I dont know if i really have it or not... (I do know. Im just paranoid. Cant trust myself right?)
Letme just list down my symptoms
Feel like piloting someone elses body
The world looks fake
The world looks flat
I dont feel any emotions anymore
Doubts about am i real or not
Am i just fucking eyes in a skull?
So like in september something happened that made me lose trust in everyone. I was 12 by the way.
I thought to myself... Its just 3 months to january.
And guess what it was fucking january. It was like i fucking skiped 3 months. It was just a fucking blur
I often got yelled at from my parents.
Got bullied at school (yknow the usual. Im just being bitchy by saying irrelevant things here)
I always felt deep aching pain in my heart...
But when i stopped focusing... Stopped feeling. It lessesened a bit. The pain. I learnt this when i was a fucking toddler when my mom threw a bowl at my feet until it bled.
I dont know if i have dpdr or not. I cant get an official diagnosis alone until next year.
Though... If i do... What the fuck can i even do?
Life sucks
I have no fucking friends and its not because of lack of trying. Had a good friend. They told me they didnt care that i was going to kill myself that day.
Ironically made me so fucking broken that i dissociated the pain away and made me not do it
I think i need touch
But my parents are assholes
Nobody cares about me
What the fuck can i do?
Try to connect to people V Pain V. V Dissociate. Dont dissociate V. V Hurts like. Hurts like fucking hell Hell down the line. Agonizing pain Numb. Nobody fucking believes me Want to kill myself. No support Feel so shameful of myself Feel inadequate, weak
Tldr; i have derealization and depersonalization but admitting it makes me the most shameful weakest most filthy and disgusting person in the world
I mean some people got abused in their life and im bitching about some stupid ass thing?
Im breaking. Im breaking. I need someone to fix me so bad...

My partner and I have a pretty unique situation right now and could use some advice on how to proceed. I have my grumpy old lady cat, Riley, (10) who grew up in a single cat household. She doesn't really care about other cats but gets scared and spicy when they try to initiate play.
About two months ago we took in a cat, Brad, (7ish, we think) that had been living in a semi feral colony my partner's parents take care of. She had a growth on her face/ears that turned out to be cancer. She had surgery to remove the cancer and is recovering very well, although there's still concerns it could return. She's very docile and we don't expect to have any issues socializing her with the other cats once she's healthy enough for introductions. For now she's got the living room to herself. Both she and Riley are spayed.
Now comes to our little demon child. While Brad was still recovering in the hospital, the cat distribution brought us Meep (about 2 months old). We took our time with introductions so Meep and Riley get along...in theory. In reality every time he sees her he goes sprinting for her. Her hissing, growling, and rapid fire bapping does not deter him. If anything, he thinks the bapping is a game and has begun to bap back. He gets a lot of active play but he's in a very bitey phase of his life. This means we often have to separate them and they can't be in the same room unsupervised. This would be okay if we didn't have Brad in the living room with no concrete timeline on how long she'll need to be separated.
So that brings us to the title question. Every thread I see says two kittens are easier than one but I'm not sure if this applies to our situation. Meep will have a playmate but also a potential partner in bullying. Should we introduce another kitten or just wait it out and deal with the fact that we're the idiots who decided to take in a sick cat and a dumpster kitten at the same time?

If you're curious about my thoughts on previous Yakuza games, here are my much shorter (except for 4, thats pretty long too) reviews for Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2, Yakuza 3 (Remastered), and Yakuza 4 (Remastered).
All of my reviews are made pretty quickly after I finish the game, this was written right after I finished but I haven't posted it till a month later because its so long I thought no one would ever read this but whatever I gotta get my truth out there.
Per usual I played the remaster of Yakuza 5. I'm not sure of any outstanding changes or things of note like with 3 or 4, but if something I say is exclusive to the remaster please let me know! I may sound overly praising or overly critical of this game, who knows but please be kind when you tell me i'm an idiot for feeling the way I do! Lastly and most importantly please please please don't spoil future games in the comments! Also warning I'm way too active in the comments section.
Because I am an utter psycho and decided to write a fuckin bibles worth of yakuza 5 ramblings, Part 1 is just reviewing the plot and Part 2 goes over everything else. I split this up last second so there's likely some spots where I say something like "we'll expand on this later" then I never bring it up again, that's because it's probably in part 2. If you want my thoughts on things like the substories, side stories, gameplay, and settings you can read Part 2 here: https://www.reddit.com/yakuzagames/comments/1cvrybw/yakuza_5_a_mega_big_ole_reviewsummary_for_a_big/
The Plot:
Like with Y4, I will discuss my thoughts on each section of the game rather than in one long chunk just because I find it more fun. I'm not even gonna try to not summarize this time because this game is so big it needs broken down.
Part 1: Kiryu
You might often find me compare Y5 to Y4 a lot in this review because they're honestly quite similar games and feel like a package. When I started playing 4 I was worried I wouldn't like playing as primarily strangers for a majority of the game, but one thing they did absolutely right was making Kiryu the final protagonist you play as in that game. So going into 5 I was very apprehensive about starting off with Kiryu, I worried they showed their hand too soon and that it would be difficult to stay invested the whole time.
With this feeling going into the game, I was immediately somewhat losing it over Kiryu being an incognito taxi driver with the worst disguise of all time (some sunglasses and a face mask, don't worry he's literally the only one in the game that seems to think it's a good disguise). Right off the bat, this game feels...sad. Kiryu watching Haruka giving an interview on the TV and storming out rather then defend her to some losers who don't get what ART is, was SAD. This part of the game felt so mundane for awhile, but not in a bad way! You wakeup as Kiryu, walk to work, drive your taxi, and go home late at night (usually) alone. The whole time my eyes were drawn to a facedown picture frame and wondering what it could be, but I certainly had a guess. Kiryu is going through a hard, isolating, and depressing time and you can feel that so well from the game and how they have you play as him. Anyways there's also a random gal named Mayumi that will not leave Kiryu alone despite him asking her to. All you're doing by the end of chapter one is going "Huhhhhhhh?" Anyways Kiryu is approached by two dudes named Morinaga and Aizawa in chapter 2, telling him Daigo was???? Kidnapped?? GASP.. Admittidly I wasn't too fond of this duo at first. One thing that was consistent through my playthrough is that I was completely incapable of predicting anything correctly, and it had felt like these two were gonna be my pals for the rest of the game and I just wasn't clicking with them. Not to mention this weird semi-one sided-romance going on with Mayumi.
In chapter 3, we begin with the most heartbreaking thing that could ever happen to me, Yakuza 3 superfan. Kiryu has been pushed out of running the orphanage by a lady named Miss Park. It's all making sense now. He does it so the orphanage can have money and so Haruka can follow her dreams. DOESNT MAKE IT EASIER TO DEAL WITH FOR ME :( . Then we meet Watase, first thoughts? I was like "god I hope this guy isn't the main villain he's kinda lame" Soon after we meet Aoyama and I thought literally the same thing. Clearly by this point in the game I didn't have the highest hopes. I was mostly sad and not liking most of the new characters. But then... things take a turn.
Mayumi was actually a spy! thank god honestly. Kiryu meets Aoyama again but then Morinaga shows up and fuckin kills Aoyama and says he buried Aizawa alive HOLY SHIT? and then soon after I'm told Majima is fucking dead. Figured he wasn't actually dead cuz I've seen pictures of him from later games but holy shit I somehow cried just at the THOUGHT of him being dead. Also at some point here we met a detective who is an important player in this story but at this point not too integral. Also before Kiryu leaves he picks up the picture frame and its the orphanage ;-;
Kiryu final thoughts: This part of the game was fantastic. I'm so glad they started with Kiryu in this case despite my initial unsureness with it. Chapter 4 especially is when everything really falls into place and starts going 100 miles an hour but I also love the slowness of the previous 3 chapters. I do wish we got more Morinaga as this is unfortunately the last we hear of him despite this being a wonderful set up to a really interesting villain. Mayumi was a pretty shit character per seemingly always with any full grown woman in Yakuza games. While I think it's cool she was secretly a spy she was clearly an afterthought as we never hear about her again so that's cool. Basically a mixed bag of new characters overall.
Part 2: Saejima
I jokingly said to myself "Wouldn't it be funny if I had to spend half of this section breaking out of prison again. Thank god that's not the case." and continued hanging out with Majima until I was arrested for two more years of serving my sentence and OH NO IM BACK IN THE BUILDING.
Yeah I was VERY unsure about breaking out of prison again being a good call. Thankfully, and sorry to Y4, this is a much better prison sequence. Another thing I was really unsure about was BALD SAEJIMA! But actually... it kinda slays harder? In Y4 he looks like that guy from the game The Hatred (an insult) maybe it wouldn't be so bad if bro washed or brushed it but he never did and so instead bald was a slay. Anyways We're dropped in at nearly the end of Saejima's serving period with his group of friends/cellmates, newest one being some dude named Baba. We are relentlessly tortured by the scariest man I've ever seen, Viktor Zsasz-I MEAN! Kugihara. Who's honestly scarier looking then Zsasz somehow. But it is ON because Viktor Zsasz framed my bestie Baba and I will not let that slide so I beat the fuck out of him and it's revealed Zsasz was instructed to be a dick to me. By who??????????????????? Then it's double revealed to me that Majima is dead and I'm sad all over again :(
Turns out our warden is actually really chill and nice and somewhat tries to help us survive. What a breath of fresh air after Satan (Saito) from Y4. This guy is so cool infact we are encouraged to break out by him. So Baba and I do in the dead of the night and tell me why I cried over leaving my two other cellmates ;_; they were such bros. Zsasz hinders my escape and we fight, but my absolute PAL Himura fuckin shoots him it was an amazing turn of events and I cheered so loud and was devastated to leave him behind but anyways-
FUCK YEA SNOW MOBILES (they were kinda jank to control honestly but its the thought that counts). I am so glad I didn't know I was going to be fighting a bear going into this because that was easily the most camp thing ever and so hilarious. Then some old guy saves me (and later Baba) and we chill in the mountains for a little while. The mountain has a whole crazy detailed side story of it's own that I'll explain in more detail later but basically it was cool.
So then a ton of important stuff happens in Tsukimino, most notably we hang out with Baba in a bar which is great because I love Baba and him and I are super tight and he's easily the only person I could ever trust at this point without potential for betrayal! :)
Anyways me and Baba fuckin kidnap this guy because his chair is by a sewer manhole? He's gone in a flash so all I can imagine is dragging him down the hole by his ankle or something. Then we talk for awhile, Majima is mentioned woohoo, THEN HE'S sniped! The way I gasped. Longstory short :( Baba is the one who sniped him and not only that he kind of set everything up and wasn't my best pal all along :( Why Baba Why? Then Baba basically confesses his love for Saejima and can't go through with killing him, AAAAAAND Im back on the Baba train. That detective I mentioned from earlier arrests Saejima but not to throw him back in jail, to assemble the Yakuza avengers.
Final Saejima thoughts: This was shockingly fantastic. I was probably least impressed with Saejima's section in Y4, so it was shocking to have basically the same structure and general narrative beats but done well. It wasn't perfect, I didn't love it as much as Kiryu's section as I'm partial to a slow burn, but it was fun I have no real complaints, except MAYBE more then one chapter in Tsukimino would be a better choice.
Part 3 (first half): Haruka
I did not know I was going to get the HONOR of playing Haruka going into this game. We start off very strong, dancing to the greatest song of all time "So Much More." I mean we really get the full idol experience here with mean ass teachers and shady management. I didn't expect to get an Idol simulator in my Yakuza game but it might be the best thing ever. I decided right off the bat to put everything I had into this section of the game so immediately I did literally everything I could. Most of this chapter feels like a bit of a reflection of Kiryu's were working and going back home alone, it's all as monotonous and isolating as can be (except you're a predebut idol) and I love this. We quickly meet a girl who will serve as my bestie named Akari and yes I indeed would die for her thank you. Meeting Akari introduces us to this sections version of combat, DANCE BATTLES! I know some people might be disappointed you don't get to punch people as Haruka, and I get that, but this feels like a more genuine gameplay style for her character. It's hard to imagine Haruka fighting thugs in the street due to her personality (not that i'd be against it, especially after that weird virtual reality game where I get to wack dudes with a wand) plus I found this gameplay style so refreshing. I was never groaning or sighing because I had to dance against someone. I think it helps that I wasn't forced to do it 15 times in a row walking down the street, but I had the option to most of the time unless it was part of a quest. Maybe that's how all the gameplay should be? I don't mind being approached by thugs sometimes but it always feels like it happens too often in these games and with getting the option to while getting to walk around carefree otherwise in Haruka's section was just SO NICE.
Anyways, We get the whole set up here, we are participating in a competition show that will single handedly set the course for our debut. We're competing against this band called T-set. I hate them so much. They're so mean :(. At some point we see Miss Park absolutely SLAY and tell off Haruka's dance teacher and she doesn't take his shit at all. At this point I was like "Uh ohhhh I don't wanna like her but...she kinda rocks" my decent into stanning Miss Park only continues from there. We have to go convince some guy named Christina (interesting name to take but also a slay, much respect to Mr. Christina and his fedora) to be our new dance instructor. This causes drama with me and Akari which devastated me because I love Akari but we made up like immediately so it's chill.
Then at one point, I forgot the context, Haruka is shopping for a gift for Miss Park when stupid T-set shows up and STEPS ON THE BROACH I BOUGHT FOR HER. I was back and forth on them until now, now they may burn in hell. Especially after they made Haruka get on her knees and beg for forgiveness like ???? what gives ??? Park shows up and SLAYS and gets rid of them. Park then wears the broach :(((((((((
Then one of my favorite parts happen in chapter 2, Haruka and Miss Park go hit the town and just bond together. It's so stinking cute I wanted to cry. This whole time I was trying to not get emotionally attached to Park because it really felt like she was gonna end up betraying us. But the night continued and we get some mother daughter vibes going, even so far as holding hands????? Also Im somewhat glad I didn't get to wear the outfit I bought at the store with Park because I was going for a Cheetah girls inspired look then realized far too late how tacky that might come off, not everyone is Raven Symone ya know?
Anyways at this point I'm like wow this is the cutest game ever, nothing can ever go wrong, Park MIGHT betray me but I don't even care. She gives us a cool pen and a tragic anime backstory with an abusive ex husband and everything and we call it a night Well the next fuckin day my world crumbles because PARK IS DEAD! She "committed suicide" as if!
Part 3 (second half): Akiyama
I can't tell you how devastated I was to realize I'd only get to play as Akiyama for half of a section of the game. However, I was also thrilled to see him at all. Apparently he's opening a Satenbori office and also he is the one who financed Park's dream to debut Haruka so that's how he has a hand in all this. There is tragically very little Hana, she calls you twice and both times were fantastic but I wish I had more :(. Anyways Akiyama has heard about Park's death and goes to the office and meets Haruka. I didn't think they'd even really know each other and assumed we'd have an interesting reveal that they both know Kiryu later but nah they know each other. It honestly probably works better this way because we don't have time for such trivial things! Akiyama is a fuckin detective now. I don't know why he has been tasked to do this but he does it so well I don't even mind. He quickly figures out Park didn't actually kill herself and they simply need evidence to prove this. I'm unsure when this happens but at some point while talking about the mystery SOMEONE FALLS OFF THE ROOF! It was Horie :( who I haven't mentioned yet but he's my manager and a real pal. Thankfully he lived but we found out that the former dance teacher pushed him off. I think he also killed Park or Kanai did, who knows, either way someone did and they suck for it.
Chapter 4 has a lot going on, but basically the president of Osaka talent is sus and he's also the secret chairman of Ousaka Enterprises, which is a different thing... but sounds similar. Ousaka is basically a higher up family in the Omi alliance, so he's part of the bad yakuza!!! Haruka keeps doing the competition and T-set keeps sucking. She wins the princess league by a landslide. I don't even see the point in a third round if she won both of the other rounds? Is the third round just worth more points? Either way Haruka destroyed them and they suck. Her poor vocal instructor is working as her manager now. At some point we find out Parks ex husband was none other then Majima! Which is quite the revelation. Japan is such a small world, everyone seems to know each other. This does mean that Majima at least hit Park (I think after her abortion) and I think he's like 10 years older then her yet they were already married when she debuted at eighteen... Is it time for me to confront the possibility that my favorite crazed murderer might not be the most upstanding citizen?
It ends with Haruka being kidnapped, (nothing out of character there), and Akiyama saving her. He and Haruka make their way to Japan for the big ole concert Park had been planning. Wow this story is really picking up! I hope nothing grinds it to a sudden stop!
Part 3 final thoughts: God this was amazing, every step of it. My only complaint is I wanted more, more Akiyama and MORE dancing but I might be the only one who wanted 40 more hours of dancing. Detective Akiyama and Haruka duo was not the team I knew I needed but Im glad it happened. I found all of the music and gameplay here SO fun and I loved the plot too. I really liked Parks character. I wouldn't necessarily hang out with her, but I found her to be pretty well written and its hard to hate anyone Haruka clearly treasures, I am very sad she is actually dead because up until the end of the game I kept thinking she was going to come back.
Part 4: Shinada:
We have come to a sudden stop. We start with a flashback to 1997 where Shinada has debuted as a baseball player for the wyverns, don't forget this moment because the rest of this section of the game constantly calls back to it. In the modern day Shinada is a loser who is really heavily indebt and lives in a weird grimey rooftop shack. He also now writes like ? smut articles ? And he's friend with a girl named Milky which is the craziest name I've ever heard. A loanshark who talks about his kids a lot constantly follows Shinada around and takes his money. There was a lot of promise with this gag, like maybe instead of letting me keep the 100k and still acting like I'm broke he shows up after every side mission to rob me but nope. At the end of the chapter we run into a masked man who is frankly just Daigo stealing Kiryu's disguise idea.
Shinada and loanshark (his name is Takasugi) walk around town looking for leads on uncovering the truth of Shinada's past. Because you see, Shinada one time got fired from baseball cuz everyone thought he cheated, oh you already knew that? yeah same but don't worry you'll hear it at least 40 more times. Daigo asked him to go look for clues about this, why does he care? I still don't know honestly. Takasugi is forcing him to go because...I guess money? and he's walking around with me and were acting like friends now for some reason. Shinada is incapable of having any agency for himself, he just does what people tell him to. He also keeps nearly dying like a looney tunes character with shit falling out of the sky and stuff. Eventually we find out the Nagoya family fixed the match and then some guy Shinada used to know does get smashed like a looney tunes character. Skip ahead, were called to help by Milky and she betrayed us. I am sad cuz I thought Milky was a friend for life. Turns out literally everyone Shinada knows aside from the fkn loanshark are evil, even the old baseball lady. This plot was so convoluted I frankly don't understand why they were doing what they were doing, all I know is they were more like a neighborhood watch situation then Yakuza even though they seemed to do the exact same thing. Also when I say literally everyone he knows is evil I mean everyone, even his old coach or whatever. For way too long I thought they meant the middle school baseball coach so I was hella confused. Anyways we then find out that actually Takasugi is Shinada's number one baseball fan. Okay? Anyways
Chapter 4 things finally pick up a little. Daigo reveals himself like anyone ever was doubting it was him, and he also reveals he cares because he went to highschool with Shinada. Is that fr how were connecting this? Daigo got expelled from highschool because he protected Shinada from a rival school. Once again, okay? I guess Shinada doesn't like that Daigo is a yakuza and punches him out the door. I wasn't a fan of this. Daigo goes down pretty easily, pitiful Daigo strikes again. I love him but can he do anything right? Anyways I guess the fight meant nothing cuz they're pals now and go to Tokyo together. We get a cut to Takasugi getting his money back from Shinada as well as a signed baseball...okay that's really cute I nearly cried. I wish they actually left it there but instead Shinada runs away last minute to meet up on that stupid baseball field from 1997 that we cant go 5 minutes without hearing about and we fight this guy named Sawada who was like the kind of mastermind and also the pitcher. Had Sawada not thrown an easy pitch, Shinada wouldn't have hit it and thus been kicked out for cheating. We fight some Omi then play baseball and OMG WHY ARE WE DOING THISSSSSS
Finally it ends and we go to Tokyo
Shinada final thoughts: If you cant tell I was not a fan of this. I found Shinada to be really inconsitently written. In side missions or when he's playing off of certain characters he's quite entertaining and un, but most of the time, he seems to just be a blank slate who does whatever and only talks about baseball. And omg maybe if I liked baseball this would have been the best thing ever but we did not need THAT much baseball talk or constant referencing to that baseball game in 1997. I get its central to his character but it became a meme how often he'd get misty eyed and talk about getting kicked out. Why did he move Nagoya to escape his image as a cheating baseball player when 1) he constantly talks about it anyways, 2) everyone literally knows who he is here anyways. They make it seem like at first he wants nothing to do with baseball anymore but he also goes to the batting cages all the time and also thinks about nothing but baseball. The plot here is just SO hard to follow and not at all what I want to be dealing with after we were really in the thick of things with part 3's ending. I'm not saying it was impossible for this to be good, I think there was so much potential here! Like seemingly all of Yakuza 4, the concepts are there but the execution is iffy. I think it's biggest downfall is when it happens. It would have made so much more sense to make the last section before the finale the Haruka section. Shinada would have felt much better to play as maybe as a part two or even a part three, but NOT part four. The odds were stacked against him being amongst a cast of characters that I already know and love. I definitely was more of a Tanimura fan, but I liked Shinada as a person. His inconsistent writing, unfortunate story, and tendency to be a little annoying really dragged this part of the game down for me.
Part 5: The Finale
This finale is crazyyyyyyy so strap in. I would expect nothing less then insanity from this game. First Kiryu shows up in Kamurocho WERE HOME BABYYYYYY. Were being followed by BABA!! I missed him. We fight for fun or something then we cut to Saejima who is meeting with the detective who tells us we gotta find Morinaga. OH YEAH THAT GUY. So we go to the Florist and we go to the arena only to find... AIZAWA??? The fuck? I thought Morinaga fuckin killed him cold blooded and made me think he was a cool as fuck villain. Only to find out that GASP Morinaga is actually dead. At this point I literally don't believe it because I guess I was in my era of not believing anyone ever dies.
We go to Akiyama who is told by Osaka ceo to not let Haruka perform. Akiayam says hell no. We also find out that Park and him planned to make Haruka and T-set a group and debut them at the same time but I somehow missed this when playing and didnt realize that till way leter. ANYWAY At some point we also see the CEO doing naked push ups in his penthouse which was so weird. ALSO there is a Date-san reveal. The scream I screamt! I didn't know I missed him or needing him so much in a game till I saw him again. Usually I'm wondering why he's even there or what he adds but I finally get it now, he adds being Date to the table and that's all you need.
Then I do a tower sweep at Kamurocho hills and OMG is this what Majima was building the whole time? To be fully honest it's beautiful and im very proud but its so different and lowkey off-putting. Kind of like Majima himself. I miss him. A whole game and I only be hearing about him second hand its not fair. Question, did literally anyone choose Saejima to do the tower sweep? Anyway were on the top of the tower; Kiryu, Saejima, CEO Katsuya, and Watase. We all have to fight eachother to draw out the one true bad guy and also cuz this is a yakuza game, so off our shirts go and everyone fights. Basically everyone gets shot and the bad guy is revealed... THE DETECTIVE. Who saw it coming? I still kept thinking Park would come back or Morinaga but by this point I was definitely suspecting him too. I don't fully get why he's doing all this but long story short he's purging both the Omi and Tojo of nice? Yakuza? I guess? I think it mostly has to do with him making way for his son to inherit a role in everything but thats not further explored till later. Not to worry tho! Daigo has shown up!!!! But because he is Daigo you should definitely be worried because once again he cant do anything right and he gets shot by Kanai. God dammit Daigo. He is now in critical condition, this is the SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED DAIGO. He's such a damsel in distress, never change.
Baba tells Haruka the message Kiryu had for her, to never give up. He also asks her to come with him to convince to Kiryu to chillax but she refuses. Sad for no one but me. At the New Serena, where that absolute BOP of a song is blaring, Kiryu is sleeping, while the rest of the crew are chilling and chatting. I forgot to mention Akiyama and Shinada briefly teamed up but frankly who cares. Shinada talks about baseball alot here too just incase you were worried he wouldnt. They conclude that detective bad guy is gonna attack Haruka's concert which I will NEVER allow. I guess Shinada's purpose here is actually tha the knows the stadiuk layout pretty well which I will buy in to. Also I believe here Haruka gets told about her and t-set being a band together now called Dreamline. I also dont love this. The idea of it is fine, Im all for a disney channel original movie plot where the bullies are actually great and we all become friends at the end but the issue is they don't properly develop T-set to do that. The short haired girl gets one little moment of being somewhat nice to Haruka then the very next time I see her she's stepping on my boss's broach and making me beg on my knees like sorry but it's really hard to come around on liking them. Even now when Haruka stumbles duing practice they're rude! This is a tragic ending if anything but Haruka seems happy I guess... Dont worry they will be nothing more then Haruka's glorifed backup dancers.
Okay final chapter, and it's a doozy. We send Shinada of all people to go help Haruka at the stadium, I know i just said I get he knows the layout of the stadium but like :( he's literally the only one who hasn't met her. I guess they don't end up interacting really anyways. Saejima is going to go after Majima because btw he's alive and at the top of the millenium tower. Akiyama and Kiryu stay on the ground to defend against attackers and they probably punch/ kick at least 10000 men. All the while Haruka gives her concert. But Baba is lurking and gonna shoot her, I thought he learned to be good again but whatever. Him and Shinada end up having a confrontation that ends in Baba losing and he's about to kill himself when !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my prison besties and the wardon show and up stop him! Oh my god I loved that so much what a nice resolution for Baba and I love that those guys went straight to a Jpop concert just for their pal. Meanwhile Saejima confronts Detective evil man on top of the millenium tower and !!! there he is, finally Majima is here. But he is not having a good time, turns out he's allowed himself to be captured and tortured for the sake of Haruka and now Majima and Saejima have to fight for the same reason. Then! Daigo shows up, while im literally begging him to actually shoot the bad guy but instead they all talk. Haruka is safe from harm (Baba wouldn't have done that shit anyways) and we officially learn about the plot of him attempting to put his son in charge of everything. Kiryu goes to Tojo headquarters to stop whoever this suspicious son is and Akiyama fights Kanai. Then literally all our friends ever show up to help and that was damn cute.
Kiryu shows up and it's eerie, completely silent with dead people everywhere. We go to the meeting room and the guy behind it all along was Aizawa. I definitely did not see that coming because I forgot he existed. But I suppose thats the point, he was so unassuming. I guess that means Morinaga actually was dead all along. We fight Aizawa while Haruka sings a song that seems very pointed at Kiryu wins (duh) but he is not doing well and tries to make his way through the streets. Meanwhile Haruka announces her retirement because she cant hide who she is or stay away from her family any longer and runs away to find Kiryu and THE GAME ENDS. Other games gave me a after credits scene that somewhat eased my concerns, but 5 is a overall very sad game and it's scene is her managing to him but he's bleeding out in the streets and falls unconcious in her arms.
Finale final thoughts: This was quite the finale! It was much better then Shinada's section but it was still a bit messy and left a lot of plot threads up in the air or had some unfortunate revelations. Nothing bad but things I think shouldve maybe been revealed earlier, like Aizawa. Only finding out with like 20 minutes of the game to go makes it feel too empty or even rushed when we know this game is otherwise not rushed at all. I was a little sad about the ending, I don't think it was bad at all I was just sad. The whole time I imagined it ending with the whole gang going to Haruka's concert and having a good time. For once I dont think the game fully dropped the ball on the finale like they tend to do so I commend it for that.
TLDOverall plot final thoughts: As a whole this is one of the most well written Yakuza stories since Yakuza 3 (obviously in my opinion). I can see that for some people all the plot twists and surprises might have felt like too much but I loved it, I never once could predict where this game was going. Morinaga dying off screen was such a let down and missed opportunity, at the end of Kiryu's section I was thinking he was going to be the best Yakuza villain in awhile but instead he went out in such a lame way. I do kinda wonder who killed him, I assumed it was just the detective guy but Aizawa seemed at least somewhat sad about Morinaga's death. I wonder if that was all a show? Another thing I dislike not just because of how it went, but also that it ended up going no where, Mayumi. They made quite the big deal about her at first and I do like the plot twist that she was a spy, but she wasn't even really acting any different when she was in spy mode and in normal mode. Plus you literally never see her again. I think Saejima's section was just very reminicent of his in 4, but done well. Aside from it taking quite so long to get to the city, by the time you leave it feels slightly rushed. I think the chapter in the woods didnt need to be its own thing. Absolutely no notes with Haruka, only that I'm sad this is all we will see of Park, I found her to be a really interesting character. Akiyama is where my main issues arise, only because I really do think he needed his whole section. He felt a little tacked on otherwise when I think he really didn't need to feel that way. I had hoped he would be part of half of Haruka's section then half of Shinada's where he is used to introduce us to Shinada as a character. But instead we get dropped into that like nothing. I know im probably the only one who cares about Hana this much but I really wish we got more of her. I basically said all my issues with Shinada at the end of his section but once again, I really didn't enjoy that plot. The finale was a mess and unfortunatly left at quite a cliff hanger which I wouldve rather it didn't but Im also okay with how it did. Some other things I wanted in this game was MORE MAJIMA I get why he wasnt for narrative purposes but Im gonna say that in every game. I wouldve loved more Okinawa orphan content. That being said there is way more content for them in this then in Y4 which is wild considering we spent like 5 seconds in Okinawa during a flashback and you never actually see them. It was so nice to hear what theyre up to second hand and some of the side missions expand on them a little more but I am devastated they werent there.
Lastly to briefly compare it to Y4, as they do feel like connected games. Y5 realy does feel like they took all of the concepts of the 4th game that needed to be reworked, and then re-did them to be better. The villains are better, prison break outs are better, and just like way more. I do think there are things in Y5 that are lacking compared to Y4, like general atmosphere, and I do think Tanimura's section in 4, as flawed as it is, is better then Shinadas. Akiyama's in 5 is great, but I love his in Y4 more simply because he doesn't have to share the spotlight. But I really have to emphasize, story and character are done better in Y5, ATMOSPHERE is done so much better in Y5.
TLDR for the TLDR: I liked this game :)
And there you have it, the longest goddamn review of all time. It was a really great game and I wish I could play it for the first time again because it was just SUCH a great experience. If you read this far I am so impressed by you and eternally grateful you even cared to. Please let me know your thoughts! I'm so excited to talk about this game with people. As for my rating, It was going to be a 10/10 until I got to Shinada's section now I'm in between an 8 or a 9. Ill just say 8/10 to be mean.
I am already neck deep in Yakuza 0 so I'm excited to write a much shorter review for that one soon.
Thank you for reading!

As I look through many different posts in this forum, I can't help but notice a recurring theme where people are saying that the 2024 Pats defense will "take a step back" because "Bill the GOAT" is gone, and this honestly does not make sense to me at all.
Don't get me wrong, that 2023 defense was a very good unit without doubt (fewest yards allowed per rush attempt in the league), but they were still prone to making dumb/costly mistakes and had bad performances that a supposed "elite" defense SHOULD NOT be putting out. Please bear with me as I list all the 2023 games and what went (or didn't go) wrong for the defense in those games;
Eagles Week 1 - No complaints here, they played GREAT against the defending NFC champs, they just got unlucky with the Slay pick-six, Zeke fumbling away short field position to set up the Eagles only touchdown, and Jake Elliott nailing all 4 of his LONG field goals. Dolphins Week 2 - Defense did a solid, not good job limiting Tua and the passing game, but proceeded to let Mostert BULLY them on the ground by allowing 120+ yards on just 18 carries and 2 TDs. Jets Week 3 - Again, no real big complaints. A wet, miserable game where both offenses struggled and both defenses had field days, plus Judon got a safety. Although Dugger almost ruined everything on that final hail mary when he swatted the ball RIGHT TO R. Cobb, who thankfully slipped on the turf and couldn't get it. Cowboys Week 4 - A game we all want to forget about. I really don't remember anything about the defense in this game other than that they allowed 17 points and both Judon and Gonzalez got hurt. I'm sure there were ACTUAL defensive lowlights from that game but it's not worth going back and looking. Saints Week 5 - The other HORRIBLE game we'd all love to wipe from our memory. Only thing worth noting is that the defense struggled WAY MORE against both the pass and run in this game than they did against the Cowboys for some reason. Raiders Week 6 - Raiders rookie tight end Michael Mayer would end his rookie season with 304 receiving yards, he had nearly a third of that total in THIS GAME ALONE. On all 5 of his catches, there wasn't a single defender within like 15 yards of him, enough said with that crap. Bills Week 7 - We can all probably agree that this was our favorite game of the season, and while the defense did good, it still isn't safe, because they allowed that flukey Diggs touchdown where Jackson and Bryant failed miserably to tackle him and allowed that 4th down conversion near the end that eventually allowed Buffalo to score the go-ahead touchdown before the Pats game-winning drive. Dolphins Week 8 - Abysmal officiating aside, the defense allowed every 4th down Miami attempted to be converted as well as those 2 big wide-open touchdown passes, the one to Hill is slightly embarrassing, but the one to Waddle is pathetic and totally inexcusable. Commanders Week 9 - Within the 2-minute warning of the first half, Commanders had the ball at midfield on 3rd and 23 and the Pats defense had a chance to get the offense the ball back to potentially add to the lead the Pats had before halftime, but they proceeded to CHOKE HARD by allowing Howell to SCRAMBLE for a first down, keeping the ball in the hands of the Commies, and while they would force an interception in the endzone, it was too late at that point to try and get points. They also (along with special teams) kept committing stupid penalties that took away time of possession. Colts Week 10 - The first of a 3-game stretch where because the other team couldn't score more than 10, everyone was convinced that the Pats defense was "elite", when in actuality it was more of complete ineptitude displayed by the opposing team's offenses. In this game, Gardner Minshew wasn't sacked ONCE, and if I recall correctly he was only pressured or hit one time by Barmore and that was it. This failure to bring down the QB allowed Minshew to tear the Pats weak AF secondary a new one at least a couple of times. Additionally, this has nothing to do with the defense, but at one point Bill stupidly had the punt team do an all-out blitz in an attempt to block a punt, which failed because it ended up being a good punt with no return man on the field to get it, costing them lots of field position. Giants Week 12 - The Giants won 3 straight games with undrafted QB Tommy Devito as the starter. He had a 100+ passer rating in all of those games, where he went against the ATROCIOUS defenses of Washington and Green Bay, and the "elite" defense of New England. I know the Pats offense was trash in that game, but if the defense still allows Devito to have a good performance SOMEWHAT similar to the one he had against the Commanders league-worst defense, that is a problem. Chargers Week 13 - The final game where the final score is deceiving as hell. The Pats rushing defense was unstoppable without question, but the passing defense was lowkey BAD. The secondary got very lucky when Herbert's receivers dropped 4 or 5 great passes from him. Herbert very well could have had over 300 yards passing that day if those drops didn't happen. Again, 6-0 is more telling of the bad offense from both teams as opposed to good defense. Steelers Week 14 - Not too much to say. They played against Trubisky, and limited him to less than 200 yards passing, picked him off and held VERY strong in the red zone, although they almost blew it at the end. Chiefs Week 15 - Intercepting Mahomes twice in the same game is certainly something to be proud about, but he still threw for over 300+ yards when the entire Chiefs offense was a chaotic mess at that point. Broncos Week 16 - I was already a fan of Barmore, but he played GODLY in this game. With 3 sacks in a single quarter and pretty much singlehandedly preventing the Broncos from scoring at the 1 after Zappe immediately fumbled at the start made me love the man even more. However, the defense still allowed the Broncos to come back from a double-digit deficit near the end, but still held strong for the win. Bills Week 17 - The defense was basically set up to fail 3 times in a row when Zappe threw those horrible picks, giving up extremely short field position and a free 6 points to Douglas. Credit to the defense though, the only RZ touchdowns they allowed were the 2 Allen tush pushes, but they still gave up that deep ball to Kincaid. Jets Week 18 - The dreadful snow game where the defense had absolutely no answer for Breece Hall, but honestly, who even cared at that point?
Two other things that contradict the defense being "elite" in 2023 was that one, they didn't score a single defensive touchdown all year long, and two, they had maybe the 6th or 7th fewest forced turnovers in the league, which honestly doesn't sound elite to me.
With all this being said, I genuinely don't see a reason to think the defense will regress next year just because Bill is no longer coaching. The defense's strongest units in 2023, by far, were the linebackers and the line. Who coached those units? Mayo and Covington. Who is the new head coach and new defensive coordinator? Mayo and Covington. So the defense will still be very strong in those areas, mix that in with Judon and Gonzo returning (and hopefully staying healthy), Barmore developing into a star, and Pepper and Dugger finding rhythm as one of the best safety duos in the league, I'd say, if anything, the defense will AT LEAST be just as good as it was last season, and we as a fanbase should be VERY OPTIMISTIC for what the defense can do next year.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Hello, I am a second year teacher of prek. My principal asked me to do a lesson on a certain book for curriculum that I was not trained for and was asked for material I was not told had to be available. I tried my best to complete the lesson with what I know. I became heavily overwhelmed and went to see the nurse, as I was having a panic attack. I was informed by the nurse that my blood pressure reached 160/80 and she stated that it was a bit high.I was given a bag to control my breathing, a water bottle and tissues. The reason I decided to go to the nurse, for this specific panic attack is because earlier this month, I went to my primary physician over the toll the stress is doing to me. To continue the incident, my principal asked me to join her in her office to explain why she did what she did. When I entered her office I could see that a lead teacher was already seated. She immediately states “I brought you here today to show you it is not about you” but about the curriculum. I told her that I have not received proper training for that book and she continues to say that there are videos on youtube I can watch. After more lead teachers entered and they could see me after my panic attack and I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I felt targeted and quite frankly bullied. Once the meeting was concluded and the teachers left, my principal stated “If you have a child(referring to my son), you shouldn’t have reacted this way.” She also stated "I should have not reacted that way before she told me spoke to me about what was happening". I was asked to return to the nurse’s office to recheck my blood pressure, and My principal asked if I was on any anxiety medication and that “anxiety medication increases blood pressure” to which the nurse denied. I do not believe it was appropriate to ask what medications I am taking.

During the height of my high regard for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), among the movies of which I had been a major fan were the Captain America releases. At least two of them. The third film in this mini franchise - 2016's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" proved to be a major disappointment for me. However, when I heard that Disney and Marvel Films had plans to air a miniseries about the characters Sam Wilson aka the Falcon and James "Bucky" Barnes aka the Winter Soldier, I must admit that I felt a renewed interest in the franchise again.
When I said a renewal of the MCU franchise, I meant it. Aside from a few movies like "ANT-MAN", "BLACK PANTHER", "CAPTAIN MARVEL" and "ETERNALS"; the MCU had become a major disappointment for me ever since the release of 2015's "THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON". One might ask . . . what about the MCU television productions that aired on the Disney Plus streaming channel? Aside from one production that I somewhat liked and one that I loved, most of them have been disappointing to me. Unfortunately, I have to include this follow-up to the Captain America movies, "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER".
Set six months after 2019's "THE AVENGERS: ENDGAME", "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" followed former war veteran/Avenger Sam Wilson, who has resumed working the for the U.S. government, while using his role as the Falcon. When the government recruits Sam to track down and deal with a group of enhanced anarchists known as "the Flag Smashers", former World War II veteran/HYDRA tool/Avenger James "Bucky" Buchannan aka the Winter Soldier decides to join Sam in his mission, due to his lingering guilt as a former HYDRA assassin and their shared experiences as Steve Rogers' close friends and battling Thanos and his army.
Since "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" had aired on the DisneyPlus channel in six episodes, I had seriously considered ranking the episodes. But like Season three of the Marvel Netflix series, "DAREDEVIL", the more I watched "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLIDER", the more it disappointed me. Aside from complaints about its pacing, the limited series had received a great deal of praise from critics and fans alike. Because of this, I believe it was one of the most overrated productions in the MCU history. People had seemed so focused on little moments and scenes that very few had noticed how the series' narrative seemed to be all over the map. For example:
~\Sam Wilson~* - This limited series is supposed to be a follow up to the events of "ENDGAME" in which Sam had received the Captain America shield from an aging Steve Rogers, a sign for him to take up the latter's costumed role. Was this an attempt by Marvel Films/Disney to make Sam a more relevant character? If so, why? Why did a MCU character have to replace Steve as the new Captain America to be more relevant? Why not allow Sam to continue as the Falcon, only push his role to the forefront as one of the franchise's new leading characters? Some might accuse me of not wanting a black man as Captain America, a topic that was brought up in the series. Frankly, I never wanted another character - regardless of race, gender or ethnicity - to become the new Captain America. That includes Bucky Barnes. Allow Steve Rogers to fade into the background and let Sam (as the Falcon) shine as one of the franchise's new leads. However, the die has been cast. One can only sit back and see if moviegoers are willing to accept Sam as the new Captain America.
Perhaps the MCU had to make Sam the new Captain America in order to make him more relevant. Why would I say that? The showrunner for "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", Malcolm Spellman, came dangerously close to shoving Sam into the role of the second lead or worst, a role he has been since his debut in 2014's "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" - a supporting character. During the series' first three or four episodes, someone other than Sam (either Bucky Barnes or Helmut Zemo - two white men) made decisions that allowed the plot to move forward, not Sam. He was simply regulated to being an observer or reactor. The series even managed to undermine Sam's decision not to support the Sokovia Accords in "CIVIL WAR". In thee 2016, Sam became the first Avenger to speak out against the Accords and declare his intentions not to sign it. Yet, according to Bucky in this series, Sam had merely followed Steve's example in rejecting the Accords. And Spellman did nothing to allow Sam to correct this misconception.
~\James "Bucky" Barnes~* - One of the few aspects of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" I found enjoyable proved to be the interactions between Sam Wilson and Bucky Buchannan. Despite their lingering jealousy and competition over the role as "Steve Rogers' best friend", the pair's interactions proved to be very entertaining, thanks to the screen chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Unfortunately, Mackie and Stan could not save "CIVIL WAR" for me. Nor could they save "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER", due to its problematic writing. A good deal of that writing surrounded Bucky's character. I have so many questions about his role in this series. For example:
-Why would any official of the Joint Counter Terrorist Center allow Bucky to visit and question Helmut Zemo, the man responsible for the U.N. conference bombing in Vienna, in "CIVIL WAR"? That made very little sense to me. Surely the JCTC authorities remembered how Zemo managed to brainwash Bucky into making his own prison break in "CIVIL WAR"? Also, Bucky was on parole for his activities as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. Yet, the JCTC had allowed him to visit Zemo? Surely, the showrunner could have allowed Sam, who was serving the U.S. government again, to be the one to visit and question Zemo?
-How on earth did Bucky managed to evade being arrested and charged for helping Zemo escape from the JCTC? The U.S. and other governments should have been suspicious of Bucky after learning about his visit to Zemo.
-Bucky came off as an arrogant school jock, who thought he was entitled to get his way - especially in his interactions with Sam. I found it hilarious that many fans had criticized John Walker aka Captain America aka U.S. Agent for such toxic behavior. Yet, they had turned a blind eye to Bucky's own behavior. And so did the series - up until the last two episodes. Why did the showrunner allow Bucky to get away with this behavior toward Sam for so long without any complaints from the latter?
-I did not care how Bucky had bullied his way into Sam's mission without the latter's consent. What I found even more annoying was the U.S. government's decision to allow Bucky to join Sam's mission after that ludicrous "therapy session" they were forced to attend together.
~\Racism -~* A good number of MCU fans had complained about the inclusion of racism in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER". I had no problems with this direction, considering the story was about Sam, an African-American man, becoming the new Captain America. However, I had a good deal of problems with how the production explored the topic of racism.
The story of Isaiah Bradley, Marvel's second Captain America, had originated in the comics. In the MCU, he was a Korea War veteran whom the United States Army used as one of several unwilling African-American test subjects for their version of the Super Soldier serum. I realize that both Marvel Comics and the MCU had attempted to use Bradley's experience as a metaphor for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The problem is that I cannot see the U.S. government and the Army - both racist organizations in the early 1950s - be willing to risk the possibility of creating a non-white super soldier. Despite the recent desegregation of the Armed Forces in the late 1940s. And both the government and the Army had been more than willing to use white soldiers in other experiments.
After saving a group of black American super soldiers from a prison camp, Bradly was imprisoned by the U.S. government for thirty years. I saw nothing wrong with this twist in the character's narrative, until I remembered two things - Bradley had been able to free his fellow soldiers without anyone's help; and nearly sixty years later, Steve Rogers managed to break into the Raft and free those Avengers who had refused to sign the Sokovia Accord. Why was Bradley unable to free himself from prison? This is the man who had defeated the Winter Soldier by breaking the latter's metal arm. And he was not powerful enough to make a prison break, let alone evade capture?
I had assumed Sam's difficulty in becoming the new Captain America would stem from the government's reluctance to recruit a black man for the position. That would explain their decision to recruit the blond-haired John Walker instead. But the series never really made it clear whether political racism had played a role in Walker's recruitment. The series also had James "Rhodey" Rhodes had paid Sam a visit, emphasizing the importance of the new Captain America being black. As it turned out, Sam's own insecurities about becoming Captain America had more to do with him not initially assuming the role. There was also that interesting scene outside Bradley's Baltimore home where the police arrested Sam during verbal argument with Bucky. Although the cops backed away when they recognized Sam as an Avenger, they ended up arresting the parolee Bucky for missing his required therapy appointment. This scene was supposed to be a case of racial profiling. But . . . we might as well be honest. In the real world, the police would not have backed down from hassling Sam. What I found more disturbing was the production's handling of Bucky's arrest. Once the police discovers that Sam was an Avenger; they turned to arrest Bucky for failing to show up for his missing his therapy session. Not only did the police arrest Bucky with a more gentle behavior, they did so, accompanied by Henry Jackman's mournful score, something that did not accompany the moment of Sam being arrested. Were the audiences expected to notice the hypocrisy and racism in the police's handling of the two men? Expected to feel sympathy for Bucky? Or both?
The last episode featured a scene of two black kids playing with toy Captain America shields. Someone had commented that the shields (especially in the hands of non-white children) represented hope to the future of race relations in the United States. Why? How? This country had a biracial president for EIGHT YEARS. Yet, U.S. racial policies have remained problematic even to this day. I can say the same for other countries. The so-called symbolism of this scene only reminded me of how human beings put so much faith in imagery and symbolism. And this strikes me as a FALSE FAITH. Why was taking up the mantle of a costumed hero that had been previously occupied by a white man, the only way for Sam Wilson to become relevant within the MCU franchise? What was wrong with him being "the Falcon"? Sam becoming the next Captain America was not going to save the U.S. in regard to race relations - not in real life and not in the fictional world of the MCU. Looking back on the series, the series' only scenario that seemed to expose racism in a realistic manner, proved to be Sam's failure to acquire a bank loan for his family's fishing boat in Louisiana.
~\Sharon Carter~* - I am certain many MCU fans are aware of this. One of Marvel Comics' most iconic couples happened to be Steve Rogers aka Captain America and Sharon Carter aka Agent 13. She also happened to be the great-niece of Peggy Carter, Steve's love interest during World War II. Portrayed by Emily VanCamp, Sharon was first introduced as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" as a potential love interest for Steve. Despite Sharon's appearance in the following Captain America movie, "CIVIL WAR", their romance never really developed. Many blamed the lack of chemistry between VanCamp and Chris Evans. I never had a problem with their screen chemistry. I had a problem with the lack of relationship development between Sharon and Steve. And I blame Kevin Feige's decision to transform the third Captain America film into a third (and badly written) pseudo Avengers movie. The change in the film's narrative, along with Sharon's failure to appear in "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR" and "ENDGAME", left no opportunity for Sharon and Steve to become the romantic pair they had been in the comics. Instead, Sharon became a fugitive from the U.S. government after helping Steve and Sam hunt down Bucky, moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition and became an embittered criminal known as "the Power Broker".
After "CIVIL WAR", nearly five years had passed before Sharon appeared in another MCU production - namely this series. And what happened? The franchise, with Spellman, ended up completely destroying her character by transforming her into the villain known as Power Broker, the criminal leader of an Indonesian city-state called Madripoor. After helping Steve and Sam acquire their suits and equipment in order to go after Bucky in "CIVIL WAR", Sharon lost her job with the C.I.A. and became a fugitive. She eventually moved to Madripoor, a city-state with no U.S. extradition, to evade capture, survived Thanos' Snap and became an embittered criminal nicknamed "the Power Broker" in order to survive the new world.
What really pissed me off about Sharon's arc between "CIVIL WAR" and "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" is that her development into a major villain all happened OFF SCREEN. Off screen. Apparently, screenwriters for "INFINITY WAR" had written a draft that included Sharon in the movie. But according to Christopher Markus, he and Stephen McFeeley could not imagine scenes featuring Steve and Sharon trying to make it work in an apartment, because the 2018 movie did not have time to focus on their personal life. Why did Marvel simply fail to allow Sharon to be part of Steve's vigilante team - like Sam and Natasha Romanoff? I mean . . . good fucking grief! And why did Malcolm Spellman believe the only way Sharon could be interesting was to become a villain in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? This was his idea of improving Sharon's character?
~\Helmut Zemo aka Baron Zemo~* - Why did Malcolm Spellman, Kevin Feige and the MCU thought it necessary to bring back Helmut Zemo, the Sokovian-born villain from "CIVIL WAR"? What role did he play in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER"? I realize that Bucky, of all people, visited the incarcerated Zemo to acquire information on who had created the super-soldier serum that empowered the Flag Smashers. But why did he believe Zemo could provide the answer? Because he thought HYDRA was involved? Bucky or Sam could have searched for information from sources other than Zemo, who had been incarcerated for . . . what? Eight years? Eight years. Zemo managed to become something of a crowd-pleaser, thanks to Daniel Brühl's performance. Otherwise, I found his presence in this series unnecessary.
~\The Big Bad~* - Why on earth did it take this series so long to finally reveal the main villain's identity? At first, the series hinted the Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau. However, the series tossed other potential candidates for the Big Bad before viewers - John Walker, Helmut Zemo and yes, Sharon Carter. But in the end, Morgenthau and her group proved to be the main villains.
The Flag Smashers were a group of empowered people who believed the world was a better place between Thanos' Snap and the Blip (resurrection of those who had died during the Snap), when Humans around the world managed to unite and form a borderless society, one in which people helped others without any thought to nationalism and bias. Thanks to the Avengers, the world resumed its conflicts between nationalities and other groups. In other words, the borders returned.
Frankly, I have nothing against this ideal. Only Ms. Morgenthau and her followers resorted to violence and terrorism to achieve their goals. Does this sound familiar? It should. The Flag Smashers proved to be another example of characters with a progressive goal, resorting to extremism and becoming villains. This seemed to be a growing trend within the franchise, which I believe began with Erik "Killmonger" Stevens aka Prince N'Jadaka in 2018's "BLACK PANTHER". Since then, the MCU has not looked back at its growing roster of progressive villains. Perhaps I should not have been surprised. The franchise's ambiguous portrayal of an unconstitutional document like the Sokovia Accords, should have been the wake-up call. It seemed as if Kevin Feige, Marvel Films and Disney Studios had finally exposed themselves for the faux progressives they pretend to be. Frankly, this form of villainy has become tiresome to me.
After writing this article, I had considered ranking the six episodes featured in "THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER" anyway. But I decided against it. My dislike of the series made it impossible for me to even bother. Being a fan of the first two Captain America movies, I had truly hoped this series would redeem the franchise. Unfortunately, it proved to be just as disappointing as "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR". Pity. Perhaps the fourth film, "CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD" will do the trick. I hope so.

How how in the world can a guest always bully me and treat me like sh$tv, call me names and the next day , when my manager is here they act like angels and say "oh the girl was very rude"
It has gone to a point where they ( my manager) don't believe me anymore as " many times you have described a guest as rude or crazy but the next morning they were fine. Maybe you should be more polite or more sweet to them. "
Ok , then let them call me a racist , take pictures of me whiteout my consent and also threaten me that I will pay for what I did.
Maybe I should change my job and go to a back office or something.
I just can't understand how I am the victim and I always get into trouble.
How is this even possible? Maybe because I am a woman they treat me like that ? I don't know.
I really hate hotels in my country as a guest could actually beat a worker and the worker would loose his job if they tried to defend themselves.
Edit : I am not the problem....I promise

I'm a guy of 24 and needed a place to rant and maybe get advice. I'm constantly on a emotional rollercoaster where some days i am happy and social. But others days i feel lifeless and emotionless where i pretend to be happy and social in order to not let it show which drains me. Most of the time when i'm alone i fall back into this negative state where i am full of anger desperation fear and sadness yet i cant pin down from where. And it is so hard to stop. Like the negative self talk just becomes immediately believable and i dont challenge it. While thinking positive often drains me and doesnt feel natural. After a outburst like this i am emotionless for a couple days. I don't feel nice in my own body and don't like who i am. Yet feel powerless to do anything about it. Like being stuck in my own life creating circumstances guided by my negative mind unable to turn the tide. This way of living takes a lot of energy out of me and even while having good friends and a stable job i enjoy i feel like i am never gonna be enough. Never am the person others can accept or want in their life. This is extreme in the dating scenario. My mind now sees threats everywhere which could harm my fragile self image. I was bullied earlier in life and probably took those rules to the rest of my life. I don't believe a girl can be interested in me so i make 0 effort even though i want to. Actually a fear of rejection.
The main thing that bothers me is I mostly know what makes me live this way. I know i have fear of rejection and that most negative things i say to myself don't make sense. Yet it is a habit where i cannot get out of. And that is really frustrating. I want to have a good life where i'm active with a hobby i like. Be an open and confident person who can make himself vulnerable and is open to romance. Sometimes i get some light shining through the curtains and i get motivation to actually do stuff about it. But most of the time i cant change my thinking patterns. I can argue with myself but the negative side always wins.
I read useful books, meditate and try to find something i can believe in. But whatever i do. It seems as though i can never break down the walls and be myself. It's so bad where i believe things that work for others don't work for me. That i can't have a good life like most of my social group. That everything i do i have to do twice because nothing ever works on the first try. The stupid thing is the causes of my habits and patterns seem so simple and i mostly know that im living wrong, thinking wrong and acting wrong. But i'm stuck on the ground and can't get up.
Any insights would be appreciated

Hi guys. So I used to go to therapy with this one therapist. I stopped after they completely dismissed my feelings after I opened up about getting bullied in school.
Now looking back, I did notice that they may have acted quite "unprofessional"? They would cut me off many times when I talk, and start giving me immediate advice even when I haven't gave the full story about my issues. They also looked really disinterested (their body language also says the same).
Were these actions appropriate? Or are they normal and okay? Thanks.

I could write a book about my many examples but for now I’ll just tell you one story . But I’m wondering if anyone else has similar stories ?
But for example through my whole life whenever my mom would see me in a good mood or engaging socially with others it made her upset. It’s like had to do something to humiliate me to show her control and authority over me , and of course there always had to be an audience.
For example when I was in high school and started getting into makeup my mom was so jealous and took any opportunity to make fun of me whenever we would go out . And the funny thing is I would get so much compliments on my makeup . So I knew it wasnt bad or looked bad. And like a said I was still a beginner. But anytime we would go out in the summer she would point out any minor mistake she thought she was wrong with my makeup .
Everytime I wore it she would gives me dirty looks or tell me how bad I looked. The funny thing is she once got me a mac powder foundation as a random gift . I didn’t think anything of it until when I wore it she would always pint out how cacky it looked or that I had too much makeup on . Everytime I stepped out with makeup on she would randomly gasp or start giggling and start whispering to my dad while looking at me . The. She would say out loud “oh my god look at her , her makeup looks so bad! I’m so embarrassed walking around with her “ . I never needed a bully with a mother like her ..
Anyways one time we where at a party and a family friends house and I was getting compliments for my makeup and later on my mom took the opportunity in front of everyone to point of how bad I looked and how disgusting it looks in the sun and how I should never wear it again . I was speechless and stood there in silence . I was so embarrassed but of course this is what she wanted ..what she thrives on . When I was in a good mood of getting praised she HAD to bring me down .

Sorry, havn't added a flair as none of them really suited this post. Have tried posting this on other subreddits and got either next to no advice or removed, so let's see how it goes here.
It's become apparent to me over the past few months that I definitely have a type. The only way I can describe it is 'the dominant type'. The type that get their way, the one that wears the pants. They're usually pretty extroverted, in some cases even popular. Only, I don't want that to be my type because I'm the exact opposite. Introverted, caring, wear my heart on my sleeve etc. I've had feelings for more than one person you could describe as this, and each and every time I not only got my heart broken, but in some cases became even more mentally scarred than I already am.
Yet I still find myself attracted to them, and I really don't know why. I've seen some say that it can be because one's mother was like that, I don't know that could be possible. But my therapist said during one of my sessions 'introverts usually tend to be attracted to extroverts'. Following that up with 'victims of bullying tend to find themselves attracted to bullies, because its all they've known'.
Whilst I don't agree with that, because why would you want to go further towards what screwed you up, for some reason it also makes sense. I can definitely forsee an introvert going towards what they've always yearned to be (not the bully, the extrovert). And as I said in my last post about me avoiding someone because of my insecurities, I was mercilessly bullied. So when you're as mentally screwed up as I am or worse, I guess I can kinda see why you'd go towards what you've always known, or you believe you deserve. As sad as that is. To me, that does seem like the most logical explanation.
I've found myself attracted to someone you can describe as this yet again. And unfortunately, they're both the dominant type and, allegedly, a bully. At least an ex one.
I know I would NEVER date them, even if I did have a chance (which I doubt). Like I said they have all the personality traits that I know for a fact would never work with me, I ain't too keen on the idea of being bossed around and at the whim of someone. Wrapped around someone's little finger. I also keep asking myself, with my mental issues (now diagnosed), could I see myself talking about all my problems to this person, crying on their shoulder? I doubt it. To top it all off, they also have a partner.
But, not gonna lie, I find them damn attractive. Again, I have no idea why. They're far from a 10, but they have their good points. My best guess is it's the personality, as someone I know said 'people like that are cool' and I have to concur. But I just can't shake the bad parts, and stop thinking about my bad history with those types either.
It's really effected me mentally the last, I'd say six months. What made it worse is I'd see them at least once a week, thus I was almost constantly reminded of it because it wouldn't go away during the inbetween. I'd actually throw up after dealing with them, I'd get a feeling in my stomach and know it was coming. What's crazy is I've NEVER done that over anyone else, and I've had some big crushes (in a lot of cases on similar types of people). I had no idea anxiety could do that to you.
Probably admitting more than I should to the internet here, but oh well. Good thing this is a throwaway. Towards the end of last year, I broke down crying to my mates talking about one of the bullies who did some of the worst things to me. And while I think it was mainly because of that, and also because I was unloading a lot to them (I'd never really talked about my mental stuff to them before), I have no doubt this was somewhere in the back of my mind. These last few months have been hard.
I have a temporary reprieve from them due to circumstances (doesn't mean it's off my mind though). I know however that there's a good chance I will be back to dealing with them before long. Don't get me wrong, aside from being reminded of this I do enjoy dealing with them. But not gonna lie, I'm terrified of what might happen if I go back to dealing with them and these feelings aren't gone. Is it back to throwing up again? Sorry to cuss, but fuck that.
Anyway, I've rambled too much. What do y'all think? What is the cause of this? How do I best go about it going forward? How do I get over this person? How do I find what is for me?

I’ve just learned of this interesting sword via a Facebook post - this thing has been doing the rounds for several years now. The source is an article at online magazine 'La Brujula Verde' entitled 'The sword embedded in the rock of the precipice of Rocamadour for 9 centuries' written by Guillermo Carvajal in Spanish in 2016, then published in 2019 in English, which seems to be what prompted it to go 'viral' to some extent. I'm a few years late but still hoping to nip this one in the bud as far as posting something that the curious can easily find if they care to look. I would link an image of the sword but all images appear on pages with associated bad history and the rules say not to link to that. Anyway...
I saw several people lamenting that the Cluny Museum had taken this treasure down and put it in a museum. For one thing, if a piece of ferrous metal had truly survived 900 years in an exposed rock crevice (the more famous ‘sword in the stone’ at Montesiepi Chapel was at least protected from the elements), it certainly would have required salvage and preservation. However, what the article’s author failed to bother to find out is that this thing was completely fake in the first place, put there to attract tourists (Barber, Arthurian Swords I, Arthurian Literature XXXV, Volume 35, p.14):

Tourists can see [Durendal] fixed in the cliff face above the doorway to the shrine of the Virgin at Rocamadour; but this is a relatively modern feature and the sword is a nondescript nineteenth-century decorative sword of poor workmanship. In 1787 or 1788, a local lord, the Vicomte d'Anterroches, bullied the canons at Rocamadour into agreeing to present the sword then shown to visitors as Durendal - a coarse short dagger, possibly Bronze Age to the prince de Condé, whose collection of antiquities was dispersed at the Revolution. At some point a story was created that Henry the Young King had stolen the original sword when he came to Rocamadour during his rebellion against his father in 1183, but the first printed record of this is in the work of a late nineteenth-century English historian. There is no known connection between Roland and Rocamadour, and even the origins of the idea that Durendal might have been at the shrine are totally obscure.

Barber’s reference for the sword being fake is none other than the Cluny Museum itself, where the now-relic fake ended up (L'épée: usages, mythes et symboles : Paris, Musée de Cluny--Musée national du Moyen Âge, 28 avril-26 septembre 2011, p.97). The Cluny didn’t acquire it to preserve some 900-year-old treasure, they took it because of its significance as an example of how swords are used symbolically. Notably, as they say, pregnant women in the early 20th century would ask that particular fake sword for favours for their unborn children. Now, there has to have been an earlier sword there because Alexis de Valon noted in 1851 that;

...in Rocamadour and its environs, local people revered Durandal, believing that both it and its modern substitute could make childless women conceive.

(Harry Redman, Jr. 1991. The Roland Legend in Nineteenth Century French Literature, University Press of Kentucky, p.104).
Despite Barber’s comment about unknown origins of the Rocamadour 'Durendal' we do in fact know these, back to the early 17th century at least and summarised by Redman as follows:

Writing in 1620, Scipion Dupleix stated that Roland had been interred at St. Romain's and that, according to tradition, his sword had been placed at his head and his horn at his feet. Later, he added, the sword was taken to Rocamadour, while the horn was deposited in St. Seurin's. Mérimée, Inspecteur Général des Monuments Historiques, was in an excellent position to know where such things ought to be, and he thought the sword was still at Rocamadour. Frédéric Mistral was convinced of it. Mérimée's friend Alexis de Valon was not so sure and held that it had been removed from Rocamadour at the time of the French Revolution and replaced by another one not at all resembling it. Prince Lucien had the sword, along with its owner, interred at Roncevaux. For Peyrat, Roland, his sword, and his horn were all buried where the paladin was struck down. Cervantes, we recall, believed that the sword was in the Madrid museum where Quinet claimed to have seen it.

(Harry Redman, Jr. 1991. The Roland Legend in Nineteenth Century French Literature, University Press of Kentucky, p.213). Lots more in that article on the background to a claimed Durendal at Rocamadour prior to the insertion of the fake removed in 2011 (and since replaced by a new fake!).
Note that the sword referenced by Cervantes is an entirely different one in the Real Armería de Madrid, which was never claimed to reside at Rocamadour. So we have two competing 'surviving' Durendals, neither of which are even period, much less anything to do with Roland. This is typical of ‘surviving’ heroic swords which are mostly contemporary to the time when they are first claimed to be original. There's every chance that the Rocamadour sword is a replacement for something much older. Redman speculates that there may have been three swords there prior to 2011 (p.106). Whether any sword once in that rock face dated to Roland's era or could even have been his, we will never know. I suspect it originated as a classic ecceliastical fundraising effort, like Arthur and Guinevere's grave at Glastonbury Abbey. Regardless, the claim at hand is about the sword removed in 2011, and we can be certain that the this was definitively a fake, itself now replaced by a sword that will likely also be assumed as real in future. And if you've been to Rocamadour since 2011, the sword you saw is brand new.
Sources - inline with text/linked.

please message me with more than "hi, how are you?" + do not chat message me, send me a DM! it's so much easier for me since i use the app on my phone.
just your local girlfriend stealing, alternative, bisexual here. 👋 but you know what? let's set that aside for now (your girlfriend is safe for the moment) because i'm looking for friends that are as good to me as i am to others, which is a*pparently *harder than it should be. i am a genuinely kind, loving person even if my face says otherwise. oops. i have a severe case of resting sad face, so sorry.
i'm smitten with people who are weird but not weird enough to make others uncomfy, or unable to enjoy the weirdness, ya know? i know you know. i like people who are into things that others mostly aren't: tarot, astrology, deep conversations, things like that. i might not actively be participating in said things but i like hearing the perspective of people who are! my friends always joke that i'm the person people say "i can fix her!" about but uh, i'm awesome. i don't need fixed. ✨i will admit though, i hesitate about people a lot because while i do want a best friend -- mine have scorned me, so i need someone patient with me and understanding of that, please. please. i adore social connections but i do come with a social battery and it needs refilled. me needing that time does not negate the connection i have built with you and am nurturing with you.
i will genuinely offer you diamonds in the form of friendship, just reciprocate it. i will offer you the safest, most non-judgement free zone you can imagine, you are always - always, safe with me. i just ask that you are a good, kind, compassionate friend to me. you can literally tell me anything in the world and if it isn't hurting anyone else, i will listen without judgment. i promise you. i'll also send you spotify songs that i really like, so hi. hello.
on to the fun tingz (and the stuff that will hopefully bring you in),
i'm watching my first ever anime, like ever and no we're not going to talk about my real first ever anime because it might've been a live action and it might've been death note and maybe i enjoyed it (holy crap, sueeeee me) but i have a few on my list to watch but i got pressured into this one, so far so good! let's talk about it, ask me which one it is! it's a pretty popular one lol. maybe you can guess it! either way, i'm also into horror shows/movies. i'm not really into the gory ones anymore, nor the emotional horror so i'll pass. my heart strings are saying noOoO thanks. i love watching movies with friends and even anthology shows like cabinet of curiosities, dark mirror, etc etc. i don't mind anything else! hit me up. i'll tell you some stuff i like(d)
currently, iiiiii am a graphic design major with a knack for not drawing. i mean, i guess i do like pixel art. if you can give me something small to draw in pixel art form, i will attempt it (if you give me something large, i'll send you doo doo in the mail) but honestly, i am still learning and trying new things everyday 💤 however, i'm in the process of changing majors to cybersecurity! which starts in June, so wish ya girl luck 💅
i am a gamer, so come game with me! i don't play league, my mental health is terrible enough, thank you. i also don't play wow, my attention span could never. i do, however, play valorant because i don't like myself that much. i got you there, didn't i? i play a few other things: CS, starting to get into overwatch 2 (please play this with me and if you ask me my rank, i'll cry), party animals, pummel party (can we please?) etc. i tend to hang out in valorant land though, i won't lie. i do not take it seriously and honestly, nor should you.. nerd.
i am ✨sPiCy✨so if that bothers you, i am sorry. i, again, am a genuinely kind person but i do have a snarkiness to me that is meant to be a slight "i love you" + dash of bully. ❤

Gojo is my favorite character in jjk. Fav ship with him is Utahime so I like to read their ship on ao3 but I have noticed this trend where this guy isn't teasing her but just bullying and I'm supposed to find it endearing.
Constantly mocks her and invades her personal space and seems to have no limit. Telling her if she wants her stuff back she should kneel. You may think the first two complaints are no different from canon but no, they is a big difference. Utahime in canon just has a short fuse which Gojo uses to his advantage. She can choose to ignore him but she is the one giving him the attention. She is free to ignore him. In this fics Gojo comes across as a yandere that utahime cannot ignore no matter how hard she tries. If she does he will force her to acknowledge her. And then I'm supposed to think it's beautiful when Utahime realizes he has feelings for her and she may be thinking she likes him back? Gross
Also to add this fics tend to have Young Gojo really mock the weak. Which again, he does in canon but at least you know despite he and Geto's differing philosophies he is not seeing them as Kashimo would say "dirt beneath his feet". He is even friends with Shoko who I'm pretty sure dies in a fight with Utahime. You can tell this authors have no understanding of his character because he thinks everyone is below him yet they still make him friends with Shoko lmao
Gojo in canon is an ass because he is born the strongest and everyone treats him as nothing more than that. Even in the airport his friends don't see beyond that. But at least he has the decency to not see everyone as worms. He knows he could nuke everyone but doesn't go saying it everytime how much he is better than the rest. It could be interesting if the stories are deciding to delve deeper into his psych to see how he is always seeing himself in regards to his surroundings but they just dump this discount Gojo who has the mindset of kashimo

please share your thoughts!!!!!!!
alright, ive finished the game around a month ago but have spent the past month LIVING off of hl memes and ominis content, so i still remember most of the game vividly.
i think theres foreshadowing to a sequel, here's why:

• if you dont turn in sebastian and talk to him, he'll understand your pov on the goblins and listen. if you do hand him in, ominis will talk to him and report that this has only made him angrier (..for whatever reason). this made me curious, because, well, by the time you do this quest it should be almost endgame, hell for some people they do the 'in the shadow of the...' quests AFTER endgame. it just seems an odd detail to add rather than 'oh yeah i talked to sebastian and he understands and hes sorry, the end'. maybe the devs set this up for a conflict point in the future, if you hand him in, for a sequel (or more likely a dlc).

-anne sees what sebastian has done to solomon, and this deathly sick (!!!) girl runs away to... where, exactly? again we get conflict that hasnt been resolved.
-less glaringly important but we get almost nothing about ominis. in the house cup bit hes just sitting down despondently because hes just lost his only friend and has to go back to his abusive family, who used crucio on him. also, ominis is quite vague about said family. leaves an open space that can be filled in with a sequel, because i would actually give my right eye to learn more about the gaunts ;)
-the MOST obvious plot hole - sebastian, in his usual delusions, seems to convieniently forget our emotional undercroft heart-to-heart about 'ill use ancient magic to save anne', before he goes and harnesses the power of a dark relic that causes only desctruction. (i ADORE seb but ominis is just so much better im sorry ;-; )YES i know theres the whole 'theyll become husks with no emotion if you take away pain', but sebastian hasnt been TOLD that. for all he knows, WE are the answer!! but nooo he must control the inferi because he is a teenage edgelord and nobody understands him. so yet again, unresolved conflict that could be saved for another time!!
-another huge plot thing - i personally went mostly goodie-goodie (except the unforgivables because come on!) in my first playthrough as a slytherin (going as an evil gryffindor next, lol). so this means i left the power of the resevoir alone. BUT! i have seen playthroughs where the resevoir is taken for the players own personal gain. is there any difference?... ...literally no. which is just ??? so maybe in additional gameplay, we could learn to 'hone' whatever new skills this grants us (more sequel-worthy than dlc-worthy, imo.)
-more a dlc thing, but quidditch. need i say more?
my thoughts:
there is enough material here to make a worthy sequel.
not only did hl DESTROY its sales expectations (even with the boycott), its been so popular that it has a subreddit with over 300k people (thats where we are now weee), which is kinda insane for a 'spin-off' game.
they would be stupid NOT to make a sequel or dlc, considering the absolute bank they made from this one + they now know what people want, meaning the next game would be even better.
the plot could be-

• you start 6th year as normal. you'd probably be on the train because no special entrance for you! you're slumming it with the normies now. if youve handed sebastian in last game then hes not here and you can skip anything to do with him until i say so.

-if you didnt, seb is still here. he thanks you for all you've done, blah blah blah, and acknowledges the goblins innocence. hes worried sick for his sister who has ran away and wants to find her. you are dumb and havent learned your lesson (duh), so no matter what you say he'll convince you to help once you've found your feet in sixth year.
-ominis walks into your compartment. he looks terrible. you ask him if he's alright and he slips some gaunt lore about his family and on their.. ideas of fun, because come on i have a mad obsession with this dude, and if im the one writing this plot, we're getting ominis angst, suck it up. if youve handed in sebastian, itll just be you two. there'll be a train cutscene and boom, you're at school.
-this is where it gets tricky.
IF youve handed in sebastian. he'll be in prison. youll probably get some angsty moments and npc quotes along the lines of 'he seemed like such a good kid'.
if you HAVENT handed him in, the story gets weird, because a) more awkward time with seb because hes free and 2) he knows the goblins are mostly good. the actual hl doesn't have this big of a rift, so its hard to say what happens. however, its good because it gives us loads of choice, the lack of which in hl caused a lot of complaints.
-if he's in prison, sebastian escapes,(not azkaban, gotta keep with the canon. maybe because he is a minor he is sent to a lesser facility.) still blaming the goblins and holding such a hatred for them now that in his eyes, they escaped punishment and that it's his job to kill them all while extorting the cure for anne OR finding us to cure her.
-if he's free, we can either have a storyline of him NOT learning his lesson and maybe going to prison then instead of after he commits uncle-cide (dark magic go brr, because sister is gone) or some other storyline that would be more about our magic (!) and ominis' story.
-for the latter to happen, we'd have to have taken the resevoir's power. OR we can make up a rowling-worthy excuse of 'well MC was exposed to the resevoir power for too long so even though they left it alone it still diffused into them or something! [happy]'. i honestly dont know, this is why i want YOUR THOUGHTS!!!
-to make the selection pool shallower, lets go with the excuse. this will allow us to have seb's story, our magic story and also some ominis story (i am obsessed.)
-whether seb escapes or is already free matters, but in the end its the same result - hes not in prison. the only difference is that free seb doesnt hate goblins, and isnt on the run, and vice versa for escapee seb. both want to find anne and cure her. both now remember you have the capacity to do so (but they dont know about the taking-away-pain-turns-them-into-living-husks thing).

• we could go with the 'find escapee seb and convince him we're right and he believes us and everything goes back to normal' route, but boring.

-maybe escapee seb finds us, and ropes us into the same 'help-me-find-anne' crap free seb does to us on the train. yes, that means we dont have a choice, but there has to be SOME adventure. the goblin-hatred would def play in somehow - its too specific of a thing to include in the endgame to just leave it be like that! maybe his hatred causes him to do unforgivable things to some innocent goblins and he has a 'mAyBe Im ThE mOnStEr' epiphany moment, who knows. maybe it ties in to something bigger.
-the main story would then be along those lines. im still brainstorming the climax and ending but nobodys gonna read this anyway lmfao
-main quests would consist of lessons, sebastian-is-a-little-too-obsessed-with-anne-quests, and honing our magic.
-side quests would be mainly ominis-centric regarding his family/the gaunts, with a decent lot of poppy and garreth. we've already resolved natty's entire life at this point tbh💀💀💀.
-id like to think there's a happy ending. idk what will happen to escapee sebastian, will he go to prison or not?? this is literally the equivalent of a crackfic in my head, i WAS NOT expecting to write this much when i started writing this.
SO AGAIN GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS. PLEASE. ON EVERYTHING FROM THE PLOT TO MY SEQUEL THEORIES TO FEATURES AND INCONSISTENCIES. THANK YOU!!
nowww some features!:

• quidditch, because yes
• morality systems would be a bit null here considering we're literally helping an escaped convict. but uh, we can try! just, like, dont cast the unforgivables everywhere you go ;)
• friendship systems with all side quest characters. like going from ehhh... to hellooo! with a side character would be awesome. the one thing hogwarts MYSTERY of all things got right was this.
• friendship and enmity systems BETWEEN characters, like, every sebastian needs their ominis ok. plus i want to help ominis bully puffskien dunkein I BEG, you cant tell me they dont have some rivalry going on ;-;

-romance? idk, not a romance person, this is for you sebastian fangirls to figure out for yourselves
-prejudice. literally what made harry potter, harry potter. there is like ONE audio with a negative view towards muggle-borns, and ONE that uses the word mudblood to my knowledge. everyone's just ok with everyone now? do malfoys and other death-eater's grandaddies not go to school here??? hello??????? this could and SHOULD be a topic for discussion in game or maybe even a side quest or side quest chain.
-extra but when/if seb escapes it should be on the daily prophet that ominis will show us in the undercroft or smth, i dunno
inconsistencies with my plot:

• loads of things havent been planned out. this is like a professional crackfic. (still has better plot than the cursed child though lets be honest :3 )
• everyone is easily convinced 'oh ok lets find your sister even though youre a dangerous escaped convict!'. sorry.

-itll be hard to mash everything in. but a half-assed plot is still a plot <:
-since its a continuation of 5th year, we already know many spells. there arent many useful ones left. HOWEVER!!! we can consult the fandom spell page, take offensive spells and stat boost them more than the 5th year ones >:) ALSO YOU LEARN ABOUT DARK ARTS IN 6TH YEAR, SO. ominis is not gonna have a fun time with those ones 💀
-because we'll be searching for anne, like the actual hl game, less school time, :( sorry
-everyones just ok with us disappearing (if seb is an escapee). someone should pull a hermione and go 'hmm, MC starts disappearing shortly after sebastian escapes, and they never say what they're doing.'
probably ominis or poppy because a) favouritsm on my part and b) ominis knows us best and i headcanon poppy as knowing us well and knowing the dark arts and how theyre used a tad bit more than she gets credit for.

• since this wouldve been 5th and 6th year covered, it would be expected for a 7th year to happen. naturally, i have exhausted all my 3 brain cells writing this, so screw it, 7th year doesnt need to exist right now. i havent even figured out all of 6th.

-loads of other things i havent seen, SO

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SHARE THOUGHTS, THIS TOOK ME AN HOUR TO WRITE AND I ONLY WROTE IT TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE THINK! TYSM. (I SHOULDNT HAVE WRITTEN THIS, I HAVE FINAL EXAMS TOMORROW 💀)

youre all amazing yayayayayaya

Hello I am 20 years old and I live under the roof of narcissistic and abusive parent who are very controlling, I really need help and to understand what's wrong with me. My parents won't let me get an actual diagnosis, cause they rather want me de3d than have a mentally ill child
For my whole life I always struggled to make friends and preferred to be on my own, though I was really talkative, I always was interested in deep topics, but was human phobic still. I also got bullied a lot for years. I didn't hate people but rather I tried to rationalize why people did the things they did to me. I have high empathy according to people and I have good pattern recognition, I am very hyperactive, I struggle to focus, I'm very creative, witty and funny. But Im also extremely forgetful. My sister always tells me how fast I can change my mood, my parents always joke about me being Bipolar, but I don't really related to that??
I always have high expectations for myself, I constantly strive to be perfect. And if anyone views me as something negative I destroy myself. Until I am truly "perfect".
It's hard for me to get close to people I never let anyone close to me but when I do get close to someone I obsess when I am attached to that someone. I want their full attention, their compliments, its my like my world is only spinning around this person. I would do anything this person says, I would even k1ll myself for this person. And uhhh I have abandonment issues (due to trauma), jealousy issues
Do u guys have any suggestions or guesses what I could have

As the title says, I lied about my age 6 months ago ( beginning of my 1st year) to one friend then the lie spread out super fast to everyone so I couldn't correct it. I lied because I was in a deep depressive state , I dropped out of school 2 times , I'm super shy due to some bullying episodes that I went through elementary school. I fear people's views on me . Lying was the option in my head to fit in, I didn't know how to justify the fact that I'm 20 and still in first year while they're 18. It just felt weird. Now I don't know what to do, I'm stuck between 2 choices and both of them are bad. I'm pretty sure they will judge me , laugh at me and make a story to all my college friends about it. They love drama. I don't feel safe doing it because they're probably not my real friends, we just hang out to go to parties and take ig pics. It's superficial for now. But I also feel so guilty, it hurts me to live with the lie till now.
Two days ago, we had a party and I met a guy my age but they told him my fake age. I don't want to keep doing this anymore because it keeps ruining my potential relationships with others since I'm starting off a bad foundation. What should I do ?

Hats off to them for being with their daughter when the entire world is blaming her. The amount of bullying, misery, anxiety and taunts they would have gone through irl these 2.5 months is so difficult to handle. Them supporting her and saying- Ninak njangal und- was so heartwarming to see.
I don't care if they were acting or real because even if its fake, they faked it to keep her safe from further bullying. It's not wrong for her parents to be annoyed or angry at her for whatever she has done but the maturity they showed to keep all those emotions private and just support her on the show! My heart goes out to them. They did the best they could by giving her subtle hints
Only part i disagree with them is bringing in afsal to the conversation. I honestly don't want them to get back together because the trust issues after being cheated on is so difficult to handle.

As with any hobby, you look back and realize "Oh, I should have done X". So calling all New hams: That would you tell yourself 6 or 12 months ago? Here are some of mine:

• Study for your Technicians and General at the same and take the tests together. I am studying for my General now, and I am having to relearn things from the Tech. Save time and aggravation and just do both
• Join your local club (Vienna Wireless Society for me). I cannot over emphasize this. They are the people that will get you going. You can do this before you get your license. Here is just a little of what my club offers for a paltry $36/year):
  • Exam prep and proctoring for all levels of license
  • An antenna team will come to your house and help you chose the best antenna for your needs and then help you set it up test and tune it. Want to run a end fed dipole 40ft up between two trees? they can help with that.
  • They loaned me a full dual band set up to get started: mast, antenna, power supply, dual band, cables, also set it up and tested it to make sure I get to the local repeaters. I am on the air for almost nothing.
  • I have bought an antenna so I can return the VWS mast and antenna, but what other parts do I need? Enter my wireless club: They purchase cables and connectors in bulk and, when the antenna team comes to help me install it, will invoice me for the parts used.
  • Set you up with a mentoElmer to help you get going.
  • There are many more benefits, but for the new ham, these are my big ones.
• About Mentors/Elmers: You are going to need someone (or people) to guide you. This is not a marriage or AA sponsorship or any kind of big decision. It is someone you like talking about the hobby with. The first person I talked to after getting my license informed me: My FCC call sign was crap and I needed a new one, getting my beofeng was a stupid piece of crap, a few other words why my interests were wrong, and needed a new radio right away. That is not a mentor, that is a bully and I never re contacted them. Move on with your life and find someone fun to hang out with.
• About the controversial Beofeng: I think anything that gets people into the hobby safely and legally is a good thing. The person I consider my Elmer looked at my Beofeng and said "We can get a cable so you can try to use that with an external antenna, might not work but worth trying." That is a mentor: Helping you move forward within the circumstances you have.
• New Gear vs. Used: No way around it, this is an expensive hobby. I don't know what I am going to. I come from the IT world where 20 year old hardware has little resale value, so the used ham gear market makes no sense to me. All I can say is move slow if you can: I am buying a component a month: last month antenna, this month power supply, next month transceiver. Hams LOVE talking about gear. Get advice from other hams you like talking to and you will not go wrong.
• Edited to add: Keep the hard copy of your license where you can find it. Parts of ULS (Universal Licensing System) where you would access it goes down frequently and can be down for days at a time. For example, the last couple of days I can reach the search page, but the search times out. This is pretty normal for the ULS.