constantly negative. We shared periods of stability and there are many examples of times when we were able to communicate in a loving and healthy manner. We shared a real love and had an amazing connection with one another. We were together for a year so that obviously counts for something.
The relationship became unhealthy for both of us, especially towards the end. There were toxic behaviours from both sides rooted in our own issues. However, there were also periods of stability and calm. It wasn't always a constant rollercoaster. Looking back, I believe we we did share more good memories with each other than bad ones, but in the end the relationship seemed to reach a point beyond repair. She felt very drained by my constant overthinking, and my insecurity and jealousy. She felt like she had to constantly prove herself as a result, which upset her a lot. She already had her own struggles and it seemed like my insecurities became too much for her and that the relationship became too unhealthy and upsetting towards the end. This was my experience so it will undoubtedly be biased in some ways. However, it is still a valid experience and I have tried to acknowledge her side as well.

I (f22) am a student and still live at home with my parents and sister (f20). I get along good with my dad, thats why I don't really mention it. However, I don't get along with my mother and sister at all and they make me the scape goat for all our problems and I need to vent. Sorry, if this is the wrong place for this.
I feel like i'm going crazy. I felt like this since I can remember actually. If someone would ask me to describe myself, I'd say I'm a good person. I help people, I do volunteer work, I am easy to get along with and I'm good at problem solving. I have fights with my friends but they're usually resolved fast and everyone included tries to do better next time. You know, communicating like adults with no hard feelings or resentment.
Yet my sister and mother would describe me the complete opposite way. And I can't tell anymore if I am really such a bad person and delusional about it or if they are gaslighting me and projecting their own problems on to me.
They say I'm arrogant and selfish, that I can't communicate and provoke them all the time. And my sister says I act like a princess and expect everyone to organize their lifes around me. My mother agrees. She likes my sister and acts like a mother towards her but she doesn't towards me. She sais she cant talk to me, but we don't talk at all unless I start a conversation. She doesnt care to fix our problems and ignores all attemps I make. She has this version of me in her head she refuses to let go off. I remember, when I was a pre-teen and acted like one, she used to say to my sister: please don't become like her. Infront of me. She elevated my sister above me with this behaviour.
My sister still holds on to this to this day. She acts like she can give me orders and is one of my parents instead of my younger sister. She yells at me when I dont act the way she likes (which is rather often since we are polar opposites and I don't see a single reason to follow literal orders from her). For example: when she want's to sleep and I happen to listen to music, I get yelled at for being too loud and selfish and I have to turn it off immediatly or else. But when I want to sleep and she listens to music, I have to deal with it because it can't be that she has to organize her life around me and i'm just being selfish.
Another example is, that she always takes my stuff. That makes me so so angry because she doesn't just take it, she makes a mess of my room and then denies that its mine and usually doesn't give it back. When I get angry, she lies about it and my mother tells me I am overreacting. I just have to give it to her to keep the peace.
However I once took a backpack without realizing it was hers and she ended up yelling at me (mind you, she didn't use it for at least 3 years) and my mother also told me how it is not okay that I took it without asking. I just can't win.
Or another thing is, that they tell me my tone of voice is agressive or my facial expression is wrong. Yeah, it happens, I am neurodivers. And they know it. But instead of being aware of it, they start to berate me and tell me how arrogant and agressive I am. And when I then change my tone of voice, it's still wrong because I don't mean it according to them.
And currently I am at home, because I can't work or study due to my severe depression. I have a doctors note and all i am literally not allowed to do it in addition to the fact that I don't have the energy for it. Still I have to hear how lazy I am and how I just expect my parents to pay for everything. FIY, I pay everything myself expect food and I don't pay my parents rent. My mothers logic is, that therefore all my money is technically hers and I shouldn't spend it on things I enjoy. This logic doesn't apply to my sister though.
Over the years, I've started to doubt myself. I wouldn't dare to describe myself as smart or good at my hobbies, just because I am afraid of coming off as arrogant. I would also never say out loud that I think I'm easy to get along with because it would feel like a lie. I know it's gaslighting and projection but I have to hear it everyday. And it's not like I don't know my bad habits or don't try to change them, I'd like to think I am very self aware. Its that they seem to see everything I do as a problem. My sister and mother both have told me that I am the reason our family is so disfunctional. I wish I had the money to move out and go no contact. But the worst part is, I still have those moments where I just want to talk to my mom. Just to realize, I don't have one. And then I watch her be a mom to my sister a second later.

Hello, made a throwaway account just to write down what I'm going through because I feel like there's not a single person in my life that would actually care about it.
I'm not sure where to begin because my mind keeps overflowing with emotions and I cant focus on a single one, these probably wont be in order and will have a ton of contradictions, but I'll just write as it comes to me.
First of all I think I should give a little insight about myself first. I'm currently 18, I'd describe myself as a deeply understanding, smart and extremely creative person who is on good terms with anyone I come across. I have average grades, decent looks and from an outside perspective you'd probably see me as a young, dumb happy teen who can be serious and loving.
And yet I've never felt lonelier in my life... Despite my numerous and continuous efforts towards a happy life surrounded by like minded people, it has failed. If I had told this to you in person you might think I started this journey yesterday with the progress I can show for it.
Growing up I never really felt cared for or loved for, my parents were fighting and yelling day and night with each of them trying to push their "propaganda" on me why the other one is terrible. I've been sent to a psychiatry 3 times now, I've been diagnosed with medium depression, autism and bipolar disorder (meaning my moods shift uncontrollably).
I try developing relationships constantly with people but I dont feel like I have any sort of importance to them, they contradict themselves constantly about me, for example they say that I'm a good person to talk to, yet they dont talk to me only if I'm the last option. I quite literally feel like an NPC with how people interact with me, they dont care what's up with me, or how I feel because why would they if I'm not at the importance level as other people they can interact with. The only ever reason for them to find me is when they need something, then ditch me.
With the relationships that I do feel special in, they always seem to end rather quickly. They either find someone better, brush my conversation attempts off with the minimal amount of effort put in, or in some cases I literally feel like devine intervention just to fuck me over, there's no other way of explaining it.
My efforts feel meaningless in general, it's the same circle over and over, I put my all into something or someone just for them to get neglected or feel not enough. The metaphor I like to describe my life with is: you know how people sometimes jingle keys in front of babies and the baby tries to reach for it but never ever succeeds because the keys are always just a bit out of reach? Yeah that's how I feel myself and the opportunities life presents, I put my all into reaching it and achieving it, but somehow, someway, it's always just a little bit out of reach for me to grab it. This gives me motivation in the short term to work for it but it leads to burn out and the feeling of emptiness in the long run. With this, I dont feel human at all, just a failure who struggles to even get up and go to school in the morning.
I also think that I give too much to people, help them whenever possible, because I have a philosophy burnt into me saying that I should help them because they might not have anyone else to get help from. This stems from my experiences feeling alone and without help, so whenever I can, I'm there for anyone, even if it was my worst enemy. And yet, I dont feel appreciated in the slightest, the most I got was: "thank you, you're an angel", that person has since moved on from me too, It just feels like I'm giving my everything just for them to turn their backs on me whenever they got what they came for.
I feel like I'm doing things the right way, putting in my soul and heart to become the best version of myself, all for nothing. What I want the most is for someone to care about me, to feel appreciated, to feel human.
I could probably write 50x more than this about what's going on in my head but this is all I managed to get out. If you read this through I really appreciate the time you spent on me and my thoughts, and if anyone has any advice, tips or anything positive, I'd love to hear it. Thank you.

Hey. I'm guessing there was a huge inflow of people to this sub because of X-Men 97 and the end of Krakoa in the comics.
But something must be done about flood/mindless posting - We have 10+ post a day about "Where do I start with the comics?" - This week we were flooded with "What do you think will happen on Season 2?" - Past weeks there were tons of posts about "Is gambit really dead? Please tell me it isn't so" (these are just a few examples)
I don't know how exactly the moderation works but we need pinned posts directioning to the "useful links" and the "Season 1 discussion" and "Weekly comics discussion" threads. Maybe even a moderation aproval of posts.
If nothing is done, this sub will become unhealthy.