I am NOT OOP, OOP is u/ImDyingRn123
Originally posted to AITAH
AITA for not having my boyfriend be a plus one at my best friends wedding
Thanks to u/queenlegolas and u/Direct-Caterpillar77 for suggesting this BoRU
Trigger Warnings: manipulation
Original Post: May 9, 2024
I (25f) have been seeing my now boyfriend (27m), who will call Joe, for about six months now. We made it official three months into dating so I like to say he’s only officially been my boyfriend for three months.
My best friend, who we’ll call Anne, is getting married next month. I’m one of her bridesmaids. It’s a small destination wedding, only about forty close friends and family. The bridal party is set to arrive about four days before the actual wedding to do bachelobachelorette stuff.
The issue came up yesterday morning when my boyfriend started asking what time my flight was for the wedding week. I didn’t think much of it and told him. He came back about ten minutes later and said he’d have to go on a different flight because he couldn’t find one on the same airline or at the same time.
I didn’t understand why he was looking at flights. I asked him if he was planning on going on a solo or guys trip while I was gone since I wouldn’t be around.
He looked confused and then said he was looking for flights for the wedding.
I then proceeded to tell him, trying to be as gentle as possible, that I wasn’t planning on a plus one and the guest list was already finalized. He has only ever met Anne over face time since she lives in a different state from us.
After telling him, he exploded at me. Honestly it was a total 180 from his usual behavior. He said it was insensitive of me to not ask for a plus one because we’d been together for so long now. That I was purposefully excluding him and trying to keep him a secret. He ranted and talked in a circle and I just sat there in shock. What snapped me out of the daze was when he insinuated that I would likely cheat with one of the groomsmen.
Thats when I got up, got my shit, and started walking out of his place. He freaked out even more and said we needed to talk about this and I couldn’t walk out on him. He tried to grab me twice but I shoved him off.
Since I last night, I haven’t spoken to him. he’s been blowing up my phone with calls and texts that I don’t reply to. Even put him on do not disturb because it was so annoying. I was pretty solid in believing I wasn’t TA but one of his best friends got my number and texted me I was being petty and a female dog about everything. That I lead Joe on for six months.
I haven’t talked to anyone about this since I wanted to cool down before I got a second opinion. But now that his friend is texting men, I feel like I handled it all poorly. I know I need space right now but I don’t want to ghost Joe, which his friend implied I’m now doing.
So I’ve come here to get some unbiased opinions. Fellow redditors, I asked you now if i am TA for not having my boyfriend be a plus one to my best friends wedding.
posting this is the other aita sub too
edit: to clarify. we don’t live together. i just spend the night at his place sometimes
edit 2: in our last conversation last night i texted him that i needed some space to breathe to which he then just kept calling and texting
edit 3 because people keep acting like joe is a secret: he has met my other friends. he hasn’t met anne in person because she lives in a different state. across the country to be exact. they’ve only met through face time. i’ve met his parents and friends. he hasn’t met mine because they moved back to mexico two years ago. he has met them over face time.
edit 4: his friend saying lead him on was “leading him to believe he was invited”
AITAH has no consensus bot, OOP was NTA
Relevant Comments
OOP to multiple comments on why she is not having her boyfriend as her plus one to the wedding

OOP: i accepted the wedding invite long before we met. this wedding invite didn’t just recently happen. + main reason for why i never asked for a plus one is because joe and i had only just started seeing each other when the wedding was being planned. a lot went into it because it’s a destination wedding in europe + i’m not meaning to dismiss it. i’m pointing out that’s why i’m not having a plus one unlike the other groomsmen and bridesmaids. they have been with their partners for years and personally know anne. joe has only ever met her over face time + also there’s a lot more then just buying a ticket. i said earlier that this wedding was planned months before we met. anne planned a lot of things for this wedding that are catered to the fact there’s a limited guest list. again. i would have been fine to explain all this but again. i never got a chance to + this wedding wasn’t a secret. he was even aware of it when we first started seeing each other because i’d just done dress shopping. again. this wedding was very planned out because it is indeed, very small and private in france. he’s also met anne and her fiance over face time, not in person because she’s in a different state. he’s met my other friends as well. he hasn’t met my parents because they live in a different country.

 
Update: May 11, 2024
The general consensus was that I wasn’t TA. Unfortunately the original post got taken down on the main aita sub but is still up on the other. Still posting the update on both though.
Some of y’all had some stuff to say about me saying I need help communicating because I shouldn’t have walked out. Have your opinions, but never let someone scream at you and just sit there and take it. Im realizing thats emotional abuse.
About why I never pushed to have a plus one. When the wedding planning was starting, Joe and I had not met. By the time we met and made things official, the wedding planning was finalized. I never hid the wedding from Joe or the fact it was very small. Someone said “most normal people” plan on bringing their s/o to a wedding. Maybe thats true. But never automatically assume that since your s/o is invited to something, you’ll be going too.
The wedding was heavily pre-planned because again, it’s a destination wedding. Anne is originally from France and primary reason why it’s a destination wedding.
I talked to Anne about this shortly after posting and she agreed that I’m not TA. She said if the roles were reversed, she’d never expect her so of less than a year be invited to an important event.
So, on Friday, I texted Joe asking to meet up Saturday morning to have a discussion about everything.
This morning he tried to get us to meet at my place, but instead, I got him to agree to meet at a local cafe. A lot of you brought up how he tried to grab me and that’s a big sign that he could get more physical in the future. I didn’t want anything to be left to chance.
He got there early and tried to hug me, which I didn’t allow. I got the ick at the thought of him hugging me.
We did a bit of small talk but got pretty much to the point once we sat down.
He did apologize for blowing up but in the same breath said I shouldn’t have left. I countered that he shouldn’t have tried to physically stop me from leaving, twice. He said what else was he supposed to do. That set the tone for the whole conversation.
He went on to say that me just walking away was a “clear indication that I didn’t respect him”. I then pointed out that he was not letting me explain why he wasn’t invited.
This is when we started talking in circles. I told him how the wedding was being planned long before we met. How by the time we mutually agreed to be exclusive, they had everything finalized, especially the guest list. He said I should’ve asked for Anne to change it anyway. I asked him if I ever gave him the impression he’d be attending. He was silent for a while and then admitted he just assumed that since he was now my boyfriend, I would have told Anne to invite me. I told him then wouldn’t I have said something if he was invited in the past three months?
I realized that we weren’t getting anywhere. I told him I wanted to break up. To paraphrase, I said something along the lines of.
“I understand you were hurt that I didn’t invite you. I am sorry that we didn’t have a clearer conversation. I do wish that we could have had a calmer conversation. However, I don’t feel safe in this relationship because of how you reacted. I don’t think this relationship is good for either of us if you feel betrayed and I feel unsafe.”
He didn’t take that well.
Joe’s response was if we broke up, I wasn’t getting my stuff back. I told him I didn’t care. Because honestly? If he wants to keep some of my underwear and used toothbrush, okay.
I then asked him to not have his friends text me too. He then went from pleading to have another chance to accusing me of never wanting him. I just stood up, told him I wished him the best, and left.
Ended up going for a two hour run when I got home because I still felt stressed. Blocked his number, his friends, blocked his instagram, deleted the pictures of us on my feed. Changed my Facebook status to single. Had a cry and have been watching Netflix since.
Something I learned from this your first fight with your partner tells you everything about them. Our first fight told me Joe was explosive. Maybe if he hadn’t blown up, we would still be together. Not gonna dwell on it though. I know it’s good I got out while you can because as a lot of you pointed out, the fact he kept trying to overpower me twice says a lot.
I’m honestly glad I broke it off. As some of you said, it took him six months to show his true colors. Can’t imagine if he did come and then a year later, I find out he’s like this and have to look at wedding photos with a guy who is fine blowing up.
I’m going to stay single for awhile now. I have a wedding to look forward to. My focus is on supporting Anne and making sure she has the best wedding ever. I may update when the wedding happens to let you guys know how it goes and if Joe tried anything else.
Thank you again to everyone for their opinions.
Relevant Comments
OOP on staying away from her ex-boyfriend

OOP: thank you ❤️ i do have a dog and a roommate so that’s some extra security already. the roommate and i talked before about getting a ring camera but this experience and other comments have solidified us getting one

 

DO NOT COMMENT IN LINKED POSTS OR MESSAGE OOPs – BoRU Rule #7

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT OOP

I am starting this topic because i saw that a guy was saying that almost every one that have read the books before ships more ron with Hermione... And the ones that have only watched the movie ship harry and Hermione... Well i disagree with what he said because when i read the books( around 14-15 years old)i literally fell in love with Hermione... I liked her character... She was smart kind loving passionate brave and a good friend emotional(there may be more but I cant think more now...). So because i imagined as a kid i am harry potter( Being a brave wizard and everything except the tragic things that happened to him like losing his parents...) i also wanted harry to end up with Hermione so i thought i will end up with Hermione or someone like her in the future... Btw i was really shy back then especially with girls... I had crashes i never talked to or i talk for 1 or two mins per day... I did not have a girlfriend of course even though most of my friends had one at least once... So i was trying to reduce the little pain and jealously i may had with thinking i have Hermione and thay will someday end up with her or a girl like her that is better than most of the other girls and the girls my friends dated( i wasn't bad at my friends of course... All these were my inner thoughts...). Basically i said to myself don't worry if no girl likes you bc you are so shy... One day you will be with a cute and beautiful girl like Hermione... I also saw some of the movies then and i was attracted to Emma Watson so that made me fall for Hermione more lol( but i was already in love with the character just from the books). Basically Emma Watson was my first celebrity crush ( from the 3rd movie and after it). So yeah that was what i was dreaming 😅... Even now i feel attracted to emma but not like then... And of course Hermione... I think if i find a girl that is good looking and resembles Hermiones personality ( both the good and bad) i would fall in love with her immediately and try to do everything to make her like me too and someday if all go well marry her... And no its not that i like the bad things about Hermiones character but i don't care because all humans have some drawbacks... But i think everything good about a girl that has the personality of Hermione outweighs the bad... And yeah its maybe weird but if i ever find a girl like that i will give her the nickname Hermione 🤣. But as a child yes i fell for her really hard so i wanna know two things... First of all because this is for harry and Hermione... Guys and girls that have read the books did you want harry and Hermione to end up together and if yes why? Second is that do you think that there are girls these days that have most of these personality traits? Because more and more girls nowadays don't really believe in true love and they don't love you because of your personality and looks... They like your money or your status more than they like YOU( this may go to men too). I personally want to marry a girl that is attractive and also is kindhearted and has a pure heart and loves me as much as i will love her... I believe in true love and will never give up on it... You may call me and an idiot or a kid but if that is how idiots and kids think then i will prefer being an idiot and a kid instead of not looking for the right person for me( like a soulmate but soulmate is really hard to find)... Took a little inspiration from naruto( its a great anime with much love and action and approval... I recommend to all to give it a try)... That's my questions and why i liked Hermione so much as a character... Please if you want just to be mean don't comment... It will just make me sad... But if you tell me your honest opinion even if its the opposite i will respond and talk to you...

I say "apparently" because... well... you'll see.
This happened decades ago now, back in primary school. I only remembered it because I was recently catching up with old friends from back then, and we got to laughing over old stories and then someone mentioned, "The wildest was when you organised that whole protest against our teacher."
"The time I did what?"
The consensus was I did, indeed, organise the entire class to rebel against our teacher that resulted in her being deposed and our class getting a "substitute" for the rest of the year. I almost fell out of my chair hearing this story from their mouths. It wasn't that I didn't remember it, of course I did--that year was awful. It was just that it existed very differently in my memory.
Two important pieces of background knowledge to understand here:

1. I went to a very very small, very very rural school. How small? Each classroom was composed of the entire year level, and the largest had at most 30 kids in them. My class/year level was on the smallest in the entire school, with a piddling 14 kids in it altogether. While we still had our cliques and factions, our small size caused our class to be very tight knit and protective of each other. How rural? The school building itself was incredibly small, but one thing we were not short on was gigantic empty fields surrounding us on all sides. Great for sports, great for (it turns out) student protests.
2. I was, at the time, undiagnosed autistic. I mean I still am autistic, I'm just formally diagnosed now. But back then I was just seen as being a very quirky kid. One of the ways this quirkiness manifested was that I really had trouble adapting to the rules and structure of grade school and how it differed from what I was used to. At home if I wanted to pee, I just went to the toilet. Now I have to put my hand up? Now I have to ask permission to piss? Then I went home and put my hand up to ask my mom for permission to pee and she told me I didn't need to! Madness! Chaos! I don't care what the rules are, please just be consistent!

But one of the main parts of my brain and the way it works is that sometimes my brain, separate from my will, would just make a decision about a course of action and I would very calmly commit to it come hell or high water. Like, it is vitally important that I stay true to this course of action. I can't explain it. It's like I set a rule for myself and if something disrupts that, I just shut down and stop functioning.
So when the school said, "Okay, when this bell rings during recess/lunch, that means you have to leave the playground and go back to class", I was a confused child already struggling with all these completely nonsensical limitations and guidelines imposed on me. So when that bell rang, I got that calm little voice in my head that said, "Hmm, no, I'm good out here actually. I don't think I will go back into class." So I would just continue to sit out on the playground, playing with my plastic spider toys or sitting on the swing. Teachers would realise what was going on and come out to get me and tell me I have to go back to class, and I would just very calmly hear them out and then smile at them and politely as possible tell them, "No thank you, I want to stay out here."
They really didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't getting upset, I wasn't throwing a tantrum, I wasn't yelling, I wasn't being rude in any way. I was incredibly docile and would let them explain things to me with endless patience and then just politely refute them and go back to what I was doing, like this was just a very normal and reasonable negotiation between two equal parties. I have memories of sitting on the swing while three very confused and flustered adult staff huddled around me trying to bribe me with candy to go back to class. It would take a whole lesson block to lure me back to the classroom, and then at lunch the whole thing would start over again. It took me three years at school to finally accept the status quo thanks to a religious nutter I got for a teacher, and finally went back to class when the bell rang (was never happy about it though).
I eventually settled into school life. Excelled at subjects I liked, at least passed subjects I didn't, followed the rules, was seen as intelligent and obedient and was often liked by my teachers. Until my final year, when we got the teacher I can only rudely monniker Mrs Bigmouth.
Mrs Bigmouth should not have been a teacher. She had a trigger temper and would explode into long, verbally abusive tirades against us if we ever did anything she felt was disrespectful behaviour. What was disrespectful behaviour? Damned if I know. It changed day by day, depending on mood. You could disrespect her to her face one day and she'd laugh and say you have such razor wit, and politely ask a question the next and she'd scream at you for ten nonstop minutes then give you a week of DT for talking back. The absolute peak moment of her boiling temper came when she threw a dictionary at a girl's head because she was whispering to me in class. When I tell you it missed her by half an inch...
But believe it or not, this wasn't what made her such an awful teacher. It was so hard to get teachers at rural schools back then, there was almost nothing you could do to get fired, so we had experience with teachers with nightmare tempers. What made her such an issue was her big mouth. She used us, her trapped audience, as free therapy. She would infodump, traumadump, about her very personal, very private life to us. All day. She'd be two words into a spelling list and launch into an extended story session about her marital issues with her husband. We'd be heads down doing fractions and, unprompted, she'd declare to the class that her adult daughter no longer talks to her and then diatribe to us about it until the bell rang. She had money issues, a contentious relationship with her parents, her marriage was on the rocks. She once pulled me aside after school and spoke with me, at length, about how she was thinking of having another child to try to repair her marriage. I was like, okay lady, I'm 11, about to miss my bus, and my house is a 4 hour walk on foot from here.
We weren't learning. We'd hadn't had a complete lesson since the first week of the school year. We were behind on the cirriculum and frustrated. One kid had brought a stopwatch into school and would time lessons vs her monologues and kept detailed lists, and we would come to school each morning and do betting pools on them. What subject would she interrupt, what would she talk about, and how long would it go.
But all that still wasn't the breaking point if you can believe it. No! Still not! The problem was it wasn't just her own private life she couldn't keep her mouth shut about. It was everyone else's. Because parents would make the reasonable assumption that she should be told things as our class teacher that would be important to know, and that she would understand these things were said in confidence. Instead she would veer randomly off in the middle of talking to us about her horrible weekend to let us know whatever private or traumatic thing was going on in a classmate's life that she had been made aware of. That was awful. That was what made that year hell. It wasn't even about when my secrets were shared with the entire class against my consent. It was watching the faces of my small, lovely, supportive class of 11 year old children go pale and scrunch up with held-back tears as things they never wanted to share were announced like morning news. God we hated her.
Then one day that voice came. The one I hadn't heard in years. The bell ring to go back into class and that voice said, "But I don't want to be in that classroom. I'm not even being taught there." So I just... didn't. I didn't go back to class. I just sat in the playground in a daze eating grass (don't eat grass, it's not good for your teeth). Despite how small my class was, I don't think Mrs Bigmouth even noticed I wasn't there. Others did though. Come lunch and everyone came out, my friends asked me where I was and I said, "Oh, I didn't go back to class."
"Why didn't you go back to class?"
"Why would I go back to class?"
Lightbulb moment for my schoolmates. Yeah, why would they go back to class? What was the point? From a practical standpoint, they weren't learning. From an emotional standpoint, it was horrible to be there. A friend who had had her family's dirty laundry aired to the entire class just last week, things even she didn't know because her parents tried to keep it from her, asked if she could sit with me rather than go back to class. I just stared at her, vacant and confused.
"Sure? I mean, I'm just eating grass though."
Over the next few days, two kids turned into four, turned into ten, turned into the whole class. The whole class was doing a sit-out protest on the field rather than go back to class. Of course Mrs Bigmouth tried to do something about it. She'd come out, screaming at us and threatening us with DT and internal suspension, but six months of that behaviour had totally vaccinated us against her. I'd become the de facto leader and spokesperson of the protest by merit of being the first to sit out and also because I was well known to not give a shit (autistic brain: I actually just frequently had trouble reading and reacting with the correct social behaviour but it gave me a cool and aloof bad boy mystique I guess). I gave her the exact same treatment from back in grade one. I would let her scream, let her holler, let her threaten, let her spittle rain down on me, and then I would give her a sweet and innocent smile and nod in acknowledgement and say, "No thank you, we're going to remain out here." And thirteen pairs of eyes would stare at her in total silence. No one, not even the most gobbermouthed little shite in the class, would volunteer a word. The unspoken agreement was all negotiations were my responsibility.
The thing about angry people is that they feed off conflict. They get you angry so they can respond with even more anger and it nourishes them. She had no absolutely no plan of action on how to deal with me patiently hearing her out then refuting her in the gentlest of terms.
Another thing that ended up helping down the line is that we made an attempt to conduct our own classes. I mean, they sucked and we didn't learn much because we were kids with no supervision, but it was really cute in retrospect. We'd have groups of people assigned to subjects, with some people bringing in words they found in a dictionary for spelling lists and others bringing in old 6th grade homework from older siblings. The heart was there and it served a purpose, if not educational.
"Okay, but how did no one else notice this was happening? Surely people would notice 14 kids sitting on the lawn, not in class?"
Rural school. Big. Empty. Fields. Even screaming at us, the most other classrooms would hear would be muffled voices, and everyone was used to hearing her yelling at us or taking us out onto the field abruptly to make us do laps as group punishment. Plus the way the school buildings were arranged was that it was actually all in one straight line of adjacent rooms, and ours happened to be at the very end of the building. No windows faced the field we all sat in except that of our own classroom. It was just a very lucky arrangement of coincidences and preconceived notions, at least for a couple weeks. I couldn't tell you the exact number, this was so long ago and as a kid I definitely had a more stretched idea of time. Minutes felt like hours, especially during that year. But there was definitely at least two weekends that passed by since the "sit-out protest" started.
Eventually someone cottoned on to what was happening, or maybe Mrs Bigmouth humbled herself and finally confessed to her boss that she had lost control of a bunch of 11-year-olds, so we were called into the principal's office to sort this out. As the representative of our class, I was of course chosen to attend the meeting, flanked by the girl who'd had the dictionary thrown at her head and my friend who was the first to sit out with me. Since I understood that this meeting was one where we were probably going to be yelled at for doing the wrong thing, a thing I had ample experience of, I felt like the easiest way to mitigate things (especially since I felt guilty for being the instigator) was to explain in a very rational and logical way the series of events that led up to our bad behaviour. As well, for my entire life my mother had always taught me that it was no good complaining about things unless you were also willing to think of solutions. "I'm hungry!" - "Well, what's a solution to that problem?" - "Uh, make myself a sandwich?" - "Great! Let's do that together!"
So what did I do? Of course, to make things as clean and concise as possible, I interviewed my class one by one to hear each individual story of why they didn't feel comfortable going to class anymore, itemised them under categories (Verbal Aggression; Interruptions of Lessons; Oversharing Student Life) for easier discussion because my little quirky brain loved itemising things, and then as a kind of olive branch came up with solutions (we wanted to finish lessons unhindered, we wanted our personal privacy to be respected, we wanted to be able to catch our bus on time rather than being held back with unfair DT or long "chats"). So many things sort of came together in this beautiful, wholly accidental way. We had months of records of timed rants and monologues, noted down to the millisecond thanks to that kid's stopwatch. We had records of us trying to teach ourselves during the protests, showing this wasn't us just not wanting to go to class but due to us feeling as though we did not have a class to go to. When the principal heard all this, her jaw it the floor. A lot of it was stuff she knew, peripherally, but things had just never been laid out so neatly before. Some of it was stuff we'd complained to parents about, but it was one kid coming home and telling one parent one time, weeks ago. There was no real sense, up until now, the sheer scope of her behaviour. She didn't even answer us. She just said, "Okay, I need to call your parents."
We got the rest of the week off school. That weekend, every parent of every student came to a meeting between them, Mrs Bigmouth, and the principal. Stories were swapped. My exercise book with my tidy little lists and the records of the betting pool and monologue times were confiscated and brought into the meeting. I don't know what went down, but when my mother came home she just told me that Mrs Bigmouth would not be our problem for the rest of the school year, and more importantly, that she was incredibly proud of me and that I did the right thing. Rarely in my childhood had my inability to integrate into normal society led me to doing the right thing, so I just remember crying and hugging and feeling vindicated about, I don't know, just existing or something.
So yeah. From the outside perspective here is what it looked like: I, the ringleader with a history of dismissing school rules, organised a sit-out strike amongst my class. I kept the protest peaceful and non-disruptive to other classes. When negotiations with the principal were finally arranged, as the representative I compiled a clear list of greivances, with evidence, and a list of reasonable demands. I mean, holy crap, yes, yes I clearly organised a student protest.
The actual results of it are mixed. We got a revolving door of substitute teachers of varying quality for the rest of the school year, occasionally being bundled into other classrooms entirely when they couldn't find someone. It wasn't a great learning environment and we continued to struggle a lot, but it was better than before. Mrs Bigmouth was not actually fired but put on leave for the rest of the school year, then returned and was put in charge of a different year level (which happened to be the class of the younger sister of a guy in my class: according to him, she was quiet as a church mouse that entire year so I hope at least she learned her lesson, or at least finally got divorced and went to actual therapy). The entire ordeal caused our already small and close class to become really really supportive and like family to each other and we all remain in touch until this day. And we became fierce about standing up for ourselves.
I kind of learned to parse the difference between when it was appropriate to go along with set societal rules even if I don't understand them, and when those rules were just straight up unreasonable and nobody should be required to follow them. I did, years alter, lead an actual (very small) strike at work but intentionally that time. My mother was proud of me then too. :)

Hi everyone, it's my first post here on this cool community. I follow regularly this section and I find it quite interesting.
I am a professional stock trader and investor. But before I reached this status ,I will talk about my past and my big disappointment in day trading, specifically forex !
Here is my journey.
When I was in university in 2014, way before the instagram and Tik Tok influencers era,I discovered trading accidentally and I was hooked how fast you can make money. I was thrilled and excited. I made many spreadsheet how compound interest could make me rich quick. I had $200 to start and I thought that by making at least 2% per day , I could have turned it into a beautiful $2.6 million in 2 years . And the third year, I thought that I would have $150 million . I was convinced that I could have been a self made billionaire in less than 5 years. I dreamed of a beautiful and rich lifestyle with fancy mansions, cars, yachts , beautiful girls and provide a beautiful financial future to my family. 😍
The brutal wake up to reality .
The first day, i have lost 10% of my account 😔.After 2 weeks my balance was only $10. I was frustrated, angry and in tears. My dreams of a financially freedom vanished suddenly and I was very depressed and traumatized.😭😭 I just wanted to escape my miserable economic situation. I graduated and had many crappy jobs. I I still tried day trading on other markets for another 4 years with a lot of failures, tears , frustration and angriness. 😡 I tried Bitcoin ,but I bougth at the peak in 2018 before its crash !🙈 I gave up for 1 year !
I changed my mind in 2020 and tried stock trading and investing in momentum stocks. Then , the magic happened there ( I will do another post about my strategy very soon ) . However, I am still not millionaire!
Being rich is not a sin, it's a blessing to be financially secure forever. Day trading is full of empty promises and many people fall everyday in this trap. I know that I am not alone. It takes years of suffering before being successful at something.why would it be different in trading?
Tell me guys, have some of you had the same dreams before starting trading and suddenly you had violent wake up like me ? Please be respectful and don't be shy to tell your story .
Please share your experiences with me .
Sorry for if my English is not perfect because I am a French and Spanish native speaker.
Thanks for reading. 🙏

Royal Road here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/80877/nop-atalors-fate
Discord Tag: notafurrylad
It's been a while, huh?

First Last Next
Memory transcription subject: Yivreen, Cyonian Survivor
Date [standardized human time]: February 22nd, 2134
The flash daymares hadn’t stopped. Four nights since they’d set in, and now those two fire and brimstone eyes were lingering, waiting to come out when I was asleep. I’d thought that first daymare had been a fluke. It’d felt real, getting chomped up like that, crushed. But... ah.
I’d had more. Once I was in the mouth of that Arxur who’d kicked down the tree. Then I was in the cages with Hens Jr and Sr, and Alma... And each time if there was time for it that swampheaded, red eyed, smokey Arxur would come on in. Try and guilt me like I’d done something wrong.
It was working.
“Yiv. Yiv! I think I got it!” I blinked, my stupor broken by Junior. The kid had been a good help with the computer system since we’d let him fiddle with it instead of me. Much to my... begrudging admission: he was better at it. So, I stood from the chair and headed over to him. The monitor and console were lit up good as new, but they’d been like that for a couple nights now. We’d finally got access to a local map when that’d happened. Or rather a map of the surrounding area, outdated as it was it still had the location of the city on it. It wasn’t like anything had significantly changed in the past hundreds of years since this place had been abandoned. It had been the whole ‘trying to page it into the rest of the old systems at the outpost’ part that’d eluded Juniors little pet project.
“What did you get?” I replied, leaning over his shoulder with a paw on the console while he typed at it.
He cleared his throat. “W-well. I was able to find the wire that’d been causing the problem with the connection to the outpost’s server.” A server? What?
“What do you mean a server? I thought the only computer systems in here were in this room?” He turned his head, a brown eye winking at me. “Nuh-uh! Were you even listening when I explained it earlier? It’s more than just a weather monitoring station. It had a server, otherwise why would it need so many type-v connectors. See?” He pointed a claw to the bundle of wiring running up the wall and into a concrete hole that looked to lead to the next floor above us. Probably. I hadn’t really cared about how many wires there were.
“So... there’s more than just the databanks here in this room?” I asked. My eyes were tasked with looking over the monitor with pursed lips. I’d dug through some ye olde outpost files in the past nights for my journalist program but evidently I’d been missing things if all it took was one kid who had a knack for tech to ascertain there was more to these places.
Before my question could be answered though the command lines and startup protocols on the operating system for the thing had popped by and opened up onto a familiar desktop of our more modern tech. Junior went about clicking immediately to some command line and writing in some jibberish... And- my eyes widened. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing my claw to all the commands on his little black background’d screen.

1: Status
2: Logs
3: Garage Door
4: Barrack Override
5: Communications

Were among the top five, with a half dozen more I didn’t quite have time to think on. “Quick- quick! The uh- There’s a garage?” Don’t get distracted Yivreen. Ahhh moss-heaps.. “The Barrack Override. See what that does.”
The boy swatted away my paw trying to push at it. “Calm down! Calm down jeez, fine!” He jammed his digit into the corresponding number and pressed enter. A few moments passed as it simply displayed three dots. I waited... I waited.. Cmoooo-
Clank. VV-vv-vvv-veeeeeee....
It sounded like something behind the wall to our left was trying to unrust itself and move. A couple hundred years of not moving or being maintained had probably ensured it’d never get moving smooth again. Then of course the universe proved me wrong, and the wall actually shifted. The rounded metal slab I’d taken for a part of the tower’s superstructure began to lower, and behind it... “Holy shit.”
I don’t know where the extreme language had come from but... Wow. My eyes lit. Bunks. Bedding. Lockers.. It looked like the room beyond had been some sort of lodging area for soldiery when this place was built. But there’d been a grow-in on the back wall from a massive root. Snaring part of the room in its gripping-vinelike vice grip. The root was long dead, and the hole it’d bored through the concrete had left the inside exposed to the elements a touch more than if it’d just been left... At least there wasn’t much evidence of water damage.
“Yiv? Are you-” But I was already headed through the way, a paw on my pistol as I glanced around the abandoned room. My mind went right to checking out the lockers, which turned out to be a good idea. My little training sessions into understanding the named bits for guns with Alma were about to start paying off.
“We’ve got guns. Or... Something like guns.” I announced, pulling out the carrying case and flipping it open. Inside I found what looked to be a.. Hrm- no magazine, no bullets... I lifted it up, the rifle-like hardened carbon material was in remarkably good shape. Probably due to the case and materials, but something was different about it. I glanced my eyes over it, noting the electronic aiming system on top which... when I clicked at it offered a red circle for looking through the little scope with. Huh. Not a common thing to find on a Cyonian designed weapon, at least not these nights. This place was old, but this weapon looked like it’d been built by something more ambitious than Federation paws. Federation handhelds were all modified from the same combustion based lead belchers. A fact that rarely ever went unspoken on our own networks when we needed a reason to criticize Aafa.
It took a while longer, but eventually I did find a snap-button on the back of the trigger grip that made something inside it hum to life. My eyes widened. “It’s... An energy weapon.” I murmured. My tail flicking in apprehension. Would it even still fire? The red blinking just below the button told me it must have no power perhaps but... “Hey. Junior. You think you could figure out how to charge one of these guys-?”
I turned my head to see the kid standing at the threshold with his tail in his paws, gripping them anxiously. “Yiv. The uh. The communications aren’t working, but I think the garage door might open if we try it. It could be that cropping of wall and sealed door we figured the old power system must have been housed in right?” He glanced to the rifle in my paws. “I mean, if it uses the same standards as the computer out here it should still be compatible with our stuff. But- we don’t have anything to charge power packs of that size.” He pointed to the fixture sticking out the bottom of the stock. Hrm, he was right.
“See if you can’t get the garage open. I’ll keep looking in here and see if there’s something to help with that.” Came my own voice, I felt... Giddy. Alive. The potential to fight back was intoxicating. Before all I’d had was this dinky pistol I’d used to... kill a couple of the greys. But if we could bring the fight to their patrols, save more people-
I shook my head. Why was I thinking like this? I couldn’t stand up to an invasion fleet. I’d been a frightened Sivkit on the first night of the attack. I- I’d stampeded. I couldn’t remember any of it, but the chance I’d trampled someone in my panic was not zero. I might have contributed to someone being crushed... I’d failed Els, that soldier I’d dragged into the house. Obelisk I couldn’t even keep my mind straight in a fight with those howling, laughing Arxur in my head. The campfire fight had been a fluke!
I didn’t quite know how long I just sat there, staring at the rifle beating myself up, but eventually I was shaken from it by Keick when she sat beside me, an arm on my shoulder. “Hey. I heard you and Junior had a bit breakthrough eh?” She said non-chalantly. I could tell though, even with the chipper tone she’d read me. The accountant knew I’d been in one of my little moods. She’d known me the longest of anyone here, everyone else was like... a pack of convenience? Maybe not Junior. Keick and I had survived the woods together. I’d pulled her from her own hells next to that burning car.
“Hey.” I returned back. “Yeah. Junior got the servers working. Or something like that.” I pointed a claw over at the computer, only to notice he was gone now. I blinked. Had I been out of it that long?
Keick filled in the hole in my head. “He went with his old man to go check out the garage.” Oh. Yeah.
I looked around, “Ah. The guns. We have guns now. Real guns.” I explained, holding the one I had in my paws up for her to inspect.
“Doesn’t look like any gun I’ve seen.” She mused back, taking it from my grip. My body was moving on its own now, rummaging deeper into the lockers. Some of these cases had been broken by the snaring, smaller branches of the grow-in. The firearms within cracked open and busted. Probably no good at all, exposed to the ambient humidity as they had been for so long. Still, couple of the other rifle cases were good. We had weapons, plural. Binoculars? Got em. Spare power packs that needed charging? Got em. There was a lot of survival gear here. Like a militarized ranger outpost had been stationed here. The synthetic material of the camouflaged cloak I found proudly proclaimed it’d reflect thermal scanning on its faded label even! “Either the old rangers from before the treaties were really into operator stuff or the Obelisk put all this here just for us.” I murmured.
Keick, for her part seemed to be looking it all over with a little inventory in her head. Already tapping in the number of each item into her dataslate. “Well. I’d go with the former. The Obelisk hasn’t been around for us lately.” Came the reply as she poked a claw at one of the now entirely spoiled ration packs. “Still, there’s enough stuff here you could arm a squad of soldiers probably. If you know where we can find some spare soldiers that is.”
I flicked my ear at the poor humoured joke. “Ahuh.” Came my reply. “Maybe you should go try the radio again, they’d love to get their paws on stuff like this I think. Pre-war tech actually made to fight predators like this is rare.” Which begged the question... Why did the cloak boast about defeating thermals? These outposts were dated after our discovery and incorporation into the Federation as an early member, and WELL before the Arxur war. So why had we built cloaks like these? Was this equipment used during the years when we’d resisted the burning of our forests and jungles? If so, it meant it might have been auhh... much more violent then the archives made it out to be. Maybe there was a story here? My inner journalist was theorizing.
___________________________
I’d had to pick my jaw up off the ground after headed over to the garage. Hens Senior and Alma were leaned over the the opened hood of what looked like a remarkably still intact forest rover. The design was actually recognizable, having not changed much from what we had tonight. Six thick grooved tires, a buggy-like cockpit four seater set in the middle, and a back and top rack for storing anything you could want. “Is it working?” I asked the obvious as I stepped inside, noting Junior sat off to the side, fiddling with some wall mounted box or other. He didn’t look to actually know what he was doing beyond dusting it off and giving it a deep stare.
“I wouldn’t think so.” Came the chime of Keick, who’d followed me inside. It was around now my monocular visioned eyes were noting the various tools and spare parts laying around in the garage. Whoever had last been here had left in a hurry seemingly, because it was mostly stocked. No mess on all the immensely dusty parts. I could see a couple smaller fauna in the corners. A lizard here, a rodent there. Obviously there had been some way they’d chewed their way in at some point... Or they’d come in when the door was opened to the bustle and noise of the forest to my back.
It was Senior who looked back at my question, standing to his full height before leaning his back against the old vehicle. “No. It isn’t working. Or at least it won’t be until I figure a way to give the battery juice.” I tilted my head.
“Is it one of those older ones that zap out after a hundred years or so?” Came my obvious question.
He flicked his tail no. “It’s got one of the standard ones, it’s just that it stopped auto-cycling a couple hundred years ago. The electric motor looks like it should work if we pop it on. But we’ll have to see.” He glanced around the workshop. “I want to say we could probably get it working with the tools we have, but if the battery can’t be jumped, or it’s spent, or the motor needs a complete replacement we’re up a creek on getting it working.” It sounded like he knew a bit about it.
The feeling of my face scrunching ever so much came. “You didn’t tell me you were a handyman.” I said, crossing my arms.
“Well it never came up.” He said back with an affable smile. “Listen, it’s been a long couple weeks. Don’t get all spotty with me. We didn’t have anything a hobbying mechanic could fix anyhow.” Just a roll of the eyes from myself is all that met him as Keick spoke up, stepping over to the other three.
“So what’re you gonna jump it with?” She asked incredulously, leaning over the open cabin. From there I sort of... zoned out. All the older Cyonians present were bickering and blathering about the buggy which was quickly losing interest for me. I didn’t understand anything about mechanics like that beyond the bare minimum, so it was out of my purview. If they got it working that’d be another thing but I wouldn’t have been any help right now, so instead I placed a couple careful paws down until I was beside Junior, sitting next to him as he seemed to be eyeballing some far too faded label.
He had a paw lightly rubbing out the dust that’d caked an outlet, still one brown eye fixed on the label. All I could make out myself was the little yellow square symbol warning of an electric charge hazard. Weird to think even now those hadn’t changed. Had Federation technology really not changed all that much? Was it just us? A sigh. “So. What’s got your your nose twitching little dude?”
The past couple nights he’d gotten better with his anger, and... hadn’t destroyed any important tech in a fit of rage. All he’d needed was something to set himself to in a difficult situation like this. Keich had been right to set him on that computer. And.. I’d felt myself trying to encourage him along the way. Partly because I had an investment in getting those maps, and then partly because he’d ended up filling in a spot in my head like a younger cousin. Him and his old man had only been around for a little bit, but I guess maybe I didn’t want to think too hard about what had probably happened to my real family. For now, maybe I felt the most ‘at home’ around Keich and this little tinkerer. Was that weird? It felt like it should be weird.
He answered, looking up with a small upturn in his lips. “I think I found your energy cell charger for those guns you had.” He said simply. “One of the manuals over there wasn’t totally ruined, I saw something about a ‘optical projector weapon’ and ‘charger’ so I was trying to figure out if this was it. I... Think it might be, but I’d need one of those batteries to make sure.”
Now I felt like smirking. “Oh yeah? Well go get one swamp brain. Let’s see if these things still work huh?” Dutifully, he was up and off, tail shaking behind him in what I recognized as excitement. We weren’t totally defenceless anymore, and if the buggy could be salvaged there would be a means at least to relocate if we had to. Or... Maybe I could take a trip down to the city and paint a couple more of those scumbags red-
I shook my head. Where had that thought come from? If I was going back to Ataln it was to try and save more people... Yeah. I still needed to see if Gael was alive, maybe check that old house I’d left Els in. I don’t even know if I could find it now, knowing how scatterbrained I’d been at the time but- making a return to at least try seemed worth it.
Regardless, the box on the wall did turn out to be the correct port to charge energy cells for the guns. We’d just need to rig it up to the solar power system and juice them up to test them. Things were looking up! Our mobility had the potential to go from nights in every direction for shelter to mere hours, I’d just have to hope Senior knew what he was doing.
“Hey. Buddy.” I’d wrapped my arm around Junior’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go take a break for now huh? You were working on the computer all night. Maybe it’d be a good idea to just go relax. Enjoy how much you got done eh?” Besides. Gave me a good way to check out the logs page on the computer system myself before he stumbled on anything. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust him with it but- well there was no way to know what was in those logs.
He nodded, and with that I stood up, streeeetched out, and headed toward the tower. “Good, it’s your shift on the guard tower anyway.” I intoned politely. It was going to be a long day, assuming there was anything of substance in those logs... Scrounging through those would be preferable to sleeping right now anyway.

Its been 8 months of radio silence ever since I submitted my SF86 back in October 2023. I was denied interim in November and no news since. I was arrested and charged with assault in April 2024 due to an incident but the case was thrown out because the DA told my lawyer the cops arrested the wrong guy and I acted in self defense. Will the arrest slow down my investigation more? I do have some red flags on my SF86 and I expect a investigator or someone to reach out so I can clarify some things, but no one has reached out to me in 8 months. is that normal? I'm calling the security once a week to inquire about my clearance status but they just tell me my investigation is still open.

How To Survive An Anaconda Encounter
So, according to mom who had been on the computer (she basically lived on it), an army field manual was released to the public. It had all sorts of interesting survival tactics and whatnot in it, but what stuck with me the most was the government’s official way to survive a giant snake attack.
She read this to me
(This will be paraphrased)
If you are to come across an anaconda in the wild a few steps should be taken to ensure your survival.

1. Move as slowly as possible.
   
2. Lie down with your feet facing the snake.
   
3. Remove your knife and hold it flat to your chest with the blade pointed at your chin.
   
4. Allow the snake to start to devour your feet and work its way up, engulfing your body.
   
5. Remain perfectly still until half of the snake’s mouth is directly over the center of your knife. With great force, thrust the knife upward into the roof of the snake’s mouth and rip the knife through the front of its mouth by pushing your arms above your head.
   
6. Once it’s dead, slide yourself out.
   

I believed this until I was 27. I have trouble forgetting things. Like a lot of things I’ve heard, read, said, felt. It just lingers.
One night Chunky and I were sitting on the couch when this came up. We saw a giant anaconda on the TV and she said something about running away. I said,

”Oh, you can’t outrun that snake.”

She said, “I ABSOLUTELY could.”
Then I told her how to survive it. She laughed so hard at me. Honestly it irritated me so I immediately took to the internet to make her feel dumb. I found the survival guide. Some prankster released it to the internet for fun… smh… I’m an idiot. So basically yeah, Chunky saved my life if I ever encounter an anaconda in the wild. Probably won’t, but can you imagine me in a group of people on some jungle excursion…

We encounter an Anaconda. From all my training, I know exactly what to do to save the group. I start to lie down with my feet facing the snake and say, “Don’t worry guys, I got this.” 

They’d be like

WTF are ya doin’ mate!? Get up an’ run! This is a silly way to die!

Oooooh sh*t… I found the story again on snopes.com
🤣 STATUS: FALSE
Well that’s all good and well now, but… I could’ve died…
this link will take you to the story

To whom it may concern,
Shalom. Introductions aside, just know that I am a hardcore gamer who has pristine observation skills. I wanted to take it upon myself to give a comprehensive Tier List of the entirety of Chapter 5, Season 2 weapons.
This is not a spreadsheet, no specific mathematical mumbo jumbo needed.
In other words, take my word for it and debate me if you disagree with my tier list for this season.
Additionally, mythic boss weapons are excluded because I judge the weapon classes they belong to holistically. Although mythic weapons do more damage than legendary variants, they are restricted from being customized to preference, thus making the legendary variant of each mythic far superior.
Lastly, there are two honorable mention tiers and this is far from the typical tier list.
Chonk_Lord48's Observations:
Atrocity - Waterbending
S Tier - Thunder Burst SMG, Gatekeeper Shotgun, Ranger Pistol, Cluster Clingers
A Tier - Nemesis AR, Huntress DMR, Hand Cannon, Chain of Hades
B Tier - Warforged AR, Drum Gun, Earthbending
C Tier - Hammer Pump Shotgun, Tactical AR, Airbending, Reaper Sniper Rifle
D Tier - Thunderbolt of Zeus, Firebending
F Tier - Frenzy Auto Shotgun, Chewie's Bowcaster, Darth Vader's Lightsaber
Absurdity - Harbinger SMG, E-11
Reasoning Section
Atrocity - Waterbending is an all encompassing infinite range (it travels past render range) infinite ammo, instant reload super power that will drop any enemy of most skill ranges in exactly two shots. This two shot kill problem is especially a factor when your enemy is using an untraceable form of Zen or Aimbot. Gamers who rely on this atrocious thing to kill or get wins are either inept at the game OR fighting water with water. Thought I would NEVER hear that phrase... Yet it is LITERAL. This weapon should have started and ended with the Avatar: The Last Airbender mini event. This is the second worst decision Epic has ever made, right next to... Well, that's a banned name isn't it... that pleb pleaser from Season X. Waterbending is so broken that it just removes the enjoyment from the game entirely. Even though it is labeled as a mythic rarity item it is far more common than bandages and perhaps more common than most common rarity weapons. Horrendous, absolutely horrendous decision.
S Tier - The Thunder Burst SMG is a phenomenal skill-based weapon that requires precision accuracy to observe the sheer powerhouse of a weapon it is. It has one of the lowest Time To Kill (TTK) in the game due to It's powerful damage output, accuracy, and headshot multiplier (1.76x). It can be used for mid-range combat as well with a modest damage reduction.
The Gatekeeper Shotgun is by far the BEST shotgun ever released in Fortnite History, surpassing the Charge Shotgun class except its Mythic variant. This shotgun excels in point blank range and the TTK is less than two seconds. It has a great spread which provides the opportunity for some guaranteed hits when firing from the hip. When it is aimed down, the spread becomes more precise. Most shotguns do this, yet the Gatekeeper stands out because the choke is not pinpoint accurate (like other failures of a shotgun) and its crosshair fits so nicely around an enemy's head.
The Ranger Pistol has a fast TTK and is damn near the perfection of the Thunder Burst SMG. The two are so similar in damage output, firerate, reload time and range that honestly a player can use either and perform well. When compared to the Warforged AR, it is more accurate, has a higher headshot multiplier, and reloads much faster.
Cluster Clingers were literally the only throwable explosives that did enough damage required to kill. A lethal weapon in the hands of a skilled player. This specific item will forever hold its place as the 'only' explosive throwable item. Be honest, the rest were just gimmicks that were terrible and practically useless. This was the ONLY grenade that actually put enemies back to the lobby. Why it was removed is beyond nonsensical. Anyone who could dare complain about the first (only) grenade that did grenading is... I will say it, part of the Little Timmy community (plebs) that Epic LOVES to humor (I remember Season X well).
Each of these weapons are truly a masterpiece in their class and stand out as among the greatest weapons to ever touch the surface of the game. They do not require attachments to be good. These weapons can be deadly in the hands of players from all skill ranges. From common to legendary or mythic these weapons take the cake as this season's best.
A Tier - The Huntress DMR is the BEST DMR to date. All other DMRs pale in comparison to this one (Looking at you Cobra) because it actually hits targets when you aim and shoot directly at them. This would have been S-Tier but since it requires a specific set of attachments each game to be superior, it cannot be placed there. This weapon shoots the farthest and has little to no bullet drop whatsoever. It is superior to the once great Reaper Sniper rifle and takes the cake as the best long-range choice this season.
Note: Perhaps with the fresh new ballistics system, the Cobra DMR can make a return and actually function properly instead of being exclusive to function on PC.
The Hand Cannon is a re-imagining of one of Chapter 1's best weapons. It is superior to other slow firing, semi-automatic weapons due to its damage output and buffed headshot multiplier. This weapon is exclusive for highly accurate and skilled players which is precisely why it remains in A Tier. It is not universally great (S-Tier), yet it still rewards those with precise aim. The fun with this weapon is that it doubles as a close range defender or a sniper rifle depending on attachment preference. When modded to be a long-range weapon it should be noted that it has less bullet drop than the Reaper Sniper Rifle. The other optimization is the classic one which can be done with an optic attached or not. When used in this classic form, it outclasses the Hammer Pump Shotgun entirely. It does more headshot damage and less body shot damage, sure, but at least significant damage is guaranteed since spread is not a factor.
The Nemesis AR is a powerhouse of a weapon as well which is surprisingly accurate for its high damage output and adequate headshot multiplier. It has a fast TTK and requires little investment to be superior to other weapons in its class.
The Chain of Hades is not an an atrocity. It is very much required to counter and punish enemies who think they are tough guys fleeing from a fight using shockwaves or the wings of Icarus, or even a motorbike. It is fun to use, when it works. This item is prevented from being S-Tier due to the FACT it does not work properly. This weapon has a sweeping animation and must be paired with area of effect damage. The center of the crosshair is NOT the only area of damage. This can be tested and proven by opening a door, aiming in the middle of the doorway, and swinging. You will notice the it does indeed deal damage to the left and right of the crosshair. Sadly, and unsurprisingly, this AOE melee weapon seems to exclusively function properly on PC. When used on PC, this chain causes a stagger that prevents a weapon from firing in a minute instances. That is, each hit when swung, causes an interruption of a weapon firing. This feature is nonexistent on consoles and seems intentional. As for the chain pull, that attack causes stagger universally, which is good.
B Tier - The Warforged AR is decent at best. Even with a legendary properly modded variant, it pales in comparison to the Nemesis AR, which requires little investment to no investment. This weapon had much potential but Epic clealry refuses to allow an S-Tier assault rifle to exist again.
The Drum Gun is yet another re-imagining of one of the greatest weapons to enter the META first debuted in Chapter 1. This version, regardless of attachments, fails to be what it once was. It is about as accurate as the Warforged and also lacks recoil control even with the attachments meant to reduce it.
Earthbending was a failed opportunity for Epic to allow players to have fun with the game. I would have preferred summoning armor on my character (like Toph does in the show) paired with the ability to bull charge into an enemy which would deal an atrocious amount of damage to be equally unfair as Waterbending. Maybe 150 damage or simply an instant KO. Heck if I care you cannot shoot the armor off quick enough to cancel the attack. As for Earthbebding as it was made, the cover provided was stronger than metal, and more reliable than porta bunkers. Long before the time it would take to break the cover, the ability to form another wall is primed and ready. Hurling large, fine cut rock slabs at enemies should have caused a KO in two hits to counter that atrocity not worth my breath anymore.
C Tier - The Hammer Pump Shotgun is just a joke but can still be deadly when paired with an appropriate backup weapon. This weapon could be A-Tier at best when paired with a Thunder Burst SMG or F-Tier at worst when used alone. By that logic, it averages to the middle of the tier list. Oh I miss the days when it just took one skilled shot to send them back to the lobby with the original Pump Shotgun re-imagined in Chapter 1 Season 5. This was arguably the most balanced period in Fortnite's history especially for both SMGs and ARs.
The Tactical AR is yet another re-imagining of one of the greatest weapons. This too pales in comparison to it's predecessor. Even with all necessary attachments on it, it is not the same as before. Period. It does not do enough damage and high a slow TTK. It pales in comparison to both the Thunder Burst SMG and other assault rifles. It fails to be both SMG and AR when it is meant to be a combination of both.
The Reaper Sniper has once graced players inventories as the BEST sniper rifle in Fortnite's history. Once an S-Tier weapon, this powerful sniper rifle has fallen from that status due to Epic's tendency to humor plebeians in the community. It has caused this weapon to become absolutey useless for what it was made for. It does not make any sense at all for this weapon's bullets to have bullet drop before 20m. The projectory of the bullet is flaccid, like to an ED extent. Absolutely an ABSURD choice for long range encounters, period. However, this weapon can surpass even the Hand Cannon as a replacement for a shot gun, slap the proper attachments on play pretend that it is the KSG-12 or a slug round shotgun, then you got yourself an S-Tier shotgun that drops players in ONE shot.
Airbending is not a weapon per se, however it can be used as one to cause a death due to gravity or to prevent vehicles from traveling. It was amazing. I miss it. It was the best movement option that was ever released in the game.
D Tier - Thunderbolt of Zeus had potential to be amazing. It was pathetic compared to cluster clingers and its splash damage seems to be so random that it is unreliable. It is supposed to hit for 40, 40, then 140. Yet my final hit is hitting for 80. I do not understand. Prep time alone makes this weapon a death wish.
Firebending also lack a passive ability and Epic has failed to make this combat-based bending effective. Unless you are staying perfectly still, you will jump around like a maniac and miss all projectiles. Period. Upon release, it dealt barely any damage and Epic did not bother buffing the damage until near the event's conclusion. I should, according to the same broken logic, be able to bend lightning with extreme precision to deal 300+ damage, thus instantly knocking out anyone.
F Tier - The Frenzy Auto Shotgun was once an atrocity and at first got respectfully nerfed. Then Epic nerfed it again to be effective exclusively at less than point-blank range. Any further than 10 meters then you are surely dealing between 10-20 damage IF you are lucky.
The Bowcaster is a failure of what could have been a fun limited time weapon to use. Firstly it animates an AoE per shot regardless of charge and does NOT do splash damage when shot. When charged fully it deals decent damage but then the splash damage is negligible. I am a first hand witness to this bs weapon having splash damage be effective exclusively on PC. I was damaged from about a tile and a half away from the point of impact when at the Dumpen Haussen reboot van. I find it unnerving that some weapons have no polish on console. The Bowcaster when shot semiautomatic is not only supposed to have splash damage but it also fails to deal damage in general. This weapon suffers the Cobra DMR curse where if you aim directly at an enemy and HIT them, it does no damage or just goes right through them or it is just rubber bullets or blanks. As for the bowcaster, it is as if the laser goes directly through the enemy causing no damage whatsoever. This does not happen on PC. To my knowledge, Epic intentionally caters to this SMALL percentage of the community.
Darth Vader's lightsaber is just bad compared to the chain. The chain is in an entirely different class. The lightsaber lacks damage output and is trash at blocking waterbending. The guard is easily broken. Without a pool of lightsabers to choose from that have powers per color. The other powers would have been perfect counters to the chain of hades. Push em off or pull them down or towards. Amazing, is what it would have been.
Absurdity Tier - The E-11 is canonically accurate, how ironic. Nuff said. No wonder the Storm Troopers could never hit their shots.
The Harbinger SMG was supposed to fix Epic's failure last season, the Hyper SMG. Both are absurdities and should NEVER be picked up in any circumstance. You would fair better throwing grass at your enemies. The Harbinger SMG is outclassed in DPS by EVERY other light ammo weapon option, EVER, not just this season. It is BEYOND a failure which is why it takes its rightful place here. It is to NEVER be relied on. You will surely die faster by any other weapon in the game. Even at legendary rarity optimized for hipfire or ADS the gun is inaccurate regardless of the player using it. Both the E-11 and the Harbinger SMG are universally repulsive and fail to be a weapon (by definition) in the hands of any player.
Conclusion
These are my expert observations on what is, can be, and is not effective in the current META. Please feel free to debate these claims, if you can.
Thanks and God bless you all,
Chonk_Lord48

34M in NYC here. Been on and off Hinge for 5 years. I'm an introvert, so meeting people IRL is tough, and Hinge has been really helpful. I have actually been more successful with Hinge than other apps, normally getting about 5-10 matches a week, and 1-2 leading to weekend dates.
Here’s my issue: I’m looking for something serious, but I’m stuck in a cycle. First, I meet a nice woman who is compatible and wants to become serious with me—cute, smart, stable jobs, but not the most physically attractive by my standards. I think they’d be great spouse material.
But during the initial 2-3 dates before it gets serious, I match with someone new who is more conventionally attractive (from my previous likes, for the lack of a better word "above my league"). I get curious, and the new match often leads to dates just until they’re not interested anymore. Then I can’t bring myself to go back to the first match without feeling like I’m compromising, so I move on. And this stupid cycle repeats. Fyi, I hate ghosting so I always let the previous date know I am no longer interested.
I just want to settle down with someone I can swoon over, but maybe I’m barking up the wrong trees and wasting my time. This cycle is frustrating and hurts my self-confidence as I feel like I’m not good enough for the "new matches." Perhaps to them, I’m just another average guy they pass on for more attractive matches?
When I’ve met someone naturally in my social circle, it’s been less of a problem. I’ve been more open-minded about their status and looks, and I focused more on chemistry. Most importantly, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on other options. But as I age, these real-life opportunities are happening less and less, especially with my introversion.
I keep myself busy and work out regularly to keep up with my confidence, but sometimes I get depressed by the app experience. Is it just me or anyone else dealing with this? Should I keep searching until I find the perfect match or reset my priorities and be more realistic with my expectations? How do I use the app better to break this cycle? Or should I go off the app...? I really want to find my person and settle down soon. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you.
TLDR: Stuck in a cycle on Hinge: ongoing dates always disrupted by other matches. How do I use the app better to meet my person? Need advice.

I live in a small rural conservative town and it is extremely hard to express yourself here. LGBTQ+ members are ridiculed and harassed for their sexuality or gender, POC are called slurs and harassed over their skin color, and women, especially young girls my age (13-16), are catcalled, sexually harassed, and objectified. It’s a shithole and I want out, but I’m only 15 and my family doesn’t have the money to move without government assistance. Safe to say, if you are not a cishet white guy who dresses like a farm hand or cishet white girl who’s always wearing lululemon and carrying a Stanley, nobody will like you. Not saying those things are bad, you can dress however you want and be who you want, but you know what I mean, it’s like an established norm.
You at least have a chance at being liked and fitting in with the crowds if you’re a minority who likes what the poplar kids do, which is sports, dating, vaping, drinking, and the beach, because that’s all I hear them talk about when they’re not harassing other people or talking shit about them. Sure, you’ll still be the butt end of the joke due to your race or sexuality, trust me I’ve seen it, but you’ll at least have some sort of a social life and status. If you’re a minority and don’t like those things though, tough shit I guess.
I’m white, so my race isn’t really something they go after, but I am arobi (aromantic bisexual), and I dress in a more casual gothic style? Certainly not whatever’s accepted by most of my peers, if what thy say about me is anything to go by. Not many people know I’m arobi so they leave me alone for that, but they obviously know I’m a girl because I’m rather fem presenting, and it’s horrible. One of the popular guys threatened to rape me in the woods, trust me, it’s horrible, not to mention him and his friends always referred to me as ‘fleshlight’ instead of my actual name, even in front of teachers, who did nothing to stop it, by the way. They’ve done plenty of other gross shit but all you have to know is that their sexual harassment towards me was the straw that broke the camel’s back and made me quit school in favor of doing online school.
It’s just miserable. I have a close group of friends which I’m grateful for, but they don’t like the same things I do. We share some common interests like Sanrio, two of them even like some anime, but they’re not as into it as me. For context, I’m a bit nerdy. I collect anime figures and Sanrio merch and stuffed animals and stuff, and that’s very rare in this town. The only place I have to turn to to really express and be myself is the internet, but I haven’t even made any online friends, which I don’t want to by the way, but even then I have no real community or social circle there, either.
I just feel alienated. Part of me is attention and praise-driven due to my past of being emotionally and physically neglected as a younger child, and realizing that the majority of people in this town hate my guts is miserable, because I do want people to like me. But most of all, I just want to be myself and be happy without being harassed or judged or objectified or anything. Nowadays it feels like that’s too much to ask for, everyone is so damn rude and mean and yeah, I guess I get it, we all have someone we don’t like, but do you really have to go that far? Not everyone is going to be just like you, look like you, like the same things as you, and feel the same way you do on things. I feel these people need to get over it and move on with their own lives instead of ruining the lives of others.
Anyways that’s the end of my rant. I probably sound like an angsty teen going through some sort of phase, and maybe I am, but I just wanted to have somewhere to get this out. Thanks for reading if you read this I guess, you can comment and give comfort or your own insight if you want but you don’t have to, I didn’t make this to get attention or anything.

Are there any self-help people like Dr. K from Healthy Gamer but geared towards women? I swear we get fed this narrative that men have it so hard, but I think both men and women have it hard. While I find Dr. K helpful, his content is extremely geared towards men and doesn't really cover the issues that have negatively affected my mental health, such as how women are devalued and lose status as they age, or the backlash against Anya Chalotra, Halle Bailey, Brie Larson, Skeptical Science (Skeptichick), or Anita Sarkeesian, who did the video game trope analysis. I see myself in these women, and seeing them get so much vitriol kind of feels like I’m getting that hatred, as well as other people like me. I hate that what I seem to think is a reasonable vision for the world gets meet with so much resistance.
Anya was the first woman I ever saw on screen who looked like me in a major fantasy role, and I hated the vitriol directed at her. Sometimes I get frustrated that men get a brilliant person who speaks to them and their woes, especially when some of them want to take away things that benefit women, people of color, etc. I also thought Bailey was a perfect choice for Ariel; she even looked "fishy" with her wide-set eyes.
I am looking for videos and help on how to heal from wounds caused by bad experiences with men, to the point where I'm kind of glad they're struggling with dating in hopes that they will change for the better. I don't know where to have these discussions, and I feel it's unfair because I've seen men finding like-minded people to discuss things in voice chat on platforms like Discord, but not for women. I've tried joining more progressive servers like Wisecrack and Some More News without success.
I also don't get much attention or value from guys like I’ve seen my pretty friends get, and I often see guys picking them over me. In my friend group, one girl gets treated so much nicer because the guys are romantically or sexually interested in her, and it got annoying enough that I stopped hanging out with them (the anti-wokeness circle jerk was a big reason why too). People like Brené Brown, Esther Perel, or Ramani Durvasula don’t speak to the personal issues I’m going through. It feels like there isn't a large audience for women like me, unlike the large following men like Dr. K, Jordan Peterson, etc., have.
I think I’m also frustrated that someone like Skeptichick doesn’t have a large following. I know there is ContraPoints, but in the video I watched, from my knowledge of philosophy, she kind of inaccurately explained a philosophy concept, so I never tuned in after that. Oh, I did want to give a shout out to OhStepCo’s "I Don’t Have Pretty Privilege and That Sucks" video because when I watched it, I thought, "Oh, I know what she is talking about." There is also Kimberlé Crenshaw, and she has been twisted and warped by the right so much that it kind of hurts to see.
I'm craving videos, communities, literally any resources providing guidance on how to protect our self-worth amid societal devaluation of women, heal from negative experiences with misogyny, build self-love aside from male validation, and overcome these uniquely gendered hurdles to our mental health.because my guy friends actually have this more than I do. Representation and uplifting voices for women in this arena feel so lacking compared to what's available for men. But I see the exact opposite. I see the rise of Trump, Tate, Peterson, Christopher Rufo etc who painted trying to uplift women as cultural Marxism and bigotry against white men. I see it painted as men can’t be men anymore and men are vilified. I feel like they get that the patriarchy does means there have been norms and behaviors harmful to women done by men (and women) without them seeing it an attack on themselves . I don’t know what to think but I don’t get the backlash. Anyways, I wish Dr. K and his team could do more content aimed towards women but I think it will not happen without alienating his main audience.

Hello everyone, I've been wanting to make this post for a while and now here we are ! This is a long post but ENJOY !!!
Another Eden is now 7 years old which means many stories, characters and an entire world...or rather time periods/timelines that currently exists. So here's the question, what's your Another Eden Hall of Fame ? Both Meta and Non Meta related.
Note: Remember that what I'm about to write is based SOLELY ON MY OPINION but I'm interested to see what my fellow Residents of Time's Forgotten Keep think ! Without further ado, let's start:

1. Best Story Protagonist (Excluding Aldo): Nona
   Another Eden is composed of many stories and they are NOT always centered around Aldo which is the game's protagonist, few examples of that being Deirdre in the Knights Episodes/Nona in Apocrypha and Wryz from the recent Wryz Saga. My pick is Nona because she has BY FAR the best character development and to me she took the spotlight in the entire Apocrypha. In fact I'd argue that if Another Eden had the "Choose your Protagonist" Aldo would be the Male Protagonist and Nona would be the Female one because she's litterally the Protogonist of Apocrypha and it can be regarded as a "Game within a game" so yea that says alot.
   
2. Best Side Story: Western Mythos (Song of Sword and Wings of Lost Paradise)
   The Western Mythos is the best story in my opinion (And actually alot of players do agree with me on that). The Zerberiya continent, the world, the cast of characters and the story is phenomenal from it's 1st chapter to the finale. I know that people will tell me Future Mythos is also great but it doesn't have THAT impact on me as much as the Western Mythos did.
   

Which is why (Rant Warning!) WFS ! WHERE'S MY WESTERN EXPANSTION !!! WHY DID YOU FORGOT THAT ZERBERIYA EXISTS ?? WE NEED MORE OF PEAK !! That is hurting me alot !! The only story which is a close second is Apocrypha but Western Mythos is the far better one and I'm thankful for Another Eden for creating that. I do hope that the Highly Rumored Eastern Mythos would be just as good because speaking of...

1. Best Main Story: Main Story Part 2 (Tales of the East)
   There are currently four Main Stories: Main Story Part 1;Main Story Part 1.5 (Ogre Wars) ;Main Story Part 2 (Tales of the East) and the currently Main Story Part 3 (Into the Hollow).
   In my mind while having played all of those stories, I still find myself being drawn and attached to the Eastern Continent ! Because I truly love the setting ! WFS clearly nailed it and even so when you consider the amount of "Eastern" Personality characters that are in the game which is the highest in the game at 30 characters (Not counting AS/ES). Heck I'm currently replaying the Main Story Part 2 because I enjoyed it even better than the current Part 3 which from a pure gameplay sure it's better but in terms of Story/Characters and OST then to me nothing beats the Garulea Continent (Present/Past/Future and Underworld) !
   

Alot of people in the sub love Eastern characters, most notably u/NoWaifuN0Laifu who like Hozuki, an Eastern sensual Fox Lady so yea there's that.
This is in part why I'm extremely hyped for Eastern Mythos and I can't wait for it ! And Yukino Alter (One of the main things keeping me attached to Another Eden)

1. Best Character Quest: Melissa
   Melissa is by far the best Character Quest and ask any veteran player and he'll tell you that. It's also the darkest and the saddest one in the entire game and it's special in the fact that Aldo IS NOT PRESENT in it at all ! Imagine THAT ! I won't say more because of spoilers but if you don't have Melissa you can just search on Youtube as her CQ is there and you can watch it ! If you have her but have not played her quest...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING for ? DO IT !
   
2. Best Character: Yukino
   This is subjective and my AE subreddit flair checks out, I love Yukino so much since her introduction, apart from me having a thing for women/girls with Ice powers, her story and how she was created (Also she's Eastern as well so another point !) also her relationship to Tsukiha so no need to say more!
   
3. Best Antagonist/Villain: Guildna (Main Story Part 1)
   The reason why to me Guildna is the best villain is NOT what you think it is ! Another Eden is a game centered around stories Beyond Time and Space there I said it but while there are really good villainy characters like for instance the Empress/Emperor of the Land of Mi and Shin (Again Eastern !) Garneli and Genshin but Guildna is special because he made me appreciate Main Story Part 1 alot more then the other characters, it tells you what happened if Guildna makes some impactful decisions in the storyline. Besides without Guildna there's no Aldo and therefore no Another Eden !
   
4. Best Cat Companion: Kuchiba
   I love the Siamese Cat Breed and Kuchiba IS the only one in the game in whom I didn't change ever since I found her years ago in Vermillion Road (Another Eastern Reference, see what I told you)
   
5. Best NPC: Some Guy
   He's Scott literally everywhere in the game. From the past to the future, from Zerberiya to Garulea, heck even in the Hollow you'll find him ! There's no way I make a list without appreciating "Some Guy" and his deeds to the game.
   
6. Best Frog: Cyrus (He's Eastern aswell ! I tell you this is why the Eastern Setting is THE BEST !!)
   
7. Best Main Cast Character: Guildna
   
8. Best Mascot: Varuo
   If Moke wasn't released as a playable Sidekick he would have been my pick but now I have to choose the 2nd best IMO and that's Varuo. The Iconic Cat mascot in the game.
   
9. Best Boss: Caroline and Justine (From Persona 5 Royal part 2 Collab)
   This boss used to be the hardest boss in the game for a long time and for good reason as it has alot of HP stoppers and has TONS of HP, while the boss has been powercrept and now easy with the recent units...back than it was a pain, another close second would be the Toova AS Manifest Battle which used to be the hardest Manifest fight in the entire game because of Toova AS insane fixed DMG and RNG involved.
   
10. Best OST: エルの唄～メリナ Song of Sword and Wings of Lost Paradise ED ~ The Stifling Song Melina Edition
    The best theme for the best story in the game, everytime I hear the OST I unconsciously start humming and even start tearing up because it's JUST THAT GOOD and after playing the Western Mythos and knowing what the lyrics means...man it hits hard ! A close second is Apex Logic and Cardinal Scales ED ~ Immaculate Full Version but let's be real ! The game is full of the best OST in a game ever !
    
11. Best Battle OST: Apex Logic and Cardinal Scales ~ Last Notes of the Battle Song Alter Dewey Boss Theme.
    This one is hard to choose as the game is packed full of Bangers in the Battle Theme departement but this one personally gets me all hyped...besides even you didn't reach that part of the game it still hypes you up ! A close second is First Knight and The Holy Sword ~ Dear My Dearest -Prayer of the Holy War- as I loved the Knights Episode Story so much and love the plot twist which leaves to this battle.
    

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Now let's go to the Meta:

1. Best Free Character: Nona AS
   Seriously she's by far the most flexible free character in the game, yea sure it takes a bit to get her but she can give 1/3 of her stats to anyone and she can mold her kit into the unit she's devoted to including zone setting/element and attack type change etc... She's even more good when used with Aldo (And it's canon aswell as she's devoted to Aldo and loves him so much which he also does (Not in a friend way btw)) and we know SA Aldo is OP especially at 255 Light so yea !
   
2. Best Zone Setter: Iphi
   To qualify for The Best, a unit doesn't just has to set a zone but it needs to have OP effects with the zone setting skill/VC and to me no one who's better at that than Iphi, her zone setting skill Walpurgisnacht is seriously broken: First of all the skill is Pre-emptive; you get the best elemental zone (Shade zone); you get Blood Contract which gives you survivability and Lunatic Risktaker; you get 5T Magic Focus and if you recast it, you get Kaleido switch to Shade element for 1T for all units...ALL OF THOSE in a single skill and moreso when you realise that these are all skills you usually see in Stellar Awakening Locked-Behind recent units in a unit released a year ago
   
3. Best Damage Dealer (DPS): Xianhua
   Before Xianhua got released and broke the DPS meta, Yakumo and Sesta used to dominate that market but now Xianhua is the best end of question ! The reason being that her DPS potential is not locked behind her SA skill as most recent units does.
   
4. Best True Tank: Radias AS
   Some people might argue that Radias AS is being powercrept but to me a Tank is more than just high HP/DEF/DMG Mitigation via Shield or Debuffs but to me a Tank in AE needs to have Guard and Rage and to me Radias AS is still the best one even if she's now almost 2 years old. While Alma AS is alot more recent and has all of those she's more of a Secondary DPS/Support than a tank and her Guard is conditional; Soira AS doesn't have Guard;Anabel ES doesn't have Guard nor Rage and Prai is constrained by Stun after Guard
   
5. Best Support: Myunfa Alter
   I tried alot of units but to me no one can do support/sustain in the entire game than Myunfa Alter, seriously her kit is a dream to every one, she has everything you can think of, YEP EVERY.SINGLE.SUPPORT.EFFECT in her kit. If you have the fourth slot (80 light) she's even better, she support the entire party but more so the unit on her right:
   

* She can heal HP and MP and reduce MP consumption.
* She can tank (Tho not with Guard but with DMG mitigation such as -50% DMG taken, a 2000 Max HP Shield and insane debuffs + Buff END/SPR).
* She can set Earh/Magic Zone (3 Staff users+) and can awaken any zone.
* She can give Magic and Singular Focus.
* She can give Weapon Type DMG and Weakness Multiplier.
* She can give Status and Knockback Immunity.
* She set 3T pain/poison ignore res.
Yes everything I said above is in her kit, what's more is that she can do most of these preemptively and do you know what's more insane ! She's not bound by the Stellar Awakening System !

1. Best Healer: Anabel ES
   She can heal 50% HP/15% MP but unlike Radias AS which can also do it in a counter, if you put her in Guiding Light she gets +50% DMG and Healing meaning she can potentially heals 100% HP ! Something only seen in EX Attacks in ES characters and that one requires complex setting.
   
2. Best Pain/Poison Setter and DoT (Damage over Time) user: Pom AS
   A Best Pain/Poison setter doesn't just have to set p/p ignore res as most units can do that but can use p/p as DoT (Damage over Time) and no one can do it better then Pom. Heck 4⭐ Pom has been known for her gimmick of giving p/p if you have the appropriate equipment and there's Grasta Ores that gives +50% DMG if user is inflicted with Pain/Poison so yea.
   
3. Best AF user: Miyu ES
   To qualify for this the unit has to benefit more from using AF (Another Force) either by doing more DPS in AF or get easy AF Combo Multiplier, it's been known that Thunder units are the ones who can use AF efficiently and while the current Meta revolves around DMG outside AF, some units only shines in AF and Miyu ES is just that, a close second would be Victor AS but he can be tricky to use as you need the AF Combo to 1000% for him to deal 7300% DMG Multiplier but in a Thunder Team with high SPD it's possible.
   
4. Best Singer: Milsha AS
   While Singing has been powercrept by Praying, I still use Singing units from time to time and Milsha AS is by far the best from the best, seriously her 2 songs can give different Lunatic to the entire party depending on the Song being user (Sacrifice and Risktaker) and this effect can co-exist with other lunatic.
   
5. Best Praying unit: Toova ES
   This one is hard as most Praying units are OP ! However for me Toova ES takes the crown by a slight margin, just set her pray and forget about her and if you have a unit which can Cover (Iphi is most used with her) then you don't have to worry about her taking DMG and breaking Prayer.
   

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Phew This essay took me 3 hours to write but that's how much I love Another Eden even tho the game's questionable direction does leave alot to be desired, I hope you enjoyed reading and I want to see everyone's opinion

I'm pissed off at the so called justice system and need to rant and I figure plenty of other pod listeners have experienced what a bastard it is and might relate. Feel free to share your story in the comments and we can all commiserate and bitch together.
I work the front desk of a motel and I love it. The owner pays a living wage, and I'm not required to smile in the face of Karen nonsense.
For the most part, the property is safe and quiet, but we have been having issues with this one particular loiterer for a few years now. In general, we really don't want people who are not guests or here with guests to be hanging around the property. He did more than just hang around though. He actively bothered guests, trying to bum money, cigarettes, alcohol and rides off of people while stinking drunk. He'd bother anyone but women were his favorite. He'd hit on them and try to get their numbers, even staff members. It didn't matter how many times he was told to leave, he'd keep coming back. Usually this happened at night, but he'd show up stumbling drunk during the day as well.
He's not homeless. When we figured out his name, we were able to determine he lives in an apartment complex a stone's throw away. We learned his name after an employee saw his mugshot, and that he'd been charged with trespassing and indecent exposure at a nearby business. Looking up his past criminal history, he's no stranger to run ins with the police. Criminal Mischief, False Imprisonment Of Child Under 13 Yoa, Child Abuse, Battery, Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia, Disorderly Conduct, Trespass In Occupied Structure, Possession Of Cocaine all from one encounter with police. Others include another count of indecent exposure, assault on a female and breaking and entering.
When we learned all this, we realized he was more than just a nuisance and we needed to try harder to get him to stay the hell away before he hurt one of our guests or a member of staff. Then he ended up being gone for awhile anyway. Jail? Another state? We don't know and I'm not that good at reading court records.
But he came back with a vengeance toward the end of 2022 and started zeroing in on our night auditor who was a very pretty but naïve girl which I guess he took as an invitation. When we learned about this she was told to just call the police whenever he'd show up so we could finally get him trespassed. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to any of you that the police never showed up in time to get him on the property, so they kept saying they couldn't do anything about it. Months later the planets aligned and he was finally trespassed.
This kept him away briefly. The night auditor left and a new one was hired who was not aware of the loiterer. Unfortunately for her, he took an even bigger shine to her, escalating to very sexual comments. We hadn't seen him for a bit, so we foolishly thought having him trespassed would work and hadn't warned her about him. One day last summer she is telling me about a guy who keeps coming around on her shift, and she doesn't think he's a guest. As she's describing him I realize she's talking about the loiterer. I tell her next time he comes around, just call the police.
To make a long story short (too late), by November he'd been arrested on our property three times for trespassing. And one time for communicating threats when he came screaming at the night auditor demanding to know why the general manager was at the hotel in the middle of the night. Clearly having him trespassed was not a deterrent. We kept being told to just keep calling because it would build a stalking case against him. Private security options around here are a joke, so instead the night auditor's boyfriend was given a free room during her shifts because her stalker would stay away when her boyfriend was around. But he would watch the property from somewhere because if her boyfriend went to run an errand or was away from the desk long enough, guess who would come creeping?
Don't worry, we finally got stalking charges against him though. Early November I was working a 16 hour shift because I'm a workaholic and I like OT. I was also pet sitting for my parents so as my day drew to a close I was absolutely running on fumes. Guess who turns up on the property bothering our guests again? We do the same song and dance where I call the police and they don't show up on time. The night auditor he likes was working that night and she arrived without her boyfriend, long story but he couldn't be there.
I desperately needed to get out of there because I had to be back in 8 hours and also needed to take care of the dog, but I could not in good conscience leave her by herself when I knew her stalker was prowling around. Sure enough, as I'm about to leave we see him on the security cameras heading toward the desk. The lobby has big glass windows and he walked by them, presumably looking to see if she was alone, but he kept going because I was here.
Something in me snapped. If the law wasn't enough to deter him from coming around, we'd have to find alternative methods to discourage him. I grabbed the pepper spray we have because of him and went outside to confront him like a lunatic. I shouted "hey!" to get him to turn around and I pepper sprayed him in the face as he was eating a cheeseburger and then I did it again. I got his face and his cheeseburger and he was so drunk he kept eating it as he cursed me and called me a crazy bitch, which is a fair thing to call the crazy bitch who just pepper sprayed you even though you deserved it.
I had dialed 911 on the way out the door, so they got to hear me yelling at him and told me to stop following him and I lied and said I wasn't following him, I was just yelling at him. In reality I was doing both though I only followed him to the edge of the property. The reality of the situation hit me at that point because I absolutely just attacked him and called the police on myself. My biggest concern in the moment though was the fact that my parents were out of town and there was no one else to take care of their dog.
Anyway, cop shows up like ten minutes later to take our statements and whatever. My eyes are stinging because I'd walked through a cloud of pepper spray, so I recommend gel not spray because it apparently doesn't do that. Fortunately I did not get in trouble and the cop was like huh, if your reaction to seeing him is to just immediately pepper spray him, perhaps we have enough for stalking charges. Yay, finally. They didn't catch him that night though.
And it turns out pepper spray wasn't that good of a deterrent. He was back bothering people two days later. Fortunately his favorite target was off for a few days and the other NA was working and called the police. They showed up and talked to him AND DIDN'T ARREST HIM. They said they couldn't because he wasn't on property when they arrived, which is bullshit because all they need is proof he was here which we have because we have security cameras and he has been busted another time that way. They just didn't want to do their job.
I started bringing my gun to work at that point in case the stalker decided he wanted revenge for the pepper spray. But honestly his brain is so liquor cooked I'm not even sure he remembers I did that.
Over the next couple days we say him a few more times, learned he had a warrant out for his arrest on the stalking and trespassing charge, but the cops kept not showing up in time. Then we didn't see him for a few weeks. I'd check on the local arrest records to see if he'd been arrested, and he finally was about 6 weeks after the incident. He was bonded out a couple days later and bond conditions included staying away from the hotel as well as my coworker and I.
After that he stayed off the property, but would sometimes shout at the NA from the sidewalk out front, telling her he loved her and would never hurt her. He never stuck around long enough that she felt it was worth calling the police over.
He would still hang around the fast food restaurant parking lot next door and bother guests whose rooms faced that direction. There wasn't anything we could do about it and they weren't interested in doing anything about it. This changed at the end of March when he was arrested there for being drunk and disorderly. He bonded out on that charge as well. We didn't see him around after that but knew better than to celebrate.
End of April, he gets arrested again this time at the gas station across the road. Drunk and disorderly, indecent exposure, and resisting an officer. Bonds out again.
Just a couple days later, the other day shift person spots him hanging around the property though he didn't stay long. She warned night shift about him when she left that night. Sure enough, he turns up again IN THE FUCKING LOBBY. NA scares him off with the stun stick that was also purchased because of him and calls the police. As is tradition, they don't arrive in time. But we have proof of him violating bond, so we're hopeful that maybe he'll get locked up and give us a longer break.
But he wasn't done with his chaos for the night, the NA learned the next morning when the police came back to talk to her. He went to hang around the gas station where he'd just been arrested. He was loitering around with another guy, generally being suspicious and touching themselves. Then comes the escalation no one saw coming (/s). He and his creep buddy attempt to sexually assault a woman at the gas station. Fortunately they fail, unfortunately buddy gets away, fortunately stalker does not.
But you wouldn't know about any of that looking at his charges. All you would see is that he was trespassing at the gas station, had an open container of alcohol, damaged a police car, resisted an officer, did a disorderly conduct, and he pissed on an officer. Nothing about the sexual assault, or trespassing at the hotel and violating bond. Also apparently pissing on a cop is a felony.
On the bright side, his bail was set to $25k and I kept checking to see if he had posted bond and he hadn't. So we were enjoying a reprieve. I checked every couple of days for updates on that, and when doing so today I noticed the status of the stalking case had changed from pending to disposed.
I looked into that and discovered the stalking charge had been dismissed because the victims and officer had not shown up to court. Showing up to court is kind of difficult to do WHEN NO ONE TELLS YOU YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. There was absolutely no communication with any of us regarding the stalking charge. Everything I did know I knew from arrest and court records which I barely know how to decipher.
We've done everything we were supposed to do, but fuck us I guess right? We're having to take our safety into our own hands because the justice system doesn't give a fuck. He's not getting whatever help he needs to not be a predator because it doesn't give a fuck.
I'm so fucking angry right now. We're going to call the DA on Monday, for all the good that is likely to do. Maybe the owner can band together with other business owners in the area and get something done about him since money talks. I don't fucking know.
I'm not scared of him for myself, I'm scared of what he might do to a guest or one of my coworkers. He wouldn't be the first pervert to attack a housekeeper, thinking they're an easy target. One guy flashed his dick at a housekeeper a couple years ago and the owner chased him down and held him at knife point until the cops showed up. At least that cop had the good nature to claim not to have heard the owner when he said he was going to cut the guy's dick off.
The cop the stalker pissed on probably deserved it.
How has the justice system fucked you over?

This is my in-depth notes while watching the full length dfv meme video compilation by roaring pika this morning.
https://x.com/roaringpika/status/1791834694704591155?s=46
It’s an hour long and way easier to understand all together like this.
These notes come from watching every ppshow this week and taking my favorite bits of tinfoil from the community into one fairly simple look into the story dfv is telling us without getting too deep on possible tinfoil, it’s just laid out plain and simple here.
Tldr; this is a very long post. I think it starts with dfv’s final yolo update (fine I’ll do it myself) and what’s been going on since then, how he’s been feeling, and all the battles over the last couple years for the first 30 minutes of the memes.
Then in the last half it switches to: I’ll fuckin do it again and full of straight confirmation foil that we’ve been right about the bear trap, bbby, Teddy, and baby all along. Then he says we’re all good, be zen and says goodbye for now.
Here goes:
Fine I’ll do it myself, Cat heartbeat, Wolverine mad. (I think this marks his Final yolo update and of course doubled as the hype to start this week off with a bang.)
I think the first half of the movies are all about the first squeeze and how he was both dfv and kitty, how they were talking trash about him, how we found out about the baskets “you move I move” the battle scenes were all about price action up and down, everything was green and red, and the running memes are about the stock running up and sad memes are when the stock goes down.
About 30 minutes in someone asks, “where you been”, he says “waiting”, what about getting caught? “All part of the plan.”
Then there’s usual suspects movie with the goofy meme “I’ll fuckin do it again”.
——
Jake texting Keith, hilarious (is this about our Jake2b and the story PP had about accidentally going to a gay bar around the first pulte event? So funny with the guy with 600 memes and basically joking that he became a full blown psycho with the memes.
Tell me where the freaks at - epic pump up music. (Psyched on us? Finding other freaks to vibe with.)
Guy looks out the window, then the Teddy in a chair (might have just been a response to Cramer being a smartass). Then Hank (Jim Carrey) starts to lose it as the stock price keeps going down, his alter ego comes out.
Truman show, he’s trying to escape, they say “he’ll turn back he’s too afraid”. They hit him with everything they’ve got but he knows it’s all fake. He says, “is that the best you can do??” (I think this is clearly about fake price movement, trying to keep us trapped in the illusion)
“Fury is a game where every boss fight feels like the final boss. They taunt you, they demand you get back in your prison cell, they pound you into a pulp and they even make you doubt the righteousness of your own quest towards freedom. But the soundtrack man, it keeps egging you on. To whoop some ass!” PP theme music drops. Holy shit.
(This one is obviously talking about us, I cried because I was so happy when I heard this one)
——
The Bullet one talking about time, cause and effect, “don’t try to understand it, just feel it”. “Instinct, got it.”
Morpheus teaching neo it’s all fake. Just before that scene he says, “you think that’s air you’re breathing?” … “Again!”
Alice says “But I don’t want to go among mad people.” The cat replies, “Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I’m not all there myself.” Neo waking up again in the 4th movie.
Alice going down a rabbit hole into wonderland.. psychedelic music and dancing. (That’s us going down the rabbit hole thinking we’ve gone mad but loving every minute of it.)
Next scene guy running and falls over, music says “I lost myself.”
Shawshank, they find the tunnel he made. In 2021 Kitty escaped prison. All they found of him was some Reddit posts, tweets, and an old live stream. Investing is the study of pressure and time. That’s all it takes really, pressure and time. That and a keen goddamn activist.
A man will do anything to keep his mind busy in prison. Turns out kittys favorite activity was handing out memes, a handful at a time (the dirt for the tunnel and the tinfoil that’s helped us dig our way to freedom). Kitty did as he was told, buffed that financial education to a high mirror shine. (I think he’s been getting ready for something big and these memes are just a countdown.)
Bruce Willis. “No, THIS is the Kansas City shuffle.” (An advanced form of confidence trick where the mark is aware of being involved in a swindle and believes that he or she can outsmart the swindler; however, this is all part of the trick, and by attempting to retaliate, the mark unwittingly assists the con artist.) Hedge funds are the mark and dfv/rc are playing a con, the bear trap?
——
Pay attention to what I say, I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. The cat looks at the camera.
Michael from the office - It’s Britney bitch. And I am back. Cut to Britney Spears - I must confess I still believe. When I’m not with you I lose my mind. Give me a sign (like how we’re always asking for a sign?? (with the alien g from signs all red like a gme logo giving birth). Hit me BABY one more time!
Goosebumps all the papers fly out of the briefcase right when we get like 200 new dockets clawing back money from 90 days before bbby bk. Bear beware… you’re in for a scare…
Then it’s Abbi from Broad city dancing all over the place and she’s obsessed with bed bath and beyond in the show. There’s also the scene where the other girl is dancing behind a colored blanket with the same logo as HBC and then the next scene she’s tied up. Then they’re dancing again.. and naked then then only in shorts. Naked shorts?
We’ll never survive unless we’re a little crazy. The modern investor unleashes the animal within to take on the big city - that’s gotta be us apes?
What kind of person are you? The kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Is it possible that there are no coincidences? The kid holds up a baby monitor. They find a crop circle and it’s two GameStop logos turned in different directions (maybe rc turned GameStop around) and then another one with a long line and a baby gme logo (is gme about to have a baby?!)
Why make something disposable like an investment thesis when you can make something that lasts forever, like a GameStop meme? (It says “Reality” at the bottom of this clip, lol)
Jack Nicholson in the shining (music playing it’s just a matter of time before I lose my mind it’s also a place in ready player one where they have to take the leap not taken, the leap of faith, a kiss). “Make a lot of memes today?” Lol
Can’t stop what’s coming. Kicks some ass.
——
I got both hands off the wheel, the cops are coming. I listen to the music with no fear, you can hear it too if you’re sincere. Cuz I’m a punk rocker yes I am. (song: punkrocker by the teddybears)
Rock ain’t about doing things prefect! Who can tell me what it’s really about? Sticking it to the man! If you wanna rock, you gotta break the rules.
Two cars racing, one plays chicken with a truck and then cut to bojack horseman talking on stage right before they almost crash (stalking horse? Looks just like he horse from 1, 2 switch that GameStop tweeted the minute the stalking horse deadline was up.)
Now you may only see a pile of boring forms and numbers, but I see a story (us going through the dd and maybe holly etlin talking about there’s a story here but it’s not mine to tell)
Listen to this song, it’ll change your life.
(Song is don’t fear the reaper - so don’t be afraid of death, funny because of the cowbell, maybe cowbell is involved in the tinfoil but at the end of the song lyrics not shown in the clip they say: don't be afraid, Come on, baby (and she had no fear) And she ran to him (then they started to fly) They looked backward and said goodbye)
Big Lebowski dude is investigating and finds the drawing of Jackie tree horn and it’s just a guy with a raging erection with the name cohen at the top of the paper. (I think this means rc is ready to fuck)
Jason borne is telling the run Lola run chick he can’t run with her, he has to be careful because people are after him. He says I gotta figure it out. She says well then figure it out. They drive into a parking garage through the wrong way (where it should say exit it says exit strategy and he enters through the exit, parks and walks away, as in “what’s an exit strategy”)
Then it looks like maybe him and rc just waiting and dealing with some bs.
Then there’s the Backstage roaring cat perhaps. The girl says ima stick beside him.
Not sure about everyone shooting each other but someone said maybe because he wrote it and manifested it?
——
Then the dress one “this is art, get it?” Was apparently two minutes after hey Ross and some others were talking about that dress on a space call.
I’m a United States gamestop memer. Aren’t those the guys that go crazy and come back with an arsenal of memes and blast everybody? Sometimes. Price action keeps coming and coming… and then it’s GameStop earnings week! (6/5 aftermarket)
Always sunny scene maybe like a peek into how crazy he’s been feeling not being able to talk to anyone for three years?
He can’t speak or he’ll get in trouble.
Alladin scene (alladin name of trading algo. He also says next time I’ll use a nom de plume - pen name) all I gotta do is jump! (The theme of taking a leap of faith again)
Dreyfus billionaire family (no idea but she’s dancing having a great time)
You can’t handle the truth (code red has to do with a worm/virus, maybe they’re about to unleash something that destroys several companies that are short? And it’s pretty funny)
Beavis and butthead sex for dummies (to me it says rc and dfv are ready to fuck but also cex means centralized exchanges which are also for dummies)
Oceans 11, (theme is a heist. We’re all looking at each other like what’s about to happen and then the last guy is just looking at boobs, seems to describe a group like us lol)
Bernard from westworld can’t see the bear thesis (because in the movie he’s programmed not to but irl it’s because there isn’t a thesis!)
“That’s not a thesis,” pulls out huge knife, “that’s a thesis.”
The gme galaxy on the cat collar says deepfuckingvalue so I think he’s saying it’s still deep value and we often made memes about the black hole of gme absorbing the rest of the market into it so maybe that’s it.
Whats in the box? What’s in the box??? (What’s the plan??? RC not telegraphing his plans)
Guy looks at all the memes - she asks “is it not good?” “It is miraculous.” (That’s us loving every second of this. Thank you dfv.)
And so.. you just RAN. Forest gump runnin’ (gme gonna just keep runnin’)
you go backwards but then you go forwards again… you go backwards… then he walks out of the woods.. (are we out of the woods now? Done going backwards?)
We’ll see. The Zen philosophy story - kid breaks leg, oh that’s bad, can’t go to war, oh now it’s good etc - (I think he’s saying to be zen, we’re gonna win, but this message goes deeper:
We don’t always know what is good or bad. Breaking your leg isn’t good or bad, those are just judgements in our mind. We don’t know what the future holds. Almost anything can be a good thing or a bad thing, all we can do is accept life and how things play out without judgement.)
We’ll see.
Then the boy is saying bye to ET, the music says I’ve really enjoyed my stay, but I must be movin on. (DFV going silent again until this all plays out.)
——
——
He’s saying “we fuckin won fellas! Be zen, and we’ll see this all play out soon enough.”
I think the heavy use of good movies and music and video games may also be hinting at gamestops nft marketplace May reopen to sell those 3 things as NFTs by partnering with blockbuster and some musicians.
LFG 🚀 I’ll see you regards on the moon.

I caught my ex emotionally cheating on me and I confronted her about it and she disappeared after the fact is the short form of what happened. I posted previously about it if anyone cares to read.
When she left, she left all of her stuff in my apartment and out of respect and legality I did nothing with it besides pack it all up for her and waited for her to pick it up. It took an entire month for her to come get it. The entire time she kept saying that she wasn't in a relationship with this guy she said was her "friend".
She kept gaslighting me saying he's just a friend etc etc. making me second guess if I was crazy or not. Well a couple days ago she informed me she was coming with a uhaul to pick her stuff up. So I decided to put all of her stuff outside because I couldn't emotionally handle or hold back my anger over what happened so I decided that was the best course of action.
She didn't think so, she knocked on the door and I made the mistake of opening the door. She requested that she comes inside to do a "walk through". I said no all of your stuff is outside. She put her foot in the door and step inside while I was trying to close the door. I decided screw it go ahead.
As she was walking through she started taking stuff like all the cleaning supplies I bought, food I bought and kitchen ware I bought. I told her all that is mine and she said "No, I bought all of this. I was the only one who cleaned and cook" which was a lie because she wouldn't do anything besides lay down in bed and be on her phone majority of the time.
I got really irritated and went off on her. I called her a cheater and a liar. You left me for a loser. You're the most dishonest person I have ever met. She kept saying "I'm not dating him, we aren't together, I didn't cheat on you. I don't know whats wrong with you dude". I said should I go outside and tell him that? Should I tell him how much of a liar you are?
She responded with "He knows everything already". I decided it was the best course of action to not go outside because I know I would go into a blind rage and end up in jail for sure.
Afrer she left. The next day I made the mistake of looking on both of their facebooks and they updated their relationship status that they are together. The day they "made it official" happened to be the next day after she did her disappearing act. It felt like they were "hiding" their relationship status until she got her stuff back. So they made a team effort together to do what they did, which is insane to me.
I just can't believe how much I did for some one who stabbed me in the back the way they did. The amount of support, the amount of care, the amount of love I gave to her and she did what she did.
She even acts like I was the bad guy, I was the evil person. The whole reason I was upset with her was because she was talking to this guy and lying to me about it.
I'm so angry, everyday so far I feel this rage. I got a gym membership yesterday and worked out last night. When I was done working out for some reason when I was driving home I just started crying out of nowhere. I don't know what triggered it but I couldn't stop. It came to me that I haven't had time to cry or feel sad, I have just been angry, I feel it even now as I'm typing it. I can't seem to stop being so upset.

Hello everyone, allow us to introduce you to the Kovian Empire. We are a building level 14 clan and are looking for people like you to come join the Kovian Empire. Allow me to tell you our requirements and our current standings;

• Th3+ unrushed
• Activity & Participation in clan games
• Clan Capital Co-operation
• Friendly & English speaking
• Currently “Crystal League 3” in CWL
  
• These are our main points that should be in your mind when considering us as a clan. Allow me to give you insight on what we are as a clan;
  
• We’re not a very strict clan, however we are not relaxed either. We should be seeing the necessary expectations of a member.
  
• We are a clan willing to help players grow to strong competitors. Any questions that you have do ask and we will answer
  
• Wars will be set up around 7:00 PST every Monday. Depending on how many want war there will be another war set up 7:00 PST every Wednesday. This is so once war ends we slide right into Raid weekends
  
• Being aware of your badge status determines whether or not you will be in wars & CWL. Always keep it updated appropriately
  
• Siege Machines are all accessible with only 1 guy with a Battle Drill. We will try to get to donating them as soon as we can.
  
• Super Troops we’ll try to have them active as much as possible if you need them. We will need to maintain dark elixir as well before activating.
  
• Some days it will be tricky to catch others on and other days much easier.
  
• Clan Games Requirements being 1,000 points
  

This is what the Kovian Empire is all about, we hope we see you soon as a future Kovian. Here is our clan tag #29JL9020U for everyone to join, if you want the link to join I will respond to your comment or DM it to you. It may take a while to get accepted in cause our times vary, so feel free to DM when you request & I’ll get on to accept you right away. As well we do have a discord server which we would advise anyone who joins and plans on staying in the Kovian Empire to join as we will utilize it the best we can. Hail Kova. If you have any questions feel free to DM me here on Reddit or on Discord at Invisrot2000#5873 or just leave a comment on this post.

Video link on Bilibili: 【OnceAgain探班来袭！老友重聚再冲一次-哔哩哔哩】 https://b23.tv/lJBBNKN
HOSTS
Xiao Shuang: Ex-OWL commentator, Community Manager for the 2023 OWWC Team From China; she's also been doing a series of one-on-one interviews with the ex-Spark members in the meantime, including the trip to an adult expo with Guxue.
Mu Zi: Ex-OWL caster
(Note: I skipped a bunch of the chatter from the hosts since I'm a bit lazy; sorry! A lot of respect for the old Chinese OWL crew.)
Interviews were done in small groups (seemingly by room assignment):
SHY & MONK
Mmonk: Hello hello, I'm Mmonk from...(pause)OA.
Shy: Hello everybody, I'm Shy from............um. Shy. From OA.
Host XS: You've been streaming full time for a long while now; how does it feel to return to pro play? Has it been a smooth transition?
Shy: It's been a little difficult to adjust. Playing OW professionally again, I feel like my attitude towards the game is a bit different.
Mmonk: About the same.
Host XS: (laughing) You have such a talent for interviews. (Mmonk's post-game interview answers during OWL were notoriously brief and awkward.).
Host MZ: How well would you say you've shaken off the rust?
Shy: We're returning...we've scrimmed for a few days, and I feel like we've been improving day by day. (Note: Leave leaked a screen a few days back showing something like a 1-11 record in custom games).
Host MZ: What about Mmonk?
Mmonk: (ducking away from the mic) Um, we're maybe back to 50%.
Host MZ: Okay, what about a simpler question. Now that you're back, have you guys set a goal for yourselves?
Shy: Umm...I'm not setting a big ambitious goal, I don't want to jinx us. I think I'm just trying to focus on succeeding in head-to-heads.
Mmonk: I think just beating the top two teams once. (I think that's what he meant? Otherwise it sounds like he's saying just playing the top two teams, which seems TOO unambitious).
Host XS: Have you missed the feeling of being back in a training environment?
Shy: Honestly, it's been a tiny bit hard to get used to it again. At home, I can start playing as soon as I sleep...(pauses, visibly rewinds) I mean, I can start playing as soon as I wake, then sleep when I'm done playing. Here, the schedule is very rigid. It's a bit nostalgic, makes me think of my school days.
Mmonk: I really missed this kind of lifestyle. Being a full-time streamer for me is torture.
Host XS: (Laughing) Okay okay, last question. You have a new coach now, it's your first time working with Rush. How has it felt working with him over the past few days?
Shy: He's awesome. Just wait till you see the results.
Mmonk: Rush is a very serious person. He'll point out any flaws.
LENGSA (with truly impressive bedhead)
Host XS: How does it feel? Now that you're back to communal living, do you have to keep ordering takeout? (Note: Lengsa revealed in the past that he's accomplished at ordering super super cheap takeout, it's become a bit of a meme in CNOW circles).
Lengsa: The good thing about communal living is that I don't have to get takeout! I can go out with the others for meals and eat a bit more.
Host MZ: So how does it feel for you to go from full-time streaming back to the lifestyle of a professional player?
Lengsa: It feels like freedom.
Host XS: How does it feel to work with a mixture of old and new staff? Have you gotten used to having a new coach yet?
Lengsa: Um...(strokes chin) I share a room with the new coach, so we're still getting used to each other.
Hosts: You share a room??
Lengsa: Yep.
Host XS: Is it easy to communicate?
Lengsa: We give our translation apps a good workout.
Host XS: I remember when we were talking last time over dinner, I asked how you guys were doing, and you said you couldn't even beat the last place Korean team. Now that you've had a few days of training under your belt, do you feel like you're getting back in the groove?
Lengsa: Now we're playing the top few teams.
Hosts: Oooohhh.
Host XS: Okay, let's do a quick pop quiz. Please introduce yourself.
Lengsa: Hi everyone, I'm Lengsa from Hang--Team OA.
Host MZ: Three players, and not a single one has gotten that out smoothly.
CREED
Creed: Hi everyone, I'm Creed.
Host XS: Creed from...?
Creed: Uh, I'm...(thinking) Creed from Team OA.
Hosts: (Laughing) Not a single one.
Host MZ: We're very happy to see you back. How do you feel about the team? Now that you're back, have things changed at all?
Creed: I don't think so. Feels like it did during the HZ Spark playoffs.
Host MZ: So what are your hopes for this new team?
Creed: Hopes? To make another run, I guess.
Host XS: You received an invitation to join this team. How did you feel when the invite came?
Creed: "Finally!"
Host MZ: The players haven't played professionally in a really long time. As a coach, how do you feel like you can help them?
Creed: I think just scrimming as usual is sufficient. We've been scrimming the past few days and I feel like they're recovering pretty well.
Host XS: My last question is about how you feel. I know that you must have felt regret that you couldn't be with the team during the last OW World Cup. Now that you've returned, do you feel like it's a chance to make up for that regret?
Creed: Well, about the World Cup, you know I had COVID at the time. And honestly, after the playoffs, I was very tired and needed some rest. But after resting I did regret that I wasn't able to go with them. This time I feel like I need to grab every opportunity.
Creed: I'm especially thankful to Yaoxie. Rush and I were both recommended by Yaoxie. Originally it was supposed to be the three of us coaching, but he couldn't make it here for personal reasons. I hope that once he takes care of those issues he can join us. If he has the time, he's gotta come! I miss him, I want to keep working with him.
RUSH
Rush: Ni hao. (waves)
Host XS: We've gathered a lot of questions from the fans and chosen a few of them to ask Coach Rush.
Host MZ: First question -- as your first time coming to China and coaching a full Chinese team, how did you feel when you received the invitation?
Rush: This actually isn't the first time I've coached a full Chinese team. (Rush used to coach Team 1246) Because I've already had that experience, this hasn't been that much of a change. The players are also all players I'm very familiar with. Because the players are all very good, I'm also very happy and content.
Host XS: My question is about something behind-the-scenes--when Coach Rush joined our first meeting, Guxue asked if you could bring some ramen over from Korea. May I ask Coach Rush if you can show us what types of ramen you brought?
Rush: I really brought a big trunk of ramen and snacks over from Korea! I asked what kinds of ramen they didn't have in China and I brought a lot over. Mainly turkey ramen.
Host MZ: Here's my next question for Rush. There are a lot of strong teams in the Asia region, and among them there are a lot of your old opponents like Moon and Crusty. Do you feel a lot of pressure facing them?
Rush: Since Overwatch isn't a game that sees a lot of changes even if you've set it aside for awhile, that's not a huge problem. Because we still have a good amount of time, if we start training really hard now, I feel like we can win, whether it's against Team Falcons or Crazy Raccoon.
Host XS: Moon said recently that he really wished he could have coached 2023's Team China. That said, it's Coach Rush who's getting that chance. Do you have anything you want to say to Coach Moon?
Rush: Um...not really. Coach Moon was in China for a long time, and it's natural that he'd want to try different things. I've also coached overseas and worked with players of other nationalities before. New challenges are always enjoyable. I'm sure if he has a chance he'll also work with other Chinese teams and players. If we face each other again with all-new teams that'll probably be fun. Coach Moon is currently with Korean players on a Japanese team, which might seem a bit odd, but if we meet, we'll still take them down no problem.
Host XS: Anything else you want to say to your fans?
Rush: When I came to China last time, not a lot of people knew about me, and I probably didn't have any fans. Now people probably know me a little bit, and I might have some fans? I'd like to say to them: thank you for your support, and please keep supporting our team. We'll work hard to bring you good news and good results.
LEAVE & GUXUE
Leave: (Starts laughing before the interview even starts and sets the others off)
Host XS: What are you laughing about?? Since you're laughing, I need to test you--please introduce yourself.
Leave: Wait, wait. Hi everyone, I'm Leave.
Host XS: Leave from...?
Leave: I'm Leave from Hang--OA.
Hosts: (Laughing) Xu Qiulin, your turn. (Xu Qiulin = Guxue's real name).
Guxue: Hi everyone, I'm Guxue from OA.
Host MZ: This guy came prepared. Not like this other guy.
Host XS: Going from being a streamer to being a professional player again, how have you dealt with this sudden change in status? Has it been an easy transition? What's been the most difficult adjustment?
Leave: The in-game part's been pretty good. If I needed to choose something that was difficult to adjust to, I'd say it's the lifestyle and sleep schedule. Because we have two-person rooms...yep, this is my roommate, let me introduce him (points to Guxue), we sleep in the same room. Everyone's sleep schedule and habits and whether or not they snore are very different.
Hosts + Guxue: (Laughing, since Guxue & Leave have been playing up an adversarial relationship on stream the past few months.)
Host MZ: Leave, are you satisfied with your current roommate?
Leave: Pretty good, not bad (laughs)
Host MZ: Guxue, what about you? How do you feel, going back to communal living?
Guxue: I think I've adjusted pretty well. Being a full-time streamer the last half year, it was too lonely. It feels nice to return to living with everyone.
Host MZ: Okay, then I also have to ask, are you satisfied with your current roommate?
Guxue: (Pause) I think my current roommate is pretty okay.
Host MZ: Very direct! No hesitation.
Host XS: I also want to ask the question that I think everyone is most concerned about--how's training going? How much of your full strength do you think you've recovered?
Leave: 30%, probably.
Host MZ: That's very conservative.
Leave: Is it conservative?
Host MZ: I don't know
Leave: Have you watched our scrim VODs? (Recently some OA scrim codes were reported to have leaked.).
Host MZ: I haven't! How would I? I just think you're being modest.
Guxue: If you sub to my stream I'll show you one.
Host MZ: No no no no no. So what about you? What percentage of your strength do you think you've recovered?
Guxue: I think I'm doing pretty well. Even though I'm just streaming, I've been constantly prepping while streaming. I've played over a thousand games in ranked per season to keep ready.
Host XS: Now that there are competitions on the horizon, what kind of goals are you setting for yourself?
Leave: A 5-5 win rate against Team Falcons, and a 4-6 win rate against Crazy Raccoons. I think that would be pretty decent.
Host XS: Who's 4 and who's 6?
Leave: Guess.
Host MZ: For Guxue, since you play the tank position, and we know that tanks have seen a lot of changes recently, now that you're back on a team, have you set any goals for your team or for yourself?
Guxue: Currently the tank situation isn't too bad. In a couple of days there'll be some big tank changes, so I don't know how it'll be then. (This was probably recorded last week).
Host MZ: Now that we've talked a bit about yourselves, you have a new coach for this team. We've heard what your teammates have said about him. What about you guys? How are you getting along?
Guxue: As of right now, we've been training together for two or three days and have scrimmed five or six times. Starting from the first day, when we did...pretty tragically, we've improved a lot over the past couple of days and I think Rush has been a big help to us.
Host XS: What about Leave?
Leave: I always thought Rush was rather shy. That's not the case. If he sees something to improve on, he'll point it out straight away. He'll call you out. He's called me out, yeah. The very first day he arrived. And then he called me out again today. It's very scary.
Host MZ: You think the callouts are helpful to you?
Leave: Yes, but he's very direct. He'll come straight out with it.
Host XS: Finally, do you have anything you want to say to your fans?
Leave: We still want to thank everyone for the huge support you've always given us. Rush will take us on one more run.
Guxue: Even though I've started training again which means I'll be streaming less, everyone remember to re-up your subs! Don't stop subbing.
Leave: Me too me too.

This post contains spoilers from CS1-Reverie, including Reverie’s post-game content.
Disclaimer: The analysis portion of the Background section contains discussion of mental illness. I am not an expert in mental health, or any health field for that matter. I’m just a guy applying his own perception, lived experiences, and surface-level knowledge to interpreting Rean’s arc. I probably don’t even need to be making this disclaimer, but I felt like it.
Last year, I made this post asking how the members of this sub felt about Cold Steel’s protagonist: the one and only Rean Schwarzer. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of engagement it got, as well as the diversity of opinion expressed in the comments. There were those who loved him, those who were neutral on him, and a few who just couldn’t stand him. At the time, I had just finished CS2, so there was a ton about Rean I wasn’t privy to. However, now that I’ve played Reverie and am fully caught up with the first half of the series, I have a much fuller picture of him. Since so many of you were kind enough to offer up your takes on Rean back then, I figured I’d express my own thoughts on him in the form of a proper analysis. Without further ado, let’s begin!

Background

Rean Schwarzer (born Rean Osborne) is the main protagonist of Trails of Cold Steel I, II, III, and IV, as well as one of the three main protagonists of Trails into Reverie. He was born in S.1187 to Erebonian commoners Brigadier General Giliath and Kasia Osborne. Rean’s father was a brilliant leader and strategist, but his commoner status made him an enemy of the military’s nobles. This led to Giliath’s home being attacked by jaegers when Rean was five, resulting in Kasia’s death and Rean’s heart being punctured by shrapnel. In a desperate bid to save his son’s life, Giliath made a deal with Ishmelga, the Ebon Knight, to become its Awakener and used its power to transplant his own heart into Rean’s body. Due to his deal with Ishmelga, Giliath was forced to give up custody of Rean, entrusting him to the care of Baron Teo Schwarzer. As a result, “Rean Osborne,” the son of a commoner military officer, became “Rean Schwarzer,” the adopted son of a minor noble family.
Although Rean’s new family was loving and supportive, his new life was not without struggle. The boy’s sudden, mysterious appearance in the Schwarzer household made the family - particularly Teo - the subject of gossip and controversy among other nobles. Some believed Rean was Teo’s illegitimate child, while others openly lambasted Teo for his willingness to potentially allow a commoner into the nobility’s ranks. Teo essentially became an outcast among his noble peers, his family’s name tarnished by rumor. Rean, for his part, came to believe he was at fault for this situation, and the subsequent guilt would plague him for many years.
Rean’s self-worth was further challenged by another, more personal problem that arose during his childhood. At age nine, Rean watched an unknown monster attack his younger sister, Elise, and the stress caused an innate “ogre power” within him to manifest. Rean fell into a blind rage, savagely killing the monster. When he returned to his senses, Rean was traumatized by the scene he had left behind, and by the discovery of this new, violent side of him he could not control.
Two years later, Rean became an apprentice of the legendary swordsman Yun Ka-fai, founder of the Eight Leaves One Blade school, hoping to learn how to control his ogre powers. Despite showing great promise as a swordsman, Rean was unable to develop control over his ogre power, and Yun was eventually forced to cut short Rean’s training for unrelated reasons. Although the beginner-rank Rean continued to train on his own, the damage to his psyche was too deep-seated for him to fix alone. He believed he was nothing but a burden and a monster, undeserving of love or happiness. This guilt and self-loathing spurred him to always put others’ needs and well-being above his own, believing himself less important than anyone else. This self-sacrificial behavior became a recurring problem for Rean over the course of his adolescence and early adulthood.
In S.1204, at age 17, Rean enrolled at the prestigious Thors Military Academy in eastern Erebonia. He, along with eight others, became part of Class VII, Thors’s first socially integrated graduating class. Although he still struggled with low self-worth, Rean thrived in this new environment, quickly befriending his classmates and discovering his natural-born ability as a leader. By this time, Rean’s real father, Giliath Osborne, had become Chancellor of Erebonia and was being targeted for death by the Imperial Liberation Front - an anti-Osborne terrorist group. The ILF was a recurring presence in Class VII’s lives during their first school year, and the two groups clashed frequently. At the end of the year, Rean’s life took a dramatic turn when he unexpectedly became the Awakener for the Divine Knight Valimar before watching the ILF - led by his friend Crow Armbrust - seemingly assassinate Osborne and spark a nationwide civil war. Thors came under siege by Crow shortly thereafter, and in the chaos, Rean was forcibly separated from his classmates.
One month later, Rean awoke in the Eisengard Mountain Range outside his adopted hometown, Ymir. Now armed with Valimar’s power, Rean rendezvoused with his family and set out to reunite Class VII. Although he succeeded, Rean was later captured by the Noble Alliance and was held captive alongside Erebonian princess Alfin Reise Arnor. With Alfin’s encouragement, Rean freed the two of them using his ogre powers and rejoined Class VII onboard the imperial family’s airship Courageous. Thanks to Alfin and his bond with his classmates, Rean learned to stop fearing his ogre powers and started opening up more to those closest to him. Using the Courageous, Class VII successfully led a mission to retake Thors before ultimately confronting the Noble Alliance’s leader, Duke Cayenne, and stopping his plan to use the Infernal Castle to win the war. At the same time, new drama entered Rean’s life: Shortly after stopping Duke Cayenne’s plan, Crow unexpectedly died and Osborne was revealed to still be alive - and Rean’s real father. Rean, for his part, was formally recognized by the imperial government for his role in ending the war and became a national hero. This was, however, merely a ploy to pressure Rean into obeying Osborne’s wishes, and it succeeded, as Rean subsequently became an operative in Erebonia’s conquest of Crossbell. It was during this time that he became acquainted with Crossbell Special Support Section leader Lloyd Bannings.After Crossbell’s annexation, Rean fought in the Northern War, which resulted in Erebonia annexing North Ambria. He partook in the siege of Haliask, where he fought archaisms using Valimar. During this stretch of the war, Rean lost control of his ogre powers and was rendered unconscious for three days. As a result, he once again lost faith in his ability to control himself, and swore off the use of his ogre power.
In April S.1206, roughly 1.5 years after the civil war’s end, Rean started a job as instructor of a “new Class VII” at Thors’s new branch campus in western Erebonia. At the branch campus, Rean bonded with his students and fellow faculty while also taking on assignments from the imperial government. It was also during this time that Osborne’s plan to trigger the Great Twilight started unfolding, causing Rean, his students, and his comrades to regularly butt heads with jaegers, Ouroboros, and powerful cryptids. Ultimately, however, Osborne outmaneuvered all attempts by Rean, Olivert, and others to stop him; the Courageous was destroyed by a bomb with Olivert still onboard, Rean’s forces were spread thin through various battles, and Rean himself was forced to watch as Millium Orion was killed and turned into a Sword of the End. Finally at his wit’s end, Rean suffered a mental breakdown and was consumed by his ogre powers, causing him to violently trigger the Great Twilight himself before being taken captive by Osborne and Ishmelga.
After a short period of captivity, Rean was freed by Class VII and their allies. He, along with the SSS and the Liberl Bracer Guild, declined to become part of Musse Egret’s Operation Mille Mirage, instead choosing to oppose Osborne their own way. Rean, as Valimar’s Awakener, decided to partake in the Rivalries to reform the Great One, in hopes of defeating Ishmelga’s curse. He gradually defeated and absorbed power from the other Awakeners until, finally, during Operation Jormungandr, he defeated Osborne and Ishmelga, becoming the pilot of a corrupted Great One. It is at this time when two different futures unfolded: In one, Rean flew the Great One beyond Zemuria’s atmosphere to remove Ishmelga from the continent. In the other, Rean used the power of the Holy Beast of Earth to give Ishmelga’s curse a corporeal form, allowing him and his friends to destroy it. It was this latter future that became Zemuria’s reality, while the former remained hypothetical and unrealized.
Many months after Ishmelga’s defeat, in S.1207, Rean became involved in the incident involving Crossbell and Elysium. While combating enemy forces in the Nord Highlands, Rean started undergoing assimilation with Ishmelga-Rean, an alternate version of himself created by Elysium based on the unrealized timeline from when Ishmelga was first beaten. Later, during the final confrontation with Ishmelga-Rean, the real Rean saw visions of his other self’s sacrifice and finally grasped the devastating effects his past martyr-like behavior had on those he loved. He vowed to make a change before eliminating Ishmelga-Rean, stopping the assimilation.
Sometime after the clash with Elysium, Rean visited Longlai in eastern Calvard with his family, secretly hoping to track down Yun while there. Instead, he encountered members of the Ikaruga jaeger corps, who informed him that Yun was not in Longlai before departing. Rean has since contented himself with his current life as a Thors instructor, sensing that the next incident to befall Zemuria will involve not him, but an entirely different group of heroes.
Analysis: From even a cursory glance at Rean’s story, it is clear he endured much distress and trauma at a young age, and in my view, the result was deep-seated mental illness - namely depression. I am not a psychologist, but I would wager that the violent manner in which his five year-old self lost his home, his mother, and, almost, his own life, was horrific enough for his mind to block all memory of that period as a defense mechanism. This would help explain how Rean did not remember his real parentage until his encounter with Osborne in CS2 jogged his memory. Further stressing Rean were the controversies surrounding his adoption, which were not at all his fault but still interpreted as such by him, and the sudden, gory manner in which he learned of his ogre power. With such a potent combination of stressors burdening his young mind, it is no surprise to me that it took Rean such a long time to overcome his feelings of guilt and worthlessness. He was saddled with depression during the most formative period of his life, and like any mental illness, depression cannot be overcome with just one or two instances of positive reinforcement. It is often something people have to live with for many years, with periods of relative difficulty and relative ease. Looking at it this way, it makes sense for Rean’s arc to have taken as long as it did.
Side note: Obviously, Rean’s story is not the most realistic depiction of depression in fiction, but the manner in which it unfolds and is presented is still enough for me to take it seriously as a journey of struggling with mental health. When Rean receives support or encouragement from his friends and family, it helps in the short-term, but does little to erode the larger problem because that simply isn’t enough. Further, Rean’s progress is not linear, but is marked with occasional setbacks: In CS2, he finally learns to stop fearing his ogre power, but in CS3, we see that he is still vulnerable to losing control of it, and he does so during the Northern War and in the finale of that game. He receives a pendant (“meds?”) and training (“therapy?”) to control said power in CS3, but he still struggles with it. In CS4’s “bad” ending, even after everything he has gone through, Rean falls back into his old habits of self-sacrifice, because that’s how “baked-in” his problems are; he doesn’t even see the issue because he’s lived that way for so long. It is CS3’s finale that is the most striking part of Rean’s journey to me: In my eyes, it is the same as Rean having a mental breakdown, too overcome by his own emotional turmoil to control himself. He becomes consumed by his own demons, literally and figuratively, and it takes the collective effort of his loved ones in CS4 to bring him back to stability.
It is also fitting that Rean’s big turning point - the moment in Reverie where he sees the pain his martyr-esque behavior causes others - is as dramatic as the instances that facilitated Rean’s internal struggle to begin with. What I particularly appreciate about this chunk of Rean’s arc is that it is presented as Rean finally realizing the change he needs to make, rather than him being instantly cured of his ailments. It is simply him resolving to change his outlook on himself and his relationships, and that feels more grounded to me than any alternative route the writers could have taken.

Personality

Rean is a kind, courageous, selfless individual who greatly cares about those around him. Despite his own low self-esteem, he is a gifted speaker and possesses the spirit of a natural-born leader. It is this charisma that quickly made him the de facto leader of Class VII, as he often served as an intermediary for the interpersonal clashes between his other classmates (see: Machias/Jusis and Fie/Laura). He often goes out of his way to help his peers solve problems or make their lives easier. This behavior is propelled by his own feelings of worthlessness, which causes his generosity to often escalate to self-sacrificial activity. On the occasions when Rean is unable to help someone, he often feels guilty, even if the problem at hand was not his fault or was out of his control (examples include his inability to stop Vulcan and Crow from dying in CS2).
Rean is also extraordinarily perceptive thanks to his Unclouded Eye technique, which he learned from Yun Ka-fai. This allows him to set aside any preconceived notions or prejudices he may have and accurately discern a person’s true nature. His training also allows him to notice things others may not, such as objects moving at high speed or unseen people/creatures in his vicinity. At the same time, there are things he struggles to pick up on, namely when it comes to others’ feelings regarding him. Rean often fumbles when it comes to romantic/intimate interactions with the girls in his life, either unintentionally flustering them or failing to understand how deep their feelings run. Rean also fails to understand how his martyr behavior hurts those he cares about, despite numerous incidents ending with people refusing to abandon him and calling him out for perceived recklessness.
Analysis: One thing I’ve always appreciated about Rean is that, despite his serious personal problems, he never comes off as whiny, annoying, cringe, etc. He knows how to compartmentalize and portray an air of confidence and amicability; I would attribute this to his noble upbringing, as we see similar behavior in other noble characters like Laura and Jusis. His natural ability as a speaker and leader are reminiscent of Osborne’s, as is his penchant for self-sacrificial behavior; Osborne was, after all, willing to bond with Ishmelga, literally give his heart to his son, and turn himself into a villain for the sake of his people.
There are considerable differences between Rean and the three protagonists who preceded him. He is almost the antithesis of Estelle: She is lively, spontaneous, and unafraid to open up to others emotionally, Rean is more reserved and measured, and is initially guarded, though he does learn to express himself over time. While he does share similar backstory details to Kevin, their outward personalities are starkly different, with Kevin being suave and laid-back and Rean being more serious and passive. As for Lloyd, while Rean does share his kindness, perception, and leadership ability, the two do have their differences as well. Lloyd’s arc is about starting from nothing and overcoming barriers, gaining strength along the way. He is driven by a commitment to justice and a zealous patriotic spirit. Rean, on the other hand, starts out with great power at a young age but struggles to control it, making his journey more internal and personal than Lloyd’s. Additionally, his fighting spirit comes not from burning passion, but from steely nerve and trust in his companions. And, of course, he is not morally gray like his successor, Van.

Relationships

Due to the sheer number of people Rean becomes involved with, I will only address his more notable relationships. Many will be in clusters, with only a select few individuals receiving their own entries.

• Old Class VII: Old Class VII is Rean’s core friend group through the entire Cold Steel arc. They are the ones who fight by his side during the arc’s major events, including the Erebonian civil war, the Great Twilight, and more. Although Emma Millstein was class president during their student years, Rean gradually becomes Old Class VII’s’ de facto leader in the field due to his good rapport with all its members and his role in helping them bond with each other. By the end of CS1, he is very much the proverbial glue that holds Old Class VII together, and Rean executes this role flawlessly in CS2 by bringing their scattered members back together again. Despite his love for his classmates, Rean largely hesitates to seek them out for emotional support due to his low self-worth, and it isn’t until he sees their heartbroken reactions to his “death” in Reverie when he realizes how much he means to them.
• New Class VII: Rean is New Class VII’s teacher at Thors’s branch campus starting in CS3. Over the course of the game and its sequels, he forms a unique bond with each of his five students: A father-like figure for Altina, a tough-love mentor for Ash, a source of confidence for Kurt, a role model for Juna and… uh… maybe I shouldn’t discuss Musse. Anyway, the wisdom Rean imparts on New Class VII helps them all mature into capable young adults, particularly Juna, who essentially fills Rean’s shoes in CS4 Chapter 1 and leads the charge to rescue him from Osborne.
• Schwarzer family: Rean’s adopted parents and sister. Rean cares deeply about the Schwarzers, to the point where seeing them being physically threatened causes his ogre powers to manifest uncontrollably in CS1-2. At the same time, despite having the Schwarzer’s unconditional love and support, Rean feels like a significant burden to them for much of his young life, particularly to Teo. This matter is eventually settled by the end of CS2. There is also the matter of Elise, his younger sister, who develops feelings for him as they age (writing that did not sit well with me at all, but the show must go on…). Rean, for his part, is exceptionally protective of Elise until she finally rebuffs this part of him in Reverie, arguing that she is strong enough to take care of herself.
• Crow Armbrust: If any one member of Class VII, new or old, deserves an individual mention, it is unquestionably Crow. Crow and Rean share a unique, dynamic relationship that evolves considerably over the four Cold Steel games. In the beginning, Crow is Rean’s rival and superior in many ways. He is older, more cunning, and a stronger Awakener than Rean (at least when piloting Ordine). But over time, Rean gains strength and confidence, which allows him to beat Crow in CS2, and then defeat him again in CS4, at which point he essentially becomes Crow's lord and retainer by sparing his life.
  • The two are very much foils for one another, with similarities and differences: Both are young men who are descended from political leaders (who were themselves bitter enemies). Both are Awakeners guided by witches - Crow by the mighty Vita and Rean by the fledgling Emma and Celine. At the same time they are almost total opposites as people, with Crow being cocky, deceptive, and rebellious, while Rean is modest, honest, and upstanding. Even their hair colors contrast! In that sense, Crow also serves as a benchmark for Rean's growth, as their relationship roles essentially switch in CS4, with Rean gaining dominance over Crow.
• Yun Ka-fai: Because there is still much mystery surrounding Yun Ka-fai, it is difficult to dissect him in the context of this write-up. However, we do know that Rean was Yun's last discipline - the last of four. Rean also receives correspondence from Yun at various points in the story, largely to give life updates and confer higher ranks onto Rean (Is this the Trails equivalent of Zoom classes? No, wait, they have actual tech for that…). From the content of his letters, Yun seems to think highly of Rean as both a person and a swordsman. Despite not being present for Rean's final few years of training, Yun understands Rean's journey intimately, to the point where he feels comfortable making Rean a Divine Blade through a proxy in CS4. This begs questions: How does Yun know so much? Does he possess some form of the Unclouded Eye that lets him detect such things in his students? Is he basically Yoda? Or is someone watching Rean on Yun's behalf? Furthermore, in his letter to Rean in CS3, he says he will impart his final teachings onto Rean “when” they meet again. This might be reading too much into it, but Yun seems quite confident he will see Rean again. My guess is that Yun has something planned, if not for Rean, then for all of his disciples. And I suspect that that plan was part of why Yun chose to promote Rean to Divine Blade when he did. The timing, right before the final battle at the Duatha de Danann, is too convenient for me to ignore. Either Yun wanted to help Rean reach peak form in time, or he had some other motive. Or both.
• Giliath Osborne: Osborne is Rean's biological father. Despite coming off as callous at first, it becomes clear in CS4 and Reverie that Osborne truly loved his son and was willing to sacrifice everything for him, including his heart (literally) and his humanity. Rean inherited a number of traits from Osborne, including his charisma, leadership ability, flawed selflessness, and strength of spirit. The two share an innate need to put others’ happiness over their own, albeit for different reasons, and both suffered in silence for years because of it. This is part of why, despite having the same goal, Rean and Osborne both fought each other with all they had during the final Rivalry: Neither wanted to see the other inherit the curse's full power, Osborne because he didn't want to see Rean suffer any longer and Rean because he essentially accepted that he was the curse's Sacrifice. After CS4, Rean learns more about Osborne's inner thoughts and motives, developing a deep admiration for his father and a desire to make his sacrifice worthwhile.
• Lloyd Bannings: Lloyd and Rean are quite comparable. They are the main protagonists of their respective arcs, both are leaders in their own right, both embody aspects of the “dense male protagonist” trope, and both are overall kind, perceptive (outside of romance), overall heroic young men. But like Crow, Lloyd is a foil for Rean, and this is apparent from their very first meeting, in CS2's Divertissement. Lloyd and Rean's circumstances were polar opposites: Lloyd was a vigilante, relegated to the shadows, with only a skeleton crew for support, while Rean was an Erebonian national hero with a Divine Knight and the full power of his country behind him. At the same time, Rean had no agency during this time, as he had been manipulated by Osborne into accepting such status and becoming part of a reprehensible operation. Lloyd, on the other hand, was a free agent, uncompromising in his ideals and fighting tirelessly for true justice. In short, Lloyd was powerless but free, while Rean was powerful but trapped. In that moment, it is obvious that Rean respected Lloyd's convictions and may have even envied him. Fortunately for the two, they find themselves on the same side in CS4 and a proper friendship between the two forms.
• Patrick Hyarms: Patrick and Rean’s relationship had an uneasy start. Although Patrick initially tried to ingratiate himself with Rean, he was rebuffed due to his elitist attitude towards commoners and other non-nobles. Patrick was quick to change his disposition towards Rean, treating him with disgust due to his unknown origins and lack of noble blood. After being humiliated by Rean and the other non-noble men of Class VII, Patrick starts to reassess his mindset and eventually becomes more accepting of non-nobles. This, in turn, leads to Rean and Patrick becoming friends, and in CS3, the two are shown to be trusted partners in certain areas. The friendship is somewhat complicated by Patrick’s romantic interest in Elise, of whom Rean is especially protective.

Future

As a main series protagonist, Rean is basically guaranteed to return in a future game. Whether or not he will be playable or have a significant role in said game is difficult to ascertain, but given his lengthy period of stardom in the Cold Steel games and Trails’s treatment of other past protagonists, my guess is that he will take more of a side role. Since Rean was looking for Yun Ka-fai after Reverie, and Yun is set to appear in Kai no Kiseki, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rean in that game at all - at least in flashback form. Failing that, Rean will surely appear in or close to the series finale. Of this I am certain.

Misc. Notes/Commentary

• Funnily enough, Rean’s final struggle with his powers in CS3-4 reminds me somewhat of the finale of Steven Universe Future, which similarly ends with the protagonist losing control of his powers and turning into a raging monster. It is only through the love and reassurance of Steven’s friends and family that he is able to return to normal, and like Rean, he is not necessarily “cured” of anything; he simply has a newfound resolve to get better.
• For those curious: I did not include discussion of Rean’s “harem” in this analysis because I do not see it as a core part of his character. The dating sim aspect of the Cold Steel games is just a silly fanservice gimmick and has no bearing on Rean’s growth or development. While it might have indirectly limited the interpersonal relationships the female characters of CS could form with other males, it did not have a similar effect on Rean.
  • Ftr, I romanced Alisa in CS2 and Sara in CS4.
• Rean’s two big “power of friendship” moments in the series - unlocking Spirit Unification in CS2’s Intermission and snapping out of his ogre rage in CS4’s Fragments chapter - both involve him being faced with a golden crystal which symbolizes his many loving relationships. This is a minor detail, but I do appreciate the parallels at work here.

Introduction: Hello y'all. You probably know me as the "I Hate Kaorin" guy and you're free to still refer me as that. But after a moment of thinking and reconsidering, I end with the revelation that Kaorin, isn't that bad at all. I hear your messages and I slowly agreed with you regarding the status of Kaorin and her role on the show. She is kind of funny and wholesome at times and I will admit it from now on. In this short rant of mine, I will be going over my love and respect for Kaorin and repenting for my previous statements on my past.
Chapter 1: Funny and Good Character I decided to take your suggestions on how to view Kaorin seriously and gave it a try, best decision in my life. She actually ended up being a really funny character if I just didn't took the show way too seriously as one commenter suggested. Her behavior and erratic actions while still quite questionable, is actually kind of hilarious. I can recount how many times I've laughed at her when she's on screen and when she becomes the butt of the joke of a scene or even the whole episode. Her antics on trying to get close to Sakaki or when she wants to get Mr. Kimura away from her. She is also a good and caring person even when she would at times outright abandon her friends like Chihiro and others just to get near Sakaki. She's a good friend too as she still likes to help them out like the time she helped design the cat mascot on the first Culture Fest and of course, Chiyo's penguin suit =D. I cannot stress on how much I appreciate her for that.
Chapter 2: Sakaki Her struggles with Sakaki is actually a pretty good subplot for the show to where it can be a solid spin-off where we see the show entirely within her perspective as the show focused on the main 6 (or 8/9 if you include the teachers). Sakaki is just so cool for her imo as they are complete opposites of each other and a relationship (even just a platonic one) would be wholesome to see after they graduate. Kaorin's quest for her validation is just fun and cute to watch even if she fails all the time and Sakaki not even noticing it.
Chapter 3: Representation? Okay okay, I may repeat myself here at times but hear me out. Her representation and even her lesbianism specifically is still quite on edge for me. Yeah she may hold certain negative stereotypes, but she still has good characteristics like being resilient on the multiple failures to hook with Sakaki. I'm quite divided on this one as I see both good and bad stuff about her as I've stated before. But the most important thing to take here is that, her character is a lot more subjective. Yes I know, "just call it subjective and move on" ik ik, but that's all I can say. It entirely depends on your perception and view of her character. Boring right?
Conclusion: Kaorin is a lot cooler than I thought if you don't take the show way too seriously. She is quite wholesome and adorable when she gets to have her short screen time and I agree that she definitely needed more screen time and not just a lolcow.

Hi, I just needed some place to vent, I want to talk about my life in detail and I think this is the right place as I don't think anyone from my society would find it, even if they do, no one will recognize me Head upset it's gonna be very long^ Also English isn't my first language so bear with my mistakes please
So I (25f) have been married for 4 years (and got engaged a year before) to my husband (28m) and we have a child who is 2yo
I didn't get married out of love nor was I interested in marriage life in the first place, I just wanted to get out of my family house I got abused almost my whole life, when I was little my father got arrested (thank God) so he wasn't around for almost 12 years, I never knew what was the case and I honestly don't care. Anyway, despite my father being gone, my older brother took the job of abusing the rest of us I still remember getting slapped to the wall for not opening the door to him quickly, and multiple times of verbal abuse etc, yet he also wasn't around much so he wasn't that big of a deal Anyway, as I entered school specifically on my second grade One of the teachers got her eye on me, I used to skip school a lot but that didn't affect my grades in anyway, idk why she was so pissed with me for that, she would get me out of class and make me stand out of the door for a whole period, or yelling at me and calling me a liar, or trying to shame me in front of my classmates, taking me to the principal office any chance she can to make her also yell at me (yes, just because I skipped) I wasn't a trouble maker, actually I was pretty quiet I still don't understand what was the issue with her. At first I was so scared of her I couldn't even tell my mom about it, as a child that teacher convinced me that even my mom is disappointed with me and wouldn't believe or stand up for me so I kept quiet for a year. On my 3rd grade I had a meltdown out of fear of going to school and see her again and I told my mother about everything, she was very angry and went to school to confront her, the school staff sided with her and said she was only looking out for me, my mom made them promise not to bully me again However that didn't change anything I counted skipping school and she quickly got back to the bullying I used to tell my mom I wanted to change schools but she always said I wouldn't handle other schools as they all do lots of homework and I hated doing homework (my school didn't focus on doing homeworks) so, that shit kept going my whole elementary school days Nothing made her stop, my mom didn't want to make an official complaint as she didn't want the guilt of getting the teacher fired, and small talk didn't do anything and she just kept bullying me.
I don't know if I forgive my mom for that or not, I was a child, but she also didn't know better I think I'm just disappointed with her
Anyway, on my 6th grade I got enough and told my mom I want to quit school for good She agreed and I felt relieved for the first time in years However, 2 weeks later we got a call from my school and I answered, on the other line was the exact same teacher asking why I haven't been coming to school for the last 2 weeks I panicked and hung up the phone on her, I asked my mom about it and she said she didn't get me off school as she thought maybe if I just stopped going for a while I would eventually clear my mind and decide to get back I felt pretty awful, I really thought she had my back but i guess not I refused to go anyway and she tried everything to convince me but nothing worked In the end she agreed to transfer me to another school that's more laid back, That was her last option because that school's fees were kinda high I agreed and got there and finished the year.
Anyway the damage was done so I refused any kind of public schools anymore My mom (again) convinced me to try going to the same middle school as my cousin whom I was close to I tried for half a year and just gave up, I told her either I start homeschooling or I would quit for good Finally my mom agreed to that and I kept homeschooling until I graduated high school.
Around my 1st grade of high school my father got out of jail, I didn't really know his personality and my family made me believe he was an admirable person, that image of him didn't last a day after he came back. I quickly realized he's abusive too, he would yell everyday for the stupidest things (why you have many dishes? Why are you eating instant noodles? Why are you hiding in your room? Why did you take 2 tissues instead of 1??) He would also slap my younger brother for anything, even my mom got slapped multiple times I somehow didn't get hit by him, but he would come to my room as I was sleeping to yell at me for my abnormal sleeping schedule, or open my closet and yell for having exposed clothes That got my anxiety levels so high I started locking up my room when I sleep, even wake up multiple times to check the locks Then one day he threw the worst fit at me for whatever reason, I think it was (sleeping to many hours and using the phone too much) or some shit like that Anyway he kept yelling and threatening me for hours and it still the worst day of my life. Anyway after that I got several panic attacks and got into deep depression / anxiety I really thought of ending myself but I wasn't that brave
So, I finally decided to seek therapy, I went and told everything and they described me some pills to get better.
At that time I got engaged, the guy was decent and I wanted any way to get out of the house My culture doesn't allow you to move out unless you're married or have a big carrier that took you out of home So I was really stuck there. I told my husband (then fiancé) about my mental state and he was really supportive I got married and it was really hard for me, I hated physical communication and even the emotional stuff would get me so irritated, but eventually I got used to it and started acting like a very loving wife My husband thinks I'm the best wife in the world Little did he know I just do anything that would make things easier for me and that encluded not having fights and do whatever the other person wants so I wouldn't have to face any annoying conversations (I know it's very unhealthy) So after a while I decided I wanted a child, I actually always dreamed of being a mom but my anxiety used to get in the way, so when my meds did it's job and I felt more secure I thought it was time for it, I told my therapist and she also agreed that I was ready for that
So finally I had my baby girl and she's absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me I love her so much and I finally felt alive after having her And my life seemed to be finally settled, I had a great husband, he loves me so much and really care for me, he hired a weekly cleaning service and doesn't really ask me for anything except making food sometimes since he can't really cook (he have an injury that make it hard for him to stand up and do the physical chores) He's also very understanding of my mental Status and try his best to make me happy, I know he loves me a lot and I love him too, just not "that" way I really tried to love him but I just cant This isn't the life I wanted This isn't the life I dreamed of I can't feel satisfied whatsoever
I recently got worse mentally and Idk why, this year I got my child to pre-school and somehow that got my anxiety up again Is it because it's something similar to "schools"? Is because of the routine? Idk It's hard and Idk what to do
Might update later
Edit: Came back to vent again.
So about my feelings towards my husband, it's not like i want another kind of relationship or anything, I just want to be alone I wish to live alone with my child and not be tied with anyone else, I know she'll grow up eventually and she won't be around as much and I'm OK with that I think I don't like the idea of emotional/romantic relationships at all, I'm ok with friendships but more is just too much for me I really appreciate my husband and everything he does for me and I try my hardest to be as good and giving as him and I make sure he feels loved,
I'm sorry for him because he was my run-away plan but really I had no other option, and to this day going to my family house bring the worst in me I just wish my - so called father - will disappear
I don't plan to ever leave my husband, I just wanted to sort my feelings to understand them
Another topic, I really try to understand why sending my daughter to pre-school bring me so much anxiety? I even feel the same symptoms I felt when I was younger Im talking to my therapist soon about it, I don't want my own trauma to affect my child in anyway