I was browsing games on Metacritic when I saw all the negative reviews on Genshin. What's wrong? Sure, the story line isn't "blow your mind", with your dialog choices serving only as flavor, but the rest of the game seems pretty fun to me. Bashing buttons and rotating characters, watching the beautiful animation with voiced lines, and occasionally throwing gems at wishes. Plus, Genshin has very little competition since I think the only other super big RPG with a solo story line that's free to play is Runescape, and that one's really really oldschool feeling. (I haven't tried Path of Exile yet - not sure about that one) I've played a ton of games rated 4.5/5 or higher on Kongregate, with the indie developers and the Itch.io creators. And you simply can't compare to the Genshin's massive team and insane amount of content. You could argue something like Doki Doki has better writing, but even then some people complain it relies on a gimmick that non-horror fans would hate. What do you guys think about Metacritic hating on Genshin? Is it undeserved?

Hey all - I just started a big NV playthrough with a bunch of mods, no issues save for 1 so far as I followed VNV+ to a t, then installed mods that only had compatibility patches with one another or ones that didn't change anything. Only issues so far is with the Salt Lake Stories mod where the quest giver for the mod is sitting in front of a fire that is missing a textures, and then some of the little caves for More Mojave have a texture of the old mountains covering them up but I can walk through them with no issue. I'd like to make sure I don't have any big problems though (crashes or significant issues with quests/content), so where would I be able to find help to just once over my list, get rid of any unnecessary junk, etc.? My biggest concern is the load order because I accidentally let LOOT organize it in MO2 and it honestly seemed to do ok? But nevertheless.
Here's the mod list and the load order, how'd I do?

This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer (load order).

FalloutNV.esm
DeadMoney.esm
HonestHearts.esm
OldWorldBlues.esm
LonesomeRoad.esm
GunRunnersArsenal.esm
ClassicPack.esm
MercenaryPack.esm
TribalPack.esm
CaravanPack.esm
YUP - Base Game + All DLC.esm
NavmeshOverhaul.esm
fixy crap ue.esp
Landscape Texture Improvements.esm
Vanilla Enhancements.esm
Landscape Texture Improvements - YUP Patch.esm
BraveNewWorld.esm
New Vegas Landscape Overhaul.esm
Uncut Wasteland.esm
Simple Open Freeside.esm
TGMIO.esm
Functional Post Game Ending.esm
MoreMojave.esm
TLD_Travelers.esm
NVInteriors_Core.esm
New Vegas Redesigned II.esm
Vikki and Vance Improvements.esm
NVInteriors_ComboEdition.esm
Simple Open Strip.esm
Mojave Wildlife (Vanilla-Style + No Chanced).esp
A World of Pain Revised.esm
Better Brotherhood.esm
mil.esp
The New Bison Steve Hotel.esm
CookCookTwo.esm
CIBS-Customizable-Integrated-Backpack-System.esm
Afterschool Special.esm
LegionRadio.esp
mil_Add-On.esp
Functional Post Game Ending - YUP Patch.esm
Better Character Creation.esm
Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Wasteland Patch (VNV).esp
LCSO.esm
LFSO.esm
MMDD.esm
Brotherhood and House Truce.esm
Brotherhood and Legion Truce.esm
Hardin and NCR Truce.esm
House and NCR Truce.esm
House and Kings Truce.esm
House and Followers Truce.esm
House and Kings Truce FPGE Patch.esm
Mojave NPCs.esm
House and Kings Truce Mojave NPCs Patch.esm
outsidebets.esp
DynamicWeaponDisplays.esm
MojaveSquads.esm
ClaimtheMojave.esm
ClaimtheMojaveLandscapeOverhaulRemastered.esm
ClaimtheMojaveMoreMojave.esp
GreatKhansStay.esm
FiendsLeave.esm
BrotherhoodLeaves.esm
Faction Wasteland Presence.esm
SaltLakeStories.esm
HiddenValleyOverhauled.esm
DMT _Dead Money Tweaks_.esm
Encounters of the Mojave - Highway 95 South.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - The Fort.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - Camp Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - Primm and Mojave Outpost.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - NCRCF and Hidden Valley.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - Goodsprings and Sloan.esp
Main And Pause Menus Overhaul.esm
Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix.esp
NVMIM.esp
Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus.esp
YUP - NPC Fixes (Base Game + All DLC).esp
Crafting Consistency Fix.esp
Uncut Wasteland.esp
Uncut Extra Collection.esp
ExRB.esp
Simple Open Freeside - FPGE Patch.esp
Little More Lamplight.esp
DLC Enhancements.esp
Casino Crowds.esp
Casino Crowds - FPGE Patch.esp
Misc Content Restoration.esp
BraveNewWorld-FPGE.esp
Functional Post Game Ending - Uncut Extra Collection Patch.esp
BraveNewWorld-YUP.esp
BraveNewWorld-UncutExtraCollection.esp
BraveNewWorld-OutsideBets.esp
MoreMojave - FPGE Patch.esp
Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch.esp
Trap Tweaks.esp
CookCookNewLook.esp
Cook-Cook In His Castle - FPGE Patch.esp
Classic Fallout Weapons Remastered v1.2.esp
NVR2 - YUP Patch.esp
NVR2 - BNW Patch.esp
Combat Armors Replacer.esp
The New Bison Steve - FPGE Patch.esp
QwibNewBackpacks.esp
CookCookNewLook_BNW.esp
Cowboy Radio - Now with VA.esp
Cowboy Radio - Songs Only.esp
thejoeroganexperience.esp
Platinum Radio.esp
Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch.esp
NVR2 - UW NPCs Patch.esp
Uncut Wasteland - YUP Patch.esp
Viva New Vegas - LOD.esp
Vanilla UI Plus.esp
The Mod Configuration Menu.esp
rockbiter_AnimationSounds.esp
B42Retrievables.esp
Better Brotherhood - FPGE Patch.esp
Better Brotherhood - YUP Patch.esp
boa ncrpahelmet.esp
Misc Content Restoration - YUP Patch.esp
Misc Content Restoration - UW (VNV) Patch.esp
Boacombat2glove.esp
ImmersiveRecoil.esp
JustAssortedMods.esp
FNV FaceGen Fix.esp
FPGE - EVEM Patch.esp
EVEM - YUP Patch.esp
Enhanced Movement.esp
JIP Companions Command & Control.esp
Titans of The New West.esp
Afterschool Special - FPGE Patch.esp
Simple Open Strip - FPGE Patch.esp
IndependentFollowersFix.esp
Independent FotA Fix - FPGE Patch.esp
TGMIO_FPGE_Patch.esp
enclaveradio.esp
Conelrad 640-1240.esp
Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks.esp
Strip Lights Region Fix.esp
DNWeathers.esp
CC - Rain.esp
CC - 3D Rain.esp
More Perks v3.esp
Better Balanced Backpacks.esp
DLC Weapon Integration.esp
LaserWeaponIronSights.esp
PlasmaWeaponIronSights.esp
UWU.esp
Mojave Arsenal.esp
Mojave NPCs - Simple Open Freeside Patch.esp
FPGE - Yes Man Primm Deployable Securitrons.esp
FPGE - Fucking Spectacular Lifting.esp
FPGE - McNamara HELIOS One FULL.esp
Weapon Mods Restored.esp
FPGE-EdeStays.esp
FPGE-Rebuild Vegas.esp
FO3AssaultRifle.esp
AutumnLeaves.esp
DWD-LCSO.esp
DWD-LFSO.esp
DWD-New Vegas Pack.esp
MojaveSquads-SimpleOpenFreeside.esp
MojaveSquads_SMIM.esp
ClaimtheMojaveFPGE.esp
ClaimtheMojaveSquads.esp
ClaimtheMojaveTLD.esp
ClaimtheMojaveUncutWasteland.esp
CtM_SMIM.esp
Claim the Mojave - Extended Roombounds Patch.esp
Difficultpete.esp
ultra luxe expanded fountain.esp
LonesomeRoadScorchedSierraPowerHelmet.esp
Handcraft.esp
Radio New Vegas Cut Songs Restoration.esp
SLS English Fixes.esp
SaltLakeStoriesTweaks.esp
Lucky38Reloadedv5.esp
DWD-L38Reloadedv5.esp
Lucky38Reloadedv5_YUP_Patch.esp
Forgotten Millenia.esp
DMT Master Patch.esp
DMT TTW Patch.esp
DMT TTW Sortomatic Homes Patch.esp
Brotherhood of Steel Robots.esp
Legion Sagittarii And Venators.esp
Legion Scorpionarii - Legion Auxiliary.esp
Encounters of the Mojave - Black Mountain.esp
Legion Houndmasters.esp
NCRChemtroopers.esp
NCR Stormtroopers.esp
WaterToTravel.esp

This file was automatically generated by Mod Organizer (mod list).

+Encounters of The Mojave - Goodsprings and Sloan
+Encounters of The Mojave - NCRCF and Hidden Valley
+Encounters of the Mojave - Primm and Mojave Outpost
+Legion Houndmasters - Legion Auxiliary
+Encounters of the Mojave - Black Mountain
+Encounters of The Mojave - Camp Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove
+Encounters of The Mojave - The Fort
+Legion Scorpionarii - Legion Auxiliary
+Legion Sagittarii and Venators - Legion Auxiliary
+Brotherhood of Steel Robots
+NCR Stormtroopers
+NCR Chemtroopers (Sodaz Trench Raiders inspired)
+Encounters of The Mojave - Highway 95 South
-Kvatchcount Mods_separator
+DMT - Dead Money Tweaks - Complete Overhaul Patches
+DMT - Dead Money Tweaks - Complete Overhaul Main File
+DMT - Dead Money Tweaks - Complete Overhaul Config File
+DMT - Dead Money Tweaks - Complete Overhaul Asset Pack
+SIGMA - Melee animation overhaul - Chapter 1 - kNVSE
+Forgotten Millenia Animated
+ELITE 45 Auto Pistol Animation Overhaul (kNVSE)
+RNC - Quicksilver Flamethrower kNVSE Animation Set
+Butcher Pete Complete - A Melee Animation Overhaul
-Dead Money Tweaks_separator
+CONELRAD 640-1240 - Civil Defense Radio
+Enclave Radio
+Platinum Radio - A New Radio for New Vegas
+Cowboy Radio
+Imperium Radio - Legion Radio Station
+The Joe Rogan Experience
-Music_separator
+Water Required to Fast Travel
+Lucky 38 Suite Reloaded v5
+Hidden Valley Overhauled
+Salt Lake Stories Improvements
+Salt Lake Stories - Player Dialogue Fixes
+Salt Lake Stories
+Faction Wasteland Presence - Improved Edition
+Radio New Vegas Cut Songs Restoration
+Handcraft
+The Brotherhood Leaves the Mojave
+The Fiends Leave the Mojave
+The Great Khans Stay in the Mojave
-Working Mods 6_separator
+Lonesome Road - Scorched Sierra Power Helmet
+Ultra-Luxe Fountain Expanded
+Mewing Pete - Look Maxing of the Mojave
+Difficullt Pete the mod the movie the video game
+Claim the Mojave Living Desert Patch
+Claim the Mojave EXR Patch
+Claim the Mojave
+Mojave Squads SMIM Patch
+Mojave Squads Simple Open Freeside Patch
+Mojave Squads Ini
+Mojave Squads
+Dynamic Weapon Displays
+Autumn Leaves
+Assault Rifle Remastered
+FPGE - Rebuild Vegas
+FPGE - ED-E Stays at the Lucky 38
-Working Mods 5_separator
+Weapon Mods Restored
+New Vegas Uncut - Panzermann's Edition
+Cruiser's FPGE Mod Collection -McNamara Helios One
+Cruiser's FPGE Mod Collection - Fantastic Spectacular
+Cruiser's FPGE Mod Collection - Deployable Securitrons to Primm
+Mojave NPCs - Simple Open Freeside Patch
+Mojave NPCs
+House and Followers Truce
+House and Kings Truce
+House and NCR Truce
+Hardin and NCR Truce
+Brotherhood and Legion Truce
+Brotherhood and House Truce
-Working Mods 4_separator
+Mojave Arsenal
+UWU - Unique Weapons Upgradable
+Plasma Weapon Iron Sights
+Laser Weapon Iron Sights
+DLC Weapon Integration
+Better Balanced Backpacks
+Mojave Merchants and Desert Dealers
+Lime's Faction Safehouse Overhaul
+Lime's Casino Suite Overhaul

• Working Mods 3_separator

+More Perks Reimagined
+The Great Mojave Interior Overhaul Patches and Guides - FPGE Patch
+The Great Mojave Interior Overhaul
+New Vegas Landscape Overhaul Re-Remastered
+Cook-Cook In His Castle BNW Patch
+Brave New World
+New Vegas Redesigned 2 Revised
+Mojave Wildlife - Vanilla No Chanced Spawns Version
-Working Mods 2_separator
+Independent Followers Fix Quickly Revisited
+Cook-Cook In His Castle
+MoreMojave
+Afterschool Special
+The New Bison Steve Hotel and Lucky Casino
+Casino Crowds
+A Very Uncreative Collection of FPGE Patches
+Simple Open Strip
+Simple Open Freeside
-Working Mods 1_separator
+Uncut Wasteland Extra Collection Simple Open Freeside
+Classic Fallout Weapons Remastered
+Uncut Wasteland Extra Collection
+JIP Companions Command and Control
+Better Character Creation
-Mods_separator
+Combat Armors Replacer (NV - TTW)
+General Lighting Overhaul ALT Compatibile
-Salamand3r Visuals - Extension_separator
+NV Interiors Remastered
+The N.V. Interiors Project
+A World of (Less) Pain - A Lore Friendly AWOP Revision
+Another Millenia Gun Add-on
+Hit - Millenia Animations - Part 2
+Another Millenia
+CIBS - Customizable Integrated Backpack System
+Canvas Backpacks - FNV - TTW
-Mojave Express Content_separator
+Webb's Titans of The New West Patch Emporium
+aMidianBorn NV Book Of Water Book of Steel
+Titans of The New West
-Mojave Express Overhauls_separator
+Retrievable Throwables Reforged
-Mojave Express Gameplay_separator
+MAPMO - Main and Pause Menus Overhaul
-Mojave Express User Interface_separator
+Sound Extender
+Weapon Based Hands Clip Distance
+HIPControl - Weapon Idle Position Adjuster - ESPless
+AnhNVSE
+SUP NVSE
-Mojave Express Utilities_separator
+Uncut Wasteland VNV LOD Patches
+LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods) SOGB Edition
+LODIFY - Level of detail improvement for your Fallout (TTW And NV Lods)
+Different LOD mods little tweaks and additions
+Wasted LOD - Cliffs of Mojave
+More LODs Additions and fixes
+TCM's LOD Overhaul
+FNV LOD Supplementation Optional Overpass
+FNV LOD Supplementation
+LOD additions and improvements
+Much Needed LOD fixed rocks color
+Much Needed LOD
+Trees LOD Billboards Vanilla
+FNVLODGen Resources
+LOD Fixes and Improvements - NVSE
-VNV LOD Stuff_separator
+Climate Control - Rain - 3D Rain
+Climate Control - Rain
+3D Rain
+Cloud Upgrade NVSE
+High Resolution Bloom NVSE
+Desert Natural Weathers - NV - TTW
+Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks - EVEM Patch
+Atmospheric Lighting Tweaks (Interior Lighting for FNV and TTW)
+A Little More Lamplight
+More Consistent Vanilla Rock Textures (Less Green Clifftops)
+Wasted Rocks Normals
+Landscape Texture Improvements
+Improved LOD Noise Texture
+High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix
+Smooth True Iron Sights Camera
+Iron Sights Aligned
+FNV Clean Animations
+Anniversary Anim Pack
+Viewmodel Shading Fix - NVSE
+Muzzle Flash Light Fix - NVSE
+Mostly Fixed FaceGen Tints (NV or TTW)
-VNV+ Visuals_separator
+Better Brotherhood
+The Living Desert - Travelers Patrols Consequences Increased Population and more
+Essential DLC Enhancements Merged
+FPGE EVEM Patch
+Functional Post Game Ending
+Misc Content Restoration UW VNV Patch
+Misc Content Restoration
+Uncut Wasteland (VNV) - EVEM Patch
+Uncut Wasteland VNV
-VNV+ Content_separator
+Harder Barter Faster Stronger
+Traps Tweaks - Traps Use Other Skills
+Vikki and Vance Improvements
+Vish's Patch Hub - Misc Content Restoration
+Vish's Patch Hub
+Enhanced Movement INI
+Enhanced Movement
+Essential Vanilla Enhancements Merged
+Faster Sleep-Wait
+Better Caravan
+Immersive Recoil 2.0
+Clean Just Assorted Mods (JAM)
+JLM Grab Tweak
+JAM - VNV Configuraton
+JAM - Just Assorted Mods
-VNV+ Gameplay_separator
+No Exit to Main Menu
+Sleep Wait Hardcore Needs
+JIP Improved Recipe Menu ESPless
+Menu Search
+High Resolution Screens
+High Res Local Maps
+Clean Companion Wheel
+Clean Vanilla Hud
+VUIPlus - Dialog Background Add-on
+Vanilla UI Plus (New Vegas)
+The Mod Configuration Menu
-VNV+ User Interface_separator
+OneTweak but Really Updated
+HDR Save Image Patch
+Fog-based Object Culling
+Faster Main Menu
-Bug Fixes from Performance & Stability Guide_separator
+Impostors and LOD Flicker Fix
+Swimming Creatures Fix - ESPless
+Strip Lights Region Fix
+ExRB - Extended Roombounds
+Crafting Consistency Fix
+Depth of Field Fix - NVSE
+External Emittance Fix - NVSE
+Fallout Alpha Rendering Tweaks - NVSE
+Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix
+MoonlightNVSE
+ActorCause Save Bloat Fix
+Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes - Elijah Missing Distortion Fix
+Misc Audio Tweaks and Fixes - Assorted Voice Popping Fixes
+Climate Control NVSE
+Pip-Boy Shading Fix NVSE
+Improved Lighting Shaders
+Items Transformed - Enhanced Meshes (ITEM)
+Meshes and Collision - Totally Enhanced Nifs (MAC-TEN)
+PipBoyOn Node Fixes
+skinned mesh improvement mod
+New Vegas Mesh Improvement Mod - NVMIM
+ISControl Enabler and Ironsights adjuster (now ESPless)
+Viewmodel Shake Fix - NVSE
+VATS Lag Fix
+Combat Lag Fix (NVSE)
+lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations
+Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI
+lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes
+Improved AI (Navmesh Overhaul Mod)
+Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus
+Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP
-Bug Fixes_separator
+KEYWORDS
+Basic Console Autocomplete
+Console Paste Support
+Improved Console (NVSE)
+Yvile's Crash Logger
+FNV Mod Limit Fix
+UIO - User Interface Organizer
+kNVSE Animation Plugin
+NVTF - INI Presets - Texture Modding Preset
+NVTF - New Vegas Tick Fix
+ShowOff xNVSE Plugin
+JohnnyGuitar NVSE - INI Presets
+JohnnyGuitar NVSE
+JIP LN NVSE Plugin Ini Presets
+JIP LN NVSE Plugin
-Utilities_separator
+Fixed ESMs
*DLC: CaravanPack
*DLC: ClassicPack
*DLC: DeadMoney
*DLC: GunRunnersArsenal
*DLC: HonestHearts
*DLC: LonesomeRoad
*DLC: MercenaryPack
*DLC: OldWorldBlues
*DLC: TribalPack

So Im in a new playthrou, been mostly focus towards obtaining the best ship from overdesigned, leaving aside all the other quest lines, so today I landed on some random planet, onto some random PoI, and I found my first Terror there, really cool moment except for the fact that trought the whole encounter Sara didn't react once, now I don't feel like I would be much trouble to track the first encounter and add some dialog for companions for such occasion, but I do understand with a game of this scope and with the recorded lines of the Vanguard QL what problems would arise.
But then It came to me the amazing potential Bethesda games have to include LLMs (chatGPT like AI). Now this ofcourse won't be any easy feat, and there needs to be still predefined dialog for landing story beats, yet for every day casual interactions it has the potential to revolutionize the inmersivness of the whole deal. Thoughts?

Vex was placed in a holding cell aboard the human vessel, with energy shielding that was impossible to penetrate. He spent the journey in contemplation, marveling at everything he had witnessed of humanity's capabilities. How had they achieved so much in so little time? There had to be more to their story that met the eye.
As the ship entered Earth orbit, Vex caught glimpses of the planet on the screen. Great sprawling cities sparkled underneath, far larger than any in the Krell empire. Powerful orbital installations dotted the skies, dwarfing even the Empire's largest shipyards. It was then that Vex began to understand, that his people were completely unprepared for the scale of humanity's advancement.
The ship docked at a massive orbital station, teeming with activity. Vex was escorted from his cell by armed guards, their weaponry far superior to even Krell special forces. They said nothing as they led him through gleaming corridors, giving Vex time to study the architecture and design. Everything was optimized for efficiency in a way that spoke of deeply ingrained engineering principles.
Vex was brought before Commander Holden, who wasted no time getting straight to business. "Admiral, I understand you came here on a diplomatic mission. But covertly entering our space shows your people don't view us as friends. Why have you really come?"
Vex knew honesty was his only option. "Commander, I will not deny that my council sees humanity as a threat. When I reported on what I witnessed, they ordered me to return covertly and assess your technology, to understand how you achieved so much in so short a time. But I have realized, that approach will only breed more suspicion between our people."
Holden considered this response carefully. "Your people fear what they don't understand. But attacking or stealing technology will not earn your Empire's safety. We seek peaceful relations with all space-faring civilizations. If your leaders are open to dialog, there may be a way forward that benefits all."
Vex nodded slowly. "I believe the same, Commander. My mission has given me a new perspective. With your permission, I would like to open direct channel with the Empire and relay to them what I have witnessed, and that dialogue is the wisest path."
Holden thought for a moment. "An open dialogue could be a positive step. But there must be transparency on both sides going forward. I am willing to bring your request to our leaders, Admiral. In the meantime, you will remain our guest. You and your crew will be treated well and want for nothing."
Over the next few days, Vex was given accommodations befitting his status. He spent hours each day observing and talking with humans, and came to respect their ingenuity, compassion, and drive. Humanity's rapid advancement was due not to any secret, but to maximizing individual potential through advanced education and societal support structures. It became clear how open exchange could uplift his own people in turn.
Vex was updated that his request had been approved, and arrangements were being made for a secured FTL QEC channel to address the Empire Council directly. The day finally came, and Vex stood before the transmission portal, steeling himself for what was to come.
Would the Council even believe the truth, or had fear gripped them too strongly? There was only one way to find out.
Vex appeared before the Council Chambers, met by a sea of wary faces. Grand Admiral Kaar spoke first. "Admiral Vex, we awaited your report. Have you discovered the source of humanity's strength so we can counter this emerging threat?"
Vex took a deep breath. "Honorable Council, my ship was discovered, and captured by human fleet as fast as we entered their space. Both me and crew have been treated well by out hosts, and I’m here to ask you for you permission, to open diplomatic talks with human leaders, to solve this political crisis we have caused
An uproar followed as Councilors debated this shocking revelation. Kaar held up his hand for silence. "Vex, you ask us to abandon everything we know for the word of this...alien species. Why should we not see them still as a threat?"
Commander Holden stared harshly at the gathered Krell Council members, through the quantum communicator. "Admiral Vex and members of Krell council, when your vessel illegally entered sovereign human space, we could have responded with full force. The only reason your ship, and crew are still intact is because I chose to show restraint."
Vex shifted uncomfortably under Holden's stern gaze. "Commander, I understand the violation of your borders caused concern. Our intentions were to gather information, not instigate conflict. Please understand our species is still coming to terms with humanity's overwhelming advantages."
"Empty words," Holden interrupted. "For all your talk of diplomacy, your Admiralty ordered covert reconnaissance with unknown objectives. How am I to take your word when your very first contact was done in shadows and deception?"
Grand Admiral Kaar leaned forward. "Do not lecture us human. Our mission was to ensure the security of the Krell Empire in the face of an emerging superior force. If your technology had fallen into the wrong hands the consequences could have been disastrous."
"And who decides what constitutes the 'wrong hands' if not us?" Holden shot back. "This is not some lawless frontier Admiral, it is organized United Earth space. We will not tolerate foreign powers skulking around our borders and facilities unannounced."
Vex raised a pacifying hand. "Commander, while the Council's decision was rash, no harm was done. Let us move forward in a spirit of open-"
"Be silent Admiral," Holden cut him off. "I have not granted you permission to speak. You Krell act as if you are entitled to do as you please in our space, facing no repercussions. Well you have severely miscalculated."
Kaar leaned forward menacingly. "Are you threatening us human? Your fleets would burn before ever reaching the Empire home world. Do not believe you hold power over us."
A steely glint entered Holden's eyes. "Is that so Admiral? Then perhaps a demonstration is in order." He turned to an aide. "Launch the prototype."
The aide nodded and spoke quietly into her comm unit. Outside the viewing ports, the black void suddenly erupted in blinding light. A ripple seemed to pass through normal space itself, distorting the stars beyond in its wake. When the glare faded, a massive object was visible, a 10 miles long cylinder,
composed entirely of some unknown silvery material. Kaar blinked in shocked disbelief. "What...what is that?" Holden allowed himself a thin smile. "The product of unconventional technological pathways, even your reconnaissance failed to uncover Admiral. Allow me to introduce, Starlight Drive prototype 1, humanity's solution to traveling between the stars without limit."
Vex fought to find words. "Commander...that technology violates all known laws of physics. FTL travel was theorized as impossible!"
"And yet here it rests before your eyes," Holden replied calmly. "Its drives can accelerate this vessel from a dead stop to five percent of lightspeed within an hour, before safely making the jump to FTL velocities. But its true power lies elsewhere."
He gestured to the aide, who input a series of commands. There was another brilliant rippling in realspace, and when it faded the prototype was gone, having vanished without a trace. Simultaneously, an alert chimed on the crew's sensor boards - the prototype had reappeared halfway across the known galaxy, less than a lightyear from the Krell home world.
"One must always be prepared to face the unforeseen," Holden said ominously. His gaze swept across the stunned Council. "Bear that lesson well as you reconsider any plans regarding humanity or our borders. Your infiltration will have repercussions, but that discussion can wait. For now, our message is delivered, do not test us further, Council members.'"
With that, he cut the channel, leaving the Krell delegates in shocked silence. Vex stared at the empty transmission field, a cold feeling growing in his core. It seemed humanity's true military potential was even more staggering than they could have possibly imagined. What other paradigm-shifting technologies did they possess in reserve? More worrying still was the steely gleam, he had seen in Holden's eyes during the demonstration, these Terrans would show no mercy, if directly provoked. Cooperation was the only path to survival, if the Council could be persuaded to set aside their pride and see reason before it was too late.
The Council debated late into the cycles, but the discussion was far from civil. Factions remained stubbornly divided in their views of humanity.
Grand Admiral Kaar voiced the loudest opposition. "These Terrans speak of cooperation, yet covertly infiltrated our borders, in the middle of talks. How can we trust such a technologically advanced species, not to see them as a threat?"
Another council member struggled to be heard over the shouts of agreement. "Honorable Council, while the infiltration was a misstep, their intentions appeared peaceful. Would it not be prudent to learn more, before making enemies of a potential ally?"
"Empty words," Kaar countered. "You have been blinded by these aliens. We must approach them with caution, not naivety."
Weary hours passed without resolution. Then Kaar proposed a sinister compromise: "Send delegates not for learning, but to spy on humanity's strengths and vulnerabilities. Only then can we properly defend our people from their looming threat."
The Council unanimously approved the covert mission, to neutral space near human core systems, under the banner of diplomatic talks. Despite some council members objections, plans were made to infiltrate humanity under false pretenses of diplomacy. Weeks later, the delegation departed, concealing their true hostile purpose under a thin guise of open mindedness.
Opposition council members could only watch helplessly, praying the delegates did not provoke humanity's ire, through deception and betrayal. Much now depended on the Terrans showing restraint, if the deception was uncovered, for second time.
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Vex was placed in a holding cell aboard the human vessel, with energy shielding that was impossible to penetrate. He spent the journey in contemplation, marveling at everything he had witnessed of humanity's capabilities. How had they achieved so much in so little time? There had to be more to their story that met the eye.
As the ship entered Earth orbit, Vex caught glimpses of the planet on the screen. Great sprawling cities sparkled underneath, far larger than any in the Krell empire. Powerful orbital installations dotted the skies, dwarfing even the Empire's largest shipyards. It was then that Vex began to understand, that his people were completely unprepared for the scale of humanity's advancement.
The ship docked at a massive orbital station, teeming with activity. Vex was escorted from his cell by armed guards, their weaponry far superior to even Krell special forces. They said nothing as they led him through gleaming corridors, giving Vex time to study the architecture and design. Everything was optimized for efficiency in a way that spoke of deeply ingrained engineering principles.
Vex was brought before Commander Holden, who wasted no time getting straight to business. "Admiral, I understand you came here on a diplomatic mission. But covertly entering our space shows your people don't view us as friends. Why have you really come?"
Vex knew honesty was his only option. "Commander, I will not deny that my council sees humanity as a threat. When I reported on what I witnessed, they ordered me to return covertly and assess your technology, to understand how you achieved so much in so short a time. But I have realized, that approach will only breed more suspicion between our people."
Holden considered this response carefully. "Your people fear what they don't understand. But attacking or stealing technology will not earn your Empire's safety. We seek peaceful relations with all space-faring civilizations. If your leaders are open to dialog, there may be a way forward that benefits all."
Vex nodded slowly. "I believe the same, Commander. My mission has given me a new perspective. With your permission, I would like to open direct channel with the Empire and relay to them what I have witnessed, and that dialogue is the wisest path."
Holden thought for a moment. "An open dialogue could be a positive step. But there must be transparency on both sides going forward. I am willing to bring your request to our leaders, Admiral. In the meantime, you will remain our guest. You and your crew will be treated well and want for nothing."
Over the next few days, Vex was given accommodations befitting his status. He spent hours each day observing and talking with humans, and came to respect their ingenuity, compassion, and drive. Humanity's rapid advancement was due not to any secret, but to maximizing individual potential through advanced education and societal support structures. It became clear how open exchange could uplift his own people in turn.
Vex was updated that his request had been approved, and arrangements were being made for a secured FTL QEC channel to address the Empire Council directly. The day finally came, and Vex stood before the transmission portal, steeling himself for what was to come.
Would the Council even believe the truth, or had fear gripped them too strongly? There was only one way to find out.
Vex appeared before the Council Chambers, met by a sea of wary faces. Grand Admiral Kaar spoke first. "Admiral Vex, we awaited your report. Have you discovered the source of humanity's strength so we can counter this emerging threat?"
Vex took a deep breath. "Honorable Council, my ship was discovered, and captured by human fleet as fast as we entered their space. Both me and crew have been treated well by out hosts, and I’m here to ask you for you permission, to open diplomatic talks with human leaders, to solve this political crisis we have caused
An uproar followed as Councilors debated this shocking revelation. Kaar held up his hand for silence. "Vex, you ask us to abandon everything we know for the word of this...alien species. Why should we not see them still as a threat?"
Commander Holden stared harshly at the gathered Krell Council members, through the quantum communicator. "Admiral Vex and members of Krell council, when your vessel illegally entered sovereign human space, we could have responded with full force. The only reason your ship, and crew are still intact is because I chose to show restraint."
Vex shifted uncomfortably under Holden's stern gaze. "Commander, I understand the violation of your borders caused concern. Our intentions were to gather information, not instigate conflict. Please understand our species is still coming to terms with humanity's overwhelming advantages."
"Empty words," Holden interrupted. "For all your talk of diplomacy, your Admiralty ordered covert reconnaissance with unknown objectives. How am I to take your word when your very first contact was done in shadows and deception?"
Grand Admiral Kaar leaned forward. "Do not lecture us human. Our mission was to ensure the security of the Krell Empire in the face of an emerging superior force. If your technology had fallen into the wrong hands the consequences could have been disastrous."
"And who decides what constitutes the 'wrong hands' if not us?" Holden shot back. "This is not some lawless frontier Admiral, it is organized United Earth space. We will not tolerate foreign powers skulking around our borders and facilities unannounced."
Vex raised a pacifying hand. "Commander, while the Council's decision was rash, no harm was done. Let us move forward in a spirit of open-"
"Be silent Admiral," Holden cut him off. "I have not granted you permission to speak. You Krell act as if you are entitled to do as you please in our space, facing no repercussions. Well you have severely miscalculated."
Kaar leaned forward menacingly. "Are you threatening us human? Your fleets would burn before ever reaching the Empire home world. Do not believe you hold power over us."
A steely glint entered Holden's eyes. "Is that so Admiral? Then perhaps a demonstration is in order." He turned to an aide. "Launch the prototype."
The aide nodded and spoke quietly into her comm unit. Outside the viewing ports, the black void suddenly erupted in blinding light. A ripple seemed to pass through normal space itself, distorting the stars beyond in its wake. When the glare faded, a massive object was visible, a 10 miles long cylinder,
composed entirely of some unknown silvery material. Kaar blinked in shocked disbelief. "What...what is that?" Holden allowed himself a thin smile. "The product of unconventional technological pathways, even your reconnaissance failed to uncover Admiral. Allow me to introduce, Starlight Drive prototype 1, humanity's solution to traveling between the stars without limit."
Vex fought to find words. "Commander...that technology violates all known laws of physics. FTL travel was theorized as impossible!"
"And yet here it rests before your eyes," Holden replied calmly. "Its drives can accelerate this vessel from a dead stop to five percent of lightspeed within an hour, before safely making the jump to FTL velocities. But its true power lies elsewhere."
He gestured to the aide, who input a series of commands. There was another brilliant rippling in realspace, and when it faded the prototype was gone, having vanished without a trace. Simultaneously, an alert chimed on the crew's sensor boards - the prototype had reappeared halfway across the known galaxy, less than a lightyear from the Krell home world.
"One must always be prepared to face the unforeseen," Holden said ominously. His gaze swept across the stunned Council. "Bear that lesson well as you reconsider any plans regarding humanity or our borders. Your infiltration will have repercussions, but that discussion can wait. For now, our message is delivered, do not test us further, Council members.'"
With that, he cut the channel, leaving the Krell delegates in shocked silence. Vex stared at the empty transmission field, a cold feeling growing in his core. It seemed humanity's true military potential was even more staggering than they could have possibly imagined. What other paradigm-shifting technologies did they possess in reserve? More worrying still was the steely gleam, he had seen in Holden's eyes during the demonstration, these Terrans would show no mercy, if directly provoked. Cooperation was the only path to survival, if the Council could be persuaded to set aside their pride and see reason before it was too late.
The Council debated late into the cycles, but the discussion was far from civil. Factions remained stubbornly divided in their views of humanity.
Grand Admiral Kaar voiced the loudest opposition. "These Terrans speak of cooperation, yet covertly infiltrated our borders, in the middle of talks. How can we trust such a technologically advanced species, not to see them as a threat?"
Another council member struggled to be heard over the shouts of agreement. "Honorable Council, while the infiltration was a misstep, their intentions appeared peaceful. Would it not be prudent to learn more, before making enemies of a potential ally?"
"Empty words," Kaar countered. "You have been blinded by these aliens. We must approach them with caution, not naivety."
Weary hours passed without resolution. Then Kaar proposed a sinister compromise: "Send delegates not for learning, but to spy on humanity's strengths and vulnerabilities. Only then can we properly defend our people from their looming threat."
The Council unanimously approved the covert mission, to neutral space near human core systems, under the banner of diplomatic talks. Despite some council members objections, plans were made to infiltrate humanity under false pretenses of diplomacy. Weeks later, the delegation departed, concealing their true hostile purpose under a thin guise of open mindedness.
Opposition council members could only watch helplessly, praying the delegates did not provoke humanity's ire, through deception and betrayal. Much now depended on the Terrans showing restraint, if the deception was uncovered, for second time.

Since Messmer was announced there has been a lot of discussion about how he exactly fits into the picture. The two most common hypotheses I see are either

1. Messmer is the third child of Radagon, symbolized by the smouldering butterfly, and why he has red hair.
   
2. Messmer is Marika's bastard first born, which explains why he's not well known (he is illegitimate) and better explains how early he seems to intersect with Marika's timeline.
   

Explanation 1 is the most popular, but explanation 2 has been gaining steam. Not a whole lot of information is given in the new story trailer for Shadow of the Erdtree, but I think there is enough to mostly rule out option 1 and some strong hints that align with the second hypothesis.
....the beginning: the seduction, and the betrayal; an affair from which gold arose...
This dialog is spoken over some extremely sexual imagery including Marika reaching into some slimy cloth that is clearly arranged to resemble a vulva. The words chosen, "seduction", "betrayal", and "affair" are all indicative of some sort of infidelity and the imagery reinforces this carnal nature.
This "affair" occurred at "the beginning", before the rise of gold and Marika's ascension. What followed was Messmer and his flame.
It's unlikely Marika could have created Radagon before her ascension, so its unlikely that he could be Messmer's father. Instead Marika's affair seems to have been a calculated endeavor to gain power, with Messmer as a result either intentionally or as a byproduct. Perhaps this affair was with a non-human father, which could explain Messmer's "crossbreed" features.

GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SUPERSTONKERS! HAHA. It's me again. Yeah, i slipped past the defenses again to drop this off so you can all refresh yourselves on the state of FUD and disinformation in this protracted fight against the legal larcenists doing their best to try and get you to sell. Please spread this amongst the holders, the more people know the less power they have over us holders. We don't sell until we get a call from marge, and that's always been the play.
TLDR: This is a set of tactics used by the Alphabet Boys(CIA, FBI, DEA) to control and manipulate us into drama to collapse our communities and movements. And should be read in full by anyone willing and wanting to learn how these things work.
I've come to notice recently, people keep asking me to repost this for the sake of keeping the new people abreast on what needs to be done to protect the holders of GME. Beneath here will be a detailed account on what you need to be aware of in your online interactions, to avoid being taken for a fool!
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1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

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COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositioned postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com
) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favor is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favor is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favorite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favorite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
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Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
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Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain. Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
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How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:

• "You're dividing the movement."

[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:

• "You're a leader!"

This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudo identification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudo identification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activism ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of commitment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
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Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

I recently got back into the game after not finishing it in college years ago, and unsurprisingly the character writing and world building are as great as I remember. It's a ton of fun listening to the characters explain their relationship to the world and how it works.
However, not all of it is rosy. The fact that the combat is a low point for the game is not exactly a controversial statement, but I would go further than that. So many of the game's flaws seem to be tied to trying to fit a square peg into the round hole that is the conventions of 90s CRPGs. You can feel it constantly pushing up against gameplay loops like mob fighting and looting when what they seem to really want to do is just the exploration/story. It's especially noticeable early on when, while exploring the city, they just sometimes have nameless, random thugs attack you for no reason because audiences expected fighting in 1999. It's tacked on and frustrating more than anything else.
You repeatedly get the impression that there's a different version of this game that could have existed if the gaming landscape was less rigid back then. Contrast this with what I believe is actually a very similar game: Disco Elysium. Both have you wake up in a state of amnesia as you discover what happened and the dynamics of the world through exploration and dialog. Except where PT resolves this through traditional quest design that often involves fetching a doodad or fighting random monsters, DE is far more experimental with how you solve problems.
I want to be clear that Planescape: Torment is still a great game, and obviously hugely influential in the world of narrative-driven RPGs. It's just interesting to see the ways in which it felt before its time to fully realize the potential it had.

Wow. I can't explain this in any objective way why I've had such a good time. This is definitely partly fueled by Nostalgia, but even still. The game my brother still teases me about pronouncing Fatigue as "Fatigoo"
Checking out the current Elder Scrolls community, they're pretty divided. ESO is still going strong, Skyrim mods are absolutely crazy now, and there is a constant dispute about which game is the best one, as they are all so so different.
I grew up with Morrowind, and I can see how nostalgia blinds your perspective of older games. When people say "Morrowind is great! Can be hard to get past the graphics, though" or just "Dated graphics", that isn't the way I see it in my head. Back when I ran this thing on an original Xbox (I had no idea the number of issues the Xbox version had, I was a dumb kid that loved getting lost in a huge world) the graphics were mind blowing to me.

• 3 minute load time
• Randomly corrupted save files
• Thousands of bugs
• Brickable save files (Killing NPCs that soft lock you. Often times they die from hilarious bugs, like NPCs changing locations slowly over time until they fall into water and drown)

And tons more I have no idea about. I know very little compared to this community.
For me, I grew up with Morrowind, and returning to it has been incredible to say the least. I have this modded to look like what I remember, I have patch mods to fix potential issues, and I'm running it in OpenMW. I have not been immersed in an RPG like this in a very long time. That isn't to say no newer game is as immersive, but somehow this ticks all the boxes for making me lose myself in a game.
I started off in Seyda Need. I knew little to nothing about the world. I have no idea why as a prisoner I was released here. I'm exposed to a weird dialog system, it's more like a menu that gets more options unlocked as you select the items or gain favor with the person. It comes off more confusing than anything else initially, but wow did it quickly immerse me when I realized how hands off they were showing me this world is.
I don't know what to do in Seyda Neen. I get slight hints about the goings on of the area, and I don't need to pursue any of them.
Do you want to steal that awkwardly extremely expensive armor you see and use it or sell it? You can. Do you want to provoke villagers to attack you so you can legally kill them in front of guards and take all of their belongings and their house? Do it. Do you want to run off into the swamp and find caves to pillage? Yep do it.
It really made me stop thinking of "What do I need to do", and really just sparked my creativity. I started asking who I am in the world. Stealing is clearly lucrative, do I have morals? What is my characters in this world? I haven't been able to have that sort of feeling since I was a kid.
As I leveled, I asked myself the same question about my character. Am I a sly persuasive con-man? Do I want to pay for training to persuade people better? Do I want to be an Assassin? what would that entail? Casting spells to fly, walk on water, open doors, summon daggers? Or do I go the physical route and keep magic out of this?
My questions led me to the Mages Guild. The first town I saw that had them, they refused their services. They were polite (Unlike everyone else in the racist-filled world, love it actually), but stern that I needed to join their guild to have access to their services throughout the world.
So I made my way to Balmora to join them. Being greeted by someone who simply says "Yeah you're a Mages Guild member now", I now had an entire world to explore of increasing my rank to gain respect and more access, stories of competing guild members, and all of these free materials, finally free beds, it felt like my first family in such a hostile world. I see ways going forward of paying for training, buying tons of different spells, modifying them to be anything I want them to be, so much going on. The spells themselves open up entire worlds of possibilities. Not only can you make spells that explode the size of a city (I doubt this is intended, I just remember doing what my brother told me as a kid and it was more of an exploit). You can summons minions, you can fly, you can magically open doors, you can create badass conjured weapons on the fly, my imagination ran wild with every spell.
My review of this game has gone off the deep-end. I apologize for my rambling about my journeys, I'm just that ecstatic to find a game that grabs me in a way I haven't experienced since childhood. I 100% recommend this to anyone wanting to get absolutely lost in a massive world, I couldn't even guess what your experience will be like compared to mine.
That's it. Found out my childhood game is (In my nostalgia filled terrible opinion) as great as I remember and I'm very happy to be exploring it. I've replayed Oblivion and Skyrim many times, and maybe it's just that I've overplayed them, but they do not get my creative immersed brain going like Morrowind has.

One of the advantages of Jubensha is the tightly woven plot that involves every character. One of the disadvantages is that each character is a main character in their own right, and missing any character will leave a big hole in the plot and the discussion. The player count of a Jubensha is very strict. Most of the time, there is no flexibility.
However, there are titles that allow a small range of flexibility, usually one or two players.
Advantages, they allow a wider audience to play the game, if someone is unable to make it, you don't have to scramble around for an additional player, nor do you have to bring a backup game that supports a lesser player count.
The difficulty of creating a flexible player count goes against the strengths of Jubensha: How to do make each character a main character when played, yet be able to function without them?
Considerations: When being played by a player, will they feel as if their role or story is a side character? When not being played by a player, how will these missing characters be interacted with? How will their information be conveyed on their behalf? How will this affect the game balance and the deduction process?
Let's observe a couple games approach, and how they attempt to solve each consideration.
GM -> NPC How it's done: The first type of mechanic is an character that is also playable by a GM. The GM can play the role of this character giving the flexibility of one lesser player. A character arrives at the scene after the incident (usually dubbed as the detective), and participates in the investigation and discussion.
Main points: It is important to note that for this detective NPC approach, the Detective is a white character ie. definitely innocent. As the detective only arrived after the incident. As a player, this can be picked by players who enjoy the investigative process, but does not enjoy being the culprit role, or having to defend from suspicion. When played by the GM, the detective acts as the GM's in-universe personification, allowing the GM to participate in character and will provide discussion facititation and additional infomation as appropriate. It also means that the GM will be more active an involved role in this case.
Player -> NPC Alternatively, missing characters can become static NPCs that do not requires GM involvement. This is commonly seen in GM less games. Usually the NPC characters are specified within the rulebook.
Main Points: With lesser players and lesser support for one side of the deduction process, game balance needs to be kept in mind. There are many mechanics that I've seen implemented, and I will share some below: Additional action points could be distributed to certain characters, decided thematically. Special NPC cards that are replaced or added to the game - This could be additonal NPC dialog cards, that gets read in the middle of the discusssion phase/or multiple cards that are read privately, which substitues the infomation that would be shared by a player.
Conclusion Incoporating player count flexibility is a concious choice that will require additional work and effort for the designer, not only that, player count flexibilty will fundamentally affect the original plot and the way the Jubensha is presented. Designers will have to make the decision whether to cater flexibilty or a strict "as envisioned" player count
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Number 8:Ayane Matsunaga
That should be self explainitory she is a child I never got to meet her in my playthrough thankfully but anyone who picks her to date is honestly an opp. I find it funny that atlus can give us children as dating options but they refuse to let us date guys! ;^;
Number 7:yumi Ozawa
Now yumi in all honesty is a cool gal and a great friend but I just felt her story was a bit too what do you say cliche? It felt like a soap opera sure I felt bad about her family situation but I saw the ending and outcome fairly easy plus I don't like her png tbh
Number 6:ai ebihara
I don't have much to say about her considering I have yet to meet her in my second run but in my opinion having a fake dating option is extremely stupid tbh I would have rather the doctor from the hospital over her..
Number 5:Yukio amagi
You can flame me in the comments but I will stand my ground by saying she is and always will be in my eyes a wet blanket. Don't get me wrong she's funny at times and her reactions are cool n everything I just find her very bland and boring. I saw a clip of her valentines day and I didn't find much appeal in it compared to chie whom I dated first. I will say though she has the coolest looking persona!
Number 4:Marie
Now she's an interesting question in the fact of her story (spoilers ahead you've been warned) the fact she was part of izanami and the fog was a great twist in my opinion and the fact she was struggling and didn't want to be bothered really touched my heart. Hell even before that she was a very cute character but I always saw her more a friend than lover. Maybe I'll date her in my 3rd run but dating or not ill always save her
Number 3:rise kujikawa
If you've seen my previous post yes I'm dating rise she won the pole boysss!!!! Apart from that rise I think is the easiest romance considering she's the only character in the game that shows interest in you without needing a dialog option like chie or Yukio. Shes very cute and pretty mind you and I can see myself dating her which is why she's gonna be the one for my second run!
Number 2:Naoto shirogane
Probably the most underrated waifu in the persona series not only is she a complex character and is a total badass at that but she's also very shy and to herself alot. My type of girl is one who's very confident and smart but when around someone she's loves is very quiet and shy it's a type I find myself enjoying tons in games and in real life. Honestly Naoto would have been Number 1 if only the fact that you meet her extremely late in the game to the point where dating her isn't really that long. And by that point you've missed cute moments I love ya Naoto but If only they introduced you earlier
Which means it's time for the grand finale but first I'd like to put an honorable mention if atlus actually let us date men
Honorable mention:teddie
Teddie is always and will always be a very cute option for me in the fact with his bad jokes his personality and his innocence. (Again spoilers ahead) with the part where you could have kissed teddie man how fast I pushed that button. I won't forgive atlus for taking yosuke and teddie as options...
Now it's time for!!!!
NUMBER 1: CHIE SATONAKA!
If you have been paying attention I've made many mentions to chie satonaka throughout this listing mainly because well for me her romance fame out of left field for me.. when I started p4 I knew Naoto and was gonna date her but chie romance just...happend again if you've seen the rest of this post you'll see she fits my boxes shy badass cute the whole shebang but the thing that I think really solidifies her spot in Number 1 is this line in the valentines day romance is (spoilers again) "I still can't belive you chose me" that line hit me like a semi truck it's as if she's not just talking to your character but to the player itself because many pick Naoto Yukio or rise and rarely her and during my playthrough I felt slight regret for not waiting. But that line made me realize that I chose right.
Anyways that's all for today yall can hit me up in the comments give me your own thoughts opinions and list changes and as always have a great day! Byeeeeee

Hi everyone! This chapter will read a bit quicker due to all of the dialog. As always, comments and upvotes let me know you're still interested in the story.
First / Prev / Patreon
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Once everyone was aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mira seemed to relax a little. Davis and Thompson were chatting away with Vebi and Fennis. Povin still stayed near Mira when the officers were chatting with each other. She felt a little lost now that her services as translator was no longer needed. The winds were much stronger here, and one of Povin’s wings got caught in the wind, causing him to lift up. He reflexively opened his other wing.
“Povin! Remember! Glide! Do not flap!” Mira yelled at him.
“What was that Chief?” Thompson asked.
“I’m sorry sir. Ensign Povin’s wing got caught on a draft. They come from a lower gravity world so if he tries to fly, our gravity will break most of his wing bones and tear through his wing skin. The atmospheric belts they wear can maintain their own atmospheric conditions, but it can’t keep up if they full on fly.”
After riding the currents and getting used to how it felt under his wings, Povin was eventually able to land. He quickly wrapped his wings about himself tightly to avoid doing that again. The rest of the remaining Drala quickly tightened their own wings about their bodies.
“I see. Let’s get everyone inside.” Admiral Davis replied. “Chief Rodreguez, your Captain Martinelli sent over your uniforms.” He called over a sailor who had a duffle bag which was handed over to Mira.
Mira looked a little closer at one of the Destroyer escorts. “Sir, is that the USS Bainbridge I see?”
“Yes, it is. You think your Captain would allow us to come get you and not be a part of the escort? Once we stopped receiving responses, he has called in almost daily to NASA to get answers. Honestly, I was willing to bet that if we denied his ‘request’ to join the escort, he would have gone rogue to be here.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Captain Martinelli wouldn’t break protocols like that. He might have been hailing like crazy until someone gave him answers, but never would he go rogue.” Mira replied.
As she finished saying that a sailor came up the Admiral, “Sir, Captain Martinelli of the USS Bainbridge is on the horn for you.”
“You were saying, Chief?” Davis chuckled. “Maybe you should go take that call. We’ll be in the Ready Room. Come see us there after you have spoken with your captain and made yourself Navy presentable.”
“Yes, sir!” She saluted, received the return salute, and headed to the comms room. In the comms room, she was directed to the receiver. “This is Chief Mira Rodriguez speaking.”
“Chief. It’s good to hear your voice again. Do you have any idea how many calls I received from my nephew? I don’t know how he was able to get people to patch him through so frequently while on duty himself, but he’s very resourceful. I have to admit that. Did those aliens treat you well? And who took down communications like that?”
“Yes, sir. I was treated extremely well. I haven’t had a chance to be debriefed yet, so I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say over comms.”
“I understand. You should be able to say at least if the comms were interrupted by the aliens.”
“Not by the aliens I was with, sir.”
“I understand. Go do what you have to do, Chief. I hope to see you back on the Bainbridge soon.”
“I hope so too, sir.” She replied. The call ended and a sailor took her to where she could change her clothes as well as where the Ready Room was located. Once she was in her khaki-colored Shipboard Working Uniform, she headed to the Ready Room and then waited to be told she could sit. The Flx’usri each had their specialty chairs, and the Drala were able to manage the human chairs.
“Is Captain Martinelli well?” Admiral Davis asked.
“I believe his is calmer now, Sir. However, I suspect he will grill me himself once I am returned to his ship.”
“That sounds about right, Chief. I wouldn’t expect any less of him.”
“Grill? Are you in danger, Chief Mira?” Vebi asked worriedly.
“Grill is slang for question soundly, Rear Admiral. I promise that I will be completely safe with my Captain.” Mira looked around and noticed Commander Morris wasn’t in the room. “Excuse me, Sirs. What happened to Commander Morris? I thought he had survived the assault?”
“I’m sure he’s somewhere on board the ship. When we left to this room, he had been distracted. You know how these ships can be hard to navigate for non-Navy enlistees.” Davis replied.
General Thompson added, “If I had not spent my earlier enlisted time on board Navy vessels, I likely would have also been confused. I always did enjoy the Marine Taxi Service.” He joked. The Admiral gave him a poke with his elbow good naturedly. It was a sign that they had been friends as well as coworkers for a long time.
Admiral Davis explained to the aliens, “The General and I belong to different branches of service. Each branch has a love-hate relationship with all of the other branches. We all have our strengths, and our weaknesses are proudly backed up by the strengths of the other branches. It’s like having siblings. I can tease and make fun of my siblings, but if anyone else does, I will fight them to submission and make them apologize to my sibling.”
“Ah, I understand,” Vebi replied. “I feel the same way about my spawn-mates.”
Fennis cut in, “I understand the diplomate you had intended for us was lost in the conflict. We would prefer if Chief Mira were to be this for us. She has lived with us, and we have forged mutual respect for each other.”
“I believe that can be arranged.” Davis replied after a few moments of thought. “Bureaucracy takes time, and the rest of the Chief’s enlistment will have to be accounted for, but I believe this can be arranged.” He chuckled. “Captain Martinelli will be both happy for you and pissed we’re taking away his highest-ranking Machinist Mate aboard the Bainbridge.”
They began talking and getting to know each other and finally, Vebi asked, “I understand you will need to speak with others to make a real decision, but do you think your people will join the Federation?”
General Thompson beat Admiral Davis to it as he said, “They touched our boats. No one touches the US Navy’s boats and gets away with it.” Davis gave Thompson a small elbow to the ribs showing that the two men were friends outside of their official responsibilities.
Eventually, Commander Morris found the Ready room and General Thompson gestured for him to take a seat. “Now that we’re all here, Chief, how about you give us a full debriefing. Start from leaving Earth.”
“Yes, Sir. The mission started off great. Roger was able to correct course as needed, but the autopilot we were using was very accurate. We were all asleep when it happened. I’m a light sleeper and the pings against the hull woke me up. Looking back, there must have been a harder hit that woke me up first, but at the time, all I heard was the lighter pings. I got up to take a look around and then the alarms went off that we all knew meant to get into our space suits. Once I was in my suit, I realized no one else was in the room with me.
“I grabbed a suit with the intent to help someone into it and then we could go back and help others. They were all dead. The atmosphere in the ship was completely gone and we were no longer noticeably moving. I was staring at either a short and rough death once my air ran out, or if I could fix the life support, I could be looking at a long agonizing death from hunger. I never turned away from a challenge, so I was determined to fix the ship.
I fixed the life support and power at the same time. Now I was only going to face a long agonizing death. It was then that I jettisoned the dead. Hindsight being 20/20, I realize it was the wrong choice. I know that Commander Morris felt I should be able to make a refrigeration room, but if you look at the ship and the schematics, but assuming that I knew I was going to survive and make it back home, that ship did not have rooms that were airtight. They are close, but do not seal all the way. Secondly, I didn’t have the materials to make it so that the air didn’t circulate out of any room I put them in.
“At that time, I fully expected that I was going to die out there. It would take time for any message to get to Earth, time to fabricate a new ship and crew it, and time to get out to me. Time that I didn’t feel I had.”
Davis interrupted. “The seals weren’t airtight?”
“The exterior ones were, but any of the interior doors were not. They used a different kind of seal material, and in some cases, we could see light through a closed door. Even the door that was supposed to be the airlock for if we had to open the exterior door for anything. That one was the best seal, but there were still leaks.”
“Continue.” Davis said.
“I was out fixing the thruster when the crew of Black Hole found me. You haven’t met them, and I don’t think they can even come down here. The federation uses color outlines on their emblem to denote classes of ability to survive on worlds, I guess would be the best way to put it. Black Hole is a Green Class. They have the fewest worlds they can touch down on and survive. It’s based on allergy. If they were to even touch the plants here, they would get hives. The Meteor's crew is a Black Class. They can go to nearly every inhabited world. They might have to be careful of gravity, or if the air quality or temperatures are too extreme for the atmospheric belts to handle. Our world is classified as a Black Class planet.” She then relayed the rest of her journey.
“Do you think we can speak with these other heads of ships?” Thompson asked the aliens.
“Of course.” Fennis replied. To Vebi he said, “If you hail Commander Xuan’rawis, I’ll hail Captain S’sveta.”
After getting their targets on a video call, they both headed over and got their counterparts in view too. “We still have two hours until our nocturnal counterparts awaken. We’ll have about an hour of overlap, and then we will need to rest ourselves.” S’sveta said.
The leaders all spoke with each other, leaving Morris very confused as he did not receive a translator implant. Thompson told Mira she could act as his translator, so she did.
_____________________________
First / Prev / Patreon

Like the title says, I've watched Cinderella but the last time, I was maybe a teenager or at least a preteen. My daughter, loves disney as she's usually into Bluey or Fancy Nancy or something else entirely. We watch the princess movies and she's obssessed with Frozen, Moana, and Tiana. But she decided to watch Cinderella for the first time. I was like, "Oh yeah, cool." It was a surprise to see her choose something different. So we're watching and I'm guessing as being an adult now and hearing the dialog, it sounded so differernt from what I remember. I wasn't sure if my daughter was going to understand what was happening in the story as she did ask some questions during. But she still seemed to be engaged the whole time. She loved the mice and thought they were so cute with their voices and things. I didn't remember the cat's name was Lucifer and how evil and conniving Cinderella's step mother really was. Her choice of words and actions had me looking forward to Cinderella's happy ending. I don't remember gravitating towards Cinderella very much when I was little but I may have become a Cinderella stan. lol

You know James the guy with the black hair black clothing? Why does he look depressed? Out of everyone in the village he looks incredibly sad and I can't help but wonder if there's a story behind it? I think of him as living in a very unhappy relationship or something along those lines. I don't read dialog much because it repeats but I'm curious if there's actually anything there in diplog or if maybe it's just the facecial expression picked and wasn't considered?

If you want my first impressions, they can be found written against the Required Solo content here:
https://www.reddit.com/PSVcomments/1c99bye/soul_covenant_on_psvr2_first_impressions_solo/
At that time, I wasn't ready to be for or against recommending having only played the required solo content leading right up to unlock of Avatari Squadron feature which enables co-op, but it wasn't working so we stopped where we were and I (along with others) reported the issue to developer on their Discord, Twitter, etc.
It took them ~3 weeks to fix the issue where multiplayer was only working for PSVR2 players on Japan region version of the game. It is now fixed and working for all the rest of PSVR2 players (US, UK, etc).
I have uploaded gameplay from my co-op experience with the game here if you want to see how it looks / plays. My follow-up impressions specific to interest in co-op are provided below:
Based on my time with the game so far (completion of first 2 chapters), I recommend playing Soul Covenant on the PSVR2, but only if you are looking to play a physically active co-op game with up to 4 players and have a group of 2-3 like minded friends / family to play this with.
If you play the game solo, the game provides 3 AI partners that will be good enough to complete main story, but to play harder end-game content (EX levels) or to get S Ranks on all stages needed for Platinum trophy, you will likely need to play with at least 1 other player because you don't have a way to control the 3 AI partners and assign them to protection detail for levels where you have to defend your base called Lucifer (15:18) while also fighting a boss creature (12:58) in some of the stages. The AI partners are very good about doing revives for any downed players (13:35), so they will help you complete the game, but you will need human partner(s) to complete end-game EX levels or play more strategically to S Rank all levels. The game allows up to 4 players and if you squad size is less than 4, those slots will get AI partners, so only way to play without any AI partners is to have full squad of 4 players.
Since this game botched the launch with multiplayer not working for any PSVR2 players not on Japan region version of game and this took ~3 weeks for them to fix and get working for US / UK and other region of PSVR2 players, the multiplayer public lobbies are not populated so you would have to use Discord and other means to find other players to play with if you don't have friends / family that you can play with.
Another barrier which makes public matchmaking harder is that you need to play almost 1 hour (not skipping logs / cutscenes) before Avatari Squadron feature will unlock and game starts allowing co-op, which is longer than any other games required tutorials before co-op options open up in my experience. Furthermore, the way lobbies can be setup is to look for someone else that is at the same level of story completion as you, so you can find others for end-game easier than full game leading up to end-game. Anyway, you and your friends / family would need to play up to Chapter 2, Sumida Defensive Ops 2, Log 1 (Experience No. 2-2) before co-op opens up for you all. In this time, the game provides its tutorial for gameplay mechanics as well as sci-fi fantasy story that is exposition heavy and over-explains both the fiction & gameplay as is typical for Japanese sci-fi games / anime.
As you continue past the point where you can finally play co-op, the structure remains where each chapter has multiple parts and each part has 1 battle (stage) and 2 logs (cinematics). The game remains exposition heavy, including during battles where the boss you are fighting uses the voice of a fallen soldier, and beating the boss stage may result in getting to new weapon (19:55) called Scapegoat that are made from remains of fallen soldiers that are part of the games story (cutscenes & in-battle dialog). Once you have more than one weapon, you can choose which weapon to take to next battle. The two weapons so far have very different playstyles and their own upgrade paths which requires both XP points and special materials collected by completing stages with up to S Ranks. Your own character can also be upgraded to have more health, stamina etc.
The story is very morbid and obsessed with death. In our squad playing with wife and brother, she is fine to skip some the cutscenes and get to gameplay while my brother and I like watching the cutscenes as they have entertaining moments.
The game is made on Unity Engine, but it is one of the nicer looking Unity Engine games I have played on PSVR2. I don't know if the game is using Gaze Foveated Rendering or it is due to the art style, but everything that I pay attention to in the game looks crisp and clear and the particle effects in particular are vibrant and the art style just works very well here. The video capture does not look as good as the game in-headset with benefit of VR scale & OLED HDR. I remember feeling some reprojection with the subtitles in the launch version of the game, but I didn't notice any of that in this updated version that has multiplayer working.
Soundtrack in the game is very fitting and sound effects during battle punchy. I played with English Voice and Subtitles which the character animations are not lip-synced for, but the voice-acting quality is good, so I kept that over switching to Japanese voice and English Subtitles.
Haptic feedback is prominently featured for both controllers and headset and feels awesome. I felt like resistive triggers and haptics are being used together when using the Shield or Beam attack, and the game is also making use of capacitive touch to allow variety of hand gestures like thumbs up, fist, and finger-point with thumb in or out.
Gameplay mechanics include being able to summon a weapon (sword) in your dominant hand by holding grip trigger, which can then be grabbed with your off hand which increases range of your weapon (scythe) and gives you more powerful attacks as well. If you take damage, you need to stop holding any weapon for health to regenerate. Your off hand is able to summon an energy shield by holding your index finger trigger. The longer you keep the shield up the smaller it gets (very cool). To regenerate shield to max size, put it away. As you defeat enemies, they drop Monads which you can pull towards you with your off hand by putting your palm out in their direction. Once you have collected enough Monads, you have a beam attack that you can unleash that you need to use both hands in very cool feeling way to hand-cannon blast multiple enemies from a distance. The X button (lower on dominant hand) can be used to back step (or front step). The O button (upper on dominant hand) can be used to jump (useful to hit taller / flying enemies). The Triangle button (upper on off hand) can be used to access Quick Menu which includes access to Options. The Quick Menu can be accessed in the Hub or during Battle missions, not during Log (Cinematics) missions.
The gameplay isn't complicated and you will do a lot of physical swinging to do damage to bosses before defeating them, but there is strategy if you don't want to get downed or get S Ranks. You can touch your virtual collar to analyze the boss for its weak point and then focus damage on that. You have to avoid area effect damages from bosses. You have to run for cover against certain boss attacks. You have to understand their visual ques for different types of attacks so you can block or dash / move out of way to avoid damage. You have to be mindful of both defend and offensive objectives during some stages. You also have to go and revive your allies or crawl out of area effect damage so your allies can revive you. Lastly, different weapons are used more optimally with different playstyles, for instance the second weapon you get in game can be split in two, then you have to use them to get charged, but can also use them certain way to shoot out an X projectile (21:04).
Comfort options are limited with no option for teleport for movement or ability to adjust smooth locomotion speed. The game defaults to using snap turns which can be turned off (Camera Angle) and using mild Vignette (Reduce Motion Sickness) that can be turned off as well.
Although we have completed first two chapters of game before this write-up, this is still early impressions. We are happy with the game enough that we will encourage 4th players (my sister) to join us, provided she is willing to go through the 1st hour of game solo to unlock co-op / catch up to us so we can co-op the rest with her. It is good for us to have more variety of co-op games with physically active gameplay that we can play together socially.

Sorry, this should have had an intro.
I binged seasons 1-3 very recently, very quickly, for the very first time. This is meant as an in-depth look at the writing, not story, quality of Allison's character arc. The amazing amount of inconsistencies and utter lack of insight into her motivations bugged me so much I looked back and double checked timelines and scenes, figured I'd throw a wall of text up, cause the more I looked, the more I found. To be clear, this isn't about my opinions on what happens, it's about actual on-screen canon that is supposed to tell us how the hell we got here.
The fact that Allison and Scott are a dream couple, a pair of starstruck lovers, bound together by fate, is sold hard. Over the top hard. For 18 Episodes straight. Scott and Allison as soulmates, halves of a whole, two high school kids walking through hell who keep on going hand-in-hand, beats us over the head with Romeo and Juliet overtones and even straight references (including probably unintentionally written irony from her father) for a reason. It's a six year arc. They gonna break them up, probably for stupid reasons, probably more than once, so we have to know they will be fine in the end, even if we have to wait 5 1/2 seasons.
The problem here, is you have set up epic level love, now you need epic reasons to keep them apart. Apparently they couldn't think of any, so they just never gave any, just a series of incomprehensible actions, not only utterly alien to the Allison presented so far, but also utterly irrational based on every single piece of reliable information she has ever received about werewolf-hunter relations. She knows her family is out of control murdering psychopaths burning children alive. She knows her mass murdering aunt is directly responsible for Scott being bitten in the first place, she knows every single death so far can also be traced back to Kate. She knows the last interactions with her mother consisted of her threatening to kill Scott as if she were discussing grounding her, and her mother easily giving up on saying goodbye to her daughter before she took a coward's way out. All these things Allison knows, she has no reliable information whatsoever that her family can be trusted, every single thing she's learned screams "trust Scott." This is the girl that a few (days, weeks?) episodes ago was swearing her undying loyalty and love for Scott, the girl who said "I want anything that let's me be with you," and she straight up switches to team genocide? How do you explain that? They don't try, they just don't. It is completely ignored. Apparently the narrative is supposed to be that she learns her mom is dead, and her lying asshole family tells her it's Derek's fault. And she makes a snap decision to embrace genocide. How do they explain why Derek would attack her mother? They don't. All we know from the actual show is she knows her mom is dead and the family blames Derek. She has no other information. Does she even know it was suicide, or did they tell her he killed her outright? We don't know. They don't bother to tell us.
It is entirely possible that that time she had to scream, beg, cry, plead, use every last drop of daddy's little girl karma, and promise to never see him again, just to stop her father from assassinating a 16 year old boy that loves her right in front of her face, in this freak show of a life that fell on her, is the actual biggest trauma she has endured, as it is the most terrified we have ever seen her, literally out of her mind with panic, only seen again as she tries to stitch Scott up in the bathroom. Her greatest fear, the thing that terrifies her more than anything, is Scott's death.
So, what does Allison do? Does she run to Scott screaming, holy crap what is going on? My fam says Derek is a murderer, my mom died, Gramps is sittin on my bed preachin vengeance served white hot in the name of genocide, what do we do? No. She ignores Scott's attempts to contact her and joins team genocide, seemingly concluding werewolves are evil and must be wiped out. Did Allison even bother to tell Scott she was leaving the party? Did she know her mom was dead before arriving? Did she bother to inform her boyfriend her mom had died? Meanwhile, Team genocide appoints a 17 year old girl to Supreme Leader, since she's the only female, and only females can be in charge, cuz sure, why not. Now, what possible reason is there for not talking to Scott, even to just demand he turn over Derek? If her dad has a problem with her texting Scott, too bad, she's in charge now. This also presents a problem later, as it is implied Scott not telling her that her mother tried to kill him was a mistake, but she will not allow him to tell her. Later it makes sense that he keeps it back, as the only contact we are aware of after she learns of her mother's death is when she breaks up with him in like a 2 minute scene, and "hey by the way your mom tried to kill me" seems a little out of place. Then she forbids him to contact her.
Now, "breaks up with him" is actually really generous, no reason is even mentioned, in fact she only ever says she's "trying to break up with him," she never actually does, which conveniently means she doesn't have to say why, Scott just goes it's cool babe, you'll be back, completely unconcerned, which conveniently allows him to totally ignore the fact that he is one of the main actual living victims of her insane family, or that his soulmate betrayed him, and is now abandoning him. On top of that, somehow the implication seems to be that Scott was something other than a victim of her family in every way, a 16 year old boy stepping up in an impossible situation, doing everything he can to clean up the Argent's mess and keep everyone as safe as possible, most especially Allison, and doing surprisingly well.
There is no way to explain her behavior, or Scott's reaction (other than he's the most forgiving and caring man in the entire world - I mean, we don't get so much as a "babe, that wasn't cool" out of him) so it is not explained, and we move on. Unfortunately, now we have a much, much, bigger problem. Let's recap, epic love, torn apart by fate, epic betrayal, moves to France. K, whatever, suspension of disbelief is not dead yet, maybe... But we now have a situation where you need a reason for Allison and Chris Argent to ever set foot in Beacon Hills again. What is it? None is ever given.
The stated goals, backed up by events, are to avoid the supernatural and have a normal life. Why move back? Is there a single reason? Based on what we get from the show, no, there is no reason. The only possible reason, unless deus ex machina plot reasons appear, and they do not, is Scott. Scott is the only possible pro you could come up with on a pro/con list of "hey should we just go back to Beacon Hills?" Let's say you had to have a scene explaining their decision to pack up, leave France, and enroll Allison at Beacon Hills High for the fall semester. How does that go? Huh? How? How is it anything other than Allison convincing her father she must be with Scott, or some convoluted crap like Chris seeing Allison "wasting away" and "losing the will to live without Scott" and deciding for her. Extracting yourself from the Supernatural involves one absolutely necessary step, never, ever, go back to Beacon Hills. But they do. Why? Unless is is specifically for Scott, WHO THE HELL KNOWS? You just literally can't write dialog for that, so Lydia, over the course of an entire season, never once says "um, so hey, like, you know, Allison, I love you and all, BUT WHY ARE YOU HERE?" There is no answer, so we ignore it.
So now we move into the 3rd season, and Allison has no motivation, none, what is her purpose? Why is her character there? How do you even write her into the plot if her only motivation is to avoid the plot? Well, who cares, just do it. First off, they go 100% comms silent for 4 months. Scott and Allison literally have no idea if the other is alive. Seems pretty convenient again, now we don't need any scenes of Scott or Allison dealing with the breakup, no chance of them letting slip a single bit of info on their states of mind. Why would we need something silly like that, we just jump forward 4 months, and we get lots of info, Scott is proud of himself for not calling Allison, believes she's never coming back (cause, why would she?) and seems rather chipper, Allison hasn't touched a boy and isn't ready to. I lied when I said lots. That's it. Really, for the whole season. They spend the entire season acting like they are old friends who care deeply for each other, went out a few times, broke up, no big deal, but they both know trying again is probably pointless for clear reasons. Allison avoids contact whenever possible, duplicating all sorts of field work, even withholding, and telling others to withhold, vital information from Scott, seemingly to prove she doesn't need him and will tell him when she's finished.
After finding out Allison has rejoined the game for the first time, Scott visits her to warn her of the full extent of the danger. She responds by acting somewhat flirty and overconfident, almost like she's been drinking. Treating him as if he's some silly boy and she is the expert werewolf hunter, even claiming she can "take him" and seemingly amused he doesn't know this. He reluctantly but easily disabuses her of this infantile narrative, and her reaction is to pout like a child, literally stomping over to her bed and dropping on the ground next to it. Seemingly once again referencing her need to be "better than Scott." Really seems like going in full tilt on team Scott, literally training with a werewolf couldn't hurt, right? But what do I know, she's probably better off all alone, acting like a self-absorbed brat.
So we hurl through season 3 with Allison nothing more than a plot device, mostly treating Scott as if he doesn't exist, only interacting with him when plot demands it, almost always treating him coldly and politely, sometimes more curt and combative, except when he's in danger. Scott saves her life when Isaac loses it, barely pulling him away before he kills her, because Scott does what Scott does, and she doesn't even say thanks. She saves Scott twice, proving how much he needs her. We are shown she cares deeply for Scott, at least as a friend, but not once in the entire season do they even discuss where they are at as a couple, even though there are plenty of opportunities, and at least a few teases that they will kiss. Then stuff kinda happens with Isaac, Chris for some reason is unconcerned with this other than a single comment played for comic relief, it is never explained, then she dies and doesn't have time to tell them about plot stuff cuz she's too busy declaring her love for Scott, nary a glance nor mention of Isaac, laying wounded 10 feet away, so what was the freaking point?
Let's revisit her dying message to Scott. Everything is fine, I'm dying in the arms of my true love, it's ok, I'll always love you! Wait, what? Did she forget and just remember? Are we supposed to parse her words and get "I used to be in love with you, too bad it didn't work out, I'll always love you though, but, you know, just as a friend?" Has she been lying the whole time for some unknown reason? Where the hell did Epic Love Story come from? We spent the whole season pretending it never happened, it was just a high school crush and they should grow up and move on... Now we're doing Epic Tragedy?
If you do want to parse her words: It's ok, It's ok, It's ok, It's ok, It's perfect.
I'm in the arms of my first love, the first person I ever loved, the person I will always love
I love you, Scott, Scott McCall
This is %^&%&*^(*^&*%#%$# straight up emotional abuse.
There is just no way to make sense of this, her character just enacts plot goals, with no regard for the motivations and experiences of the character prior to her mother's death. I cannot blame anyone for being glad she was gone, since they absolutely ruined her through incompetence mixed with a bit of bad luck.
edit (oops forgot): Gotta pretend her mom's note had a magic spell on it, released when she burned it.
I'll just tell myself Gramps (or surprise, Granny Genocide) is still hanging around and showed her video during the summer of hunters in both her (yeah, in France) and Scott's bedrooms ready to kill them, and tells her she has to come back, but if he sees her dating Scott, this time he will kill them both.
There, makes sense now.

I'm using meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3-70B-Instruct on hugginface and I recently had a conversation with it about the licensing terms for Meta's Llama 3 large language model. Based on the interaction, the AI stated that I cannot use Llama 3's outputs for commercial purposes like monetized YouTube videos without additional licensing from Meta.
The key points the AI made were:

1. Simply displaying "Built with Meta Llama 3" is not enough to permit commercial use.
2. While the license allows use/distribution of Llama 3, Meta retains the intellectual property rights over the generated content.
3. Personal use only: You can use the content for personal, non-commercial purposes (e.g., personal projects, education, sharing with friends/family).
4. No commercial use: You can't use the content for commercial purposes (e.g., selling, distributing, promoting products/services) without explicit permission.
5. Get permission for commercial use: If you want to use the content commercially, discuss terms with the AI assistant.
6. Give credit: If you use the content, you must give attribution to the AI assistant as the original creator.
7. Open-source model, but not open-source output:the output generated by the conversational AI (e.g., text, responses, content) is not open-source,In short, the model itself is open-source, but the specific content generated by the AI is not.

I'm seeking clarification on whether my interpretation of the Meta Llama 3 Community License Agreement is accurate for an individual YouTube creator looking to monetize videos using Llama 3 outputs. This whole conversation has left me confused about generative AI terms. Do I need to ask Claude 3 and ChatGPT the same thing? Do I need to refer closely to each AI's terms of service?
Some of my anticipated use cases include:

• Writing short stories, scripts, and dialogs for monetized YouTube videos and other platforms.
• Generating lyrics, jingles, and musical compositions for distribution on music streaming services like Spotify.
• Developing a long-form web series with AI assistance for episodes, character dialogs, and plot outlines.
• Creating educational language learning content like dialogs, role-plays, and sample conversations.

I intend to publish and monetize these final content products across social media, video platforms, music services, and other commercial channels.
Can anyone familiar with the Meta Llama 3 Community License Agreement clarify if I am restricted from using Llama 3 generated content in monetized YouTube videos without Meta's explicit commercial licensing? Are there allowances for individual creators?

Story from my first ever playthrough.
First ever New Vegas play through. Hardcore mode, I’m a big survivalist sim kinda girl.
I said “these deathclaws ain’t shit” and stealthed my way straight to the Strip at a very low level. Along the way I picked up Boone as my one and only companion.
I finally caught up to Benny. Intending to work with him to overthrow Mr. House, and having not played before, I chose the “forgive” option. But that Sinatra-loving cuntweasel runs away, then sics his goons on Boone and I. We kill them all and get a message from the legion that they’re holding Benny at their camp, Caesar wants to see me blah blah blah.
I’m too weak to go alone, but I know Boone won’t take the diplomatic route. So I go back to Goodsprings and gear up for the fight of our lives. Trudy died in the powder ganger fight, so I looted all her shit and got a payday. Bought doctors bags, stimpacks, armor piercing ammo, etc but I’m still fairly low level so there are only so many options. But I did find a chainsaw somewhere and tucked that away for later.
Now, we couldn’t go through the dam yet. We had to go around, to the legion river crossing. As expected, Boone attacked on sight. With great effort we killed all the legionnaires and freed the slaves, then crossed the river. He gives me a dialog saying “I think we both know this is a one way trip” and I’m like hell yeah brother, they took your wife bro, go get your revenge.
We fight our way up to the entrance of Caesar’s camp. I was legit worried Boone would kill the legion children but nah, he’s a good guy. We’ve been together a while now, having fought our way through a heretofore unexplored southern wasteland to find the crossing. He’s really grown on me. I know nothing about the game or where to find any companions — didn’t even have ED-E at the time. Just Boone and I. And he saved me so many times.
But I know I’ll have to be stealthy if we’re going to survive, so I have Boone wait just outside the gates and throw on some legion armor. I sneak in and scope the place out but eventually a guard spots me. I fight as best I can but I’m in a really tight spot, limb damage, out of doctors bags, no stimpacks left, low on ammo, about to die.
Guess who comes heroically through the gate, SOMEHOW. Idk if it was a glitch or what, but Boone just ignores my order to wait there and starts sniping everybody and drawing their fire away from me. So I take advantage and loot some bodies for more weapons/stimpacks and then I head inside Caesar’s tent, Boone right behind me.
It’s the hardest fucking fight I’ve ever had in a game but I’m fucking doing it thanks to that chainsaw ignoring DT.
We’re back to back chopping these dudes up when, midway through, I get hit with the Boone has died notification. I only survived thus far on massive amounts of luck, trial and error, and HOURS of gameplay within this camp. I’m halfway to killing Ceasar.
So I dont reload the save. Boone fucking died taking those bastards out 😭😭
After Ceasar and everybody else is dead I chainsaw Benny, find Boone’s body and drag it to Ceasars throne, then sit Boone there looking out at all the bodies and gore.
Never completed his quest, but felt like an appropriate ending for me.
Then found the note to his wife. A game had never fucking GOT ME in the heart like that 🥺🥺

EDIT: Thanks for the advice everyone!
My main take-aways are to talk to every NPC I can find for hints and nudges on what to do next, and to really focus on every detail I'm told; as it will most likely help me progress further into the story! It's a 1998 puzzle game first, with adventuring as a side feature. Exploration and NPCs are key! As someone who's used to NPC's being lore dumps/bonus item givers/obstacles, I really have to adjust with Zelda as I'm prone to ignoring NPCs in most games. I'll keep playing and moving forward! (Probably with a guide from time to time)
It's also hilarious to see so many people downvoting this post because they can't comprehend a person who has never played Zelda being confused by the indistinct progression of "You have to talk to an NPC in the back of the town hidden behind a boulder under the well to get an item you need to progress the story, because it was vaguely hinted at by one NPC you might have spoken to on the other side town" LOL.
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• (Short story time)

Might be hard to believe, but growing up I had never played a Zelda game (yes people like me exist haha) so I figured better to start late than never. I had recently found and dusted off my old 3DS I found in the back of the closet and took the opportunity to look at old games I missed out on growing up. As I combed through the 3DS' most popular games and people's recommendations, one that kept sticking out was "Ocarina of Time 3D", universally praised and ranked number one on a lot of people's lists. So as someone 26+ years late to the party, I thought I'd finally play my first Zelda game.
So far, I'm loving the game. It's fun and charming, the atmosphere is so nice and immersive, and I finally discovered all the iconic music and sound effects I've heard for YEARS in other stuff LOL. Currently I'm still early on in the game, just landed into the Royal Family's Tomb in Kakariko Village.

• (Main Topic - Me getting stuck)

I've got a huge question though, is the game supposed to be frustrating and hard to follow? I'm no stranger to these types of games and am used to exploring, backtracking and traveling, but I kept getting stuck ALOT.
In the beginning of the game at Kokiri village, I got stuck immediately. I was told to go find a "Sword and Shield" before I could see the great deku tree. So I went to the shop and bought a shield, and then thought "Well they got a stick for sale in here, so maybe that's the make shift sword for now?" but obviously that wasn't it. After running around the village more, I found the entrance to the The Lost woods. Being such a grand opening of an entrance I thought I was supposed to go in there to find a sword. After running around for 15 more minutes and getting lost over and over I realized this wasn't it either. So after running around the village more I found the crawlspace to learn how to dodge the moving boulder and found nothing again? But I figured that couldn't be it so I keep running around in circles and missed the chest THREE times because of the game's camera controls (maybe this is just a 3ds version issue?). Was I supposed to have a hard time finding the first sword? No one told me it would be at the back of town, behind a small crawlspace, past a moving boulder. The only clue I got was "You need a sword and shield to pass through here". I thought it honestly seemed more like a place to find a secret item, rather than an important story piece?
When I progressed to Hyrule Castle to try and see the princess, I got stuck again. During the portion where you have to sneak past the guards, I found the vines growing on the side of the wall. And after sneaking past to the side of the castle, I found an old guy sleeping? He wouldn't wake up no matter how many times I talked to him and I couldn't figure out what to do. So I thought I missed something and went back to town. When I couldn't find anything different in town I went back to the castle and noticed there was a girl named Malon standing next to the vines now. I talked to her and she said her dad fell asleep on his way to the castle during a delivery and asked if I could "wake him up". I thought "ah, now that I've talked to this girl I can wake up that guy". I did think it was really weird how she wasn't there before hand though, shouldn't she have been there the first time I tried to sneak in? Anyway I snuck to the side of the castle again and the guy WOULDN'T WAKE UP. I was super confused why he wouldn't wake up after I talked to Malon. After running around for 10 minutes and finding nothing, I decided to look up a guide. It turns out Malon gives you an egg, but only after you talk to her TWICE. She only gives you the important item you need if you speak to her again, after she finishes talking the first time?? Wouldn't it make more sense for her to say "hey can you wake up my dad if you find him? Also here is an egg" all in one? Why would I need to talk to her two times in a row for the progression item I need? Anyway, I got the egg and snuck past the guards again and when I made it to her dad it hatched into a chicken. I'm going to be real here, I got stuck again lol. I thought I would just talk to Malon's sleeping dad and he would finally wake up and I would give him a chicken as a gift? I knew chickens were animals in Zelda (and that you're never supposed to attack one) but it didn't even occur to me that the chicken in my inventory was an item to be equipped and used to wake up Malon's dad. I had to look at another guide for that one.
My third time getting stuck was after I talked to Zelda for the first time. After I talked to Zelda for the first time, I got to see the cool cutscene and spy on Ganon in the window. Afterwards, I get the Princess note thing and Zelda stops talking to me (I'm free to move around). At this point, I had been playing for over 2 hours so I saved and closed the game. When I came back to it later in the day, I was SUPER CONFUSED why I was back in Kokiri village. After looking it up, I get sent back there every time I save and close the game unless it's a dungeon?? Shouldn't that be a warning when you save?? "Warning, closing your game will have you awake in your bed in Kokiri village the next time you continue". I was really frustrated that I had to run back to Hyrule on foot, sneak past all the guards AGAIN, and then when I talked to Zelda I had to watch the cutscene AGAIN. It only took like 17 minutes, so it wasn't a huge deal but it was really frustrating how saving and closing the game made me lose progress.
The most recent time I got stuck was at the graveyard in Kakariko Village. After entering Kakariko village, I couldn't find anything to do since I couldn't progress into the mountain without the King's permission. I kept hearing about the graveyard though, so I figured that's where I should go next. I found the graveyard at the edge of town and read the gravestones one by one. When I got to the royal family's tomb some ghost popped out and I defeated them. The ghost told me some things and then disappeared afterwards. After that, I thought I was done in the graveyard, no chests, no branching paths, just the graveyard tour which I assumed was a minigame to get some rupees?. My train of thought was, okay so now maybe the king will be in town and I need to find him so he will give me permission to enter the mountain, I'll probably need to play my ocarina for him since Impa said the song will give me credibility for knowing the royal family. Guess who was wrong lol. I spent 30 minutes running around town checking every nook and cranny for something that would progress me forward. I gave up and looked at a guide again. Turns out I needed to play my ocarina at the royal family tomb to progress forward. Was I supposed to know to do that??? Did I miss some dialog at some point that tells me if I see a triforce symbol to play my ocarina on it? No one told me to do that. It seemed obvious when I thought about it, but there wasn't any tutorial or hints from Navi about it.

• (Conclusion)

Am I just incompetent?? Is progression in OOT supposed to be smooth sailing and I'm just fumbling the bag? I'm genuinely confused why I got stuck so many times this early on in the game. It's just really frustrating and disrupts the flow of what would other wise seem like a great story. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to keep playing, I love the gameplay and the visuals so far, plus it's kind of exciting since it's my first Zelda game. But man, is it supposed to be this frustrating for me? Are all Zelda games like this? Or is this just how games were in 1998? Am I just bad at this game? Lol