There were a couple of threads a few days ago talking about how it's really weird for parents to have their children wearing pride t-shirts; destiny is the one who spurred that discussion with a tweet calling it weird to 'push this message unto kids, barring the child themselves being gay'.
It kind of made sense in a vacuum but thinking about it now I really don't see how in the grand scheme of things, this is all that bad. Kids having t-shirts with explicitly religious messages is SUPER fucking common, and this is to say nothing of dressing them up in actual religious garb. Giving kids uber-patriotic t-shirts is also pretty common. In the context of those being widely accepted I see zero issue with giving a kid a t-shirt saying "it's okay to be queer".
I also have to question the narrative behind "forcing your message unto your kids": correct me if I'm wrong, but the word for that is parenting. Instilling basic values like acceptance of others and being inclusive into a child seems incredibly fair and I would go as far as to call it universal. This is to speak nothing of religion--I'm not trying to say religious people are brainwashing cultists (I'm religious :p) but if you want to talk forcing messages unto a child, taking them to church and constantly reading the bible to them and taking them to religious schools is literally infinitely worse than a fucking t-shirt.
I also don't think many people, Tiny included, would say that parents shouldn't instill their values and beliefs unto a kid. Ergo it should be fine to extend that to cute t-shirts. Ergo pride t-shirts for children are okay. I feel like the people that bring up the 'forcing it unto children' rhetoric are (knowingly or unknowingly) creating smokescreens for their actual problem: pride is bad, or something only limited to adults. I say that because the logic doesn't support singling out these t-shirts at all

Last summer I got my AC recharged and blend actuator replaced. Which worked great for a short period of time. Now it only blows hot air same temp if set on heat as when set on ac. Any reason this may be?

This is my headcanon for the events following Suzerain as the game played out in my (communist) playthrough:
Disclaimer 1: This obviously includes many spoilers from the game.
Disclaimer 2: This story is written with storytelling and lore at the forefront, not necessarily gameplay accuracy.
(Part 2 is on my page if you can't find it elsewhere)
Disclaimer 3: This is only the first chapter (and backstory) of this headcanon story/fanfic/whatever you want to call it. I want to write more, but would like to see what people in the Suzerain community think about the writing so far and if they’d like to see more of it. :)
Background:
Anton Rayne got elected President of Sordland in his first term by promising progress and an end to the recession. In his term, he managed to fulfill these promises and more.
He ended the recession through several economic programs including an infrastructure program that included the building of a highway in Agnland, the distribution of stimulus checks for people in need, an agricultural revitalisation program in the city of Sarna, an economic revitalisation program in the greater region of Bergia, and the establishment of the Fair Trade and Competition Commission.
Rayne had also enacted his foreign policy that prioritised self-determination and non-intervention, which resulted in improved relations with many nations and many new trade deals with Wehlen, Agnolia, and Valgsland. In slight contrast with this policy, however, Rayne entered Sordland into the Contanan Security Pact. While this move alienated Sordland from some western-alligned nations such as Lespia and Arcasia, it increased trade and cooperation with nations of the east and many of the rising powers in Rika and Xina.
Rayne had also enacted gradual reforms of the economic direction of the country by nationalising several large corporations, most notably Gasom and Bergia steel. In order to temporarily appease the oligarchs, Rayne had through his nationalisation of Bergia steel, let Marcel Koronti, one of Sordland’s most powerful oligarchs, increase his power within his circle of oligarchs. He had also, through the extra income the state had earned from nationalisation and trade deals, been able to cut taxes for all, which further appeased the oligarchs. Rayne, as a communist, saw the oligarchs as a threat, however, he saw the sollists, nationalists, and fascists as a bigger threat that required a temporary appeasement of the oligarchs in order to focus on a larger threat within the nation. Towards the end of his term, however, when the old guard had in large part been brought down, Rayne removed the independence of Sordland’s central bank, a body of financial governing that had long been an extension of the power of the Lothenburg Group.
One of Rayne’s big promises of progressive reform included an increase in the healthcare and education budgets. This was also a promise Rayne was able to deliver on, and through the skillful leadership of education minister Ciara Walda and healthcare minister Paskal Beniwoll, the government was able to efficiently use this budget to make many positive changes to the education and healthcare systems in Sordland.
The increased healthcare budget was used to improve the quality of healthcare services provided in the country, especially in rural areas, as well as a complete subsidisation of dental care and prescription medicine for all and the relocation of doctors to rural areas. The Rayne administration also enacted several taxes on consumer products harmful to the health of the people, including a tax on tobacco and alcohol products.
The large educational reform that Rayne embarked on included a large scholarship program for impoverished families, the building of several hundred schools across rural areas of the country, and the relocation of teachers to rural areas. The reform also radically changed the curriculum of Sordish schools, with desollinisation of schools and an implementation of critical pedagogy and a larger focus on science, physical education, and the teaching of subjects unburdened by sollism. Rayne later established rural education institutes across rural areas of Sordland in order to further improve the availability and quality of education in rural Sordland.
The rights of women and minorities also became a critical issue for the Rayne administration. The first lady, Monica Rayne became a large figurehead in the battle against patriarchy and alongside Ciara Walda they established the Commission on the Status of Women and passed the women’s liberation act that included policies that helped victims of domestic violence, abolished the gender pay gap, affirmed equal access to education for all, and enacted maternity leave laws and state-funded daycare. The support of this commission and its policies, along with Rayne’s personal funding of the Sordish League of Women made them a loyal political ally to Rayne and his inner circle.
President Rayne also became known for his pro-Bludish sentiment that led to a political alliance with Mansoun Leke and the declaration of the minority rights act, the establishment of the minority rights commission that would be headed by Leke, and the granting of amnesty to soll-era political prisoners, many of which were Bludish activists.
Rayne’s other progressive reforms included a vast expansion of the sordish welfare program, that came to include the establishment of the Comission of Social Progress and Uplift, the workers rights act that gave better pay and better conditions to workers across Sordland, two new social benefits programs, one for the unemployed and one for impoverished families, as well as a complete subsidy of public transport and a lowering of the retirement age.
As a communist and subscriber to the ideas of Karlos Marcias, Rayne believed that for Sordland to enter a new age of socialism and communism, the power of the existing dictatorship of the bourgeoisie had to be toppled and replaced with a dictatorship of the proletariat. He saw the judiciary and legislature as being tools of the bourgeoisie. However, the presidency, now under a communist president, was Sordland’s chance for the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat. Rayne believed that he had to topple the bourgeois institutions of government, and replace them with new ones that represented the proletariat. During his first term, he started doing this with a very risky play. Namely reforming the constitution to give wide-ranging powers to the presidency while he continued to build a dictatorship of the proletariat.
The constitutional reforms included the replacement of the presidential veto with a pocket veto, removing the supreme court’s power to vote on constitutional amendments, removing the ability for the president to be impeached, decreasing the electoral threshold to 8% thus allowing Rayne’s Bludish and communist allies into the legislature, removing the requirement of reviews of presidential decrees, removing the immunity of judges, and abolishing the honorary position and immunity of Tarquin Soll.
Rayne used his new powers to crush the reactionary forces of Sordland, starting with a complete reshuffling of the supreme court. As an extension of the removal of Tarquin Soll’s immunity, Soll was then put on trial in front of a new supreme court that found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. After Soll’s imprisonment the Rayne administration started their de-sollinisation efforts in full. Rayne also established the anti-corruption police that he used to investigate corruption within the old guard.
The ACP found evidence of several sollists collaborating with the Young Sords in order to assassinate communist politician Bernard Circas. The investigation led to the arrest of many sollist politicians, most notably minister of interior Lilias Graff and former members of the supreme court Orso Hawker and Heron Garaci. With the old guard crippled, Rayne took advantage of the situation in order to change the manifesto of the United Sordland Party to move away from sollism and towards socialism.
In order to further consolidate his power, Rayne used his presidential decree powers to purge the general staff and thus remove the military’s power in internal political affairs. In the aftermath of this purge, minister of defence Iosef Lancea was also made commander of the sordish armed forces in place of Valken Kruger. Rayne also established the Sordish Radio and Television Supreme Council that he primarily used to further rein in the propaganda spread by the old guard, liberals and oligarchs. Rayne also started funding the Red Youth, an organisation he had previously been a member of, thus winning him another political ally outside of government.
The rising threat of Rumburg was also handled during Rayne’s first term. Using his diplomatic skill as a former diplomat in the foreign ministry, Rayne de-escalated the conflict and made Rumburg appear as an aggressor on the world stage. Any uncertainty about the threat of invasion was then put to rest when Rayne entered Sordland into a military alliance with Valgsland and later joined the Contanan Security Pact.
But as elections approached instability within the Rayne cabinet appeared. First with a political scandal that led to the arrest of Illana Vance, the Rumburg spy that had posed as President Rayne’s assistant. This scandal also led to Vice President Petr Vectern resigning, retiring from politics, and going to rehab. Lucian Galade was appointed Vice President in his stead. The instability continued however, with the resignation of several ministers including minister of economy Symon Holl due to ideological differences with the President, minister of health Paskal Beniwoll due to concern for the President’s machiavellian tactics, and minister of justice Nia Morgna and minister of education Ciara Walda both due to the President’s constitutional reforms.
This flood of resignations coupled with the arrest of minister of interior Lileas Graf and the retirement of foreign minister Deivid Wisci left a vacuum of power within the administration that Rayne had a clear plan on how to fill after his reelection.
After the election, the results came in with a big change in the political environment of Sordland. The USP came in first with a slight increase in votes since the 1953 election, the NFP came in second, thus becoming the second biggest party in the country, and the PFJP suffered a loss, losing a significant amount of votes to the USP, BFP, WPB, and CPS. The Communist party of Sordland finally made the threshold and due to the popularisation of communism under the Rayne administration they were able to become a legislative power to rival the PFJP. The Workers party of Bludia were unable to make the threshold however, due to the Bludish vote being split between the WPB and the BFP.
As Rayne took to the stage for his victory speech, he reaffirmed his commitment to a turn to the left and to the east and promised further expansion of Sordland’s welfare system and political and social reforms. He declared that this was the start of the Sordish Revolution.
Chapter 1: Inauguration Day
In the aftermath of Rayne’s victory speech and after meeting with the people of Sordland at a USP rally, Anton Rayne entered the black presidential car and was met with a smile through the rear-view mirror and the eternally joyful voice of his driver, Serge, greeting him: “That was a great speech Mr. President, I am glad you got re-elected. Where to now?” Rayne smiled slightly as he always did when hearing the voice of the man who had become one of his closest friends during the last four years. “I am glad to hear that Serge, thank you for all of your support these years, I am really grateful for all your kind words.” Rayne took a slight pause before continuing “We’re off to 137 Wisci Avenue.” “Right away, sir.”
As the two sat in the car in momentary silence, Anton regretted having to leave his wife and daughter at the rally with Lucian. But Monica was strong, he thought to himself. She would be able to handle herself against Lucian if he were to try anything. After another few moments of silence, it was finally broken when Anton realised this wasn’t the same car he had been chauffeured around in earlier in the day. It was similar enough he hadn’t noticed, but it was newer and frankly more comfortable to sit in. “When did you get a new car, Serge?” “Finally noticed it, eh Mr. President?” He continued “But it isn’t my car, it’s yours, you’re the President, I am merely your driver” “The car was a gift. Sent from Chancellor Hegel in Valgsland, as a congratulatory gift for winning the elections. It seems you made quite the impact on him when you visited him in Haelm.” Anton adjusted his posture in his seat and asked Serge what he thought of the Chancellor. “Oh, I don’t follow the politics of other countries that closely sir, but if he made a deal with you he must be a smart man.” Rayne, slightly tired after the rally, simply replied “You’re too kind, Serge” and resorted to staring out the window as the ride continued through the streets of Holsord.
After a while, the two men in the car started to see a gradual decline in the quality of the houses and infrastructure on the streets as they got further from the hill of pride. Once the car rolled onto Wisci Avenue there seemed to be a slight improvement in the quality of the street, however it was still a far cry from the hill of pride. Suddenly the car stopped. “Here we are, sir. 137 Wisci Avenue.” Before Anton could say thank you, Serge was already outside of the car opening the door for his president. Anton stepped out and was then able to thank his driver for the pleasant drive and conversation.
He stepped onto the cracked pavement as Serge got back into the car. Anton instinctively put his hands in his trouser pockets, only to find a packet of cigarettes there. As he took them out of his pocket he was reminded of the time he had caught his son, Franc, smoking, and he further was reminded of the promise he made to Franc to stop smoking. Granted it had become easier to stop after the tobacco tax had been implemented, but it was still a difficult task. Anton promised himself he would call Franc when he got home to see how he was faring in medical school in United Contana. He looked back at Serge and called out his name. “Could you take this and throw it away for me?” Anton threw his last packet of cigarettes to Serge who nodded back at him in acknowledgement. “Thanks, Serge. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Anton said as he walked into the building ahead.
It was a two-story flat-building, more specifically it was the home of Ciara Walda, among other people. As the President walked into the building he was surprised by the interior, which was far more well kept than he expected. As he walked up the stairs however, there was still a quite distinct creak with every step he took. When Anton reached the top he stood directly in front of a door that said “1B Walda Residence”. Rayne knocked on the door and was soon met with a slightly dishevelled former minister of education. Ciara looked her usual self for the most part, aside from looking quite a lot less put together than usual. She was sporting an old bathrobe and slippers, as opposed to her usual political uniform of a pantsuit or dress. “Mr. President?” Ciara blurted out, trying to hide her slight surprise at the situation. “Please Ciara, you don’t work for me anymore, and I know you don’t care for formalities.” Ciara slightly adjusted herself and tried to put on her poker face she had become known for during her time in politics. “Would you care for a drink, Anton?” She didn’t wait for a reply however and simply entered her home, leaving Anton to catch the door and come inside.
“Tea would be nice” Anton replied as he walked into Ciara’s flat. He heard a call from the kitchen “Already started making it.” Anton let out a slight chuckle at Ciara’s unique demeanour as he followed her voice to find his way to the kitchen. The flat was a lot nicer than he expected. Far from luxurious, but it was nicely decorated and brightly lit with large windows, something that was somewhat surprising given that this flat belonged to Ciara Walda of all people.
As Anton found the kitchen, Ciara had already moved into the living room with two cups of tea in her hands. Anton sat down across from her and thanked her for the tea as she sat it down on the coffee table. “I suppose congratulations are in order” she said with a barely detectable sadness in her voice. “I hope congratulations will be in order for you too” Anton said, giving Ciara a slightly puzzled look on her face. Before she could ask what the President meant, he continued “Rejoin my cabinet. I know you miss it.” He paused for a brief moment, “And I need you.” he continued. “You are a talented politician, but you’ve been able to keep your ideals. I need ministers like you. I know you don’t approve of my methods but who will you support if not me? Ricter? Kibener? Leke and Stahler don’t stand much of a chance without my support, so by supporting either of them, you’d be supporting me still. Why not take that opportunity to rejoin the cabinet and make some real change again. Continue the reforms you started with me and Monica.”
Ciara looked down for a few seconds before replying “You know why I left. You know I cannot stand by and support your constitutional reforms, they aren’t democratic and-” Before she could continue, Anton cut her off “What would be democratic then?” He paused before continuing to speak “To give power to an indirectly elected assembly of capitalist leeches and fascists who want to kill half the country and oppress the other? To keep the institutions put in place by a sour old man who wants to stop the world from moving on?” That last comment about Soll made Ciara chuckle slightly. “I’ve never heard you talk about him like that.” Anton replied with a smile “Well, I couldn’t bad-mouth that old fool too much when his lackeys still had such a firm grasp on the country.”
“Listen, I know you might not support my constitutional changes, but-” Before he continued he stopped to rephrase himself “You are familiar with Marcian dialectical materialism I assume?” Ciara looked slightly offended. “Of course I am” “Who do you think you’re talking to?” She said with a slight scoff. “So then you know that class struggle is an antagonistic struggle. You know that capitalists won’t give away the means of production willingly. Oppressors must be taken down by force, not by the systems that gave them power in the first place.” Anton sighed “I know it isn’t ideal, but it isn’t supposed to be. If Karlos Marcias taught us anything, it’s that ideals don’t bring change, material conditions do. Reality does. And reality is messy. Ideals are pure, but as long as they remain that way they are just ideas, they cannot bring real change if they cannot exist within material reality. What does this idealist notion of liberal democracy mean compared to the real material change that comes with socialism?” Ciara sat back on her couch and sighed deeply, looking at Anton the entire time. “I still don’t know, it just doesn’t seem right.” They sat in silence for over a minute before Anton got up and sighed for a final time in defeat. “Thank you for your service to the people of Sordland, we’re going to miss you Ciara. Both me and Monica”. Ciara looked back down at her floor after Anton stopped talking and started walking towards the door.
“Wait” she said as he was on his way out. Anton turned back around. “You stood by me in my educational reforms, you stood by me-” she stopped for a moment “Us, you stood by us as we fought for the rights of our gender.” She looked away out her window for a brief few seconds, “I’m not sure even Leke or Stahler would’ve done that. At least to such an extent. I owe you at least another chance. Both you and Monica” she said with a slight glimmer in her eyes. ”Thank
you Ciara. Really, thank you. Because between Gus, Iosef and Lucian, I could really use an ally in my cabinet” They both smiled at each other as Anton exited the flat. As he started walking down the stairs he heard the door open again. As he looked back Ciara bid him farewell “Good luck, Anton.” “You too, Ciara.”
As Anton walked out of the building he saw Serge leaning on the side of the car. As he noticed Anton he quickly stood upright and opened the backseat door for his President, bowing slightly as he did it. “I got a call while I was waiting for you sir. Your wife and daughter have left the rally along with your cabinet and are on their way to the maroon palace for the celebration dinner.”
While Anton’s first term had been ceremonially opened with a grand ball at the maroon palace, the event had ended catastrophically with the assassination of Bernard Circas, which drew a lot of bad press to the tradition. It had already been criticised before for its over-the-top extravagance, a criticism Anton agreed with. However, the event still occurred during Rayne’s first inauguration as it was still a quite popular affair, particularly with sollists who wanted to honour the traditions of the nation, and with oligarchs who wanted to take the opportunity to cosy up to politicians. But with the assassination, and the loss of power suffered by sollists and oligarchs during the first Rayne administration, it became easier, and frankly more popular, to replace the event with a more modest one. Namely a televised dinner with the President and his cabinet, along with their families.
Due to the wave of resignations at the end of Anton’s first term however, the dinner might come across as a little too modest though. Especially with Lucian who was married to his work, and Iosef who was married to his own idealised version of Sordland. It was unclear if Ciara would attend. She definitely knew about the event, as she was one of the people campaigning for an end to the inaugural ball. She was welcome to attend as she was to rejoin the cabinet, but Anton hadn’t thought to ask her. Especially as she wasn’t fond of any sort of ‘style over substance’ meeting.
Anton was brought out of his deep thoughts as Serge cleared his throat, and he realised he’d stood there for a solid half a minute. He shook his head for a moment and saw a bin in the corner of his eye that he hadn’t noticed stood next to the building he’d walked into. Anton noticed his packet of cigarettes laying there along with another pack that looked just as newly thrown away. He smiled to himself and walked into the car, letting Serge close the door behind him and get back into his own seat in the front.
“You trying to quit as well Serge?” The president’s driver looked shocked for a moment, as Anton realised what that might’ve sounded like. “Cigarettes.” he assured Serge. “Oh! I got a tad confused there for a second Mr. President.” he nervously tapped the steering wheel as he started the car's engine. “Yes! I’ve decided to quit Mr. President. I couldn’t have done it without you though! I saw the press conference you and Mr. Beniwoll did on television before he resigned, warning of the dangers of tobacco.” Anton grinned slightly as he heard Paskal’s name, before Serge continued. “And as I noticed you were throwing away your last pack, I thought I’d do the same. Follow the example of a great leader.”

Where can a guy find a family/dog friendly station wagon/hatch/crossovesuv that isn’t severely underpowered AND has a manual transmission? AWD would be ideal, but that is the first thing I would sacrifice. New or used. Your thoughts are appreciated and if you want to vent and complain like me feel free to do so in the comments. Give me a budget friendly option (25k-35k), a dream car, or convince me to get an automatic or sedan… or just tell me your idea of the best car on the market. Seems like a lot of newer cars with manual trans are more of a pain in the ass to drive then their automatic counterparts, just not fun unless they are sporty. I have not driven many new automatics. I hate the CVT in Hondas. Toyota Highlander has a decent automatic transmission.
Newer Subarus are really underpowered. Impreza RS next year would be nice if they didn’t take away the manual trans or if they made a WRX in wagon form again. RIP.
Acura Integra is a more expensive and not as nice (IMO) version of the civic hatch. Civic hatch seems overpriced for what it is. 2.0 is slow, but I would consider getting the 1.5 with a second set of wheels and snow tires.
GTIs are great, might be a little small for kids with rear facing car seats. Golf R is expensive, but has AWD. Would be scared to buy a used one because of how some people might drive them and take care of them. Don’t want a blown motor. Thoughts?
Alltracks are nice, but very hard to find, although it does feel like you’re driving in a bubble.
Audi wagons are beautiful, but impossible to find in manual with lower miles.
I have not driven a Corolla hatch. GR Corolla is just insanely marked up.
Not a fan of Jeeps. Have not driven a Bronco. Don’t really want a pickup truck. Can’t find a 2nd gen 4Runner with manual anywhere.
What am I missing? 0-60 preferably under a max of 7.5 seconds. Let it put you back in your seat at least a little bit.
As far as performance+luxury automatic go, it seems used Porsche Macans are surprisingly priced competitively. The new Prius looks nice, but can’t imagine myself driving it.
HELP ME lol

^{HEADLINES
EDITORIAL
TRADE
DRILLS
DOMESTIC
FINANCE
ORDERS}
___

HEADLINES: IMPERIAL GOLD RESERVES FINALLY RELEASED. LAST KEY FINALLY RETURNED.

ASPERMONT, WESTERLANDS - After spending a month in the Bahamas and the Seychelles, the most flamboyant Director, Avver finally gave his keys and his permission on West-Ministry to release the Imperial Gold Reserves.
On the 3rd of June, 2023, Irishkaiser has been empowered by the Assembly to make use of the Gold as he sees fit for the benefit of the clan and Company.
"We will punish premiums even more through the release of the Imperial Gold Reserves" Irish stated "They will pay..."
Now, all that's left is to mobilize a few volunteers for this job.
___

HEADLINES: JUNE REFORMS 2023 CONVENES SUMMIT WITH DIGNITARIES CONCERNING UNIFICATION & FUTURE PROJECTS

CARMI, AETERNOLIA - A discreet meeting with dignitaries is to take place during the June Reforms 2023 party in the politically and historically important city of Carmi/Karminople regarding future major projects the Company will back and be backed by.
Foreign dignitaries represented in the clan's history will participate and put forth their interests, concerns, agendas and proposals in this important summit. The meeting will take place behind closed doors and the party is just an excuse to get the ball rolling regarding these future major projects and cooperation the clan will have.
Contractors and other interested parties will also join and attempt to demonstrate their skills and products to be purchased by the Company and their foreign counterparts. These products include labor, manufacture, agriculture, chemical, software development and finance services all interplaying with one another yadda yadda yadda yadda
It's just gonna be use talking and planning stuff, OK?
___
EDITORIAL - De-Dollarization should be taken seriously as a threat.
Irishkaiser - American supremacy is reality. There is no denying their dominance in spite of how many other cultures and nations claim to be superior in other spheres and how other nations deridingly mention the term "American". The New World giant is of course not perfect and it has intervened and engaged in illegal and illicit activities, but when it comes to Great Powers, the Americans are by far more receptive of the ideology of freedom than any of the other competitors.
It would be foolish to think America has a chance of collapsing tomorrow and other powers will take its place but it is even more foolish to think that the collapse will never come or we should allow them to fester.
Steps and measures must be taken to prevent competitor currencies from hostile ideologies to become viable options, which the clan is categorically opposed to or else we will wake up penniless and under the mercy on the very homes our fathers fostered.
As the clan begins expanding to other activities in real life, including the clandestine business of a geopolitical nature, we find ourselves aligned ever more to the United States of America in the grand scheme of things. They are not perfect and are dirty even, but they are the cleanest white shirt and we need the best white shirt we can in the sea of laundry.
The enemy of my enemy is, after all, my friend.
___
TRADE - MineZ US Trade Mission
The Directory proudly announces that shrauger was right, I was wrong. It was a Trade Mission Day and that Leisure Week is this week. Here is the report from last week:
2 Iron Armor Sets
2 Diamond Swords
2 Infinity Bows
in exchange for
Buncha crap
-player killed with our gear shortly after being geared
-crossed carmi to romero
-steve skin told us to stop LARPing
-met 3 old players at portsmouth's graveyard
sold in romero and portsmouth
That's it really.
___
TRADE - MineZ US Trade
15 Cakes
for
15 Dollars
Yeehaw
___
PvP Drill 200th Mass PvP Event - Asleep
Preserving the 200th Drill into a very very special event.
The 200th event will be marked by the Festival of Remembrance.
___
DOMESTIC - BROTHER WAR EVENT OPPORTUNITIES CHANGED
Issues and developments regarding the Brother War project have changed, following more deals and changes as according to the development cycle. The Brother War Event is no longer promised to be released this year - especially with consideration into coordinating commitments with other groups and players.
___
DOMESTIC - SHRAUGER DID NOT KNOW HIS BIRTHDAY GIFT WAS NOT HIS PAY
Shrauger cashed out his pay the other day not knowing he had 99 dollars literally waiting for him - thinking his birthday gift earlier this year was literally his pay.
The dumb shit only realized when he told everyone he was actually broke and then jokingly asked to be placed inside the budget during the draft proposals lol
___
FINANCE - MARKETING INVOLVING HEADQUARTERS TEA & COFFEE TO CHOOSE
Hmm do I come off as luxurious and corner all the old people with money... Or do I appeal to the kids and get the young pussy... Hmmm decisions decisions...
**ORDERS:**
1) HAPPY DAYS NEXT WEEK
2) Find Volunteers for SPECIAL TOP SECRET MISSION I WILL TELL EVERYONE
___

In case you've been redditing under a rock (or perhaps you've spent the last couple weeks out in the back country) reddit is introducing Post Elon Twitter like changes to it's API pricing that will effectively kill third party mobile apps (such as Apollo and RiF) and a number of moderation tools.
Here's the post that started the conversation.
RiF's dev weighs in.
/videos announces they will go dark June 12th to 14th.
A wild protest sub appears
Lots of moderators are unhappy, including me.
For over a decade, grandcanyon has been a wonderful community that has come together very naturally in mutual appreciation of the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon. We have a strong culture of sharing knowledge about the canyon and helping new explorers discover it's many hidden gems. I'm proud of us and I know my lovely co-mod u/Befreeman feels the same way.
In light of this, we want to know how the grandcanyon community feels about the situation. That's why I said we're "planning to go dark" not "we will go dark." Rather than myself and u/Befreeman unilaterally taking action and flexing our mod muscles, let's either make a statement as a community or... not, if that's how the community feels. Please DO let us know if you have something to say.
Thanks for being lovely.

Response to this writing prompt, put into its own post due to character limits.
The Titans are well known throughout the universe. Species of incomprehensible scale. Many of the universe's most significant forces simply do not affect them- at least not severely. Fluid tension, gas permeation, atomic magnetism. These things which can be the difference between life or death for most living things are, to the Titans, of little consequence.
Their world was first discovered several millenia ago- that is, millenia in their time. For most living things, that time period is enough to see the rise and fall of entire species- let alone empires. There are none alive who do not know of them, none who remember a time before them. Fewer still who choose not to live with them- despite the advantages.
For you see, the Titan's are not a "single" creature, no. They are made up of countless billions of living things, all working together in tandem to form a single coherent entity. These living things cannot be spoken to or communicated with- they lack the basic subatomic quanta necessary for thought. Or at least, necessary for individual thought. Yet, somehow through purely mechanical means, they operate in near perfect harmony and coordination across the entire vast expanse of a Titan's body without so much as a single entanglement.
There are those who have referred to them as a "hive mind"- but this is inaccurate. A hive mind would imply a collection of numerous coherent minds- the Titan's are no such collective. It is a difficult concept to grasp, given how similar to us each individual component of a Titan looks. But if it eases you, think of them like organic machines. Thoughtless mechanisms which exist only to serve their purpose and nothing more- they need not think, they need not act, they need not do any such things. They have harsh, deterministic mechanisms that strictly control every action- or perhaps more accurately every reaction- they perform. An impossibly vast collective of reactive organisms, tuned through unknown means to operate in absolute chemical harmony. Each individual doing nothing more than deterministically responding to stimuli, yet somehow forming a responsive and highly active grand design.
Yet, it is known that the Titan's can think and act. It was not until recently when the mechanism of a Titan's thought was discovered. What was originally assumed to be a static and soulless control center, responsible only for the determinstic automated systems by which the Titan's body is managed and regulated, turned out to be far more complicated than this. Much of the Titan's "brain" was filled with what seemed to be pointless static- assumed to be a negligible side effect to the control mechanisms- that was in reality the Titan's thoughts themselves.
It was unbelievable. Through means mechanical, operating on gargantuan scales across vast distances using nothing more than simple electrical pulses, the Titans recreated the conditions of what would otherwise be a purely subatomic mind. The Council of Duchar has yet to decide if contact should be attempted- we know so little about the Titans, but simply knowing that even their vast actions which occur over generational timescales have actual purpose has driven the scientific community into a veritable sugar rush. Already discoveries are being made about how the Titan's think and feel. Schisms have already occurred, thousands of religious groups are torn between abhorrence of those trying to contact their Gods and those whose desperation to commune with them leads to support. Wars are already raging.
There is one thing that is known for certain, however- at least for those of us who subscribe to science rather than lunatic rambling. The Titans do not know about us. In much the same way that we have known so little about them, due simply to the sheer difference in scale making it difficult to notice the patterns- they seem to be totally unaware of us. They, too, believe us to be mindless organic machines simply plying our way deterministically through existence. This particular point is where many of the religious schisms occurred- groups whose entire platform rested on their ancient ancestor's "direct" interactions with the "gods who spoke to them" began to crumble, despite concrete evidence of Titan actions which did directly involve those ancestors. At first it was passed off by the scientific community as insane fever dreams put to quanta.
But now that we know that the Titans do indeed possess thought... there are some who are reconsidering this evidence. Have the Titans studied us as well? Do they also have a scientific community? Religions? Art? There are some who have identified significant discriminations between the Titans. It seems, as far as all testing can conclude, that only the upright featherless bipedal ones possess structures complex enough for thought. The others, who do often possess surface structures beyond simple protective barriers as well as nonbipedal constructions, have apparently far simpler and more rigid structures- leading many to believe that they do not possess intellectual capacity.
Furthermore, there is evidence pointing to a world beyond the world. The Titans, it seems, have identified a place beyond the great blue. Beyond the air void which enshrouds all. Is it their size that enables them to see beyond it? Or have we simply been so preoccupied with our immediate surroundings that none thought to gaze beyond them... regardless of which is the case, there is yet more renewed vigor in the scientific community to begin developing macro-scale megastructures capable of transporting us to this "Space" as the Titans call it. Rather unimaginative name, but who can fault them? Their minds are limited by their mechanical structures. Just imagine if their thoughts were comprised of Quanta! The sheer scale would render each one a supercomputer- perhaps they really are and we simply have not yet discovered the true power behind them. Afterall, something has to be responsible for their creation. The idea that they came about naturally is... well its preposterous, really. But however they came about, it was so long ago that to discuss it is likely a moot point.
But enough with these new discoveries- such fields are still burdgeoning, and it is entirely possible that half of what I just said will be provably false within a few generations. Let us focus on what the Titans are. As I said before, they are gargantuan collectives of organic machines which do not individually look dis-similar to us.
But do not be fooled, these "cells" do not have any thoughts of their own. The Quanta simply aren't there- instead, they are comprised of compartively simplistic DNA-driven components rather than the more traditional RNA structures. This is often cited as the key difference between that which truly lives and that which might as well be dead- as only RNA driven lifeforms have been found to possess Quanta. Scientists have long pondered why this might be, and it remains a mystery to this day.
In any case, although there are none who remember a time before the Titans- we can observe glimpses of what such an existence may have been like by looking at those who choose to remain outside of Titan-based collectives. These individuals are often called savages, but much like us they possess Quanta and thus are capable of thinking. Some of them form quite efficient communes- others remain independant and quite fiercely so. Introductions of them into a Titan-based environment do not often go well- not the least of which is because they simply do not know the pass-proteins!
Which brings us to today's subject at last! Pass-proteins. These relatively complex molecules are the key to life within a Titan-based collective. Each Titan has its own set of protein "keys" which lock in a highly specific manner to one other highly specific protein- the pass-protein! Life forms which do not possess a pass-protein, or at least some way to lock onto the Titan's protein keys or otherwise circumvent being checked, will be identified by the Killer cells as a threat and likely trigger an immune response. Needless to say, this does not end well for the lifeform in question! We've all seen what those Devourer cells can do even to their own Titan's cells, and rest assured that you do not want to end up inside of one.
However, those who do possess these pass-proteins- such as all of us here who inherited them from our forefathers- are afforded the same degree of extreme protection as the entire rest of the Titan! The environment is clean, often free of predators and virists, totally protected from environmental disasters, and absolutely filled with nutrients that the Titans rarely seem to make use of. In fact, it has been observed that most Titans systems have developed through unknown means methods for processing our waste! In many cases, observations have been made when a particular species of lifeform disappears from a Titan- rarely good! In many cases there are rather extreme effects, almost as though the Titans themselves have come to rely on us for their very survival.
Imagine that! For countless generations, we and the Titans have existed in symbiotic harmony- they offering us protection from the harsh outside world, and we offering them process material which their automated systems can use to sustain themselves. It really is quite astonishing! Now, before I go on, are there any questions?
"What is a Virist?" - come now, class, don't laugh! There is no such as a stupid question, this is a place of learning not ridicule. I'm glad you asked, a Virist is an individual- or perhaps more accurately a clone of an individual- that has done the unthinkable. Whether out of some vain attempt at immortality, spite, hatred, or any number of other reasons, they have used their own body to create a weapon most foul. A virist. A half-living, half-thinking, mass-replicating abomination hellbent on destruction. An RNA driven machine capable of subverting internal organelles and forcing a lifeform to recreate the virist protein structure en masse until it quite literally explodes from sheer quantity, dumping countless numbers of new Virists into the immediate area- each of which capable of infecting one other cell to create the same fate. Horrifying indeed.
Most virists are miniscule, often small enough to slip past your membrane! Calm down, calm down- they are also usually tuned to a specific family. That's right- Virists can only infect those of a specific descent, or ancestry. Chances are, long ago one of your ancestors was hated badly enough that some other individual decided to give up everything just for a chance to wipe out them and their entire genetic line! Of course, as time goes on, these genetic lines can grow quite large and results in virists capable of targeting significant portions of the populace. It is said that the oldest virists can target any lifeform! Though this is little more than rumor and speculation.
It is, unfortunately, also the case that Titan-specific Virists also exist. Yes, yes, it is true. Despite the staggering degree of diversity in the various organic cells that make up a Titan- every single one of them possesses the same genetic code. All of them functionally clones of one another, differing only in which specific genes are active or not. This is the hallmark of DNA- selective gene expression. Though some RNA structures are capable of it, it is not common. It is in fact believed that those RNA structures may be the "missing link" between Titan cells and most living things. But, regardless, there exist Virists which are living evidence of ancient Titan animosity. Species of half-living RNA machines capable of inflicting unimaginable damage upon our homes- our Titans. Though there is often little we can do to stem the unceasing tide, it is not unheard of for valiant Bactum colonies to stand in defense of their Titan and aid in the war effort. It is these conflicts which have provided the bulk of observational data concerning Titan immune responses.
Let us have a moment of silence to respect their sacrifice in the name of science and the defense of life.

> disclaimer: these are the ramblings of someone who has not formally studied music or music theory and is just going off of the vibes that they got from listening to the character themes over and over. so uh please take these opinions like the opinions that they were meant to be
> also MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD
​
OCHETTE
Ochette, the Hunter
> I love this theme. The first time I heard the samples on the Octopath website I fell in love instantly and was convinced that Ochette was going to be my starter just because of how EPIC it sounded. When the full version came out, my feelings on it being epic did not change one bit because it captures the spirit of going on a grand mission SO WELL, and the theme itself feels like it represents Toto'haha as a whole more than just Ochette, reminding us every time of the gravity of their situation. Of course I have maybe too many problems with her actual story but damn if it doesn't do a great job at being cinematic. You can just tell the dev team had so much fun making scenes with the scale of the Legendary Beasts in mind
> also I'm not the only one who hears a slight choir in the background right.
In Pursuit of Legends
> easily one of the best pre-battle themes in the game - the high wind instruments just send chills down my spine no matter what situation Ochette is put in, and when we hear it for the last time in Ochette 3 - oh BOY does it feel incredible. Speaking of Ochette 3
The Journey for Legends Ends
> Out of all the Journey Ends remixes Ochette's version of it is undoubtedly one of my favorites - easily cracks the top 3. In my first run of OT2, I saved Ochette 3 for last, and having it be against the fight against the Darkling?? The high wind instrument sounded like WAILING and I can't get over how fitting that is given everything that the Darkling had gone through until this moment. The whole island is at stake but our attention is all on the Darkling's suffering and honestly? That whole sequence made me forget about the problems I had with Ochette's story and got me to cry a bit because holy shit
​
CASTTI
Castti, the Apothecary
> I don't have too many strong feelings about Castti's theme, but I dearly appreciate how subdued and somber it sounds. It fits Castti's journey of finding her memories so well and I just generally have no complaints.
> HER LEITMOTIF HOWEVER - the theme used in every flashback sequence incorporates it so well that I cry every goddamn time that it's used. THIS IS THE THEME THAT HER CHAPTER 3 ENDED WITH. IT'S SO SAD AND LOST THAT IT JUST AKSJAKS WHAT DID NISHIKI INJECT INTO THIS THEME???
In Pursuit of Memories
> I love For Succor from the first game. Easily one of the most cinematic-sounding pre-battle themes. In Pursuit of Memories takes everything that made For Succor amazing and TURNS IT UP TO 11 AND WOW THOSE TRUMPETS ARE SENDING CHILLS UP MY SPINE. Castti's leitmotif messes up my brain a lot it's great
The Journey for Memories Ends
> As much as I wanted Castti's rendition of this song to crack the top 3 my god the renditions that DID just made me feel way more BUT HECK IF THIS DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL A LOT OF THINGS
> Having her theme be up against Trousseau feels incredibly triumphant. Like she's being backed up by Eir's Apothecaries as she fights like Jesus they went SO HARD
​
THRONE
Throne, the Thief
> I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this but. I especially don't have strong feelings about Throne's theme. I like it enough, I'm a sucker for strings and I think it suits her well, but I feel like it blends too much into the rest of the soundtrack. It could be the instrument choice, it could be the chords? I promise I like the strings. I also love how it played in her ending. I feel nothing but happiness for Throne when I see her endcard I love it so much
In Pursuit of Freedom
> To be completely honest I have to strain my ears to actually hear Throne's motif in the pre-battle theme but I don't have a lot to say about it - definitely blends in too much with the violins.
The Journey for Freedom Ends
> OKAY THE LOW ELECTRIC GUITAR RIFFS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE RENDITION? GOD-TIER - FOR SOME REASON I ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE AND THEY'RE REALLY GOOD BUILDUP
> As for the rest of it it's fine I guess? Like I like hearing it and battling with it but I think the first time around I was way too confused with the bombshells that Claude dropped on us for me to properly appreciate the music
​
OSVALD
Osvald, the Scholar
> At first I thought this was a pretty generic somber theme that REALLY loves its cellos, but in my second playthrough I grew to appreciate it a lot more. Without changing a single note, Osvald's theme goes from somber to triumphant over the course of his story and it's kind of insane to me?? Like it fits way too well with the bittersweet ending that he has but has so much room for hope and somehow his character theme captures that so well??? Gods bless you Osvald
In Pursuit of Revenge
> Gotta say - I don't have a lot of feelings on this either. Other than to say that it's badass and imposing as all hell
The Journey for Revenge Ends
> OKAY I HONESTLY DID NOT THINK THAT THIS THEME COULD EVER FIT A FUCKING. DRAGON BALL KAMEHAMEHADOUKEN DUEL BETWEEN HIM AND HARVEY BUT THE ELECTRIC GUITAR MELODY PROVED ME SO WRONG. THIS THEME GOT ME REALLY HYPED UP
> Honestly the fact that I was maybe rooting for Osvald too hard to just kick Harvey's ass because he hurt Elena probably helped BUT STILL AWESOME THEME
​
PARTITIO
Partitio, the Merchant
> God. The moment I heard the electric guitars I was already sold but then the SAX kicked in and it's like 'YO ALRIGHT WE'RE BALLING'
> this post really started out with me describing actual feelings. Don't worry we're still going to talk about feelings but I don't have much to say about Partitio's theme other than it's awesome and that people should play it in bars
In Pursuit of Happiness
> man this game is really giving me a great appreciation of the power of electric guitars. I see the appeal now. I especially see it in Partitio's leitmotif cuz man it really makes me want to end poverty. Unfortunately I don't have Partitio's business acumen OR his exuberance so I like. The most I can actually do is look into charity and volunteer work but this theme reminds me that that's good effort too
The Journey for Happiness Ends
> Gotta say? I don't have a lot of strong feelings about this rendition. Like I love Partitio and his story's ending to BITS but I think the fact that we're fighting a whole-ass steam-powered war train had the more staying power for me in this fight. Not that his theme was bad by any means because MAN that electric guitar solo goes bonkers
​
AGNEA
Agnea, the Dancer
> HANDS-DOWN MY FAVORITE OF ALL THE 8PATH2 CHARACTER THEMES - IT JUST SOUNDS AMAZING NO MATTER WHAT CONTEXT YOU PUT IT IN. I also love that it just ends up existing in-universe as full on diagetic noise for Agnea's encore at the end of her story? HELL I ALREADY SAID I'M A SUCKER FOR STRINGS BUT AGNEA'S THEME JUST SOUNDS SO HOMEY AND WHIMSICAL AND IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME REALLY WANT TO DANCE. AND I SUCK AT DANCING!
> Gil's piano version also just flat-out brings me to tears. God bless you Agnea motif. Why is it so good at being emotional. The evolution of this song throughout Agnea's journey just hits me on so many levels. Music and dance as a form of human expression and communication is fully on display with Agnea's story and her theme reflects that perfectly
In Pursuit of Hope
> how do I gush over Agnea's leitmotif even more without just repeating myself. it's just so good. it's so hype even if the situations themselves are relatively low-stakes. like she's just having a really intense talk with the manager of the theater and the battle theme goes HARDER THAN IT SHOULD
Song of Hope
> HONESTLY WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT SONG OF HOPE THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID. SONG OF HOPE BEING THE FINAL FORM OF AGNEA'S THEME LIKE IT'S A SUPER SAIYAN HAVING THEIR POWER LEVELS GO OVER 9000. THE FACT THAT IN-UNIVERSE IT'S ACTUALLY HER SINGING IT. THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE SONG THAT BEATS DOLCINAEA LUCIEL. THE FACT THAT THEY'RE BOTH SINGING IT ACTUALLY IT'S SO GOOD
> man I wish sometimes that whenever Agnea uses her EX Song of Hope we got like. a little jingle of her theme and her singing the lyrics. I love Song of Hope so much it's my second-favorite Journey Ends theme. Yes I know it technically doesn't qualify but come onnnn
​
TEMENOS
Temenos, the Cleric
> okay now I'm REALLY going to get flack for this. I actually don't like Temenos's theme. There's specific reasons for this and most of them have to do with his story. It was already one of the character themes that I felt relatively neutral on when I first heard it, and my first impression was that 'mmmm okay. what's throne's theme sound like-'. The demo came out and gave us Chapter 1, and suddenly it makes sense why it sounds so funky - it represents his character from Chapter 1 so well! It tells us a lot about Temenos - that he's lackadaisical, full of doubt, and that there's more to him than meets the eye. It's true to his character as a detective who likes to mess with his assistant sometimes
> But then Stormhail happened, and it's like. The whimsical tones of his theme really didn't suit the tone of the rest of his story OR his character going forward. Crick's death has dramatically changed the feel of his story, and from that moment on it's pretty clear that Temenos is out for revenge more than he is out for truth - but his theme doesn't reflect that. In fact it feels like it's acting in defiance of the tone shift, feeling almost dismissive of the emotional plot points of his story. On a meta level I think it's interesting how it reflects Temenos's state of mind, sticking to his pursuit in order to avenge everybody he lost and keeping his emotions bottled up. Emotionally however it feels incredibly dissonant - especially when it plays over his endcard.
In Pursuit of Truth
> Honestly for how much flack I gave his character theme I have to give it to his leitmotif for being incorporated in incredibly interesting ways for his battle themes. I did NOT think that the Celestas?? Glockenspiels??? Whatever those brass instruments were - they were INTENSE
The Journey for Truth Ends
> Same words that I have for In Pursuit of Truth like oh my god I didn't think they could make his funky-sounding leitmotif sound so badass but they DID and it felt immensely satisfying to kick Kaldena's ass as the music played. Savor that satisfaction because my god the rest of his story arc does not have a lot of that
​
HIKARI
Hikari, the Warrior
> I'm partial to Eastern instruments and chord progression! Hikari's theme sounds incredibly regal and it tells us a lot about his character - he's noble, kind, and a great leader. It's a theme that's fit for a king and honestly what more can you ask for?
> also when the bridge plays with the peaceful tones of high wind instruments my heart is just. It is at ease. All is right in the world. tHEN IT'S BACK TO THE INTENSE PARTS WAHOO
In Pursuit of Kingship
> OKAY BEFORE THE GAME CAME OUT I WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO THE LEAKED SOUNDTRACK OVER AND OVER BECAUSE OH MY GOD HIKARI'S LEITMOTIF GOES SO HARD - I literally SCREAMED when I first heard the leaked version and honestly through the choppy audio and the chunky part of the video - you all know the one - this theme was the one that convinced me that Octopath Traveler 2 was going to be something special. I screamed out loud to several people I knew that this? Seamless transition into Critical Clash II?? It sounded like Latin Honors.
The Journey for Kingship Ends
> So, picture me on my first run, intending to finish the second game this time in reverse OCTOPATH order, meaning I started with Hikari's final chapters. Sure I switched Temenos and Throne around for the order but that was fine, I'm in Ku, and we're about to finally kick Mugen's ass because I fucking hate Mugen. The chapter begins with Kazan literally summoning a sandstorm to open the gates of Ku. I am already so hyped. Then Clan Mei arrives. I am even more hyped. THEN WE FINALLY GET TO KICK RITSU'S ASS, AND HEY OCTOPATH 2, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS A BOSS RUSH??? I get to Mugen. I beat his first phase. I fight Hikari's intrusive thoughts and win. Mugen does some eldritch shit. AND THEN THIS FUCKING THEME KICKS IN AND I WAS JUST THROWN BACKWARDS INTO MY SEAT
> IN MY OPINION THIS IS THE BEST RENDITION OF THE JOURNEY ENDS REMIXES - THE MUSICAL PROGRESSION FROM THE FIGHT AGAINST RITSU, THEN A TASTE OF FOR THE DAWN WITH MUGEN'S FIRST PHASE, THEN CONQUERING THE SHADOW, AND THEN THIS - IT WAS SO GOOD?? AND IT SOUNDS SO TRIUMPHANT LIKE - HIKARI IS ON THE CUSP OF VICTORY AND PEACE IS AT HIS FINGERTIPS. KU WILL FINALLY SEE THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY. THAT IS WHAT THIS SOUNDS LIKE AND IT'S THE MOST AMAZING THING AND I LOVE IT
​
so yeah i'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on the character themes. feel free to disagree with my opinions! I welcome it!

"Here we go...(gulps)"
Green 'Stache. King of Second Bananas. The original pallet swap. Plain old player two. No matter what, Luigi never seems to be able to catch a break, always living in his brother's shadow. But in reality, he's got many advantages over Mario, such as his jump height and being taller. But while he may be a coward, when it comes down to saving those he cares about, Luigi will find the strength inside him to stand up against his foes, be they Bowser's forces or King Boo's spectral legions.
This thread takes the Super Mario Bros. 'canon' as every Super Mario platformer and all closely linked games (the Luigi's Mansion games, Yoshi titles except for Wooly World, and Super Princess Peach). The sole exception is Super Mario Bros. 2, which is confirmed in the credits to be a dream. Hover over each feat for the game they come from. Any feats featuring a different character comes from a game where they are capable of demonstrating the exact same feat.

Legend

1 - Super Mario Bros.
3 - Super Mario Bros. 3
W - Super Mario World
W2 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
LM - Luigi's Mansion
64-DS - Super Mario 64 DS
PP - Super Princess Peach
New - New Super Mario Bros.
G - Super Mario Galaxy
New-W - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
G2 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
3DL - Super Mario 3D Land
New-2 - New Super Mario Bros. 2
New-U - New Super Mario Bros. U
LM-2 - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
3DW - Super Mario 3D World
LM-3 - Luigi's Mansion 3

Physicals

Strength

Striking - Jumping Into

• Breaks large brick blocks by jumping and spinning into them^G
• Breaks a giant block by jumping into it³
• Breaks a giant brick block by repeatedly jumping into it^3DW
• Makes a large enemy slide back by jumping on it^3DW

Striking - Punching/Kicking

• Swings a punching bag considerably with a punch, hitting a large ghost and sending it reeling^LM
• Shatters large brick blocks with a punch^64-DS
• Kicks a giant shell so that it breaks a giant block, and still has enough force to rebound³
• Drop kicks a tower twice before jumping on it, destroying it. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutscene^W
• Lifts a tower and kicks it away. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutscene^W

Striking - Spinning

• Breaks large brick blocks by jumping and spinning into them^G
• Shatters big stone spikes with a spin^G
• Shatters a large amount of crystal with a spin^G
• Shatters a giant crystal with two spins^G
• Shatters a boulder bigger than him with a spin, albeit one with the inside being comprised of some red material^G
• Destroys a giant boulder with a spin, albeit one with the inside being comprised of some red material^G
• Makes the heavy end of a large monster's tail go flying back with a spin with enough force that it stretches before coming back with enough force to do damage^G
• Sends a large Petey Piranha-like alien through the air with a spin, with it sending stone shards up upon landing^G2
• Sends Bowser spinning across a tiny artificial planet with a spin, before knocking him back through the air with another^G
• After Bowser covered himself in stone, sends him spinning with a spin while knocking all of the stone off of him^G

Striking - Ground Pound

• Ground pounds in a stone switch that's unaffected by his weight^64-DS
• Breaks brick blocks with a ground pound^New
• Shatters cracked stone with a ground pound^G
• Shatters a Whomp with a ground pound^N
• Shatters a giant Whomp with a ground pound to the back^G2
• Cracks King Whomp with a ground pound to the back^G2
• Ground pounds a large monster from below, sending it spinning through the air^G2
• Ground pounds a large meteor into Bowser, knocking him back^G2
• Ground pounds a large meteor a distance into an enormous Bowser, sending him spinning back^G2
• Flips a nearby Wriggler with a ground pound^G

Leaping

• Jumps high, using Mario's head as a springboard³
• Jumps onto an airship's anchor as it's taking off³
• Jumps on top of a tower. While this is supposed to be the tower the level took place in, it's visually only about twice as high as Luigi^W

Lifting/Throwing

• Shifts about a large stone statue^LM
• Walks around with a large spiked metal ball being carried by the Poltergust 3000^LM
• Lifts a tower and kicks it away. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutscene^W
• Lifts and throws Big Bob-omb⁶⁴
• Lifts and throws large sentient boulders, with them shattering on hitting something^3DW
• Breaks a brick block by throwing a Koopa shell^New
• Throws a Koopa shell underwater, causing it to destroy a large amount of rock^G
• Swings a grand piano over his head^LM-3
• Swings around and throws Bowser by his tail⁶⁴

Other

• Causes a tower to collapse by swinging a hammer numerous times. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi in the cutscene^W
• Pushes a large box^64-DS
• Breaks blocks by spin jumping on them^W
• Easily sucks up a ghost which dragged E. Gadd around while he tried to suck it up^LM

Durability

Blunt Force

• Hit into the air by Peach and sent bouncing about^PP
• Shunted forwards a distance after being run into by a tank^New
• Hit on the back of the head by a sliding modified sled, flips through the air, and lands on said sled^LM-2
• Launched through a seemingly glass dome^G
• Flung through a mansion's roof^LM-2
• Sent flying up a mansion by a springboard, hits open a metal hatch, and continues going up a distance before falling to the roof^LM-2
• Launched through several brick blocks^3DW
• Launched out of a cannon with enough force to break part of a brick wall^64-DS
• Is unharmed after being launched through crystal hard enough to shatter it^G
• Tumbles down a set of stairs and gets back up^LM-2

Falling

• Quickly recovers from being in an elevator that falls a floor^LM-2
• Gets sent flying up a mansion by a springboard, hits open a metal hatch, and continues going up a distance before falling to the roof^LM-2
• Unharmed after falling 4 floors down a chimney^LM
• Falls from an airship, past clouds, and onto the floor in a castle without problem³
• Is fine being launched between tiny planets and landing on his feet^G

Explosive

• Stands right besides a tower as an explosion strong enough to level it occurs. While the tower is supposed to be the one the level took place in, it's only about twice as high as Luigi with the Super Mushroom in this cutscene^W
• Is near an ice monster created by a possessing ghost when it has a bomb launched into its mouth, creating a large explosion^LM-2
• Gets launched out of a cannon with enough force to break part of a brick wall^64-DS
• Gets launched onto an airship via cannon^3DW
• Gets fired out of a cannon a large distance and onto a bridge^3DW

Other

• Is sent flying by a giant suit of armour stamping close to him^LM-2

Speed

• Quickly covers a large distance by running^New
• Runs up the side of a pipe^W
• Runs on water for a short period of time^64-DS

Agility

Abilities

• Triple Jump - Jumps three times in succession, gaining extra height with each jump^64-DS
• Wall Jump - Jumps between two close by walls, gaining height each time^G
• Long Jump - Jumps far, but without much height^64-DS
• Backflip - Jumps high after crouching, and spins to slow his fall^64-DS
• Scuttle - Scuttles in midair to slow his fall^64-DS
• Twist - Twists to slightly suspend himself in the air^G
• Spin - With a Luma under his hat, Luigi can spin, acting both as an attack and as a way to give himself some extra distance in the air.^G
  • Speeds him up underwater, though it makes him run out of air quicker^G
  • In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Luigi can spin without Luma^New-W
• Roll - Dashes forwards in a roll^3DL

Feats

• Balances on a ball, and somehow jumps with it^G
• Walks on a tightrope^3DL
• Walks on, and jumps between, two narrow pipes^LM-2

Power-Ups

Size Changing

Super Mushroom

• Grows the small character to their regular size¹

Mushroom

• Makes a character giant, capable of destroying large brick blocks, Bullet Bill launchers, and Thwomps by walking into them^64-DS
• Allows the user to no-sell large rolling metal balls^64-DS
• Wario with the mushroom was unaffected by being hit by a boulder slightly larger than him while under the effects of the mushroom, but this could be because of Wario's naturally greater strength^64-DS

Mega Mushroom

• Makes the user giant for a short amount of time, capable of easily breaking bricks and pipes by walking through them. They can also ground pound to make Goombas or coins fall from the sky^New
• Makes the user capable of smashing brick blocks as tall as their new size by running into them^3DW

Mini Mushroom

• Makes the user small and light enough to run on water^New
• Allows the user to run up walls^New-U
• The character can't hurt enemies by jumping on them as normal like this^New

Mobility

Super Leaf

• Allows the user to slow their descent^U
• With a run up, allows the user to fly for a short time, able to break blocks while doing so³
• Breaks brick blocks with a tail whip³
• Breaks an enormous brick block with several tail swings^3DW

P Wing

• Functions the same as the Super Leaf, but allows for unlimited flight without build up³
• In Super Mario 3D Land, the P Wing teleports the user to the flagpole at the end of the world^3DL

Tanooki Leaf

• Functions the same as the Super Leaf, but allows the user to turn into a statue for a short period³

Statue Leaf

• Acts like the Tanooki Leaf, creating a small shockwave upon landing if the transformation into a statue happens mid-air^3DL
• The statue is invincible, though the transformation only lasts for so long at once^3DL

Super Acorn

• Allows the user to glide through the air^New-U
• Provides a 'boost' to rapidly ascend in the air, though they can't glide afterwards and instead flap their wings to slow their descent^New-U
• The user can cling briefly to walls before sliding down them^New-U

Propeller Mushroom

• Lets the user fly straight up, and then either slow their descent by running in midair or rapidly descend in a fast spin^New-W
• Clears away a large amount of cloud surrounding the user by flying up and rapidly spinning down^New-W

Cape Feather

• Allows the user to slow their decent, fly with a running start, and spin to attack^W
• Lets the user slow their descent while riding Yoshi^W

Bee Mushroom

• Lets the user slowly fly for brief periods^G
• Lets the user climb on honey panels and the giant furry Queen Bee^G
• Lets the user walk on clouds and other platforms that immediately break upon a character not using the Bee Mushroom touching them^G2
• Goes away upon the user touching water^G2

Red Star

• Allows unlimited flight by spinning^G

P Balloon

• Inflates the user, letting them float around for a limited period of time^W

Power Flower

• With the Power Flower, Luigi turns invisible and intangible, capable of walking through wire fencing^64-DS
  • Walk through a magic mirror^64-DS
  • Walks through certain walls,^64-DS
• Is immune to toxic gas^64-DS

Cloud Mushroom

• Allows the user to create and walk on up to three cloud platforms that disappear after a short time period^G2
• Goes away when the user touches water^G2

Spring Mushroom

• Makes the user bounce everywhere, while making them capable of jumping great heights^G

Frog Suit

• Makes the user only hop on land, but capable of jumping higher³
• Lets the user swim quicker³

Penguin Suit

• Can throw ice balls which bounce on the ground and instantly freeze an enemy in a block if it hits. It also allows the user to slide on ice with enough force to break through brick blocks^New-W
• The user can slide on the surface of water^New-W
• Allows the user greater mobility in water^New-W
• Allows the user to walk on ice without slipping^New-W

Offensive

Fire Flower

• Throws fireballs which bounce along the floor and off of walls for a short time, or until they hit something^3DW
• Instantly burns up a Piranha Plant^New
• Instantly thaws coins and Munchers trapped in blocks of ice³
• Destroys a large Goomba snow sculpture with a fireball, and a giant Bowser snow sculpture in three^G2
• Keeps going after breaking wooden crates^G2
• Shatters reinforced crates bigger than Mario^G2
• Breaks crystal structures^G2
• Makes the giant Prince Bully slide back with fireballs^3DW
• Work underwater¹
• In Super Mario Galaxy, the power up doesn't go away on damage, but instead after a certain amount of time^G

Ice Flower

• Throws balls of ice which bounce on the ground and instantly freeze an enemy in a block^New-W
• The ice balls work underwater^New-W
• The ice balls create some amount of light^New-U
• In Super Mario Galaxy, turns the user into ice for a limited amount of time, instantly freezing the water or lava they touch into icy platforms^New-G

Gold Flower

• Turns the user gold or silver, and lets them throw balls of energy. These balls create shockwaves that defeat enemies and turn blocks into coins^New-2

Boomerang Flower

• Allows the user to throw boomerangs which constantly follow the thrower until they hit something^3DL
• Can hit several enemies before stopping^3DW
• Can be used to collect far off things^3DL

Hammer Suit

• Allows the user to throw hammers, as well as providing a limited amount of fire protection³

Blue Shell

• Lets the user withdraw into a blue Koopa shell, letting them ricochet off of walls and break brick blocks. They can jump while withdrawn^New

Super Bell

• Hits away large football bombs^3DW
• Makes a large enemy slide back^3DW
• Hits away large sentient boulders^3DW
• Shatters a large wooden panel shaped like Bowser^3DW
• Shatters a crate with a swing^3DW
• Allows the user to climb up sheer walls for a brief time (including those made of stone) and clamber up flagpoles^3DW
• Dives down at a diagonal angle with enough force to shatter wooden crates^3DW
• The user can paddle in the air to slow their descent^3DW

Rock Mushroom

• Makes the user gather rocks around themselves and roll around in a boulder. Like this, an enormous gemstone can be shattered in two blows^G2
• Knocks down a metal drawbridge^G2
• Shatters larger rolling boulders, albeit ones consisting largely of something red on the inside, and a large rock, though the latter breaks the user out of their boulder^G2
• Hits a giant armadillo-like monster into the air, making it spin^G2
• Jumps a large distance after rolling up a ramp^G2

Invincibility

Starman

• Makes the user invincible for a short period, allowing them to run through enemies and attacks without harm¹
• Extends to Yoshi while riding him^W
• Creates a large amount of light while in use^New-W

Rainbow Star

• Turns the user invincible and faster for a short period, though it can't be used with other power ups^G

Invincibility Leaf

• Functions like the Super Leaf, only the user is invincible while in use^3DL

P-Acorn

• Functions the same as the Super Acorn. However, the user is invincible, gliding has multicolored Ps come out from behind them, and they can 'boost' themselves an unlimited amount of times^New-U

Other

Boo Mushroom

• Turns the user into a Boo, letting them float and turning them intangible^G
• Goes away after being hit by bright light^G

Mario Cap
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.^64-DS

• Can shatter brick blocks with a punch,^64-DS
• Can wall jump^64-DS
• Is the only character with access to the wings, which allow him to fly around for a short period of time^64-DS
• With the Power Flower, Mario becomes inflated and floats around, bouncing off surfaces slightly. This automatically goes away after a short period of time, or can be forced away by ground pounding^64-DS

Wario Cap
In Super Mario 64 DS, characters can wear the caps of Mario, Luigi, and Wario, turning them into the hat's owner and gaining their abilities.^64-DS

• Can smash giant black brick blocks and giant boulders with a punch^64-DS
• Hits posts into the ground with a single ground pound while other characters require three.^64-DS
• With the Power Flower, Wario turns metal, becoming immune to enemy attacks, not needing to breathe underwater, and be unaffected by poisonous gas^64-DS

Double Cherry

• Creates an identical clone of the user which copy their every movement. Any power ups gained affect all existing clones^3DW
• The effects of a Double Cherry stack, allowing a second clone to be made when one already exists, and so on^3DW
• When the user enters a warp pipe, the clones warp to them and reappear on the other side of the pipe^3DW

Life Mushroom

• Fills the user's health, then doubles it until they've taken enough damage to bring them down to normal health^G

Equipment

Poltergust 3000

A vacuum cleaner adapted by Professor E. Gadd to be able to suck up ghosts, used in Luigi's Mansion.
Strength

• Sucks up a tablecloth over a long table without moving anything on top of it^LM
• Can suck up large spiked metal balls, hold them, and shoot them^LM
• Sucks up a falling item, shoots it away a distance, and causes it to destroy half of a large rock sphere^LM

Functions

• The vacuum head has a torch function that can quickly be switched out in order to suck up ghosts
• By sucking up different elemental ghosts, the Poltergust can spit out said element
  • Fire elemental ghosts make the Poltergust a flamethrower^LM
  • Water elemental ghosts allow large amounts of water to be sprayed, quickly putting out a burning door^LM
  • Ice elemental ghosts make the Poltergust spew a freezing gas^LM

Other

• Would be unharmed after being struck by lightning strong enough to kill Luigi^LM

Poltergust 5000

An later version of the Poltergust 3000 from Luigi's Mansion 2. It can be further upgraded to the Super Poltergust, which increases its capabilities to suck up ghosts^LM-2
Strength

• Carries around a filled bucket of water^LM-2
• Shoots a spiked plant, causing it to shatter a wooden picture^LM-2
• Lifts a Toad by the head and shoots them a distance^LM-2
• Pulls down a wall with three pulls of a vine^LM-2
• Pulls down a wall with three pulls of a chain^LM-2
• Sucks up a sheet covering a door^LM-2
• Sucks up a tablecloth, throwing items into the air slightly but not moving them otherwise^LM-2
• Makes a rug roll up by sucking it^LM-2
• Causes the handle of a safe to spin, opening it, by sucking^LM-2
• Makes a large fan on a stone statue spin, causing it to lift and reveal a hidden compartment underneath^LM-2

Functions

• The Strobulb releases bright light that disorientates ghosts and people. It can be immediately activated, or charged up for a much larger cone of light^LM-2
  • Causes a large flower to open up^LM-2
• The Dark-Light creates a rainbow beam of light which reveals illusions. When used on object made to appear invisible, it forced the things causing said illusions out^LM-2
  • Can also be used to let objects and people trapped in paintings out^LM-2
  • If used too much in a short period of time, the Dark-Light overheats and needs to quickly recharge^LM-2
• Can fire objects held by a ghosts it sucks up^LM-2
• Can inflate balloon-like objects and let Luigi fly around^LM-2

Poletergust G-00

The Poltergust Luigi obtained from E. Gadd's car in Luigi's Mansion 3 which has a range of abilities on top of the basic functions presented with earlier models.
Strength

• Spins the handle of a vault door^LM-3
• Sucks up mannequin heads and wigs^LM-3
• Sucks up a duvet and pillows^LM-3
• Sends explosive barrels rolling forwards^LM-3
• Carries around a Toad and shoots them over a wall^LM-3
  • Shoots a Toad with enough force to make them rebound off of walls several times, and to break through brick walls^LM-3
• With the Super Suction upgrade, the Poltergust can be plugged into special outlets to greatly increase its power. Like this, it breaks apart the front half of a ship as well as the front of the wall behind it to suck it up^LM-3
  • Uses this mode to break apart a platform, a music desk, a number of large speakers, and a brick wall^LM-3

Functions

• By charging up its light, releases a bright burst which stuns ghosts^LM-3
• Can swap between a regular torch lens and a special one capable of revealing things trapped in portraits, be it people or items^LM-3
  • Used to reveal hidden objects^LM-3
  • Shows the tracks of a ghost, allowing Luigi to follow them^LM-3
• Shoots a burst of air at the ground, lifting Luigi into the air and shaking a nearby car and wagon^LM-3
• Fires a plunger to grab on to objects^LM-3

Gooigi

• A Luigi made of goo that can pass through small gaps through the likes of fences which Luigi can directly control or leave stationary while he himself does something^LM-3
• With Luigi lifts and slams King Boo, cracking the roof of a hotel^LM-3
• Splatters after a fall but quickly reforms^LM-3
• Is fully capable of using his Poltergust like Luigi can, such as with capturing ghosts^LM-3
• Holds an item inside of him^LM-3
• Made of a substance which reacts to the presence of Boos^LM-3
• Will instantly disintegrate when he gets wet, returning to the Poltergust^LM-3

Other

• Is waterproof up to 'really deep' depths^LM-3

Other

Game Boy Horror
A modified Game Boy Colour, given to Luigi by Professor E. Gadd to help him through Luigi's Mansion.

• Contains a map of the mansion^LM
• Has a Boo radar, which flashes and changes colour depending on how close a Boo is^LM
• Has a functioning camera with good quality^LM
• Allows for video calls with E. Gadd^LM
• Keeps track of all the money and gems Luigi collects throughout the night^LM

Dual Scream
In Luigi's Mansion 2, E. Gadd changes with the times and this time gives Luigi a modified DS. It would be later dubbed the Dual Scream.

• Contains a map of the mansions, which actively updates to marks E. Gadd makes^LM-2
• Can make video calls^LM-2

Virtual Boo
Luigi's Mansion 3's communication device modelled after the Virtual Boy, complete with red-coloured holographic imagery.

• Links with a device in the elevator to show a map of the floor^LM-3
• Makes video calls^LM-3

Other

• Is unaffected by a giant portrait which causes trees at the bottom of the hotel he's standing on to uproot and fly up^LM-3
• With Mario, quickly fixes a clear pipe^3DW
• Through the 'bond between twins' can tell where Mario is^W2
• Can put himself in a bubble to float around, though he needs someone outside of a bubble to pop him out^New-W
• Has his entire body spin after entering a tornado, slowing his descent, though his head doesn't move at all^G
• Uses three swipes of a large mop to seemingly erase a tower, leaving only a white flag behind^W

"See ya!"

Let me start off my saying all the good things about the show before i get into the bad stuff.
First, i really enjoyed the concept, and story of the first season and how the main theme is found family, there was some really heartwarming stuff and there were some memorable moments. Second, the animation is solid, i dont really like the vibrant colors since theyre going for kiddy appeal, but they do it in a way that doesnt feel overwhelming or like its in your face, and its the most alive the series has felt in a while. The lighting is gorgeous in places like cloud kingdom, and Wyldfire and Heatwave's home. Third, the concept is pretty unique, combining all of the realms and having all of the characters we grew up with for 10+ years was pretty cool, and not knowing where they are adds an air of mystery. Fourth, i really like the worldbuilding, Crossroads being a combination of all the merged realms with a combination of cultures is a pretty neat idea, and it hits pretty close to home since i grew up in places where there is a lot of diversity. I honestly expected Imperium to not be shown until late into the series but even though it wasnt introduced until the tail end, it is an incredible area, and the animation makes it look way cooler. Finally, 20 minute episodes and serialization. This is a big one since we've asked for this one for a long time and now that they're back, i feel like this is the most peak the series has been in YEARS.
Now its time for the bad.
First, 20 minutes hurt a little bit since we now have a little bit more filler during early episodes, causing problems later down the line since they cram a whole lotta stuff at the tail end, causing a few pacing issues, although its pretty easy to ignore. Second, even though the concept of combining the realms is great, there isnt a lot thats been done so far, mostly filler. Theyre probably gonna save stuff for later seasons, but they only fit in like 4 (5 if you wanna br generous) realms, which is a lot, thats like a quarter of them, but it would be cool if they showed more hints that the realms really WERE combined, like atm they feel like the new super mario bros u overworld map where all the areas are just stitched together. Third, the humor wasnt that good. While there was some good humor (Lloyd saying stop it is peak lego cinema), most of the jokes just do not land, probably because im 16 writing this at 2 in the morning. For the writers knack of comedy writing, i honestly expected them to have some really good banter, like the Lloyd, Kai, and Nya banter on the bounty. Fourth, the villains are generic Saturday Morning Cartoon villains. There isnt really anything bad about them, theyre really good villains and very imposing at that, but their motivation is very lacking. They talk about Ras having a grand plan, and how this badass character is working for someone else behind the scenes, but hes rarely seen and gets imprisoned at the end. Then theres Beatrix and Rapton, Rapton is your generic goon that lacks depth, and Beatrix is evil german guy bad ending, shes cool, but i want to know her motivation. Like, how is she empress, what does she have against dragons? Shes cool, but lacks depth as well. Maybe theyll elaborate in a later season. Finally, too many plot holes. Youre telling me theres source dragons who are like five times the size of Firstbourne when she is the mother of all dragons, that they literally hold the fabric of existence, where were they when the time twins were messing with, oh idk, THE FABRIC OF EXISTENCE! Wildfyre being the elemental master of HEAT, WHAT THE HELL IS HEAT, MICROWAVE?!?!?! How did Zane end up in the monestary of Imperium, and how does Wu's ghost work? There is so much that this series does right and wrong at the same time that its unbelievable how decent it ended up being.
I give the series a 6/10. It was decent at best, and a mess at worse. I really hope they improve upon a lot of aspects as the series goes on. Again, im just some 16 year old watching a lego show made for toddlers, but the stories theyve told are incredible, and with a little more hard work, this series could surpass the stuff from Legacy.
Thats my review, dont get mad and id like to discuss things after i sleep. Good night

Suppose you were an omnipotent god, and you demand worship, such as the Christian God. Would you give proof of your existence to those who wished to follow you? I imagine for Jehovah that it would be quite simple to perform a continual sequence of verifiable miracles. It would be quite logical in practice too, for it would keep God’s followers from delusion and doubt. There is no such luck with Jehovah though. He demands absolute fidelity without any demonstration of his existence. The only so called record of his existence is the bible. I think it pretty much goes with out saying that not only is the bible 2,000 years out dated, but it is also very unoriginal. Any Christian who proposes that the bible is indeed evidence for God’s existence is proposing a double standard. For there are many books which claim to be actual accounts of a higher power. With this in mind, why not believe in Allah from the Quran? Could it be because your faith is what determines your belief and not the book?
Let’s examine what faith is. The definition of faith is hope for a circumstance or thing that is not proven to be true. There is no virtue in accepting something on faith, since it may very well be false, and it is clearly not virtuous to believe the false. Faith has also been proven through out history, time and again, that it is equivalent to massive hysteria; IE: Crusades, Inquisitions, Holy Wars, etc. On a grand scale faith, thus far, has only proven to be an intellectual weakness, and a significant barrier to scientific and moral progress. With all of this in mind, how can God possibly expect us to view faith as the greatest way to glorify him, let alone demand this of us?
Most importantly, the point to remember here is that if we don’t believe in him, we go to Hell. If God is truly concerned about the good, he will do what he can to keep us from Hell, and withholding vital information from us is the exact opposite of this.
Does God really care about all people being saved? Or is it just the easily convinced or those born into Christianity? I ask this because the Bible has no more evidence in it than the Quran or other man made religious books. Seems like salvation is more of a crapshoot hoping to be born into the right religion because it's not based on evidence which is needed to truely beleive something, atleast this is the case for billions of decent people who are simply not convinced the exact same way your not convinced in the Quran.
Edit: It amazes me all the downvotes a post like this gets, as if this is not a thing that affects BILLIONS of people's eternal salvation.

Hello once again. No, I'm still not shutting up about this. The end of the 2022-2023 season is drawing to a close and I just felt like letting you know how it ended for Dinamo Bucharest. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I wrote a series of posts on this subreddit about the history of Dinamo Bucharest (the craziest football story, bla bla bla). If you are curious to find out about it, I will link parts 1, 2, and 3 for you, along with the update that I posted back in the middle of May. This one right here is meant to wrap up the whole thing, one final update on what's been going on at Dinamo Bucharest. And no, no one asked to but I'm doing it anyway.

The last fixture

So, the last time I told you about your (now) favorite Romanian football club, we still had one more match to play in the Romanian Second League playoff. We were tied on points with Otelul Galati and if we could get a better result than them in the last fixture, we would be promoted back to Romania's top flight. Our opponents in the last match would be the leaders and already promoted side, Poli Iasi. They won the playoff by a landslide, having an 8-point lead over second-placed Steaua before the last game and they also allowed 10 of their players to go on vacation earlier, some of whom were regular starters. So in theory, Dinamo had a pretty easy job of obtaining the 3 points that we needed. All that was left was to hope that Otelul wouldn't win their match against 6th-placed Unirea Dej.
However, real life isn't always as easy as it is on paper. Dinamo started the match poorly, conceding in the 8th minute due to a clumsy mistake from our goalkeeper, who literally passed to ball to the opposing striker. Poli Iasi then made it 2-0 after some more chaotic defending from us. We managed to get one back, however, in the 23rd minute and the score at halftime was 2-1. We even had a free kick near the end of the first 45 minutes, but we sadly hit the crossbar. Everyone believed that we would bounce back in the second half as, again, Poli Iasi had nothing to fight for anymore and our determination would be enough to turn the tables on them.
But, once again, reality hit us like a ton of bricks and the home team made it 3-1 in the 49th minute. Dinamo were completely dominated for the rest of the game and even conceded a 4th goal with ten minutes left to play, losing the game 4-1. This came as a huge disappointment to a lot of people, as many of us believed it was finally time for lady luck to be on our side for once. But in the end, we couldn't get the job done. Again. Luckily, at least Otelul won their match as well, defeating Unirea Dej 1-0 at home. Why luckily? Because at least the players wouldn't have to live with the thought that if they had won, they would've been promoted. At least this way, their result was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
The most worrying aspect of them all was regarding the players' morale, as the promotion/relegation tie was going to take place about a week later, so they needed to forget this failure and focus on what was to come. It would be the second year in a row when Dinamo would find themselves in such a tie, only this time they would try to climb back up in the Romanian First League, rather than fighting to stay up. Our dance partner was going to be former 2-time Romanian champions, FC Arges Pitesti.

Promotion battle: the first leg

The first match took place in Bucharest at the largest stadium in the country, the National Arena, in front of a crowd of 25.000 strong. The fans were hopeful, but optimism wasn't exactly at an all-time high, as we were clear underdogs for this bout. We had what looked like a weaker squad and very little experience in playing against first-league teams. What Dinamo did have was a lot of heart and the support of thousands of people in the stands. They sang loudly even before the match began, in an effort to both encourage our team and intimidate the opposition, who weren't used to playing in front of large audiences.
We had our first corner of the match in the 15th minute. The cross was aimed at the near post, and our player there deflected it to the far post for a teammate who headed it in, and just like that, we opened the score. 9 minutes later, we got a free kick from about 30 meters out. The shot hit the wall and bounced inside the box toward one of our players, who tapped it in to make it 2-0. It all seemed too good to be true, but Dinamo was actually dominating the match.
in the 28th minute, FC Arges gave away an easy ball close to their box, allowing striker Alexandru Pop to score with a sublime goal from the 18-yard line. With five minutes left to play in the first half, French midfielder Lamine Ghezali received a ball near the center of the pitch and went on a solo run, dribbling past two opposition players and then scoring with a slick lobbed ball of his own. No one could believe what they were seeing. Dinamo was leading 4-0 at halftime. FC Arges' players were in shock. They had a huge chance themselves shortly after Dinamo opened the score, but conceding that second goal messed them up completely, being incapable of any sort of reaction from that point until the end of the first half. Dinamo was like a hungry beast that smelled its prey's blood, being absolutely relentless and attacking with everything they had.
FC Arges did look like they were bouncing back in the 2nd half though, even pulling one back after 10 minutes of play. Fans may have been a bit fearful of an away team comeback at this point, but it wasn't to be. In the 56th minute, Spanish midfielder Dani Iglesias tried his luck with a long-range effort, which got deflected by an FC Arges player into his own net, bringing the goal difference back to 4. Six minutes later, Ghezali did a wonderful give-and-go pass near the middle of the pitch, sprinted toward the FC Arges box, and slotted it in calmly, making the score 6-1.
Dinamo had a few more chances after this through players that were brought on during the match, but their eagerness to score themselves instead of offering simple assists for their teammates ruined said opportunities. FC Arges could've scored as well toward the end but only hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box. After 90-something minutes of play, the ref blew his whistle and Dinamo won the match 6-1.
This was by far the best match we've played all season. Despite going up against what seemed like a stronger side, the boys kept their cool, played like a real team, and won the game in dominating fashion. For the first time in who knows how long, fate finally seemed to be on our side. We only had like 2 misses the entire match. Almost every shot that we attempted went in. It was a more-than-perfect result for us. However, we were not done yet, as we still had the second leg to play.

Roles reversed

A year ago Dinamo played their first promotion/relegation tie, which they lost. Back then, we barely looked like a team. There was just a group of people brought together to play football, with no chemistry, no team bonding, nothing. The atmosphere at the club was horrendous, we played terribly and deserved to get relegated. This time it was different. We looked not just like a real team, but a family. We now had an identity, a style of play, and for the first time since the '15-'16 season, a head coach who would spend a complete season in charge. The hellfire that was the second league cleansed us of a lot of dead weight. We now only had people at the club who were all fighting for the same purpose. We no longer had "big names", there wasn't a "him" at the club anymore, there was only "us".
On the other side, there was FC Arges who were in the same position that we were last year. They reached the promotion/relegation tie in the last second, narrowly avoiding a direct fall. They went into the first match away from home, lost, and were now afraid of going down. And just like Dinamo last year, the atmosphere over there was abysmal.
One of their players, Andreas Calcan, got interviewed after the match and at one point told the reporters "Maybe you should ask our foreign players what they think about this result." This clearly indicated that there was a rift between their players and were not all on the same page. During the match, one of FC Arges' players was brought off when the score was already 6-1. He could then be seen on the touchline kicking a water bottle and trying to rip his shirt off.
It was also a known fact among Romanian football fans that FC Arges players had one or two unpaid salaries. However, news broke out after the match that the board paid the wages before the first leg, but only for some players, driving an even bigger wedge between them. But wait, there's more!
FC Arges was lucky enough to receive state funding for rebuilding their stadium. Every legal aspect was taken care of, so their second match against Dinamo was going to be the last match they ever played on their old home ground. However, given that they were thrashed 6-1 in the first leg and were unlikely to turn things around, they probably didn't want their last ever match there to be one where they got relegated. So they moved the event to a different city altogether, claiming that their stadium's floodlights weren't working.
The day before the second match, things reached an even more ridiculous point. FC Arges sent an official letter to the Romanian Football Federation asking them to withdraw Dinamo's license for the next season, in an effort to remain in the first league. Also, one of their main investors went into a live interview on TV, claiming that they had received "information" that some of their own players got paid to "fix" the first match. This says more about the type of people at FC Arges rather than Dinamo, but I still thought I should mention these aspects just for the sake of it.

Promotion battle: the second leg

The stadium for the second match was filled to the brim. Even though the arena only had about 8000 seats, the atmosphere was red-hot. FC Arges wasted no time and went on the attack from the first minute. In the 14th minute, they had already opened the score through a long-range effort courtesy of their team captain, that got deflected off of a Dinamo player. The very next minute, Arges made it 2-0 after a counter-attack. Some minutes later, they had two more huge opportunities, but both efforts went over the bar.
Things weren't looking bright, as Dinamo was in the ropes. Though we had a 5-goal advantage from the first leg, it was already clear that nothing was decided yet. Luckily, we managed to calm things down by lowering the tempo of the game and keeping possession of the ball. Dinamo even scored in the 40th minute through the one and only Ghezali, by far our best player this season. The score at halftime was 2-1. There were 45 more minutes of purgatory to endure.
Shortly after the second half began, FC Arges made it 3-1 after a corner kick. In the 51st minute, following another corner, it was already 4-1. It was bad. FC Arges were more and more determined to turn things around and Dinamo weren't looking like they could weather the storm. Forget Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund bottling their league titles. If we would somehow lose this tie after winning 6-1 in the first leg, we would be the laughingstock of the world.
Right when things were seemingly going in FC Arges' direction, Andreas Calcan, the player who subtly criticized his foreign teammates after the first match, got a second yellow card and was sent off in the 55th minute. This completely killed his team's drive and they even conceded a second goal five minutes later. Arges tried to stay on the attack, but that spark from the beginning of the half wasn't there anymore. In the 94th minute, the ref blew for full-time to make it official: DINAMO IS BACK IN THE FIRST LEAGUE!
​
Celebration after the second leg against FC Arges
It was a weird season, to say the least. We started off with a terrible run, losing 5 times within the first 7 matches, and were hoping to at least avoid relegation to the 3rd tier or bankruptcy. We had even less money than the previous year, we weren't allowed to sign any players during the winter break, we couldn't afford to pay the salaries of the ones who were already at the club, and it looked like we were never going to get rid of our former owner, Dorin Serdean.
However, this is where we can remember a message displayed by our supporters a number of years ago: "True defeat is giving up on your dreams." And that's the most important thing that we never did. We never gave up (jeez, I'm starting to sound like John Cena.) Even when the situation looked like it couldn't get any worse, we kept the hope alive. Not the hope for promotion as that seemed like a fantasy, but the hope of keeping Dinamo alive.
We, the fans, kept going to matches, donating money, and doing whatever was in our power to "keep the engine running". The players, the coaches, the employees, everyone at the club kept doing their job as best as they could, even though there were months when they received no payment for their work. Their devotion through these hard times was immeasurable and we could never thank them enough for believing in the cause until the very end.
As cliche as it may sound, this is what happens when you don't give up and keep working hard. We hit rock bottom but through our collective effort and, I need to say it, a LOT of luck, we pulled through in the end and turned fantasy into reality. We got the promotion, we now are hoping to get financial stability, and then finally start making progress and get back to the top of the league. Though the recent years have been dreadful we did not forget about the good times, and the thought of reliving them one day is what kept us alive.

A story ends, and another one begins

And this is where we end things. This has been the story of Dinamo Bucharest, the craziest football story you've never heard of...until now. Sure our story will continue long after this post of mine, but this is where (hopefully) the "crazy" part of it has reached its conclusion. We now have new ownership, new management, people who (again, hopefully) will start investing serious funds into Dinamo and bring it back to glory. We will HOPEFULLY enter a new era, one of normality. One where we will mostly be talking about football and not scandals. But, if things do go south again (God, please no), I may just return and let you know about it. Sure, scandals will still pop up here and there, we are in Romania after all but, (for the last time) hopefully, we won't be hearing about arrests, backstabbing, fraud, mutiny, throwing matches, or owners who can't/ won't invest at the club ever again.
For one last time, thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

My boyfriend’s mom (we’ve been together for five years so I consider her my MIL) is one of the most difficult people I’ve ever encountered. She is negative to the point where she sucks all the air out of the room, she has to be the center of attention, is unable to be inquisitive towards others, and is painfully emotionally stunted. She had a traumatic upbringing (she loves to trauma dump on me when she’s been drinking all day) and has never properly dealt with it. She is bitter, angry, and manipulative. She pits my boyfriend and his brother against one another and frankly it’s disgusting behavior. She has been extremely rude to me despite that I am one of the few people left in her life who actually cares about her well being (nearly her entire family won’t even speak to her on account of how nasty she is— at a cousin’s funeral she told the mother that it was her fault that her son OD’d, oy, among many other horrific things she’s done and said. The rest of the family is constantly telling me horror stories of her behavior (in the seventies she locked a small child in a dog crate— uhm hello child abuse). I allowed myself to get close to her because she is my boyfriend’s mom and he of course loves her (even though she is honestly a terror for him as well- think Livia Soprano; a total drain). She finally struck my last nerve when complaining to me about how her son and I do nothing for her (we drive an hour and a half out of our way to take her door to door to her doctor’s appointments, have bought her TWO new televisions so she can watch her stupid shows, buy her groceries, take her to see family, etc. I admittedly finally lost my temper and told her quite directly to fuck off. Literally. I know that was a bad move but there was only so much abuse I could take. Luckily I hadn’t really had to deal with her too much since but lately she has started sending me extremely nasty messages on Facebook about how ever since I came into “their” lives I have ruined her relationship with her son, my partner. This is a hurtful accusation as I am literally constantly telling my boyfriend that he should go check on her and make sure she is okay and spend time with her.
Having had some distance from her I am finally realizing that I think she is mentally unwell. Her niece, who I am close with, confided in me that his mom’s alcoholism is taking a turn for the worst and that she is struggling to care for herself- all she has to eat are stale crackers and a gallon of Franzia boxed Chardonnay. She is in her 70’s. She has completely isolated herself and burned nearly every bridge. I can see she is really unwell but I am terrified of having to interact with her in the future. A less mature version of myself would have called Adult Protective Services on her but honestly? I think she does need a wellness check.
My partner has her blocked currently as she has been a terror to him as well. But I’m worried that she could take a fall (this has happened before) so I haven’t blocked her. I just don’t know how to handle this situation. I don’t want to be close with her but I also can’t help but feel badly for this sad, miserable, unfulfilled old woman.
What do I do? How do I handle her when I inevitably have to see her at family events?
Aren’t in-laws so disappointing?

I made a offhand comment yesterday to clear up a misconception about Guilliman and the Emperor, and found today to my surprise that I had managed to provoke the wrath of the reddit hivemind. Normally I would just shrug and move on, but the thing is that Guilliman's title of Imperial Regent—and how exactly he acquired it—is a significant plot point in the Dark Imperium trilogy. It's specifically the reason why he is so bitter towards the Emperor. An Emperor who can still speak clearly and say something like "you will assume this title and do these tasks" is not an Emperor that Guilliman would renounce.
Remember that Guilliman was revived on Macragge, far from Terra, and it was on Macragge that he learned about the past ten thousand years. And he did not take it well, to say the least.

Guilliman’s anger spilled over, and he span on his heel, staring up at the woven Emperor with accusing eyes. ‘Why do I still live,’ he snarled. ‘What more do you want from me? I gave everything I had to you, to them. Look what they’ve made of our dream. This bloated, rotting carcass of an empire is driven not by reason and hope but by fear, hate and ignorance. Better that we had all burned in the ires of Horus’ ambition than live to see this.’ Guilliman is shocked, angry, depressed, and who can blame him? But he can’t show it. None of it. He needs to stay calm, and strong, and in perfect control. For everyone else’s sake.
Anger surged through the Lord of Ultramar, and he clenched his fists with the effort of self-restraint. He imagined destroying this chamber, tearing it apart and hurling its wreckage around like a wild beast. He dared not, lest these strangers in his Chapter’s livery see through his facade. Though he wrestled with despair, the Primarch knew that he could not let his weakness show. Calgar, Tigurius, Agemman, all the others – they looked at him as though he were the Emperor himself. Guilliman was painfully aware of his symbolic quality, and of how desperate and dark the hour had become. He must show nothing but strength to his gene-sons, lest his despair taint their hearts, too.

But not all hope is lost for Guilliman, because he knows that on Terra, his father still lives. On Terra is the one person to whom he can turn to for help, for guidance, for just a second of relief from the crushing weight of responsibility. A person for whom he need not pretend that he has all the answers and lie that everything will be all right when it’s screamingly obvious that he doesn’t and it won’t be.

The Primarch announced his intention to set out upon a great journey. Once before, when the Dark Gods had threatened the Imperium of Mankind, the Primarch of the Ultramarines had reached Terra too late to do his duty. He would not make that mistake again. Guilliman intended to journey to Terra, to kneel at the foot of the Golden Throne and ask his father for guidance.

- Gathering Storm: Rise of the Primarch
So off he goes on the Terran Crusade, battling his way through Magnus, and Kairos, and Huron, until he finally reaches Terra and drives Chaos back from the moon. Then he turns around to find the Battle of Lion’s Gate in full swing, another struggle in desperate need of a saviour, and dutifully plays his part yet again. Then he gets the grand tour of Terra’s decrepitude, and gets to see just how far the Throneworld has fallen.

We could not hide just how desperate things had become. He could see for himself the unnatural storms raging in the atmosphere, and witness the darkened profile of the defunct Astronomican fortress. He could see the walls stuffed with defenders and the smouldering, half-derelict stretches of the city beyond the walls. Perhaps worst of all, even when we got him inside the intact precincts, to the holiest and the most immaculate of our citadels, he looked at them as if they were some kind of insult.

- The Emperor’s Legion
And finally, exhausted, embittered, but enduring nonetheless, Guilliman gets to see his father.

He had gone in to see what his father had become. Guilliman had been thousands of years dead. He had spent subjective years lost in the warp to come to Terra, only to find an empire of ruin laid starkly before his disbelieving eyes. All building to this fateful moment.
‘Father,’ he said, and when he had said that word, it was the last time he had meant it. ‘Father, I have returned.’ Guilliman forced himself to look up into the pillar of light, the screaming of souls, the empty-eyed skull, the impassive god, the old man, yesterday’s saviour. ‘What must I do? Help me, father. Help me save them.’
He looked at the Emperor of Mankind, and could not see. Too much, too bright, too powerful. The unreality of the being before him stunned him to the core. A hundred different impressions, all false, all true, raced through his mind. He could not remember what his father had looked like, before, and Roboute Guilliman forgot nothing.
And then, that thing, that terrible, awful thing upon the Throne, saw him.
‘My son,’ it said.
‘Thirteen,’ it said.
‘Lord of Ultramar.’
‘Saviour.’
‘Hope.’
‘Failure.’
‘Disappointment.’
‘Liar.’
‘Thief.’
‘Betrayer.’
‘Guilliman.’
He heard all these at once. He did not hear them at all. The Emperor spoke and did not speak. The very idea of words seemed ridiculous, the concept of them a grievous harm against the equilibrium of time and being.
‘Roboute Guilliman.’ The raging tempest spoke his name, and it was as the violence a dying sun rains upon its worlds. ‘Guilliman. Guilliman. Guilliman.’
The name echoed down the wind of eternity, never ceasing, never reaching its intended point. The sensation of many minds reached out to Guilliman, violating his senses as they tried to commune, but then one mind seemed to come from the many, a raw, unbounded power, and gave wordless commands to go out and save what they built together. To destroy what they made. To save his brothers, to kill them. Contradictory impulses, all impossible to disobey, all the same, all different. Futures many and terrible raced through his mind, the results of all these things, should he do any, all or none of them.
‘Father!’ he cried.
Thoughts battered him. ‘A son.’
‘Not a son.’
‘A thing.’
‘A name.’
‘Not a name.’
‘A number. A tool. A product.’
A grand plan in ruins. An ambition unrealised. Information, too much information, coursed through Guilliman: stars and galaxies, entire universes, races older than time, things too terrifying to be real, eroding his being like a storm in full spate carves knife-edged gullies into badlands.
‘Please, father!’ he begged.
‘Father, not a father. Thing, thing, thing,’ the minds said.
‘Apotheosis.’
‘Victory.’
‘Defeat.’
‘Choose,’ it said.
‘Fate.’
‘Future.’
‘Past.’
‘Renewal. Despair. Decay.’
And then, there seemed to be focusing, as of a great will exerting itself, not for the final time, but nearly for the final time. A sense of strength failing. A sense of ending. Far away, he heard arcane machines whine and screech, close to collapse, and the clamour of screams of dying psykers that underpinned everything in that horrific room rising higher in pitch and intensity.
‘Guilliman.’ The voices overlaid, overlapped, became almost one, and Guilliman had a fleeting memory of a sad face that had seen too much, and a burden it could barely countenance. ‘Guilliman, hear me. ‘My last loyal son, my pride, my greatest triumph.’
How those words burned him, worse than the poisons of Mortarion, worse than the sting of failure. They were not a lie, not entirely. It was worse than that. They were conditional.
‘My last tool. My last hope.’ A final drawing in of power, a thought expelled like a dying breath. ‘Guilliman…’
It felt to Guilliman like his mind had exploded. There was a blinding flash, and the king and the corpse and the old man overlaid and overlapped, dead and alive, divine and mortal. All judged him.
Guilliman staggered from the throne room.

- Godblight
There is the fruit of his efforts, and what bitter fruit it is. That is what he journeyed across the galaxy, through fire and fury and hellspawned horror, to find. A psychic monstrosity bludgeoning him with raw power and the harsh truth of his reason for existing. An indifferent creator whom he had genuinely loved. And one that wouldn’t—couldn’t—guide him, because that hideous thing on the throne is so far past coherent human speech that concepts like titles and commands are a bad joke. He is alone. Alone in a galaxy of nightmares, without even the comfort of the lie of hope.
And worst of all, he still can’t show any of it. He can’t tell everyone that his hopes were shattered and his responsibility redoubled, and that he must carry it all on his shoulders with no help from his father. He can’t tell anyone anything.

Guilliman emerged grim-faced, his skin ashen. He gave orders that the lords and ladies of power be assembled, for he had news to give them, that he would assume the role of regent as his father commanded, and work towards the restoration of His Imperium. But he would not say what he had seen, nor what the Emperor had said. To those who dared asked him, he presented a stony silence.

- Avenging Son
The only thing he can do is keep pretending that all is well. Do not give in to doubt or fear, my sons. Keep calm and carry on, for I am the Imperial Regent and my father watches over us and everything is as it should be.

‘I can feel His love for humanity,’ said Mathieu. ‘I can feel it all around me!’ He hesitated in his rapture. ‘Tell me, oh lord regent, truthfully – does the Emperor love us, my lord? Do not say I am wrong!’
Mathieu’s question pushed Guilliman deeper into melancholy. More than anything, he yearned to speak with his foster father, Konor, one more time. He had been a noble soul, one who could be trusted. A true father.
‘My lord?’ said Mathieu
‘The Emperor loves us all,’ lied Roboute Guilliman

- Dark Imperium
As if that wasn’t enough of a burden, the only ones who know the truth taunt him about it.

‘I know with unshakeable certainty that I perform the duty I was created for. That I fight for the preservation of mankind.’
‘Then you do not fight for the Emperor?’ asked Mortarion, his voice an insinuating rattle.
‘I fight for what He believed in.’
‘An advocate’s quibbling. You fight for yourself.’
‘I remain a champion of humanity, whereas you are the lackey of evil.’
‘Am I?’ said Mortarion. His wings beat softly. ‘Then tell me, Roboute, if our father were so good, look me in the eye and tell me that He loved us all as any father should love his sons.’
Guilliman stared at him, his jaw clenched in anger.
Mortarion laughed. It began as a wheezing in his lungs, thick with phlegm, rattled up his dry throat, and clacked his teeth together behind his breathing mask before hissing out in puffs of yellow gas. ‘You know, don’t you, Roboute? You’ve seen it.’ He wagged one long, skeletal finger at his kin. ‘I knew something was different about you.’ He leaned close. ‘You spoke with Him on Terra. Tell me, what did He say? Did He plead to be released? Did He beg you to be set free from His Golden Throne?’
Guilliman said nothing.
‘Oh, my brother, it cannot be,’ Mortarion said in mock horror. ‘Did He say nothing? Is our father dead?’ He stood back and shook his cadaver’s head. ‘Of course He isn’t, is He? Not in any real sense. Beings like Him are beyond mortality.

- Plague War
I am no primarch, no transhuman demigod, but I still remember when I was nine and I had to take my five year-old brother to the park at night so he wouldn’t hear our parents shouting at each other again. How it felt to smile and tell him yes this was normal and of course everything was fine and wasn’t it great that we had the swings to ourselves? The sheer bloody unfairness of having to carry a burden that shouldn’t be yours, and smile through it, because someone even more vulnerable needs you to tell them that it will be all right. The lie sticks in your throat, and it burns.
That’s what the title of Imperial Regent means. That’s why Guilliman is so bitter. That’s why he renounced the Emperor as his father.

‘You saw, my lord. You saw your father’s light!’
‘He is not my father,’ Guilliman said. ‘He created me, but I assure you, priest, that He was no father. King Konor of Macragge was my father.’

- Plague War

The galactic union has always had trouble with pirates and ner do wells. They always threatened the stability of the Galactic Union. A nagging reminder as to the fragility of the universe the thousands of species worked so hard to create.
The GU had taken measures for millennia to keep those few who could not conform dealt with, be that: jailed, killed, satiated, or on the rare occasion gainfully employed.
While officially the relationship between higher-ups in the GU and these ever-tolerated rogues was one of hostility. Anyone who actually operated in those positions understood the usefulness of these untamable individuals. They were a way to pass the buck, shift the blame or deal with an unruly situation cleanly.
Sharik sat inside the bridge of his ship, shifting awkwardly. Staring down at the card he had been given by his father.
It had little on it. Just a datapad number and the words “Renegade solutions” both in bright blood-red letters on an eggshell background.
His father was vague about why he should contact the number on it but assured him the Human who would answer was one of the best at resolving sticky situations. The current flop of diplomatic relations that Sharik had dug for himself certainly counted as a “Sticky situation”
When he arrived at Therucal he had no intention of eloping with the emperor's daughter, but one thing led to another, and now he had the entire planet below him searching for him like an animal. His diplomatic immunity meant nothing to the un-elevated planet or its inhabitance. Especially because they viewed their emperor as if he was a god.
Sharik looked over towards the bed, the Grand Duchess of the planet, Farint’al lay underneath the silken covers. They clung tightly to her sensual curves. Her bright red hair draped gracefully around her pitch-black horns. She looked like she had been drawn by the most imaginative artist. Sharik would never have been able to imagine anyone as beautiful as she was if he had not seen her for himself. The fact he shared a bed chamber with her was even more beyond his scope of understanding.
Jerking him from his thoughts was a knock on his chamber door.
“Sir the Humans are here,” the voice of one of his crew members said, muffled by the thick doors.
Sharik stood and straightened his robes, before going toward the door. When the door parted he laid eyes on one of the younger members of his crew. Monthar had only been on the ship for the last few standard cycles. He was usually relegated to lesser duties, the fact he was in front of him was confusing to Sharik.
“Monthar? Why are you here? Where is Arduin?” Sharik asked
Monthar rubbed his claws nervously together refusing to make eye contact with Sharik. Not that that was uncommon, most Huritalik refused to look higher-ups in the eyes. It was a habit from millennia of cultural standings, even if those cultures had long since dies.
“She.. she… she refused to come…” Monthar stuttered nervously.
“Refused to come? Are you sure we are talking about the same woman?” Sharik questioned.
Monthar nodded. “Aye sir, she refused to be anywhere near that Human you called”
What? How could one being possibly scare the champion of Fariactal Nine? Sharik wondered. He had specifically picked Arduin because of her prestige. She had slayed thousands of warriors and trained millions over her lifetime. The fact this human that was in charge of “renegade solutions” made her wary, had Sharik’s scales vibrating in worry.
“Where is the Human now?” Sharik asked the equally worried Monthar.
“It is in the cargo bay sir, it pulled up a chair as soon as it entered the ship. We asked it to come to you but it killed one of the crew who tried to move it” Monthar chirped, his own pensiveness visible in his extended claws.
Sharik nodded and dismissed Monthar, letting the horrified lad have the night off. Sharik needed to care for his crew in these trying times. His father had taught him to do such, ensuring him it would make loyal men and soldiers.
Wandering his way down to the cargo bay the men and women of the ship were steering clear of him. He wondered how many of them thought he was a monster, especially after his “guest” had already killed one of them.
Parting the doors to the cargo bay, the human was sitting just as Monthar described.
The human was seated on a folding metal chair just behind one of the tables, previously used by Sharik’s men. He wore a clean tightly tailored suit. Its dark crimson colors hugged his extensive muscles tight. Allowing an easy understanding of how formidable he would be in close combat, the fact one of Shariks men was dumb enough to try and move the wall of meat he was staring at was shocking.
Atop his dark almond-colored skin was hair as black as the darkest night, slicked back and shimmering under the lights of the cargo bay. Beneath his hair were the most vibrant green eyes Sharik had ever seen. Such a bright and vibrant green, Sharik had sworn for the briefest moment he was deep in the jungles of Reuntal.
His eyes cut into Sharik on his entry to the bay, and a wicked sinister grin crawled upon the man's lips. His teeth were sharper than any dagger Sharik had ever seen. Yet the voice that escaped this well-dressed monster's lips was smooth.
“Why hello there, I assume you are the man who called me to this fine vessel today?” The human sneered.
Sharik swallowed his spit, all five of his hearts screaming at him to run from the beast staring him down.
“I did, oh honored guest of the house solutions. I assume you must be renegade?” Sharik said gutting every emotion he had. His fathers and his lineage demanded he beprofessional and he would not fail his father.
The human stared at Sharik for a few moments before he began to laugh. His deep chuckles vibrated everything in the bay, including Sharik himself.
“Man, you really are Turin’s kid arent you? So formal just like your daddy” The human laughed.
“That is no way to refer to my father. Turin the first gre…” Sharik started before he was cut off by the human, not by him yelling or slamming his heavy fists on the table.
The human drew an ancient-looking weapon on Sharik. Pulling the hammer on the slug thrower back.
“I don't give a singular fuck about yer daddies title kid” The human spat. “You called me here, for something right so out with it, before I make you join the lad over there”
Sharik trailed the direction the human flicked the muzzle of his weapon in, his sight landing on one of his crew mates. His neck twisted full around, as he lay slumped against the cold wall.
“i…i… i” Sharik started to sputter.
“Out with it lad!” the human roared, as he stood and kicked the table away from him. “Yer daddy could deal with me, you better be able to as well.”
Sharik trembled in his robes, the human's very presence causing him to buckle. He fell onto the ground, his knees hitting the deck below them. Sharik could not fathom how his father could have ever stood before such a monster.
Sharik looked up at the human, his presence flowed out of him. Filling the entire bay with a deep bestial blood lust; the darkest shadow Sharik had ever felt was clawing into his body as the human waited eagerly, watching every twitch he made.
Sharik felt a warmth flow down his leg as he realized the only prey this beast could tear into was him.
The human walked up to Sharik, pressing the cold muzzle of the weapon to his forehead. Sharik wanted to move, his whole being screamed at him to run, but the human's mear gaze held him tighter than any shackle ever could.
“Well lad, you got a request or not?” The human growled.
Sharik looked up at the deep green eyes of the human, feeling his gaze stare into his very soul. Searching through him, plucking at any weak twitch or flaw he saw.
“I…I….I want you to kill the Emporer” Sharik muttered.
Sharik did not know what possessed him, it was as if the human reached inside his mind and pulled his deepest darkest dream to the forefront. Ensuring there were no lies there was nothing but the honest truth in his request.
The Human leaned forward as he holstered his weapon.
“See that wasn’t so hard” The man sneered.
The human turned and walked towards the doors to the shuttle bay. Leaving Sharik where he was before he passed through the doors. He looked back at Sharik and smiled that demonic grin.
“I will send you the bill later, and thank you for hiring Renegade Solutions”
Edit note: I accidentally had a random "]" in the post

I've seen so many posts blaming a lot on editing and production choices regarding how the season is going so far. The thing is, most all star seasons have always been produced like that. AS8 has not done a lot of things differently as far as I've seen when you compare it t AS6. Both AS6 and AS8 have a cast makeup consisting of high placers and early outs. The difference is that AS6 thrived under this format whereas AS8 is becoming a very lopsided season.
Which is why I'm presenting the biggest issue of AS8 imo - the cast. Because of how AS6 went, I see some people who think that casting high placers and early outs in the same season doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. In reality, it makes a lot of difference. The experience difference of a queen who reached the Top 6 competing against an early out makes a huge difference since the former was able to experience all types of challenges, whereas the latter is probably doing this for the first time.
We also have to take into account the budget that they are working with. An early out queen most likely does not have as much funds to work with compared to those who lasted longer. Sure, you can have a Rajah moment where her sewing talent was able to make the most out of her limited funds...but that is an exception and not the rule.
Tl;dr: AS6's cast is an exception and not the rule. Casting early outs and high placers in the same AS season will make for lopsided seasons moving forward.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a young'n. I won't specify my age, just for the sake of privacy. Skyrim has been a huge influence on my life and I thought it would be cool to share for anyone bored enough to read a glorified "little gamer's autobiography" on Reddit. I'm sure I'm remembering some of this wrong, but the timeline by itself should be pretty exact.
I was about 7 at the time, if my memory serves me. Close estimate at worst. As a little guy I was into a lot of stuff, and usually every 2 weeks I would switch topics I was unreasonably obsessed with. Usually the cycle would be Marvel, Cthulhu, werewolves, DC, Predator (the movies and the few games - way too young to be into something like that but it's an interest that remains to this day), stuff like that. During the werewolf phase of this cycle, I went to my dear mom (as you do) to ask her if she knew any werewolf games. After a few instances of this question, she said something along the lines of "well, you can turn into a werewolf in Skyrim". This little answer set off a very important chain of events. One thing led to another, and I ended up with Skyrim on my Xbox 360 on my stupid little box TV. Don't be fooled, this was when the PS4 and Xbox 1 were well into the modern gaming zeitgeist, my family was just really poor at the time. The PS3 and the aforementioned 360 were my consoles. 360 was a hand-me-down from my uncle and the PS3 was an old one of my parents. These were not my first, I played the Wii-U a fair bit and Wii-bowling was my introduction to videogames. Back to the meat and potatoes, Skyrim. I watched a video on my PS3 a few days before on the little box TV, some guy in a little bunch of glaciers in Skyrim turns into a werewolf to fight an enemy I can't remember. This lit up my brain like a wildfire. I immediately fired it up on the 360, one of the probably three games I had on it at the time. It was my secondary console. I played my heart out on the little thing, with only one character. He had my name. Werewolf, ring of Hircine, heavy armor, greatsword, which is what I'd guess is the exemplary character for a 7-year-old Skyrim boy. In my time on the 360, me and my parents ended up moving into a trailer park somewhere else. I never really made it to the end of any of the questlines, and from memory, my playthrough ended without the main quest pursued or any other faction questline for that matter, the College of Winterhold being the exception for reasons I'll give in a second. My most vivid memory of Skyrim at this age goes like so: I'm sitting crisscross applesauce probably only a foot away from this low-quality box TV. A few days before I had discovered that there was a magic forge under Winterhold, and you could do a glitch where you could make Daedric armor without consuming the ingredients if you grabbed them from the box quick enough. Little me was (and still is) obsessed with looking cool in videogames. Daedric armor was my holy grail as a little guy. I instantly pursued the College of Winterhold, and I can't remember this part well but I know there's some way to summon a Daedra on top of the college or something like that - I did that. Killed the Daedra, got a heart so I could forge the armor. After a bunch of time getting the ingredients, I made my way to the forge. I was there, about to put the ingredients in, when my parents are going out the door to the grocery store. (I was in the living room playing. I didn't have a room in that trailer, only really a mattress in my dad's room which I sometimes slept on. I usually took the couch in the living room so I could watch TV instead of his laptop.) My mom asks me "hey, do you want to come to the grocery store with us?" I'm too engrossed in the game and just kind of wave them away. While they're gone I forge a two sets of Daedric armor (with a bunch of save-scumming and error) under the college, one for me and one for my follower, and I am happier than ever. I killed a few enemies in the snow (with my still iron weapons) and B-A Daedric armor. My memory gets fuzzy at this point. I either kept playing for a while or quit close to there. Not important.
Christmas comes and my grandpa buys me a PS4. I stay on that for a while, not playing Skyrim. Soon after, my grandpa buys an Xbox 1.. FOR HIMSELF. Specifically to play PUBG on. He liked PUBG a lot, then. (He's not dead. He just plays other games now. Me and him used to co-op Halo and stuff, but now he's more into mobile games because he's old.) He didn't like PUBG on the Xbox, so he gave it to me. Glorious rediscovery of Skyrim begins a few years later. Mods. My favorite mod at that point was the ported Predator mod (because as I said earlier, loved Predator, still do). Played that for hundreds of hours. Had other playthroughs, too, without the Predator mod. Some were mages, rogues, warriors, I really branched out. I was into the roleplay of it. A lot. Once again, my memory kind of fails me here. I don't have many stand-out experiences from that time period, though I do remember being on voice chat with my friend Joe a lot while playing the game and sometimes broadcasting to him from the now-dead broadcasting thing I forget the name of. Good times. Heavily modded times. Hundreds of hours into Skyrim. Loved every second. What's weird, though, is I still never pursued any of the factions really. Didn't pursue the main quest. I do vividly remember completing the DB questline and being in absolute awe. I loved that. I remember sitting on the couch during one of the important parts of that questline (which I wont specify for spoiler's sake I guess) and I called my mom in to watch because I was so excited. Skyrim is a beautiful thing.
A few years later, my entire family pitches in to buy me a wicked PC and gaming chair. Still have the PC, chair broke a while ago. I play my fair share of Steam games that I could finally play after watching YouTube videos on them for years. Absolute bliss. Then.. another glorious rediscovery of Skyrim. With better mods, too. I decided to go with Oldrim for some weird reason. One of my friends showed me a mod he made as an add-on to another one I frequently used and I really loved it. That was like, the only reason I went with Oldrim. Still have that mod, still use it. Won't specify the mod for privacy's sake. Still played with the Predator mod very frequently, still do, but loved it more because the PC version has way more stuff. Bunches and bunches of playthroughs, around 100 mods, life's good. I make a character named Orrid, a Redguard, who practices the old Yokudan art of Sword-singing. He's still my main character and I'm still going through with roleplay and story arcs galore.
My mom separates from my dad. They don't get divorced, but feel like they'd be happier if they lived in separate houses and just visited each other very frequently. Don't mean to get too real, but it's mildly important. All three of us are still happy, and I have a sister now. She used to annoy me at the other trailer, but now I have an actual room in my apartment and she doesn't bother me 24/7 like usual. Back to Skyrim! I keep playing at the new apartment. It's actually running right now, in my room, in my apartment. Still going with Orrid, having a grand old time. I recently got my mom back into Skyrim on HER Xbox 1.
I go to church. I live in Southeast North America, you kind of have to go to church here. I'm in a youth group, and we have a videogame room. This paragraph happened a week or so ago. We play the Nintendo Switch, mostly Mario Kart (which I destroy everyone at). The pastor broke out Skyrim. I played Skyrim a couple times, but me and the pastor both kind of realized it couldn't go on because it was single player and with me destroying everyone at Mario Kart and the single player game combined nobody really dwelled there but me. It might as well have been my own little plane of Oblivion. I had a character named Orc Masterson, with the intent to actually do the main questline. At some point, the pastor comes to me and tells me he's gonna have to take the game off the list for the greater good. I agree. I'm about to leave the building, because it was post-lesson time, but pastor's quickly disconnecting the Switch and its charger. He runs up to me with the little thing. "Said-A-Funny, take the switch. Beat the game by next Sunday as Orc Masterson, do me proud." He knows I've never finished the main quest. He's as big a nerd as me, and plays Skyrim too. I initially declined taking the Switch, because I felt like I was inconveniencing him, but he INSISTED. I walked out, the Switch freeze-framed on me about to fight Mirmulnir. I decide to take this challenge as seriously as possible. It's the last few weeks of school, and every day I get back, instead of playing Skyrim on my PC as Orrid, I play Skyrim on my loaned Switch as Orc Masterson. I realize the family's going to the beach and I'll have to have an extension on my Orc Masterson challenge time. He obliges.
Last Wednesday, at the beach. I beat the main questline of Skyrim for the first time in my life. I sent a text to my pastor, and I did him proud. I'm going to return the Switch and its charger today at the church function. Level 20, Orc Masterson. A Skyrim character devoted to my pastor.
To close out, I've played Skyrim for a lot of my life and will continue to play for a lot more. My pastor will too. I love the game, always have, and I find it really funny how the game has followed me from console to console, house to house, grade to grade. One of two decorations in my new room is a tiny Skyrim poster my grandpa put up himself.
What a game.

Hi! How many mature fancies can I comfortably keep in a 75 gallon tank with a 29 gallon sump? Long term

Hi guys! I’m on a weight loss journey and I’ve lost 20 lbs so far. I’m a 4’11 18 y/o girl and I’m currently 180 lbs. After years of eating a ton of food with no regard for how many calories I was intaking, I finally taught myself how to eat differently. All of my naturally eat “intuitively” which makes them skinny without exercising. I started adopting their habits while loosely counting calories and it’s made such a difference. Here are some tips:

1. Eat slowly and chew your food. Eat with smaller silverware and on smaller plates.
2. Either eat all of a small serving or half of a large serving. Eat the entire meal you cooked and portioned out for yourself but eat half of the pasta dinner at Olive Garden. Save the rest as leftovers.
3. Eat fast food, but eat it smartly. You can eat fast food everyday if you wanted to and still lose weight. The important thing is what you order. A Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich and waffle fries is 880 calories alone and an extra 110 with Chick-fil-A sauce. You can eat the entire meal and eat less later, eat half of it, replace the fries with something that has less calories, or order something else entirely. You just need to budget your calories wisely so that you’re still in a calorie deficit by the end of the day.
4. Don’t put yourself into the position to eat more. Microwave half the can of soup, save the rest for later. By halving your portion, you’ll eat it slower to savor the smaller portion, and you might end up eating less. If half of the can of soup isn’t enough, wait a little bit to see if you still want more. If you do, have the rest. Basically, start with a smaller portion and give yourself more if you want more.
5. Write down what you eat. This might not work for everyone, but in my personal experience, keeping a food diary on my phone is a good way to remember what I eat and has helped me keep track of how many calories I’m eating.
6. Drink water and get enough sleep! I know that these are really obvious tips but I had to include them. Drinking a gallon of water and getting the sleep my body needs has helped me lose weight.
7. Eat for health and nutrition too, not just to eat. It’s okay to eat a snack just to have a snack, and it’s okay to have a meal you like because it’s a meal you like. But remember that food isn’t just for entertainment and it’s important to nourish our bodies as well. Try to incorporate fruits and veggies that you like into your diet and eating healthy meals if you can. Getting the right nutrients helps a lot.

These are all of the things I’ve stated doing that helped me get to the weight I am now. My goal weight is 120, so I still have a long way to go, but I see progress. My wrists are significantly smaller, I can see my collarbones sometimes, my face has more shape, my back is slimmer, and my back dimples are starting to show again. I’m finally making progress!! For the first time in forever, the light at the end of the tunnel feels reachable. I hope my advice helps you and that you reach your goal weight :) Feel free to share your own journey and weight loss advice in the comments.

Hi guys! I’m on a weight loss journey and I’ve lost 20 lbs so far. I’m a 4’11 18 y/o girl and I’m currently 180 lbs. After years of eating a ton of food with no regard for how many calories I was intaking, I finally taught myself how to eat differently. All of my naturally eat “intuitively” which makes them skinny without exercising. I started adopting their habits while loosely counting calories and it’s made such a difference. Here are some tips:

1. Eat slowly and chew your food. Eat with smaller silverware and on smaller plates.
2. Either eat all of a small serving or half of a large serving. Eat the entire meal you cooked and portioned out for yourself but eat half of the pasta dinner at Olive Garden. Save the rest as leftovers.
3. Eat fast food, but eat it smartly. You can eat fast food everyday if you wanted to and still lose weight. The important thing is what you order. A Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich and waffle fries is 880 calories alone and an extra 110 with Chick-fil-A sauce. You can eat the entire meal and eat less later, eat half of it, replace the fries with something that has less calories, or order something else entirely. You just need to budget your calories wisely so that you’re still in a calorie deficit by the end of the day.
4. Don’t put yourself into the position to eat more. Microwave half the can of soup, save the rest for later. By halving your portion, you’ll eat it slower to savor the smaller portion, and you might end up eating less. If half of the can of soup isn’t enough, wait a little bit to see if you still want more. If you do, have the rest. Basically, start with a smaller portion and give yourself more if you want more.
5. Write down what you eat. This might not work for everyone, but in my personal experience, keeping a food diary on my phone is a good way to remember what I eat and has helped me keep track of how many calories I’m eating.
6. Drink water and get enough sleep! I know that these are really obvious tips but I had to include them. Drinking a gallon of water and getting the sleep my body needs has helped me lose weight.
7. Eat for health and nutrition too, not just to eat. It’s okay to eat a snack just to have a snack, and it’s okay to have a meal you like because it’s a meal you like. But remember that food isn’t just for entertainment and it’s important to nourish our bodies as well. Try to incorporate fruits and veggies that you like into your diet and eating healthy meals if you can. Getting the right nutrients helps a lot.

These are all of the things I’ve stated doing that helped me get to the weight I am now. My goal weight is 120, so I still have a long way to go, but I see progress. My wrists are significantly smaller, I can see my collarbones sometimes, my face has more shape, my back is slimmer, and my back dimples are starting to show again. I’m finally making progress!! For the first time in forever, the light at the end of the tunnel feels reachable. I hope my advice helps you and that you reach your goal weight :) Feel free to share your own journey and weight loss advice in the comments.

I need help...
I am going to post an email that I had to send to my landlord. I am begging my landlord to even move at this point. My ex filed a completely bogus HRO on me. I've filed 3 police reports on her and nothing has been done. I finally broke up with her because she got caught cheating and now she is filing the restraining order on me that's full of just actual crap. However, I do have a lawyer. I cant stop thinking about the stuff that happened. It sincerely feels like a horror movie.
"I spoke with the two of you yesterday about the issues I've had going on lately. It's hard for me to put all the events together with it making sense without knowing every little detail. However, I tried my best here. I am willing to provide any proof or any evidence that I have on this matter. I'm not sure how much information you want so if you need anything else please let me know.
Her and I started dating in June last year. The main issues started in February. We were back and forth for a while so that also makes it difficult to explain. The first time law enforcement was involved was on April 8th when I called them to report the incident. I can go into as much detail as you want in a follow up email if you want but none of that incident occurred on the property. This is when I saw the messages between her and her sister.
She makes claims against me, then they instantly go into talking about other things without even bringing up the claims again, then go into a conversation about having one of their friends robbing me. Her sister, then asks what apartment and floor I live on. This is when she goes into detail that I'm on the second floor, that I have the only white door, and that my apartment number is 209. I filed a police report, they did nothing, no charges were filed. We broke up for a while. We got back together roughly a month later. We were back together for a few weeks.
This is when we broke up again. She said she was single so I blocked her on all social media and means of communication. This is when the beginning of the hundred of the calls started coming in from a blocked number. It was a blocked number but I can prove it was her because she left voicemails that are marked as Unknown. This happens when a blocked number leaves a voicemail. Also in the voicemails, that I still have saved, she is saying outright she is sitting outside.
Her best friend lives 4 houses down, directly parallel to my living room and bedroom windows. Since this time they've started having bonfires and parties much more. They even all shouted at me one time as I was leaving. She has also parked far down so I can't see her until I'm outside already. I dove back one time so she wouldn't see me and I bruised my rib from it. She sat in her Jeep and waited for me to walk to my car to approach me. This has happened more than 6-7 times in the last month. Not knowing if she's going to be outside has sincerely freaked me out.
There was also an incident where she was parked waiting for me and I saw her and drove past. She then chased me until I stopped. I stopped in front of my work so I could have witnesses. During this time I never let her into my apartment, car, or even really conversed with her. We then, stupidly, got back together. This is when she admitted to me that her and her friend, on at least one occasion, sat outside in the dark and watched what I was doing. She accused me of being with another female because I shut my light off then she heard a random person laugh. I'm afraid to have my window blinds open at night. Especially, because, even if she's not sitting right there she could be sitting in her friend's backyard.
The second time the police were involved was on May 21st. We were back together, I caught her cheating on me, then I had her leave my apartment. As she was trying to avoid leaving my apartment, she grabbed my phone. She then left with my phone without my knowledge. I realized about 30 seconds later that she had my phone. I ran down there to obtain it, even without shoes on. She was backing out as I got down there. She had my phone in her, laughing at me. I reached into the car to grab my phone.
This is when she took off going over 30 mph. The whole time laughing and smirking at me. There was a witness who yelled at her to stop. I didn't have shoes on so I couldn't just jump without some type of injury. I grabbed the wheel and turned it so she had to stop. This is when I grabbed my phone and walked away. She then tried to back into me but I walked between two cars and she couldn't without hitting them. I went inside. She left. She came back like 3 minutes later. She then waited at the door until (I found this out after the fact) one of her friends, who lives here, let her in. She then knocked on my door and turned my handle for around 30-45 minutes.
My mom got there about 20 minutes after the car incident. She was claiming I was withholding her property but I've done that. I did tell her that I would drop everything off that night, as I always have. She then changed what she wanted and then her sister showed up. Even after all that I gave her over an hour to leave before I called the police. At this point I called the police. Again, very frustratingly, nothing happened. She filed an HRO on May 22nd. On may 23rd, I have multiple videos of her chasing me around in my car. She also blocked me at an intersection where I had to back up.
She filed the HRO and still chased me the next day. Then on the 23rd showed up at my place again. I talked to her for a while. I was breaking up with her when I said "If we stay in this relationship you're going to kill me". This is when she replied "I will kill you". I had her leave. After that, I left my apartment to cruise. This is when she showed up behind me AGAIN. At this point, I called her, told her to not contact me, and blocked her on everything for final. I then found out on the 24th she filed the HRO on the 21st.
There has been no contact since. However, these past events have really scared me. I don't feel comfortable. There are too many cars around when I go out there and I have to close my window as soon as it gets dark out of fear she's out there. She did all of that after she filed the HRO on me and that makes me feel like this is all a game to her and I'm just very uncomfortable being there.
I know there are details that I missed and if you have any questions, please let me know. I can provide all the proof I have of everything if you want me to. I can come in and show you in person as well. This has been a very difficult time for me and I am just really looking forward to it being over. I really do appreciate you working with me on this."
This has really affected me. It really keeps me up at night. I'm scared if she wins this she is going to continue playing with me. I've been with 3 girlfriends the last 10 years. One for 6 years, one for 4, and her. I've never even been accused of anything until now. This is affecting my job and everything. I have actual proof of most of this. Videos of the car chasing, over 3300 iMessages, the call logs, voicemails that prove it's her. Everything. Even though she constantly told me to delete them. Almost everything she accuses me of she has literally done...I hate this. I need it to be over. I do have court in less than week and I just need outside opinions. I'll give as much detail as I can.
Please believe me, I'm not hiding my guilty actions. There is not hyperbole or fiction here. This has been horrible on my mental health and I just want straight forward opinions.
Do I have a shot of getting the restraining order dropped?