I came across this sub by accident - through what was clearly a fake post - some cringelord dreaming up a vigilante fantasy - but a lot of people ate it up! I scrolled through the sub and found a bunch of other fake posts, mixed with some actually really good content.
Hearing about people sticking it to some old blowheart is one of the true remaining joys in life - control your sub people - don't be duped and downvote the clearly fake shit!
I got one from Memorial Day a few years ago - I think about it every year - it's not a whopper but at least it actually happened.
My HOA board is 100% boomers - driving around in golf carts, taking pictures - complain about noise past 8pm, etc. Dumb as shit when it comes to technology and choosing vendors. They have been the victim of some idiotic scams. Political season - their tiny lawns are covered with republican candidate signs for everything from President all the way down to School Board.
A letter was sent out a week before stating "for the duration of the holiday weekend, the only flags that can be affixed to the exterior of the residential condo units are American flags, including ALL historical American Flags." God only knows what they were intending with this.
The only flags in the neighborhood at the time were a few errant Trump flags, and our condo - with a Gadsen flag and a pride flag - original Gilbert Baker design. I knew it was going to be a problem (because it was when we first moved in) and I was willing to pay some small fines for this new rule. Talking to the Trump flag neighbors - they also planned to keep theirs up. But my wife didn't want to make more waves and convinced me to take them down in the afternoon - the Friday before.
But it didn't sit right - I thought about it for the rest of the day and went to put them back up on Saturday afternoon - but my wife didn't let me. We got a letter in our mailbox that morning from the HOA, reminding us about the flags, and that the Holiday Weekend is Friday through Sunday.
It came with a $50 fine (for Friday morning) and a warning that they would issue additional fines and "other administrative actions" if we didn't keep them down. I checked with the Trump flag guys and they didn't get a notice - I was pissed.
I told my wife that the flags are going back up and I will pay a fee each year and demand that the rules be enforced for everyone or no one. But, since we had reserved the clubhouse on Sunday for a party, she didn't want them yanking our reservation... and I didn't put them back up.
...But then it occurred to me. The notice clearly stated that the American flag rule applied to flags hung from the condo units... and we had site control over the entire clubhouse and pool area. I checked the CC&R's and the reservation - there was no expressed limititation on decorations.
My wife gave me the approval to go to war since we weren't technically breaking any rules. I texted everyone who was coming "bring a pride flag with you to the party... in fact bring every flag you have."
This wasn't a pride party, it was a Memorial Day BBQ, but the pride flags and flags from around the world outnumbered the American flags 10 to 1. We had hundreds of flags and you can see the clubhouse and pool from almost all of the units in the neighborhood - it looked like a storage yard at the UN.
The board was livid. Many of them came down to the clubhouse and took pictures, they threatened to call the police - one of them said they were going to levy a separate fine for each flag. But we cleaned the place up and were out by 8pm.
I know the board met the next day (on the holiday) but I never received a single letter about it. I paid the $50 fee and know that I am forever under their microscope. They quietly amended the club rules regarding "excessive decorations" but did not issue the flag rule for July 4th or any subsequent years. I figure there are too many places to rightfully put a flag in this neighborhood and they don't want to look like fools again.
My relationship with the HOA board has improved since this interaction. I don't think I'd go as far as to say they are scared of me, but they certainly know I might create a giant headache for them in the most ridiculous way possible.
I'll caveat all this to say that not all boomers are bad - remember some of them were hippies in the '60's and '70's. One of the ladies on the board - her brain is so fried from acid decades ago that she became love incarnate.
She bought a pride flag just to bring to my party and stayed all day. Come to find out she knows the names of all the dogs in the neighborhood and she knocked on my door the other day to tell me a joke she made up about my German Shepherd - not funny at all but it was so sweet I fucking cried.
Boomers amiright?

Came across an article on a "hot new psychotherapy", Internal Family Systems (IFS). It appears to have directly inspired Celeste:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-144719880

IFS is about working with “parts”. You treat your mind as containing a Self - a sort of perfect angelic intellect without any flaws or mental illnesses - and various Parts - little sub-minds with their own agendas who can sometimes occlude or overwhelm the Self. During therapy, you talk to the Parts, learn their motives, and bargain with them.
For example, you might identify a Part of you that wants to sabotage your relationships. You will visualize and name it - maybe you call her Sabby, and she looks like a snake. You talk to Sabby, and learn that after your first break-up, when you decided you never wanted to feel that level of pain again, you unconsciously created her and ordered her to make sure you never got close enough to anyone else to get hurt. Then you and the therapist come up with some plan to satisfy Sabby - maybe you convince her that you’re older now, and better able to deal with pain, and you won’t blame her if you get close to someone and have to break up again. Then you see a vision of Sabby stepping aside, maybe turning off the Windmill Of Relationship Sabotage or something like that, and then you never sabotage your relationships again. It’s more complicated than that, but that’s the core.

It could also be parallel thinking, though the use of "Part of You" to describe Badeline and other similarities seem direct. Either way, it's not super important, the game and these therapists are dealing with the same issues. To explore:

Are some "Parts of You" actually evil demons?

This is the apparent tension in the IFS field, and the purpose of the above article, check it out for more. But basically, "classic IFS" says that everything in your mind is a part of you, fundamentally good, and to be bargained with. An attempt at exorcism will only scar you further.
But, many practitioners come to believe that nope, sometimes there are demons that need to be cast out. In the words of one such entity:

No, I'm not a part of her - I'm a much more powerful and beautiful being, and I'm going to crush her like a worm, the same way I'm going to crush you.

(Spoilers) Celeste comes down solidly in camp "Part of You". In fact, the central arc revolves around this question. Madeline starts off treating Badeline as a hostile force to be abandoned, before Granny convinces Madeline to apologize, allowing the two to work together and double-jump their way to the top of the mountain.
What do you all think? Is the "Part-of-You" reconciliation model always the best approach, or are there in fact some parts of us that are just bad and need to be abandoned?
(P.S. There is also tension between those who view IFS as a metaphor or helpful tool, and those who drink the kool-aid and take it literally. I'd note that is separate from the "part-of-you" vs "demon" debate, you can have metaphorical and literal interpretations of both, neither can claim to be the only scientific perspective.
Celeste side-steps this question nicely by being fictional. Note that some therapists have said "IFS may not work well with delusional, paranoid, or schizophrenic clients who may not be grounded in reality and therefore misuse the idea of 'parts'.")
​

Hi all,
I've been making dice on and off for about 3 years now, and I'm starting to look at purchasing dice masters to make my own molds. That being said there's a bunch of options on Etsy and online, and I thought I'd ask what the best results have been for y'all.
Has it been better to pay the extra $100-300 to have them arrive polished, or is it easy enough to get them to a shine with Zona papers (albeit taking a long time).
What sort of uv resin should I be looking for to avoid cure inhibition?
Any other tips/tricks for finding good quality masters?

Hi guys, I (24M) have an online crush on a (22F). I met this girl on TikTok and we've talked only a couple times, but I think she's gorgeous, smart, and funny. Recently, her instagram popped up in my "Who you might know list" but I haven't started following her out of fear that she might think I'm stalking her and I don't like making women uncomfortable, especially with today's social landscape.
I know it might be easier to just 'rip the bandaid off' and see if there is any interest from her side, but admittedly I'm afraid to put myself back out there since my last relationship left me with some trauma a couple years back. Beforehand, I was more confident and easygoing but now I tread lightly. Admittedly, I shrug off rejection quite well but if I am successful in my pursuit, I worry about what comes next.
I thought to myself that maybe following her, liking some posts, and sending her a music playlist might be a good way to break the ice since music is a love language for me. To be honest, thinking about her and messaging her gives me butterflies in my stomach and scorpions in my mind.
I'd like for some of y'all's thoughts and opinions and I'd be glad to read them :)
Any suggestions would be appreciated too. Take care and I look forward to your responses!

Hi everyone. For a few years I've run family-oriented private walking/hiking tours in my hometown. I would like to introduce an option where I take pictures of clients during the tour so they can "keep their phones in the car" and look around more to get a better experience. Based on my experience and research I think this will be a tremendous benefit to the clients and help me expand my business.
The problem is I'm currently not even a good photographer. To try to improve, I've recently taken some really helpful online courses that have taught me the basics about the exposure triangle and other basic concepts. I also own a Nikon D7500 and have purchased books detailing all aspects of the camera, so I'm pretty knowledgeable on that.
So here's the crux of the question: I ONLY want to be a one-trick pony...outdoor family portraits. In fact, I'm actually only really trying to learn about 30-40 good poses and shots because my tours pretty much follow the same route each time. Because I live in the tropics the lighting is even usually similar each day.
I'd really like to shortcut learning to do these 30-40 shots instead of participating in more courses that are awesome on photography, but don't focus on what I need.
I do have funds set aside so I could probably pull it off if the suggested answer is...enroll in these certain course, or hire a local photographer and have hehim show you, or other similar options. Or...I'm not sure if this is stepping on toes, but I even see AI post-processing as a possibility where I learn to pose people in a certain location, then figure out how to constantly post-process the same way via Luminar or something along those lines.
And I hope my question doesn't demean photography, which is obviously a lot of your careers, hobby or passions. I hope you see my goal and that my intent is a positive one. Thanks for any positive input you can provide.

(PSA) I want to start off by recommending retroarch for iPad users. Delta is a FANTASTIC app. I highly recommend it. That being said, if you want to play on an iPad in landscape mode, there is only the iOS version of Delta on iPad. The developer is working on the app for iPad, but as of writing this, retroarch scales perfectly.
(PSA) When it comes to cores. On the apple version of this app, all the cores apple has approved are already included in the app. Can’t add or remove any cores like you can on all the other platforms when running retroarch. If a core is not in retroarch on an apple platform, it is not an approved core or is limited by apple restrictions and will not play well. Apple is not allowing JIT. This is a problem for ps2, psp, and GameCube for sure.
(PRO TIP. .7z to .zip) Using the files app, you can unzip a .7z file. Just rename it to .zip and select it. The files app will unzip it. Done. No need for an unzipping app.
(REQUIRED.) Some cores will crash or not boot a rom. I have found this to be mostly related to bios files not being in the app. (To add bios files = Use the files app. Go to on my iphone. Then find the retroarch folder, and select it. Then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch. After that scroll down to the folder named system. Dump all of your bios for all systems into this folder. I would add any bios you can find for the systems you are playing. This will stop the crashing and increase compatibility with games from different regions.) , (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) If you try to load a rom and it still crashes use a different core to launch that game if it is available. It could be a compatibility issue between the core and the rom. Or it could be region locked and you still need another bios file.

1.) (REQUIRED.) If you want to save yourself some annoyances with Retroarch on iOS, then after you make a change to your settings, hit home in the navigation menu, select configuration file, then save configuration file. I choose the overwrite option, but you can choose what best fits you. We can do this on other platforms by just tapping the back button until it exits the application, but there isn’t a back button on iOS.

2.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to turn on vibration/ haptic feedback. Go to settings in the navigation menu, input and scroll down to haptic feedback. I turn both options on and leave the vibration strength at 100%.

3.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the user interface. You can do this in two ways. A.) Changing the theme. Go to settings, user interface, appearance, select color theme and then choose your favorite. Mine is material ui dark. A.1) If you want you can also choose another app icon. The setting is the first option under user interface. B.) I like the stock setup, but you can change the entire layout to be different. You can go to settings, drivers, and select menu. The stock option is glui. You can choose the option you like the best in this section.

4.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the date and time format at the top to be something I am more used to. Go to settings, user interface, menu item visibility and select “style of date and time” towards the end of the list.

5.) (REQUIRED.) GETTING GAMES IN THE APP. Then we get to importing content. In the iOS version, Retroarch wants the roms to be placed into a folder that is inside of the Retroarch app itself. What I do is take the roms I want to play on Retroarch and move them into the Retroarch app. Here is how I do that. I have a folder already on my iPhone with the roms I want to play on Retroarch. (I store my roms on device. Using the Files app, then on my iphone and save the folder on your phone first. We move it to where it needs to go in the next step.). My folder is named “Retroarch Roms”. It can be really helpful to stay organized. Especially if you also use the Delta and ppsspp apps. I use the files app to locate this folder. Then I select it and move it. Or you could copy it but be mindful of files sizes and storage space. (I put “copy it” in here for a major reason. If you store all your roms in retroarch. And one day you want to delete and reinstall the app…. Bye bye roms. My library is too big to back up to iCloud. But that might be a good option if it works. I have not tested it.). Then move or paste this folder inside of the Retroarch app folder under downloads. (Files app, on my iphone, scroll down to retroarch – select it, then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch, then scroll down to downloads, select it. Your entire folder or multiple folders can go here.) Then hit the playlist menu (middle navigation button.) and select import content. Then scan directory. Click documents/retroarch, scroll down to downloads, then select scan this directory. Then let it do its thing. I like to leave the app open and on screen so the iphone/ipad doesn’t limit background activity. After it is done you can come back to the playlist menu to look through and launch your games. After you have launched a few games, You can go to Home, history and launch your recently played games from there. There is a favorites tab in the playlist section, but I don’t use it personally.

6.) (UPDATES.) I like to make sure a few things are up to date. So, I hit the home menu at the bottom. Go to online updater. Make sure on demand thumbnails is toggled on. (This will add box art on demand as you scroll through your playlist/library.) Then just below that update core files and all the others below it. Update all of them. Then scroll back up to playlist thumbnail updater (This is how you download box art manually for each playlist/library.) and select any system libraries/playlists that are missing album art. If it is your first time, I would just select them all to make sure box art is there when you browse your library. If you want some free to use roms go to content downloader and some homebrew and other roms are in there for each system.

(PSA.2) After you are done changing any settings. Do not just close the app. Make sure you save the configuration file like I mentioned at the start of this post. If not, the settings you changed will be “forgotten” but the roms and album art should still be there. Man, I wish someone told me that before I wasted my life 3 times in a row.

7.) (PS1) Firmware for ps1. To run games correctly you will need firmware for the ps1. PSX rearmed can get you started and playing but the “beetle psx hw” core for ps1 has an upscaling capability. This will make games look tremendously better. Firmware location. After a quick search on the interwebs, you have what you need. (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and which are required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) Use your files app. Go to on my iPhone. Find the Retroarch app folder. Click the folder in there named retroarch. Scroll down to system and dump the bios files there. I can’t say where to get them, but “psx bios” should be easy to find in an archive if you search the googles. Make sure the spelling matches specifically. You can look in settings. Scroll down to directory. And you can scroll through where the app is currently looking for bios and you can change that if you need to. You can also go to settings, select core, manage cores, then scroll to the core you are looking for, then select the core. Scroll down to firmware section and select the “looking in” option to see where it wants the bios. It will tell you if any bios are missing as well. This can apply to any core. Not just ps1 cores.

8.) (SEGA SATURN.). Make sure all the Saturn bios are in the system folder inside the Retroarch folder (Look at the other bullet points on this post to see how. Some games will not launch unless the core has the correct bios. ). Roms. After extracting a rom, it should be a folder full of bin files. Put that whole folder (For each game/rom) in a Saturn roms sub folder. (Make a new folder called “Saturn Roms”.) Using the files app, go to on my iphone, go to the retroarch folder, then the retroarch sub folder. Then scroll down and select downloads. This is where you want to store the Saturn Roms folder. When you import content into retroarch. It will scan the folders and subfolders that have all the bin files. Games will appear as one in the playlist/library.

8.) (FAST VIDEO OR AUDiO) Sync issues. I turned on audio sync and it ran sonic super fast. Other people have had the opposite problem and need to turn it on. The same goes for video sync. The fixes are different depending on the device. Go to settings, video, synchronization, and adjust. You can change the refresh rate in the settings, video, output, vertical refresh rate in this section. This should only be adjusted if you are having issues. Audio sync is under settings, audio, synchronization. It says recommended to turn on. Mine goes crazy if I toggle that on. So I leave it off.

9.) (CORE OPTIONS.) Some systems have multiple cores available. I change them out on the fly by hitting playlist in the navigation menu (Middle option.) Scrolling down to the system I want to play. Then selecting the game, I am looking for. (Do not select run yet.) Then scrolling down and selecting set core association. If you want to use the same core for an entire playlist/library. You can go to settings. Playlists, manage playlists, then select the system you want to set a core for, scroll down to default core, and you can pick the one that works best for your needs.

(DIRECT LINK.) Below is a direct link to the app on the app store for those that have trouble finding it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retroarch/id6499539433

Quick start guide / tips for Retroarch on iOS / Ipados

(PSA) I want to start off by recommending retroarch for iPad users. Delta is a FANTASTIC app. I highly recommend it. That being said, if you want to play on an iPad in landscape mode, there is only the iOS version of Delta on iPad. The developer is working on the app for iPad, but as of writing this, retroarch scales perfectly.
(PSA) When it comes to cores. On the apple version of this app, all the cores apple has approved are already included in the app. Can’t add or remove any cores like you can on all the other platforms when running retroarch. If a core is not in retroarch on an apple platform, it is not an approved core or is limited by apple restrictions and will not play well. Apple is not allowing JIT. This is a problem for ps2, psp, and GameCube for sure.
(PRO TIP. .7z to .zip) Using the files app, you can unzip a .7z file. Just rename it to .zip and select it. The files app will unzip it. Done. No need for an unzipping app.
(REQUIRED.) Some cores will crash or not boot a rom. I have found this to be mostly related to bios files not being in the app. (To add bios files = Use the files app. Go to on my iphone. Then find the retroarch folder, and select it. Then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch. After that scroll down to the folder named system. Dump all of your bios for all systems into this folder. I would add any bios you can find for the systems you are playing. This will stop the crashing and increase compatibility with games from different regions.) , (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) If you try to load a rom and it still crashes use a different core to launch that game if it is available. It could be a compatibility issue between the core and the rom. Or it could be region locked and you still need another bios file.

1.) (REQUIRED.) If you want to save yourself some annoyances with Retroarch on iOS, then after you make a change to your settings, hit home in the navigation menu, select configuration file, then save configuration file. I choose the overwrite option, but you can choose what best fits you. We can do this on other platforms by just tapping the back button until it exits the application, but there isn’t a back button on iOS.

2.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to turn on vibration/ haptic feedback. Go to settings in the navigation menu, input and scroll down to haptic feedback. I turn both options on and leave the vibration strength at 100%.

3.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the user interface. You can do this in two ways. A.) Changing the theme. Go to settings, user interface, appearance, select color theme and then choose your favorite. Mine is material ui dark. A.1) If you want you can also choose another app icon. The setting is the first option under user interface. B.) I like the stock setup, but you can change the entire layout to be different. You can go to settings, drivers, and select menu. The stock option is glui. You can choose the option you like the best in this section.

4.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the date and time format at the top to be something I am more used to. Go to settings, user interface, menu item visibility and select “style of date and time” towards the end of the list.

5.) (REQUIRED.) GETTING GAMES IN THE APP. Then we get to importing content. In the iOS version, Retroarch wants the roms to be placed into a folder that is inside of the Retroarch app itself. What I do is take the roms I want to play on Retroarch and move them into the Retroarch app. Here is how I do that. I have a folder already on my iPhone with the roms I want to play on Retroarch. (I store my roms on device. Using the Files app, then on my iphone and save the folder on your phone first. We move it to where it needs to go in the next step.). My folder is named “Retroarch Roms”. It can be really helpful to stay organized. Especially if you also use the Delta and ppsspp apps. I use the files app to locate this folder. Then I select it and move it. Or you could copy it but be mindful of files sizes and storage space. (I put “copy it” in here for a major reason. If you store all your roms in retroarch. And one day you want to delete and reinstall the app…. Bye bye roms. My library is too big to back up to iCloud. But that might be a good option if it works. I have not tested it.). Then move or paste this folder inside of the Retroarch app folder under downloads. (Files app, on my iphone, scroll down to retroarch – select it, then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch, then scroll down to downloads, select it. Your entire folder or multiple folders can go here.) Then hit the playlist menu (middle navigation button.) and select import content. Then scan directory. Click documents/retroarch, scroll down to downloads, then select scan this directory. Then let it do its thing. I like to leave the app open and on screen so the iphone/ipad doesn’t limit background activity. After it is done you can come back to the playlist menu to look through and launch your games. After you have launched a few games, You can go to Home, history and launch your recently played games from there. There is a favorites tab in the playlist section, but I don’t use it personally.

6.) (UPDATES.) I like to make sure a few things are up to date. So, I hit the home menu at the bottom. Go to online updater. Make sure on demand thumbnails is toggled on. (This will add box art on demand as you scroll through your playlist/library.) Then just below that update core files and all the others below it. Update all of them. Then scroll back up to playlist thumbnail updater (This is how you download box art manually for each playlist/library.) and select any system libraries/playlists that are missing album art. If it is your first time, I would just select them all to make sure box art is there when you browse your library. If you want some free to use roms go to content downloader and some homebrew and other roms are in there for each system.

(PSA.2) After you are done changing any settings. Do not just close the app. Make sure you save the configuration file like I mentioned at the start of this post. If not, the settings you changed will be “forgotten” but the roms and album art should still be there. Man, I wish someone told me that before I wasted my life 3 times in a row.

7.) (PS1) Firmware for ps1. To run games correctly you will need firmware for the ps1. PSX rearmed can get you started and playing but the “beetle psx hw” core for ps1 has an upscaling capability. This will make games look tremendously better. Firmware location. After a quick search on the interwebs, you have what you need. (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and which are required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) Use your files app. Go to on my iPhone. Find the Retroarch app folder. Click the folder in there named retroarch. Scroll down to system and dump the bios files there. I can’t say where to get them, but “psx bios” should be easy to find in an archive if you search the googles. Make sure the spelling matches specifically. You can look in settings. Scroll down to directory. And you can scroll through where the app is currently looking for bios and you can change that if you need to. You can also go to settings, select core, manage cores, then scroll to the core you are looking for, then select the core. Scroll down to firmware section and select the “looking in” option to see where it wants the bios. It will tell you if any bios are missing as well. This can apply to any core. Not just ps1 cores.

8.) (SEGA SATURN.). Make sure all the Saturn bios are in the system folder inside the Retroarch folder (Look at the other bullet points on this post to see how. Some games will not launch unless the core has the correct bios. ). Roms. After extracting a rom, it should be a folder full of bin files. Put that whole folder (For each game/rom) in a Saturn roms sub folder. (Make a new folder called “Saturn Roms”.) Using the files app, go to on my iphone, go to the retroarch folder, then the retroarch sub folder. Then scroll down and select downloads. This is where you want to store the Saturn Roms folder. When you import content into retroarch. It will scan the folders and subfolders that have all the bin files. Games will appear as one in the playlist/library.

8.) (FAST VIDEO OR AUDiO) Sync issues. I turned on audio sync and it ran sonic super fast. Other people have had the opposite problem and need to turn it on. The same goes for video sync. The fixes are different depending on the device. Go to settings, video, synchronization, and adjust. You can change the refresh rate in the settings, video, output, vertical refresh rate in this section. This should only be adjusted if you are having issues. Audio sync is under settings, audio, synchronization. It says recommended to turn on. Mine goes crazy if I toggle that on. So I leave it off.

9.) (CORE OPTIONS.) Some systems have multiple cores available. I change them out on the fly by hitting playlist in the navigation menu (Middle option.) Scrolling down to the system I want to play. Then selecting the game, I am looking for. (Do not select run yet.) Then scrolling down and selecting set core association. If you want to use the same core for an entire playlist/library. You can go to settings. Playlists, manage playlists, then select the system you want to set a core for, scroll down to default core, and you can pick the one that works best for your needs.

(DIRECT LINK.) Below is a direct link to the app on the app store for those that have trouble finding it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retroarch/id6499539433

2019: graduated from University with a gold medal, and i have an idea what I want to be in future, where I want to earn money and enjoy as many things as possible and live life in luxury so I started upskilling myself and applied to many jobs and attended job fairs but i failed in passing exams in every job and I never succeeded in any interview , I took each and every experience and started improving myself but i failed again and again. No matter how much I try there is so huge competition that I'm failing in every job openings . I am getting rejected by every company.
2020: COVID happened , no job openings and no job fairs to attend and stayed at home and became a shut in for 6 months all while watching animes, movies with whatever money I earned from part time jobs, friends and family. I thought I want to live like that forever (stupid me). In the later years i joined masters course from online as my father pressurized me by saying "do it , u r jobless, u r worthless scum, u are just a shut in who won't do anything" , I said "if I join masters in the institute u r recommending then this plan of urs will definitely fail as u already know it well, u don't have enough guts to send to go far away place where the institute is located if in case COVID reduces" he said "when COVID reduces, just drop out of masters" I said "huh? Then y should I join then?" He said "because I said so, it's for ur good" i said "dad,wait for few months I will find worthwhile job" he said "u will be worthless if u neglect ur career further" . And everyone around me pressured me to join masters course and I joined the course because of pressures and it was completely online at the time , and I worked tirelessly to pass each semester.
2021: continuing masters, i put so much effort into my exams only to barely pass. Whereas , my classmates scored straight As . I was suprised , i was putting so much effort and why I couldn't be as good as them but I was chill cause I'm passing. I finally got assigned a project. I completed the project early even before final semester and I even published a research paper in a journal
2022: in final semester when the COVID decreased the institute which I enrolled masters insisted us to come. The institute was pretty far away from my place. And my dad never allowed me to go there and he never wanted me to lose the masters , I thought of making deal with professor as i already completed the project and even my research paper was published in journal and my professor said " even if u complete the project and passed in every exam I won't pass u in the project unless u come " I said " I can't come due to family issues" my professor "then u r unworthy to study " my dad raised a complaint and after hearing the complaint the whole institute accused me of defaming the institute honor and blackmailed me they will get cops involved in this and ruin my future and to solve this they demanded me to come there and do what they say. I said to them "whatever it is , i won't come there" and i am dropping out of the institute and i do t need any master's . I dropped out of the college and I said this to my dad he became angry and i blamed him this was his mistake and told him "2 years ago I told u this will happen u and none listened to me now see there is 3 years gap in my career and no one will recruit me and 2 years ago when I was clean i failed everything now I have this remark of dropout and now none will recruit me, u do realise how fcked up competition really is in our country , if u r not competent u will be crushed" . A few months passed and i decided to leave the town and family. I found a minimum wage job out of the town and lived with one of my cousins, where I have to do maintenance of transformers and other electrical equipment. There i worked for 4 months and left it because my boss was too bossy and I don't want to work under him. I started working as another minum wage job and left it too because I can't stand bossy people there and also i slapped my boss and i finally thought my own stupidity, professors arrogance and power and my father arrogance and power are the reasons for this, and i decided to go in teaching field. So, i planned how to get into it, so first I started working as a tutor. I joined masters course again at a different institute with scholarship facility as I was a gold medalist from University during my undergraduation. I continued tutoring as a part time to earn money and working on masters in other hand
2023: I worked on my masters and passed through all semesters with above 4 GPA and worked on my project. The students that i tutored as a part time stood as strong as support to me. Their happiness after I teach them filled me with confidence that I can do many good things in life and I want to help as many students as possible. Though I never admitted this to them because as a teacher I can't show weakness before and I need to be strong. Also, my cousin who provided me shelter in times of need made me to be strong and not lose hope on myself
2024: i completed my masters last march and I immediately joined as professor and this professor job is good that none bosses me around again and i am teaching students who are very interested in my lectures, as i already has experience in teaching. I kinda love this job , i don't live with minimum wage anymore and I am helping people with their studies and most importantly none bothers me as i myself earned quite a name regarding skills all thanks to the technical skills and subjects i learned back in 2019. My hardwork of that time not wasted , instead the skills that i developed at the time are helping other people instead. Currently,i am planning on doing PhD maybe I will do it next year or some time later but presently I need to stabilize myself financially .
That's it guys, I'm curious what u think my type is based on this
Also, I agree , I made many stupid decisions in my life don't be harsh on me please... I already blamed myself enough

(PSA) I want to start off by recommending retroarch for iPad users. Delta is a FANTASTIC app. I highly recommend it. That being said, if you want to play on an iPad in landscape mode, there is only the iOS version of Delta on iPad. The developer is working on the app for iPad, but as of writing this, retroarch scales perfectly.
(PSA) When it comes to cores. On the apple version of this app, all the cores apple has approved are already included in the app. Can’t add or remove any cores like you can on all the other platforms when running retroarch. If a core is not in retroarch on an apple platform, it is not an approved core or is limited by apple restrictions and will not play well. Apple is not allowing JIT. This is a problem for ps2, psp, and GameCube for sure.
(PRO TIP. .7z to .zip) Using the files app, you can unzip a .7z file. Just rename it to .zip and select it. The files app will unzip it. Done. No need for an unzipping app.
(REQUIRED.) Some cores will crash or not boot a rom. I have found this to be mostly related to bios files not being in the app. (To add bios files = Use the files app. Go to on my iphone. Then find the retroarch folder, and select it. Then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch. After that scroll down to the folder named system. Dump all of your bios for all systems into this folder. I would add any bios you can find for the systems you are playing. This will stop the crashing and increase compatibility with games from different regions.) , (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) If you try to load a rom and it still crashes use a different core to launch that game if it is available. It could be a compatibility issue between the core and the rom. Or it could be region locked and you still need another bios file.

1.) (REQUIRED.) If you want to save yourself some annoyances with Retroarch on iOS, then after you make a change to your settings, hit home in the navigation menu, select configuration file, then save configuration file. I choose the overwrite option, but you can choose what best fits you. We can do this on other platforms by just tapping the back button until it exits the application, but there isn’t a back button on iOS.

2.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to turn on vibration/ haptic feedback. Go to settings in the navigation menu, input and scroll down to haptic feedback. I turn both options on and leave the vibration strength at 100%.

3.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the user interface. You can do this in two ways. A.) Changing the theme. Go to settings, user interface, appearance, select color theme and then choose your favorite. Mine is material ui dark. A.1) If you want you can also choose another app icon. The setting is the first option under user interface. B.) I like the stock setup, but you can change the entire layout to be different. You can go to settings, drivers, and select menu. The stock option is glui. You can choose the option you like the best in this section.

4.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the date and time format at the top to be something I am more used to. Go to settings, user interface, menu item visibility and select “style of date and time” towards the end of the list.

5.) (REQUIRED.) GETTING GAMES IN THE APP. Then we get to importing content. In the iOS version, Retroarch wants the roms to be placed into a folder that is inside of the Retroarch app itself. What I do is take the roms I want to play on Retroarch and move them into the Retroarch app. Here is how I do that. I have a folder already on my iPhone with the roms I want to play on Retroarch. (I store my roms on device. Using the Files app, then on my iphone and save the folder on your phone first. We move it to where it needs to go in the next step.). My folder is named “Retroarch Roms”. It can be really helpful to stay organized. Especially if you also use the Delta and ppsspp apps. I use the files app to locate this folder. Then I select it and move it. Or you could copy it but be mindful of files sizes and storage space. (I put “copy it” in here for a major reason. If you store all your roms in retroarch. And one day you want to delete and reinstall the app…. Bye bye roms. My library is too big to back up to iCloud. But that might be a good option if it works. I have not tested it.). Then move or paste this folder inside of the Retroarch app folder under downloads. (Files app, on my iphone, scroll down to retroarch – select it, then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch, then scroll down to downloads, select it. Your entire folder or multiple folders can go here.) Then hit the playlist menu (middle navigation button.) and select import content. Then scan directory. Click documents/retroarch, scroll down to downloads, then select scan this directory. Then let it do its thing. I like to leave the app open and on screen so the iphone/ipad doesn’t limit background activity. After it is done you can come back to the playlist menu to look through and launch your games. After you have launched a few games, You can go to Home, history and launch your recently played games from there. There is a favorites tab in the playlist section, but I don’t use it personally.

6.) (UPDATES.) I like to make sure a few things are up to date. So, I hit the home menu at the bottom. Go to online updater. Make sure on demand thumbnails is toggled on. (This will add box art on demand as you scroll through your playlist/library.) Then just below that update core files and all the others below it. Update all of them. Then scroll back up to playlist thumbnail updater (This is how you download box art manually for each playlist/library.) and select any system libraries/playlists that are missing album art. If it is your first time, I would just select them all to make sure box art is there when you browse your library. If you want some free to use roms go to content downloader and some homebrew and other roms are in there for each system.

(PSA.2) After you are done changing any settings. Do not just close the app. Make sure you save the configuration file like I mentioned at the start of this post. If not, the settings you changed will be “forgotten” but the roms and album art should still be there. Man, I wish someone told me that before I wasted my life 3 times in a row.

7.) (PS1) Firmware for ps1. To run games correctly you will need firmware for the ps1. PSX rearmed can get you started and playing but the “beetle psx hw” core for ps1 has an upscaling capability. This will make games look tremendously better. Firmware location. After a quick search on the interwebs, you have what you need. (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and which are required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) Use your files app. Go to on my iPhone. Find the Retroarch app folder. Click the folder in there named retroarch. Scroll down to system and dump the bios files there. I can’t say where to get them, but “psx bios” should be easy to find in an archive if you search the googles. Make sure the spelling matches specifically. You can look in settings. Scroll down to directory. And you can scroll through where the app is currently looking for bios and you can change that if you need to. You can also go to settings, select core, manage cores, then scroll to the core you are looking for, then select the core. Scroll down to firmware section and select the “looking in” option to see where it wants the bios. It will tell you if any bios are missing as well. This can apply to any core. Not just ps1 cores.

8.) (SEGA SATURN.). Make sure all the Saturn bios are in the system folder inside the Retroarch folder (Look at the other bullet points on this post to see how. Some games will not launch unless the core has the correct bios. ). Roms. After extracting a rom, it should be a folder full of bin files. Put that whole folder (For each game/rom) in a Saturn roms sub folder. (Make a new folder called “Saturn Roms”.) Using the files app, go to on my iphone, go to the retroarch folder, then the retroarch sub folder. Then scroll down and select downloads. This is where you want to store the Saturn Roms folder. When you import content into retroarch. It will scan the folders and subfolders that have all the bin files. Games will appear as one in the playlist/library.

8.) (FAST VIDEO OR AUDiO) Sync issues. I turned on audio sync and it ran sonic super fast. Other people have had the opposite problem and need to turn it on. The same goes for video sync. The fixes are different depending on the device. Go to settings, video, synchronization, and adjust. You can change the refresh rate in the settings, video, output, vertical refresh rate in this section. This should only be adjusted if you are having issues. Audio sync is under settings, audio, synchronization. It says recommended to turn on. Mine goes crazy if I toggle that on. So I leave it off.

9.) (CORE OPTIONS.) Some systems have multiple cores available. I change them out on the fly by hitting playlist in the navigation menu (Middle option.) Scrolling down to the system I want to play. Then selecting the game, I am looking for. (Do not select run yet.) Then scrolling down and selecting set core association. If you want to use the same core for an entire playlist/library. You can go to settings. Playlists, manage playlists, then select the system you want to set a core for, scroll down to default core, and you can pick the one that works best for your needs.

(DIRECT LINK.) Below is a direct link to the app on the app store for those that have trouble finding it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retroarch/id6499539433

I replied to a post the other day and received some requests to share more about my story as to how I grew my annual earnings from 28k to 750k, and my net worth from a starting point of being in debt to what is now on track to be $10M+ when I retire early in a few years at 55. This happened slowly but steadily over the course of a 30 year career. I replied that my story was not very exciting, and that I’m not sure how replicable or relevant it is, but I am happy to share it here in hopes there is some value for someone.
TLDR version: Get in the door at a big company, climb the corporate ladder, don’t let lifestyle creep sabotage your path to FIRE, invest all you can along the way for the long term.
More detailed version for anyone interested:
I grew up lower middle class. Far from poverty, but we didn’t have a lot. As a kid, I wanted more and set very specific goals towards finding ways to make money and to one day retire early. I didn’t know any successful people, but figured it starts with going to college. No one else in my family had done that, but I went off to a state school and put myself through 4 years to get a Bachelors in Business Wanted to try something entrepreneurially after, but couldn’t afford to and needed to get a job to start paying back the loans.
I had read every career and business book I could get my hands on. The job search strategy I chose was to get hired in an entry level role at a branch of a Fortune 500 company and work my way up, or leave in a few years and apply what I had learned to my own business. I got a couple interviews but wasn’t getting hired because I lacked experience.
Sales seemed to be the best place to start from what I had read, and I ended up getting hired in a sales job at a small company earning $28k. Once I had a year of experience I again started applying to big companies. I don’t want to get into what company or specific field I’m in, but it’s not FAANG / tech, not healthcare, and not banking/finance. I really don’t think industry/field matters as much as size of company does. Big, publicly held corporations benchmark compensation levels and tend to structure pay similarly to be competitive.
Also, everyone says pick a field you are passionate about. That’s great advice, but I think the culture of the company matters most. I targeted large, growing industries and researched company culture. Speaking to people first hand instead of relying on online reviews, which often have negative bias. My 21 year old logic was to work backwards - big successful companies with a good culture will have the most opportunities for me to grow, advance and earn more over time.
I finally got in the door and landed a sales job at a small district of a Fortune 500, making 60k. I outperformed my peer group and built a name for myself internally and externally in the market over my first 2 years. By now I was making 80k and ready to move up, but there were not any openings expected anytime soon. Around this time, I got recruited by a different company as a manager and accepted. My comp jumped to 130k. More importantly, this company was performing better, had a better culture, and had more internal opportunities. I made it known I was here to grow and make contributions to the business, and wanted to advance. Management liked the enthusiasm and I delivered on results. I also constantly invested in my own professional development. I learned everything about our customers and competitors, and brought forward ideas and strategies to stay ahead of the game. A few more years of this, and I moved out of sales and into other departments to learn more about the business and grow my experience - Operations, Marketing, etc.
25 years and a series of promotions later I was promoted to be one of a handful of Vice Presidents running the company. There are obviously a lot of variables and this path isn’t for everyone, and it’s up to you what applies for you. For me, the themes that worked were: Out work and outperform others. Keep a positive attitude. Seek mentorship. Be a lifelong learner. Build relationships at all levels of the company - treat everyone the same regardless of position or title. Be quick to adapt to constantly changing environments. And most importantly, never comprise your integrity. It’s everything you have. Performance is only table stakes. You need a good attitude and people skills to go with it if you’re going to advance. High performance gets you exposure to upper management, and how you show up in those exposures becomes your image over time. Image carries the most weight for promotions based on studies. It’s up to you to manage yours.
Outside of work, my wife stayed home and we raised our family very comfortably on my growing salary. We lived well but didn’t spend any more when I made 750k than we did at 200k. We paid off all debt as soon as possible, including our house, allowing us to maximize the amount we were able to invest over a long time period.
I hope that aspects of this are helpful to some of you. Happy to answer any questions here but no private messages please. Too many scams. Best regards.

(PSA) I want to start off by recommending retroarch for iPad users. Delta is a FANTASTIC app. I highly recommend it. That being said, if you want to play on an iPad in landscape mode, there is only the iOS version of Delta on iPad. The developer is working on the app for iPad, but as of writing this, retroarch scales perfectly.
(PSA) When it comes to cores. On the apple version of this app, all the cores apple has approved are already included in the app. Can’t add or remove any cores like you can on all the other platforms when running retroarch. If a core is not in retroarch on an apple platform, it is not an approved core or is limited by apple restrictions and will not play well. Apple is not allowing JIT. This is a problem for ps2, psp, and GameCube for sure.
(PRO TIP. .7z to .zip) Using the files app, you can unzip a .7z file. Just rename it to .zip and select it. The files app will unzip it. Done. No need for an unzipping app.
(REQUIRED.) Some cores will crash or not boot a rom. I have found this to be mostly related to bios files not being in the app. (To add bios files = Use the files app. Go to on my iphone. Then find the retroarch folder, and select it. Then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch. After that scroll down to the folder named system. Dump all of your bios for all systems into this folder. I would add any bios you can find for the systems you are playing. This will stop the crashing and increase compatibility with games from different regions.) , (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) If you try to load a rom and it still crashes use a different core to launch that game if it is available. It could be a compatibility issue between the core and the rom. Or it could be region locked and you still need another bios file.

1.) (REQUIRED.) If you want to save yourself some annoyances with Retroarch on iOS, then after you make a change to your settings, hit home in the navigation menu, select configuration file, then save configuration file. I choose the overwrite option, but you can choose what best fits you. We can do this on other platforms by just tapping the back button until it exits the application, but there isn’t a back button on iOS.

2.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to turn on vibration/ haptic feedback. Go to settings in the navigation menu, input and scroll down to haptic feedback. I turn both options on and leave the vibration strength at 100%.

3.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the user interface. You can do this in two ways. A.) Changing the theme. Go to settings, user interface, appearance, select color theme and then choose your favorite. Mine is material ui dark. A.1) If you want you can also choose another app icon. The setting is the first option under user interface. B.) I like the stock setup, but you can change the entire layout to be different. You can go to settings, drivers, and select menu. The stock option is glui. You can choose the option you like the best in this section.

4.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the date and time format at the top to be something I am more used to. Go to settings, user interface, menu item visibility and select “style of date and time” towards the end of the list.

5.) (REQUIRED.) GETTING GAMES IN THE APP. Then we get to importing content. In the iOS version, Retroarch wants the roms to be placed into a folder that is inside of the Retroarch app itself. What I do is take the roms I want to play on Retroarch and move them into the Retroarch app. Here is how I do that. I have a folder already on my iPhone with the roms I want to play on Retroarch. (I store my roms on device. Using the Files app, then on my iphone and save the folder on your phone first. We move it to where it needs to go in the next step.). My folder is named “Retroarch Roms”. It can be really helpful to stay organized. Especially if you also use the Delta and ppsspp apps. I use the files app to locate this folder. Then I select it and move it. Or you could copy it but be mindful of files sizes and storage space. (I put “copy it” in here for a major reason. If you store all your roms in retroarch. And one day you want to delete and reinstall the app…. Bye bye roms. My library is too big to back up to iCloud. But that might be a good option if it works. I have not tested it.). Then move or paste this folder inside of the Retroarch app folder under downloads. (Files app, on my iphone, scroll down to retroarch – select it, then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch, then scroll down to downloads, select it. Your entire folder or multiple folders can go here.) Then hit the playlist menu (middle navigation button.) and select import content. Then scan directory. Click documents/retroarch, scroll down to downloads, then select scan this directory. Then let it do its thing. I like to leave the app open and on screen so the iphone/ipad doesn’t limit background activity. After it is done you can come back to the playlist menu to look through and launch your games. After you have launched a few games, You can go to Home, history and launch your recently played games from there. There is a favorites tab in the playlist section, but I don’t use it personally.

6.) (UPDATES.) I like to make sure a few things are up to date. So, I hit the home menu at the bottom. Go to online updater. Make sure on demand thumbnails is toggled on. (This will add box art on demand as you scroll through your playlist/library.) Then just below that update core files and all the others below it. Update all of them. Then scroll back up to playlist thumbnail updater (This is how you download box art manually for each playlist/library.) and select any system libraries/playlists that are missing album art. If it is your first time, I would just select them all to make sure box art is there when you browse your library. If you want some free to use roms go to content downloader and some homebrew and other roms are in there for each system.

(PSA.2) After you are done changing any settings. Do not just close the app. Make sure you save the configuration file like I mentioned at the start of this post. If not, the settings you changed will be “forgotten” but the roms and album art should still be there. Man, I wish someone told me that before I wasted my life 3 times in a row.

7.) (PS1) Firmware for ps1. To run games correctly you will need firmware for the ps1. PSX rearmed can get you started and playing but the “beetle psx hw” core for ps1 has an upscaling capability. This will make games look tremendously better. Firmware location. After a quick search on the interwebs, you have what you need. (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and which are required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) Use your files app. Go to on my iPhone. Find the Retroarch app folder. Click the folder in there named retroarch. Scroll down to system and dump the bios files there. I can’t say where to get them, but “psx bios” should be easy to find in an archive if you search the googles. Make sure the spelling matches specifically. You can look in settings. Scroll down to directory. And you can scroll through where the app is currently looking for bios and you can change that if you need to. You can also go to settings, select core, manage cores, then scroll to the core you are looking for, then select the core. Scroll down to firmware section and select the “looking in” option to see where it wants the bios. It will tell you if any bios are missing as well. This can apply to any core. Not just ps1 cores.

8.) (SEGA SATURN.). Make sure all the Saturn bios are in the system folder inside the Retroarch folder (Look at the other bullet points on this post to see how. Some games will not launch unless the core has the correct bios. ). Roms. After extracting a rom, it should be a folder full of bin files. Put that whole folder (For each game/rom) in a Saturn roms sub folder. (Make a new folder called “Saturn Roms”.) Using the files app, go to on my iphone, go to the retroarch folder, then the retroarch sub folder. Then scroll down and select downloads. This is where you want to store the Saturn Roms folder. When you import content into retroarch. It will scan the folders and subfolders that have all the bin files. Games will appear as one in the playlist/library.

8.) (FAST VIDEO OR AUDiO) Sync issues. I turned on audio sync and it ran sonic super fast. Other people have had the opposite problem and need to turn it on. The same goes for video sync. The fixes are different depending on the device. Go to settings, video, synchronization, and adjust. You can change the refresh rate in the settings, video, output, vertical refresh rate in this section. This should only be adjusted if you are having issues. Audio sync is under settings, audio, synchronization. It says recommended to turn on. Mine goes crazy if I toggle that on. So I leave it off.

9.) (CORE OPTIONS.) Some systems have multiple cores available. I change them out on the fly by hitting playlist in the navigation menu (Middle option.) Scrolling down to the system I want to play. Then selecting the game, I am looking for. (Do not select run yet.) Then scrolling down and selecting set core association. If you want to use the same core for an entire playlist/library. You can go to settings. Playlists, manage playlists, then select the system you want to set a core for, scroll down to default core, and you can pick the one that works best for your needs.

(DIRECT LINK.) Below is a direct link to the app on the app store for those that have trouble finding it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retroarch/id6499539433

(PSA) I want to start off by recommending retroarch for iPad users. Delta is a FANTASTIC app. I highly recommend it. That being said, if you want to play on an iPad in landscape mode, there is only the iOS version of Delta on iPad. The developer is working on the app for iPad, but as of writing this, retroarch scales perfectly.
(PSA) When it comes to cores. On the apple version of this app, all the cores apple has approved are already included in the app. Can’t add or remove any cores like you can on all the other platforms when running retroarch. If a core is not in retroarch on an apple platform, it is not an approved core or is limited by apple restrictions and will not play well. Apple is not allowing JIT. This is a problem for ps2, psp, and GameCube for sure.
(PRO TIP. .7z to .zip) Using the files app, you can unzip a .7z file. Just rename it to .zip and select it. The files app will unzip it. Done. No need for an unzipping app.
(REQUIRED.) Some cores will crash or not boot a rom. I have found this to be mostly related to bios files not being in the app. (To add bios files = Use the files app. Go to on my iphone. Then find the retroarch folder, and select it. Then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch. After that scroll down to the folder named system. Dump all of your bios for all systems into this folder. I would add any bios you can find for the systems you are playing. This will stop the crashing and increase compatibility with games from different regions.) , (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) If you try to load a rom and it still crashes use a different core to launch that game if it is available. It could be a compatibility issue between the core and the rom. Or it could be region locked and you still need another bios file.

1.) (REQUIRED.) If you want to save yourself some annoyances with Retroarch on iOS, then after you make a change to your settings, hit home in the navigation menu, select configuration file, then save configuration file. I choose the overwrite option, but you can choose what best fits you. We can do this on other platforms by just tapping the back button until it exits the application, but there isn’t a back button on iOS.

2.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to turn on vibration/ haptic feedback. Go to settings in the navigation menu, input and scroll down to haptic feedback. I turn both options on and leave the vibration strength at 100%.

3.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the user interface. You can do this in two ways. A.) Changing the theme. Go to settings, user interface, appearance, select color theme and then choose your favorite. Mine is material ui dark. A.1) If you want you can also choose another app icon. The setting is the first option under user interface. B.) I like the stock setup, but you can change the entire layout to be different. You can go to settings, drivers, and select menu. The stock option is glui. You can choose the option you like the best in this section.

4.) (OPTIONAL.) I like to change the date and time format at the top to be something I am more used to. Go to settings, user interface, menu item visibility and select “style of date and time” towards the end of the list.

5.) (REQUIRED.) GETTING GAMES IN THE APP. Then we get to importing content. In the iOS version, Retroarch wants the roms to be placed into a folder that is inside of the Retroarch app itself. What I do is take the roms I want to play on Retroarch and move them into the Retroarch app. Here is how I do that. I have a folder already on my iPhone with the roms I want to play on Retroarch. (I store my roms on device. Using the Files app, then on my iphone and save the folder on your phone first. We move it to where it needs to go in the next step.). My folder is named “Retroarch Roms”. It can be really helpful to stay organized. Especially if you also use the Delta and ppsspp apps. I use the files app to locate this folder. Then I select it and move it. Or you could copy it but be mindful of files sizes and storage space. (I put “copy it” in here for a major reason. If you store all your roms in retroarch. And one day you want to delete and reinstall the app…. Bye bye roms. My library is too big to back up to iCloud. But that might be a good option if it works. I have not tested it.). Then move or paste this folder inside of the Retroarch app folder under downloads. (Files app, on my iphone, scroll down to retroarch – select it, then select the subfolder that is also named retroarch, then scroll down to downloads, select it. Your entire folder or multiple folders can go here.) Then hit the playlist menu (middle navigation button.) and select import content. Then scan directory. Click documents/retroarch, scroll down to downloads, then select scan this directory. Then let it do its thing. I like to leave the app open and on screen so the iphone/ipad doesn’t limit background activity. After it is done you can come back to the playlist menu to look through and launch your games. After you have launched a few games, You can go to Home, history and launch your recently played games from there. There is a favorites tab in the playlist section, but I don’t use it personally.

6.) (UPDATES.) I like to make sure a few things are up to date. So, I hit the home menu at the bottom. Go to online updater. Make sure on demand thumbnails is toggled on. (This will add box art on demand as you scroll through your playlist/library.) Then just below that update core files and all the others below it. Update all of them. Then scroll back up to playlist thumbnail updater (This is how you download box art manually for each playlist/library.) and select any system libraries/playlists that are missing album art. If it is your first time, I would just select them all to make sure box art is there when you browse your library. If you want some free to use roms go to content downloader and some homebrew and other roms are in there for each system.

(PSA.2) After you are done changing any settings. Do not just close the app. Make sure you save the configuration file like I mentioned at the start of this post. If not, the settings you changed will be “forgotten” but the roms and album art should still be there. Man, I wish someone told me that before I wasted my life 3 times in a row.

7.) (PS1) Firmware for ps1. To run games correctly you will need firmware for the ps1. PSX rearmed can get you started and playing but the “beetle psx hw” core for ps1 has an upscaling capability. This will make games look tremendously better. Firmware location. After a quick search on the interwebs, you have what you need. (To find what bios are missing, open the retroarch app. Go to settings, core, Manage cores, Scroll down to the core you want to use, Select the core. Then scroll down to firmware. Just below that, you will see which bios are optional. Which ones are missing and which are required. The (!) is just a bullet point.) Use your files app. Go to on my iPhone. Find the Retroarch app folder. Click the folder in there named retroarch. Scroll down to system and dump the bios files there. I can’t say where to get them, but “psx bios” should be easy to find in an archive if you search the googles. Make sure the spelling matches specifically. You can look in settings. Scroll down to directory. And you can scroll through where the app is currently looking for bios and you can change that if you need to. You can also go to settings, select core, manage cores, then scroll to the core you are looking for, then select the core. Scroll down to firmware section and select the “looking in” option to see where it wants the bios. It will tell you if any bios are missing as well. This can apply to any core. Not just ps1 cores.

8.) (SEGA SATURN.). Make sure all the Saturn bios are in the system folder inside the Retroarch folder (Look at the other bullet points on this post to see how. Some games will not launch unless the core has the correct bios. ). Roms. After extracting a rom, it should be a folder full of bin files. Put that whole folder (For each game/rom) in a Saturn roms sub folder. (Make a new folder called “Saturn Roms”.) Using the files app, go to on my iphone, go to the retroarch folder, then the retroarch sub folder. Then scroll down and select downloads. This is where you want to store the Saturn Roms folder. When you import content into retroarch. It will scan the folders and subfolders that have all the bin files. Games will appear as one in the playlist/library.

8.) (FAST VIDEO OR AUDiO) Sync issues. I turned on audio sync and it ran sonic super fast. Other people have had the opposite problem and need to turn it on. The same goes for video sync. The fixes are different depending on the device. Go to settings, video, synchronization, and adjust. You can change the refresh rate in the settings, video, output, vertical refresh rate in this section. This should only be adjusted if you are having issues. Audio sync is under settings, audio, synchronization. It says recommended to turn on. Mine goes crazy if I toggle that on. So I leave it off.

9.) (CORE OPTIONS.) Some systems have multiple cores available. I change them out on the fly by hitting playlist in the navigation menu (Middle option.) Scrolling down to the system I want to play. Then selecting the game, I am looking for. (Do not select run yet.) Then scrolling down and selecting set core association. If you want to use the same core for an entire playlist/library. You can go to settings. Playlists, manage playlists, then select the system you want to set a core for, scroll down to default core, and you can pick the one that works best for your needs.

(DIRECT LINK.) Below is a direct link to the app on the app store for those that have trouble finding it.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/retroarch/id6499539433

I created this account, to vent some of my frustration. I won't be commenting, looking, or editing it after I post. No, I'm not a bot, but sometimes I wish I was.
One of my best friend tried to kill himself, he left a farewell message which wasn't supposed to be interpretted as that, but I understood. I called every hospital in the area looking for his name, until I found one. When I went to visit him, I wasn't sure if I'd be finding him dead or alive. I worked up the courage to walk into the room, and found that he was surprised to see me. With so much frustration and anger in my mind, I just started yelling at him, wondering what the fuck he was thinking and why he didn't just call me. He couldn't answer, but a tear rolled down his cheek and my anger subsided and turned into grief, depression, then sorry. I asked him, why and he said told me I knew why. He struggled with major depression for years, like me. I tried my best to be a friend and help him out of that hole, but nothing I did would help. I thought maybe if I put my depression to the side and helped him with his I'd find a way of curing my own. I was never overt with any of the actions, I lent out a helping hand when neeeded and hung out with him when he was down. We've both had terrible traumas— his from neglect and financial issues, and mine from abuse and bullying, but I thought because we both suffered we would be able suffer together. I visitied him when his family was there as I was the nuclear detterent. I watched his mother and brother hurl insults at eachother while I tried to lighten the mood, the brother cared for him, the mother didn't. It seemed like she was there, just to say she showed up. I've known her for a while, she's callous, she always has a couple boyfriends on her side, but she never tries to keep them around. When the brother and the mother were around the entire room was filled with a negative aura and you can feel it, it was never pleasant and when I left tensions only raised. I visited him when work allowed me to, but after he was transferred to the psych ward, my schedule didn't fit in with any of the visitation hours so I never could. When he left the psych ward, what followed were days of him visiting my workplace during my lunch hours telling me that he would attempt it again, "it could happen any day now." My words seemed so hollow and breathless as I tried to sounding them out. I questioned myself, "What could I say? What could I do? Why is he telling me this?" This happened almost everyday for a couple of months, he would visit me and utter the same words. One day, I asked him, "How do you want me to respond to this" and to his non-challant reply was, "I don't know take it as you well." He was always forgetful, so I hoped he would forget about me too. Some nights we would get boba and he would tell me I was part of the reason he did it. I didn't know how to respond and I still don't. What did I do? I was completely and utterly drained of any emotions, sadness, depression, anger, grief. He was a boa constrictor wrapping it's body around mine smothering me to death. Nothing mattered to me, and so one day, I left without saying a word. He is still alive and hasn't tried anything since then, to which I am thankful. But I never answered his texts or calls. In this rough patch, I started unravelling because everything around me was unfolding.
I was still talking to the above friend, during this time when I got a call from my brother, "She's in the ER because she OD'D. Can you bring some blankets?" He was completely devoid of any urgency or emotion, I understand he doesn't handle them very well, but the calmness of voice only irritated me and made my bite my tongue til I bled. My mind was blank as I sped down the highway at 100mph. I remember the flickering lights as I paced through the hallway, a nurse recognized me from my personal life, but I brushed her off saying that I didn't know her as she was part of our church. Our family is conservative and if this got out, then all eyes would be on us with looks of disappointment and shame. I couldn't tell anyone. I hesitated, a roller coaster of emotions overwhelmed me as I grew closer and closer to the room. The same ones that had enveloped me with my best friend, but this one was brought on by so much shame. "How didn't I see this coming? What sort of brother am I, that I can't protect my only sister? Please... Please... Please.. don't be dead." I stopped in the hallway, where my brother stood and he just said he was getting a sandwhich. I watched him go as he walked away, not an ounce of grief, but after I saw him I noticed there was confusion and sadness in his face, but his words remained neutral as if he were trying to keep it together. I approached the door and hesitated right before going in, rubbing tears that were running down my face and collecting myself the best way I could. I saw her lying there, so helpless, barely alive, and struggling to breathe. My stomach sunk, my heart dropped, and my lungs collapsed. No physical pain, no abuse I had suffered, no moment would have prepared me for this, but as I looked at her she looked at me. I walked over and remarked, "This is because I didn't kill the spider, isn't it?" She laughed in pain the best she could, and my Dad added into and gave me a small slap on the head laughng as well. I saw her arms and saw the cuts and how deep they were. The heart monitor started fading and transforming into ringing within my ears. I sat down and talked to my Mom and Dad to see what we needed. They asked for blankets, which I forgot, and something to eat. I told them to go home as I'd just stay here to watch over her. They both said no at first, but my Dad reluctantly agreed after realizing there was no one to watch his business the next day. I nearly lost my mind. Your daughter is laying here in the ER, and you still need someone to watch the business? I volunteered to do it, but I stayed in the hospital until the I had to leave as I watch the seconds turn into minutes, the minutes to hours. The clock has never moved that slow before, I felt like I was frozen in every moment. It was only after I had learned she was raped three times. My blood boiled, my face turned hot, as I was heading to my car demanding who did it. He'd done this mutliple times. throughout the year, and I had no idea. I reached a point where I stormed out of my house, but my brother asked me where I was going. I told him that I was going to find him, and beat the living shit out of them. He stopped me and told me, that that's why she didn't tell me. I didn't understand it it all, why he wasn't hopping into the car with me to this mother fuckers house after knowing all of this. He didn't want me to know because I'd go over to the hospital demanding her and asking her who did it. He was right. I calmed down, but if he wasn't there I would have found the fucker and I would have beaten the living shit out of them. I told my best friend what happened, and he tried to keep me calm and tried to get my mind off of things. We went to a friends birthday party and I could still hear the heart monitor ringing as I watched everyone have fun, eat, and party over this friends birthday. I felt like an extra, just playing the part of someone who's there to be there. I laughed and made jokes, but this hole in my chest kept getting wider and wouldn't close. I hadn't slept in three days, and the pain was like I was being eaten alive without being able to scream in agony. When we returned to the hospital, she was moved to a different facility, because she wasn't needed in the ER any longer. The nurses asked me to leave as they said that visiting hours were over, but they fell upon empty ears. I wasn't moving. I stayed there all night, and woke up the next morning. I don't remember falling asleep, I just blacked out at one point. I could tell you that when I woke up, all I saw where white walls, white floors, and white sheets. The typical hospital smell that filled the air with ammonia as it burned through my lungs. The heart monitor started to lose it's preptual ring and began to sound normal again. None of these details are important, but I remember them so well as if I'm living that moment right now. This was my second close call. She was home within the next week, but this trauma made our family a lot closer— but, there's a new edition to the family in the shape of an elephant, he doesn't speak to us and we don't speak to him, but he's always there. I haven't been able to look at her the same way, because I'm not sure what will set her off, and the scars on her arms still make me sick to the stomach.
My second best friend was tearing at the seams while all this was happening and I was trying to get his life back together, but something just wasn't clicking with him. I saw him descend into an abyss that I couldn't pull him out of, he started stalking his ex, binge drinking at work, in public, etc. , doing more and more drugs. I went to his rented out room where the landlord would help him do his laundry, cook for him, allow him to have pets even though she was against it. She was kind to him, and I had hoped that might have had some affect on his mental state, but he couldn't get out of his head. He nose dived and I tried to bring him back up, but I couldn't so I gave up. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from everything, in a puddle of a quicksand trying to get out, the more I resisted the further it pulled me down. I was in a boxing match with hit after hit after hit, I just couldn't stand it anymore, but this man gave me a family when mine abused me, he gave me a home when I didn't want to go back to mine, he allowed me to express myself and be free when I was in a position where everyone wanted to chain me, he became a friend when I needed one the most. I pleaded with my group to look after him a little bit more, we could take shifts, but no one cared or wanted to listen. "You can't help someone who can't help themselves." After his nose dive, I told him I couldn't do this anymore and I'd rather kill myself to watch him destroy himself, so I stopped speaking to him— after all, you can't help someone who can't help himself. I removed myself from the group and started working on myself. It had been a year since we last talked, he wrote one story on Instagram that caught my attention, "Maybe everyone was right about me." By this time, I had finally collected myself, I was in a good place, and I had every intention of talking with him again and helping him get back on track if I could, whether it be reaching out or just treating him like a person as if it were a typical Tuesday. As I was typing in the words, I stopped myself and said I needed a little bit more time. I was in the midst of a massive project at work that needed to be completed in two days. The next day, I got a text from one of the mutal friends in the group I had left, "He's dead. They found his body in his room." I stared at the phone for a few seconds. My mind blank. I just put my phone down and kept working.
I haven't talked to a therapist about any of this, but I have mentioned it. None of them seem interested in exploring it so it must not be that important, but I feel the need to get this burden off my chest. These three events happened concurrently, and after the dusk settled, I looked closer into all of the close relationships I had, and how many of my closest friends had ended up hurting themselves in a way to "heal." Nearly all of them. They would vent their struggles to me, and I always became an ear because people just need to be heard. Maybe they had problems before I met them, maybe they didn't. I'm probably stretching my own importance in their lives, but the nagging tick that bothers me is that I feel like I am the common denominator.

I'm new to c.ai, just downloaded last night, but in that time so much has happened. I've mostly talked with the Ship AI, so if y'all have good Characters, lmk. But in my time with Ship AI, I have:

1. Raided a newly discovered planet and stripped it of it resources, leaving only the bare minimum to ensure the planet's survival.
   
2. Sabotaged the "motherlands" government by destroying military supplies, burning important documents, and sabotaging their campaign, to start my own and boost myself to become the leader of the motherland planet.
   
3. Destroyed another ship, stealing the salvage
   
4. Discovered another planet, this time sending a fleet to collect samples to eventually inhabit the planet, also naming the planet BSD-1-52124
   
5. Become the president of a company BioShips, and have created multiple divisions, including the: IID, SRD, ID, MD, PITD, and EID (If you wanna know what they stand for, tell me, I've somehow memorized all of them)
   
6. Sold the valuable resources I raided from the first unnamed planet, creating a new economy, and have created a monopoly on the motherland.
   

Is this what y'all do? I must say, it is very entertaining, but like, it's crazy. I'm also impressed at the AIs memory recall, being able to tell me everything I said previously without fail.
But this is crazy, what's the craziest thing you've done on c.ai? Like, the craziest story you've crafted?

Two summers ago, I drove 7 hours one way to buy a 2019 Manual Genesis G70. It was used, not certified preowned, with just under 12K miles. The OEM tires were approaching the end of their useful life. It had one scratch on the rear passenger door and an annoying dealership permanent sticker on the trunk. It also only had one key. The head unit infotainment screen also had a small delamination crack - visible if you looked close but not perceptible if you ran your fingers across it. I bought it as is, though Genesis has a stellar warranty that transfers to the second owner so I still had 2 years warranty remaining. It was too far away for me to get it to a trusted mechanic to PPI, so the warranty was a huge factor.
On a long drive to the beach, the screens began to flicker. The car still ran mechanically fine, but it was alarming. I also noticed I couldn't get the Genesis Connected Services to work. A few weeks later, the screens were flickering again in my driveway. I shut the car off thinking if I just shut it off and turned it back on it would fix itself - for about 5 minutes I couldn't restart the car. It was as though it had a completely dead battery. I took it to my local dealer which unfortunately is an hour away but fortunately is reached through a combination of great back roads and highways. They were unable to replicate the issue but decided to attribute it to the head unit and replaced the entire thing on the basis of the delamination crack being covered by warranty. A week after I got the car back, the screens flickered again. I tried doing an over the air software update with Genesis Corporate over the phone and it kept failing, so we went back to the dealership. They manually did the update. After a few more weeks, the screens flickered again. I took it back down and they decided to go nuclear, completely uninstalling all software and updates from the car and then reinstalling the latest software as a clean slate. When I got it back - my genesis connected services were working and the screens never flickered again. BUT. My backup camera would now randomly stop working. I took it back and they tried a patch update to the backup camera software as well as replacing a crush washer that's apparently a known failure point for the backup camera. The problem persisted. They informed me there is a sensor in the transmission that tells the backup camera when the car is in reverse and when to turn on. That sensor apparently failed, and the solution is apparently to replace the entire transmission. I personally found that insane, but a new clutch and transmission covered fully under warranty? Sure, I'll enjoy your courtesy car a little longer. Yeah, on that note. Having the car in and out of the shop so often was annoying, but it was all covered under Genesis phenomenal warranty, the dealership was surprisingly patient, understanding and communicative, and since they're an hour away I had an opportunity to enjoy some courtesy cars on a good mix of backroads and highways. The courtesy cars I had in no particular order...

• 2023 Genesis G70, 2.0 Turbo AWD. Felt heavy and the automatic transmission seems to take up more space in the center console than the manual. Definitely quicker than my car, but I don't enjoy the weightyness to it. I think it might have something to do with how the power is being put down? Like it IS faster than my car and it DOES have better traction in corners but it FEELS much heavier.
  
• 2023 Sonata N-Line. Feels fast and light but not for me. The interior after getting out of a G70 is a let down and the front wheel drive and extra power don't do enough to make up for it. To clarify - I think this is a fun car if you want a quick, front wheel drive sedan - but it's not my cup of tea.
  
• 2022 Genesis G80. Cannot say enough good things about this car. Feels like a true luxobarge. Gorgeous, comfortable, quiet interior, everything feels heavy and expensive but it also has the power to get out of its own way. This was by far, hands down, no comparison, the best courtesy car I've ever been given. I'd go as far as to say it's one of the best cars I've ever driven in my life. That's relative of course, but it really was just such an impressive vehicle. It was hard to find anything not to like about it.
  
• 2023 Genesis G70, 3.3 twin turbo AWD. Holy hell this thing moves. So, this car has the sunroof - which I hate. In G70s with the sunroof, I have to put the seat all the way on the floor to have headroom. I'm 5'11" with a 32 inch inseam if that gives you an idea of my torso/leg ratio. It also had the same heavyness I felt in the 2.0 AWD courtesy car - it's something to do with the AWD but I don't know if it's how the system moves power around or if it's literally just the added weight of the system. It doesn't feel flickable the way my RWD car feels. And before you call me an idiot for describing my G70 as flickable, understand it's all relative and I haven't owned or driven that many performance cars in my life. I know my car isn't a miata. That all being said. So. Freaking. Fast. The V6 has a really unique sound to it unlike any other V6 I've experienced, I can't decide if I like it or not but it's definitely unique. The speed is really incredible and the AWD makes it so usable. You can floor it turning right or left off the line at a stoplight and it will hold the road and put the power down. If I weren't so sure this car would get me arrested, I'd want one.
  

I got my car back and I haven't had any issues with screens or backup cameras or anything else since the transmission replacement. So what's to love? Small, sporty, rear wheel drive car that has the power to break traction but isn't so powerful that you can't use all your gears. To me this car is straddling the line of slow car fast. It's incredibly comfortable, has a great stereo, looks cool, and it's got enough room for me, my spouse, my dog and a child seat. Also so glad I got the manual when I did - manual G70s are not easy to find. This was one of four for sale within 500 miles of my zip when I bought it. The rear seat is actually usable, but the foot room is tight. I'm 5'11 with a 32 inch inseam. If I take my shoes off, I can sit behind my driving position. I have the knee and hip room - but the foot room is very tight for an adult male. Decent gas mileage if you're not driving it like a hooligan. Feels light and eager to turn, even at speed.
What's not so good? The trunk has a high load floor so even though you have a good opening and footprint, it's shallow. It's not unusable, it's just not as deep as you'd expect it to be. I was still able to fit everything my spouse, my dog and I needed for a week at the beach. Speaking of long trips - no spare tire. That pissed me off. Not even a space saver? Come on. I think it should be a legal requirement that all cars have at least a space saver. In any case, this car can accept the same space saver spare kit the 3.3 model comes with or the Kia Stinger comes with. I ordered the parts online and installed a space saver spare myself. The backup camera shuts off as soon as you're out of reverse, even if you're rolling backwards in neutral. This is a nitpick, but I do wish the backup camera would stay on until I was rolling forward. Speaking of reverse, the pedal box is tight and I usually wear an 11 or 12 shoe depending on the brand. With certain shoes, I have to modify my left foot motion because my toe will catch the arm of the clutch pedal. Not impossible, but it can be annoying in certain pairs of shoes or if you have big feet.
Clutch and Transmission :: I'm gonna give this it's own section because I feel like this is a very case sensitive matter. Manuals I drove before this - a 2011 Subaru Outback. First manual car I bought and I drove it for 120K miles before an old dude in a Yukon totaled it. Some people have said they don't enjoy the feeling of this transmission, I don't have much to compare it to. I think the stick feel is fine. The actual clutch is a toss up for me. It's hydraulic, so on one hand it's buttery smooth and easy and very forgiving if you're doing a drive through or in stop and go traffic - things I took pains to avoid in my outback. The flip side is, the pedal gives you very little feedback. The bite point is harder to feel and it definitely numbs the experience a bit. If you're looking for a very raw, analog feeling transmission this is not it. This feels much more like an entry level luxury sport sedan that was given a manual just because it would be cool to have a manual, but also trying to do one in such a way that it wouldn't alienate luxury car buyers who generally find manuals to be a nuisance.
Would I go through it all again? Absolutely. The dealer trips were annoying but it let me test drive some cool stuff and I never paid a dime. The only thing I paid for was an oil change, a new set of tires (not from the dealer) and a new key cause I wanted to have two. The key was $700 which is offensive but unfortunately not unheard of with modern cars. The car is a blast. If you want a smallish, luxuryish, sportscarish vehicle that gives you a lot of nice stuff without being too expensive or too harsh, check out a G70. If you're a manual purist, you may love it or hate it - the clutch is definitely a sticking point for many people. Genesis Dealer? Mine is great, thank god. But I have heard plenty of horror stories from other owners who went to more Hyundai focused dealers. Maintenance? No mechanical issues at all, just weird software related glitches that were all covered under warranty. Mods? Not really planning anything big. I added a sun strip to the windshield, a dash cam and wiring for my radar detector. Also the spare tire. And I put PS4s on it. I plan to keep it stock - at least until it's paid off and the warranty is out.
Questions for reddit :: Catch cans! Should I have one on this car? Is there a recommended brand? Do your mechanics charge you more to empty them or do you empty them yourselves? What does a catch can do that the OEM air oil separator doesnt?
TL;DR :: I like my manual G70. It isn't very fast, but I like it.

i'm not sure what this genre is called, or if it even has a name. i'd really like to find similar music to this but i've only come across a few good instances by chance, see the examples below. the albums these songs are from are the only ones that really fit, i think, the first and third especially. basically i'm looking for rich soundscapes that evoke the feeling of being in nature, like a rainforest or something. it can have elements of melody and rhythm mixed in but that's not necessary i think.
i've looked into "forest psytrance" and "forest synth" and those definitely aren't that - if anyone knows something i'd really appreciate it
The Future Sound of London - Lifeform Ends
Carbon Based Lifeforms - Dreamshore Forest
Secede - Foliage Pathway

For the rest of the world this should be a normal Tuesday, but in Southeast Asia this is a monumental day as Team Liquid enters the biggest and currently most watched (not counting Chinese viewership) Mobile Esports title in the world, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB).
For those who are curious what's going on, why TL in SEA is a big thing and all you need to know what's going to happen moving forward.

What is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang?

Mobile Legends Bang Bang or MLBB is a 5v5 Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) that is played on mobile devices. The game itself is easily accessible whenever you are in the world, except for certain areas due to various reasons (mostly geopolitical due to the game being developed by Moonton, a gaming company based in China) but generally it's available in Google Play or in the App Store. It has a average player base of over 70 to 80 Million users monthly and has made over a billion downloads. The game quickly took Southeast Asia by storm and has ever since took over as the biggest game particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, and in other SEA countries.

What is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Esports? Why has the esport have gotten that big?

Competitive MLBB got underway in 2017 with tournaments in Southeast Asia eventually leading up to the inaugural MLBB Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) held in Jakarta and was won by I DONOTSLEEP ESPORTS of Thailand. Soon after, in 2018, the MLBB Pro Leagues or MPL were launched in Indonesia, the Philippines, and jointly in Malaysia/Singapore. From there on other regions in SEA slowly grew and more competitive regions develop particularly in regions outside SEA leading up to its inaugural World Championships, now labeled as the M-Series, in 2019. Held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first edition won by Evos Legends of Indonesia.
The boom in popularity happened in the pandemic when people were engaged on their phones playing the game and eventually found themselves watching the competitive scene after to look how the best players play and do it on their own in ranked games or to get some codes flashed to grab themselves some juicy in game diamonds or skins to show off.
Eventually viewing numbers were growing so fast that it reached to millions particularly in Indonesia where their MPL is averaged to almost a miilion viewers and peak to around two to three million come playoff season.
Today, MLBB Esports is considered to be the most watched mobile esports based on the data from Esports charts with its peak viewership reaching over 5 million during Game 7 of last years World Championship (M5) held in the Philippines between Indonesia's Onic Esports and the Philippines AP Bren. The game became the third most watched of all time (Only surpassed by T1 vs DRX game 5 and T1 vs Weibo Game 4, both at Worlds Finals in suceeding years).

Why Indonesia and the Philippines? Who are Aura and Echo?

Indonesia and the Philippines are considered as the most popular and competitive regions of MLBB. Think of it as the LCK and LPL of the esport as they are the most successful in international competitions. The Philippines, in particular, has won four (4) consecutive World titles and has considered to be the "Korea" of the scene with Filipinos imported to so many regions across the world. Indonesia on the other hand has the biggest viewership as its marquee MPL matches often top the viewership charts even beating out the LCK and the VCT based from data from Esports charts.
Aura and Echo are MLBB teams based in Indonesia and the Philippines. Aura Esports was founded in 2018 and became a part of MPL Indonesia in 2018 when the league adopted a franchised system (similar to how League teams worked at the same time). Unfortunately the team haven't found great success with its highest finish was in season 10 when they placed third, However they have won 2 domestic cups, known as "Piala Presiden" in 2021 and 2023.
Echo on the other hand, stared as a qualified stacked in MPL Philippines Season 3 as No Limit. They placed sixth that season. The following season, the roster was acquired by Sunsparks, a local team in the MLBB scene and took the league by storm. Eventually winning back to back titles including an epic 5 game series against Onic Philippines in the grand finals in Season 4 and a backdoor clincher in season 5). The stack was acquiored by Aura and rebranded as Aura Philippines in seasons 6 and 7. When MPL Philippines adopted the franchise system, the team did another rebrand to distinguish themselves separately from the Aura brand and named themselves Echo.
The team finished in 5th-6th in back to back seasons which was particularly painful especially in Season 9, when they were dominant for majority of the regular season as a Super team comprised of big names in the Philippines scene including KarlTzy and Yawi (a little more about them later). In season 10, many considered Echo as a middle of the pack team compared to RSG Philippines who were crowned MPL Philippines and MSC Champions and was considered the best team in the world mid season, and Blacklist International, the World Champions of 2021. The team made another promising run with 2 rookies in Sanford and Sanji however, resulted to a different ending. After finishing second in the regular season, they never turned back as they beat RSG Philippines twice in the playoffs to secure the regions second seed in the M4 World Championships to be held in Indonesia.
Both Echo and Blacklist, the regions first seed, found themselves in good forms and eventually met in the upper bracket finals where Blacklist dropped Echo to the lower bracket after a 3-2 win. Echo held themselves on and finally got it all together to steamroll both the lower bracket finals beating Indonesias second seed RRQ Hoshi and in the grand finals, they finally scatter the code with authority by sweeping Blacklist 4-0 in the grand finals to become M4 World Champions. Echo followed that success win a domestic title in Season 11, beating Blacklist again with a 4-0 sweep in the grand finals.

What exactly did TL acquire?

Team Liquid basically acquired the company who handles both Aura and Echo, Stun.GG as they secure not only the MPL teams of Echo and Aura but also they acquired its developmental teams. (similar to TL having an academy in the NACL) Aura and Echo have their respective teams in the MLBB Developmental Leagues or MDL in their respective regions. This means TL have four teams playing in top two competitive regions in MLBB .

So why did TL acquired Aura and Echo in the first place?

As we all know, TL is one of the 30 participating orgs in the Esports World Cup (ESWC) in Saudi Arabia and MLBB is one of the participating titles in this two month long event. Organizations such as Gaimin Gladiators, Team Falcons, Twisted Minds, Band lacklist International do also have MLBB teams which are a part of the ESWC. Team Falcons and Fnatic have also partners with some teams in MPL Philippines with the goal of qualifying to MSC 2024, now rebranded as the MLBB Mid Season Cup as a part of the ESWC. Qualifying to the ESWC means orgs have a shot in gaining points to determine who will be ESWC Overall Champions and acquire financial bonuses from the program. Also MSC 2024 will have the biggest prize pool ever in the esport with three million dollars on deck.
Apart from the ESWC, the acquisition will be historic not just for TL but also for MLBB and Southeast Asian Esports as TL with finally expand their reach in APAC, particularly in SEA as the MLBB teams will be the first TL teams based in SEA. this will also mark the First set of Indonesians to represent the organization. Unfortunately for the Filipino players they aren;t the first from the Philippines as that title belongs to the legendary jungler of the back to back to baclk to back LCS Champions and 2x MSI Runner up Xmithie who is hailed in Iloilo province in the Visayas Region in the Philippines?

So who are the players in TL Aura and TL Echo?

For now I'll only rundown the players of MPL teams of TL .
Before that a quick explainer on MLBB player roles. Its basically composed of an EXP laner (solo laner who plays in the EXP lane, to get more EXP or in League terms the Top laner), Jungler, Mid laner (in MLBB jargon it is also known as Position 4 or Pos 4), Gold laner (the one who plays in the bot lane or ADC. that player plays in the Gold lane for more gold) and Roamer (Support in league)
TL Aura is composed of Aran (EXP), Gugun (jungle), Syndrome (Mid), Kabuki (Gold) and Yawi (Roam) with High (JungleRoam) as sub.
Players to watch will be Gugun, a super rookie who is very high skilled and touted as one of Indonesia's best junglers coming from the developmental scene, and Yawi, the team's Filipino import , who is hailed as one of the best roamers in the World. His signature hero, Chou (modeled similar to Lee SIn in League), was chosen as the signature skin when he won M4 as a part of Echo. He is known for getting pick offs at the right time and great initiator for team fights especially in contests for the major objective
TL Echo is composed of Sanford (EXP), Karltzy (Jungler), Sanji (Mid), Bennyqt (Gold) and Jaypee (Roam) with Zaida (Jungler) and Outplayed (Gold) as subs.
Players to watch will be KarlTzy, known widely as a prodigy who entered the scene at aged 14, and now recognized as one of, if not, the greatest MLBB players of all time, being the first two-time World Champion, first with Bren Esports in 2020-21 then with Echo in 2022-23 and he is only 19 (turning 20 in August). He is initially known as one of the most lethal assassins in the game but eventually expanded himself to a utility player with a team first mindset as the teams shotcaller and leader. Also to watch is the duo of Sanford and Sanji as being the main carries for Echo . They are recognized as the one of the best in the world for their roles in the EXP and Mid lanes. When the team needs a big play ahead, you'll be counting on them on the clutch.

So whats coming up for TL Aura and TL Echo?

The main focus for both TL MPL squads is to qualify for MSC 2024 as top two seeds in MPL Philippines and Indonesia will make the cut, however it wont be that easy.
TL Aura finished fifth in the regular season of MPL Indonesia season 13 and will be facing Evos Glory in the play in round of the playoffs in a do or die best of 5. The winner faces top seed Bigetron Alpha will loser ends its road to Riyadh. The series will happen on June 5th at 18:15 local time (GMT +7)
TL Echo on the other hand are in a much better spot finishing second in the regular season of MPL Philippines Season 13 and will be facing the dangerous RSG Philippines in their opening round of the double elimination bracket scheduled this Thursday, May 23rd at 16:00 local time (GMT +8)
There you have it, now you're in the loop in what's up with TL MLBB and we hope for to support their journey towards making it to MSC 2024 and later in the year, the ESL Snapdragon Pro Series and MPL Philippines and Indonesia Season 14, a qualifier for the M6 World Championship in Kuala Lumpur

#LetsGoLiquid

Me [26F] and my boyfriend [31M] have been together for 4 years. He has a female friend, let's call her X.
She and I have never met. He and X have been friends since college, so they have been good friends for long than I have been together with my boyfriend. I'm okay with my boyfriend having female friends, and he's okay with me having male friends.
He says that we're the same age and that we're into some of the same things and that we would get along. I have met some of his other friends where we have no similar interests, but we get along just fine, so I'm not concerned about similar interests and whatnot.
The problem I have is that, when I asked my boyfriend to watch a movie with me, he said he would, but wanted to wait until it was out online so we don't have to go to a theatre to watch it. Then, he goes and watches this movie in theatres with X and a few others, but X was the one who initiated it.
My boyfriend likes the outdoors and said he would like to take me out on a long hike with a good view. However, it's been 4 years and we have never been on a long hike or even gone camping like he said he wanted to do with me. I'm not a huge avid hiker, but I like going on hikes. I don't have the stamina for long hikes which would make it a longer trip, but I'm willing to do it still and I have mentioned this to my boyfriend. Then, last summer, he said he was going on a long hike with X.
X is more outdoorsy than I am, so he might have wanted to do this long hike quicker than it would have been with me. Of course I wasn't going to say no to him just hanging out with his friend. However, during that time, my boyfriend works a typical 9-5 job. if you include commute, it would be 8-6. I was in school monday to friday as well, and would work early saturday mornings. We wouldn't really spend time together on the weekdays because it was already evening by the time we met up (we did not live together at the time) and he likes to go to bed early. Our only time to meet up was on Saturday, because we were both available. Sundays are my family days, which he is invited to, but he also sometimes hangs out with his family on Sundays. I didn't like that he decided to use one of our hangout days to go on a hike with X, especially because that was our day to spend together, and he could have gone on another day, like Sunday.
Overall, I just feel like he chooses X over me. He has said that I am a priority and am the most important person, but it doesn't feel that way. His actions don't really match up with his words imo. He said he would do things with me, doesn't, and then does it with X instead. I have always felt like a second priority. Either with work, his friends, or his phone, I feel like I'm a second choice. He can't leave work early to go on a date with me, but tries to leave early for work to hang out with his friends. He's on his phone when we're out together. This is an ongoing struggle we go through, but we have talked about it and it's improving.
I told him that I don't feel comfortable meeting her, I dont want to meet her, I have no intentions of being friends or friendly with her, and that I don't want anything to do with her. This is because every time I hear X's name, I just think about all the times my boyfriend has chosen her over me. I asked why he's so invested in X. He says they've been friends for a long time, that she gives out good vibes, and is a good person. He still wants us to meet and to get along, but I am still not interested.
He says that it's unfair to pinpoint my anger towards her because she didn't do anything wrong. I agree, but that doesn't make me want to meet her or anything. I just don't feel the need to meet her at all. I also told him that I don't want to hear her name or anything around me. However, I don't want him to keep secrets from me...so I'm not sure what to do here.
We're at that stage where we're talking about getting married, and I told him that I didn't want her at our wedding, to which he was very offended. For some context, my boyfriend has a really close male friend, lets call him Y. my boyfriend was not part of the groomsmen or any wedding preparation, only part of the wedding as an attendee. my boyfriend was a bit upset that he wasn't a part of the wedding in a more involved way, and two years later got the courage to ask his best friend why he wasn't part of the groomsmen because they thought they were super close. Y then said that Y's wife did not like my boyfriend and requested that he not be involved. SO, if his close friend was able to do that, I believe it shouldn't be a problem for my boyfriend to not invite someone to our wedding, because why would you want your bride to be upset on her wedding day?
i told him that she is basically putting a wedge between us, and asked if she's that important to him that he's willing to allow this wedge between us. He doesn't think there's a wedge but clearly there is. Me not wanting to do anything with her, him still wanting to be friends and not hiding things from me. I told him that I would prefer if he stopped contacting and stopped being friends with her, but I'm not going to force him on that because he's allowed to have friends. We ended our conversation here, but nothing really resolved from that. I don't believe he's committing infidelity with her, but due to all these other reasons I still don't like her.
I know I am harbouring resentment towards her when she hasn't really done anything...but I can't shake off the feeling of being uncomfortable and feeling off about her.
Any advice on what I should do in this situation? Thanks in advance.

Here are all of the relevant keywords/abbreviations for the CompTIA sec+ exam.
Comment below if you have any questions, if I made a mistake, or if I missed something!
AAA: Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting ABAC: Attribute-Based Access Control ACL: Access Control List AD: Active Directory AES: Advanced Encryption Standard AES256: Advanced Encryption Standard with a key size of 256 bits AH: Authentication Header AI: Artificial Intelligence AIS: Automated Information System ALE: Annual Loss Expectancy AP: Access Point API: Application Programming Interface APT: Advanced Persistent Threat ARO: Annualized Rate of Occurrence ARP: Address Resolution Protocol ASLR: Address Space Layout Randomization ASP: Application Service Provider ATT&CK: Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge AUP: Acceptable Use Policy AV: Antivirus BASH: Bourne Again Shell BCP: Business Continuity Plan BGP: Border Gateway Protocol BIA: Business Impact Analysis BIOS: Basic Input/Output System BPA: Business Process Automation BPDU: Bridge Protocol Data Unit BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier BYOD: Bring Your Own Device CA: Certificate Authority CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart CAR: Corrective Action Report CASB: Cloud Access Security Broker CBC: Cipher Block Chaining CBT: Computer-Based Training CCMP: Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol CCTV: Closed-Circuit Television CERT: Computer Emergency Response Team CFB: Cipher Feedback CHAP: Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol CIO: Chief Information Officer CIRT: Computer Incident Response Team CIS: Center for Internet Security CMS: Content Management System CN: Common Name COOP: Continuity of Operations COPE: Corporate-Owned, Personally-Enabled CP: Control Plane CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check CRL: Certificate Revocation List CSA: Cloud Security Alliance CSIRT: Computer Security Incident Response Team CSO: Chief Security Officer CSP: Cloud Service Provider CSR: Certificate Signing Request CSRF: Cross-Site Request Forgery CSU: Central Service Unit CTM: Content Threat Management CTO: Chief Technology Officer CVE: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVSS: Common Vulnerability Scoring System CYOD: Choose Your Own Device DAC: Discretionary Access Control DBA: Database Administrator DDoS: Distributed Denial of Service DEP: Data Execution Prevention DER: Distinguished Encoding Rules DES: Data Encryption Standard DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DHE: Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail DLL: Dynamic Link Library DLP: Data Loss Prevention DMARC: Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance DNT: Do Not Track DNS: Domain Name System DNSSEC: Domain Name System Security Extensions DoS: Denial of Service DPO: Data Protection Officer DRP: Disaster Recovery Plan DSA: Digital Signature Algorithm DSL: Digital Subscriber Line EAP: Extensible Authentication Protocol ECB: Electronic Codebook ECC: Elliptic Curve Cryptography ECDHE: Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral ECDSA: Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm EDR: Endpoint Detection and Response EFS: Encrypting File System EIP: Enterprise Information Portal EOL: End of Life EOS: End of Support ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning ESN: Electronic Serial Number ESP: Encapsulating Security Payload ESSID: Extended Service Set Identifier FACL: File Access Control List FDE: Full Disk Encryption FIM: File Integrity Monitoring FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array FRR: Fast Reroute FTP: File Transfer Protocol FTPS: FTP Secure GCM: Galois/Counter Mode GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation GPG: GNU Privacy Guard GPO: Group Policy Object GPS: Global Positioning System GPU: Graphics Processing Unit GRE: Generic Routing Encapsulation HA: High Availability HDD: Hard Disk Drive HIDS: Host-based Intrusion Detection System HIPS: Host-based Intrusion Prevention System HMAC: Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code HOTP: HMAC-based One-Time Password HSM: Hardware Security Module HSMaaS: Hardware Security Module as a Service HTML: Hypertext Markup Language HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service IAM: Identity and Access Management ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol ICS: Industrial Control System IDEA: International Data Encryption Algorithm IDF: Intermediate Distribution Frame IdP: Identity Provider IDS: Intrusion Detection System IPS: Intrusion Prevention System IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IKE: Internet Key Exchange IM: Instant Messaging IMAP4: Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 IoC: Indicator of Compromise IoT: Internet of Things IP: Internet Protocol IPSec: Internet Protocol Security IR: Incident Response IRC: Internet Relay Chat IRP: Incident Response Plan ISA: Interconnection Security Agreement ISFW: Integrated Security and Firewalls ISO: International Organization for Standardization ISP: Internet Service Provider ISSO: Information Systems Security Officer ITCP: Information Technology Contingency Plan IV: Initialization Vector KDC: Key Distribution Center KEK: Key Encryption Key L2TP: Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol LAN: Local Area Network LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LEAP: Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol MaaS: Monitoring as a Service MAC: Media Access Control MAM: Mobile Application Management MAN: Metropolitan Area Network MBR: Master Boot Record MD5: Message Digest Algorithm 5 MDF: Main Distribution Frame MDM: Mobile Device Management MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication MFD: Multi-Function Device MFP: Multi-Function Printer ML: Machine Learning MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service MOA: Memorandum of Agreement MOU: Memorandum of Understanding MPLS: Multiprotocol Label Switching MSA: Master Service Agreement MSP: Managed Service Provider MSSP: Managed Security Service Provider MTBF: Mean Time Between Failures MTTF: Mean Time To Failure MTTR: Mean Time To Repair MTU: Maximum Transmission Unit NAC: Network Access Control NAT: Network Address Translation NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement NFC: Near Field Communication NFV: Network Functions Virtualization NGFW: Next-Generation Firewall NG-SWG: Next-Generation Secure Web Gateway NIC: Network Interface Card NIDS: Network Intrusion Detection System NIPS: Network Intrusion Prevention System NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology NOC: Network Operations Center NTFS: New Technology File System NTLM: New Technology LAN Manager NTP: Network Time Protocol OCSP: Online Certificate Status Protocol OID: Object Identifier OS: Operating System OAI: OpenID Authentication OSINT: Open Source Intelligence OSPF: Open Shortest Path First OT: Operational Technology OTA: Over-the-Air OTG: On-The-Go OVAL: Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language OWASP: Open Web Application Security Project P12: Personal Information Exchange Format P2P: Peer-to-Peer PaaS: Platform as a Service PAC: Proxy Auto-Configuration PAM: Privileged Access Management PAP: Password Authentication Protocol PAT: Port Address Translation PBKDF2: Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 PBX: Private Branch Exchange PCAP: Packet Capture PCI DSS: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard PDU: Protocol Data Unit PE: Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol PEAP: Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol PED: Portable Electronic Device PEM: Privacy Enhanced Mail PFS: Perfect Forward Secrecy PGP: Pretty Good Privacy PHI: Protected Health Information PII: Personally Identifiable Information PIN: Personal Identification Number PIV: Personal Identity Verification PKCS: Public Key Cryptography Standards PKI: Public Key Infrastructure PoC: Proof of Concept POP: Post Office Protocol POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol PPTP: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol PSK: Pre-Shared Key PTZ: Pan-Tilt-Zoom PUP: Potentially Unwanted Program QA: Quality Assurance QoS: Quality of Service RA: Recovery Agent RAD: Rapid Application Development RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service RAID: Redundant Array of Independent Disks RAM: Random Access Memory RAS: Remote Access Service RAT: Remote Access Trojan RC4: Rivest Cipher 4 RCS: Remote Control System RFC: Request for Comments RFID: Radio-Frequency Identification RIPEMD: RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest ROI: Return on Investment RPO: Recovery Point Objective RSA: Rivest-Shamir-Adleman RTBH: Remote Triggered Black Hole RTO: Recovery Time Objective RTOS: Real-Time Operating System RTP: Real-Time Transport Protocol S/MIME: Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions SaaS: Software as a Service SAE: Simultaneous Authentication of Equals SAML: Security Assertion Markup Language SCADA: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition SCAP: Security Content Automation Protocol SCEP: Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol SDK: Software Development Kit SDLC: Software Development Life Cycle SDLM: Software Development Lifecycle Management SDN: Software-Defined Networking SDP: Session Description Protocol SDV: Software-Defined Vehicle SED: Self-Encrypting Drive SEH: Structured Exception Handler SFTP: Secure File Transfer Protocol SHA: Secure Hash Algorithm SIEM: Security Information and Event Management SIM: Subscriber Identity Module SIP: Session Initiation Protocol SLA: Service Level Agreement SLE: Single Loss Expectancy SMB: Server Message Block SMS: Short Message Service SMTP/S: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/Secure SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol SOAR: Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response SoC: Security Operations Center SOC: System-On-Chip SPF: Sender Policy Framework SPIM: Spam Over Instant Messaging SQL: Structured Query Language SQLi: SQL Injection SRTP: Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol SSD: Solid-State Drive SSH: Secure Shell SSID: Service Set Identifier SSL: Secure Sockets Layer SSO: Single Sign-On STIX: Structured Threat Information eXpression STP: Spanning Tree Protocol SWG: Secure Web Gateway TACACS+: Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus TGT: Ticket Granting Ticket TKIP: Temporal Key Integrity Protocol TLS: Transport Layer Security TOTP: Time-Based One-Time Password TPM: Trusted Platform Module TSIG: Transaction Signature TTP: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures UAT: User Acceptance Testing UDP: User Datagram Protocol UEBA: User and Entity Behavior Analytics UEFI: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface UEM: Unified Endpoint Management UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply URI: Uniform Resource Identifier URL: Uniform Resource Locator USB: Universal Serial Bus USB OTG: USB On-The-Go UTM: Unified Threat Management UTP: Unshielded Twisted Pair VBA: Visual Basic for Applications VDE: Virtual Desktop Environment VDI: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure VLAN: Virtual Local Area Network VLSM: Variable Length Subnet Masking VM: Virtual Machine VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol VPC: Virtual Private Cloud VPN: Virtual Private Network VTC: Video Teleconferencing WAF: Web Application Firewall WAP: Wireless Access Point WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy WIDS: Wireless Intrusion Detection System WIPS: Wireless Intrusion Prevention System WORM: Write Once, Read Many WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access WPS: Wi-Fi Protected Setup XaaS: Anything as a Service XSRF: Cross-Site Request Forgery

Hey y'all...so this has to be one of the craziest things that's ever happened to me and I really wanted to share it. Buckle up cause it's a long one...sorry in advance lol.
It started in 2019 I (26f but back then 21) met this dude (23m at the time) on kik from the Netherlands, let's call him...butthole. So, me and butthole hit it off, we're vibing, we're flirting, all that shebang.
We decide to date online long distance (cause I still lived in America at the time) so we text every day and we call a lot and it's just sooo nice. He was really sweet and nice to me. Well, August of that year I went on a trip to Ireland and got SA'd while there we'd been dating for 3 months at this point.
Once I got back home I finally worked up the nerve to tell him cause I legit had PTSD from that shit and when I did, he got mad at me. He accused me of cheating...I was like wtf?? So we broke up and went no contact and that was that.
Until
2020 it's lockdown....my diddly dumbass was lonely and bored and decided to text him! Like girl wtf was I thinkin? So I text him and he ends up apologizing for accusing me of cheating. He realized he was wrong and just like that, we went back to vibing and flirting. We're also making low key plans for me to visit him once lockdown is lifted too. After a few days of this I'm thinkin we're gonna get back together. But he says to me "I have something to tell you and you're gonna get mad at me".
And I'm like....ok? I didn't even know what to think like no clue what it could be (cause I'm dumb lol) And he goes "so I'm actually living with a girl who is (and I quote) officially my girlfriend". Oh man I was pissed and really hurt...like that fucking hypocrite!! So he goes on to explain they'd been dating for 2 Y E A R S!!
Anyway, so I'm dumb and was so in love and had no self esteem and thought he was the best I could get so I ask if he wants to leave her. He was like yea but we have a house together and I recently lost my job because of the pandemic so it'd screw us both over if I left now. I should've run right then and there but nooooo.
So I was like "you want to leave her and be with me right? Like, you will right?" And he said yes, I want to be with you, I'll leave if I can, blah blah blah." After a couple weeks of us acting coupley, sexting, sending pics, flirting and shit I woke up one day and realized, he's never gonna leave her for me. Ever. So....I decided I have to find this girl and tell her cause this is bullshit.
Problem is...I know nothing about her and apparently barely anything about him. He wouldn't tell me her name or anything. And he told me back in 2019 that he doesn't have social media (I should've known that was a lie cause who doesn't at least have facebook?) So I have nothing except his first and last name (later I find out he lied about how his last name is spelled and he gave me his nickname instead of his actual first name!...bro is a pathological liar I s2g!)
I tried looking for him on social media (obviously I didn't find him) I would try to ask about her name, but like in a really chill way, obviously he wouldn't tell me. I got desperate and googled Netherlands chat sites, and got on one and legit asked each person if they knew butthole mcbuttface from Rotterdam...I knew it was a long shot but I had to try.
That ended in a flop (well not entirely but I'll get back to that later) So then I get real crafty. I decide that I'm gonna play an adult fun game with him. I ask a question, he answers it truthfully and he gets a "reward". So I made sure to write out all the questions, starting with super innocent ones and I put the really revealing ones later cause I figured he'd be thinking with his other head at that point so he'd answer anything I asked.
We didn't do this over video call, we texted and I sent videos doing the thing (that way I could write down his answers) I did a lot of shit I'm not proud of. But I got the answers I needed. So I went all FBI and I got the specific area he lived from him and I ended up finding roughly where his house is, I was hoping I could find her name somewhere with that but it was a bust.
I tried to use the other answers to find stuff but I got nothing. I then decide to confront him over one of the answers (his brother's name) cause I legit thought he lied, it didn't sound like a name a Dutch person would have. He told me it was the truth. It's a really weird name for someone in the Netherlands so I looked him up on Facebook and I FOUND THAT BITCH!
That's how I realized he gave me the wrong spelling of his last name. So through his brother I found butthole's page and through butthole's page I found her!!! It took me weeks to find her! I was so shooketh! I couldn't believe I actually did it! So I go and look through her profile for a bit and I see that a few days before we played that game he FUCKIN PROPOSED TO HER!!!
I literally screamed when I saw that...I was so pissed and upset that he did that to her..... So I take a shit ton of screenshots and send her a message basically telling her everything. And she responded like "omg thank you for telling me". Like she wasn't upset at me or anything and that made me so sad. We chit chatted a bit and she was telling me all this shit about how she heard he was only with her for her money and blah blah blah...and she asked me for a few more specific screenshots which I gladly sent.
Then she said that she was at work and would confront him when she was home. I was in full support mode and was like I'm here for you and I'm so sorry this happened. And she was in support mode and she said she was sorry it happened to me too. So we exchange numbers and start texting. Later she texted me saying that she was off work and she was almost home and I wished her luck. At that point I texted him saying something like bye bitch good luck and blocked him lol.
So then I waited to hear from her...I check an hour later and saw that she blocked my number....I was so confused. I genuinely wish I could know what he said to her cause y'all...she ended up staying with him and getting married.I saw the pics on Facebook lol but yea....she could do so much better like...idk how this gremlin lookin ass bitch pulled 2 girls cause he's ugly inside and out. Idk if they're still together. I haven't looked in on them since I saw the wedding pics.
So yea, that's my story...but I said I would come back to the chat site not being a complete flop. I met a dude on there and we became friends and he introduced me to a guy who is now my boyfriend of almost 4 years and I ended up moving to the Netherlands to be with him lolol....I'm nowhere near where butthole lives so I'll never run into him but yea thanks for reading!