Date: 05/30/2023
Reading time: 7 minutes, 1478 words

Artsakh’s Defense Army publishes a video showing the use of a mortar by the Azerbaijani army

The Artsakh Defense Army published a video on its Facebook page showing the use of a mortar by the Azerbaijani army. The situation on the contact line is relatively stable as of 13:00 on May 30.

Armenpress, Nagorno Karabakh positions hit by Azerbaijani shelling, Artsakh MFA calls on international mediators to pay more attention to the warmongering rhetoric and unlawful actions of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani forces use mortars as they violate ceasefire in Artsakh, Footage shows Azerbaijani forces shelling combat positions in Artsakh

PM Pashinyan receives the newly elected members of the Central Board of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party

Nikol Pashinyan received the newly elected members of the Central Board of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party-Ramgavar. The Prime Minister congratulated on the holding of the 29th Congress of the party, the election of the new governing body.

Armenpress

Secretary of Security Council of Armenia urges Hikmet Hajiyev to refrain from maximalist aspirations

Armen Grigoryan presented position of the Armenian side regarding the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations. The secretary emphasized the need for a constructive position of Azerbaijan in the negotiation process.

Armenpress

Pashinyan meets with visiting Argentine lawmakers

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with Argentine lawmakers from Argentina’s Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The delegation was led by legislator Guillermo Andrada, the Chair of the Armenia-Argentina parliamentary friendship group. The lawmakers underscored the role of the Armenian community in further strengthening cooperation with Armenia.

Armenpress

Slovenia expects Armenia’s support in bid for non-permanent seat on UN Security Council

Slovenia expects Armenia's support for its bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The vote at the UN will take place on June 6. Slovenia is following the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and supports the EU monitoring mission in Armenia.

Armenpress, Slovenia’s National Assembly President visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Speaker of Slovenian National Assembly visits Armenian Genocide Memorial

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan meets Slovenian counterpart, Azeri illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor discussed

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said he discussed the illegal Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor during his meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Urška Klakočar Zupančič on May 30. “For about a half year, the entire population of Artsakh is living in conditions of food crisis and humanitarian crisis. Given Baku’s growing aggressive rhetoric, we expect targeted reactions by our international partners,” he said.

Armenpress

‘Dialogue between Baku and Armenians living in former NKAO on their rights & security is now crucial’ – Charles Michel

Charles Michel says dialogue between Baku and Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh is now 'crucial' Michel says it is essential for Armenia and Azerbaijan to “reconfirm respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” Michel tweeted ahead of the June 1 meeting in Chisinau with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Armenpress, Nagorno Karabakh expects Russia’s ‘proper and strong response’ to Aliyev’s threats, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council emphasizes the need for Azerbaijan’s constructive position in the negotiation process

Economy minister predicts record number of tourist visits in 2023

Vahan Kerobyan predicts a record number of tourists will visit Armenia in 2023. 630,000 tourists visited Armenia in the first four months of the year, he told lawmakers during budget discussions. One tourist spends 1,200 dollars in Armenia, according to the minister.

Armenpress

Restoration of railway infrastructures could take 2-3 years, says Armenian Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan said the railway can be a very obvious effective infrastructure solution for the region. He added that he plans to participate in the scheduled meeting on unblocking with his Russian and Azerbaijani counterparts this week.

Armenpress

PM Pashinyan congratulates Croatian counterpart on Statehood Day

Nikol Pashinyan congratulates Croatian PM Andrej Plenković on occasion of Statehood Day. Pashinyan: Year marked by high-level Armenian-Croatian contacts and visits. I remember with satisfaction our meeting on February 18 of this year in the framework of the Munich Security Conference. I am sure that this will be the basis for realizing the significant potential of the development of the relationship.

Armenpress

Charles Michel referring to Artsakh people as “Armenians living in former NKAO” upsetting – Ombudsman

Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan said it is upsetting that the EU in the face of Charles Michel refers to Artsakh people as “Armenians living in former NKAO” The comments come after President of the EU Council Charles Michel called Artsakh ‘Armenian’ The Ombudsman said the EU does not foster peace talks but contribute to the subjugation of a democracy into a genocidal authoritarian state.

ArmRadio

Major tourism infrastructure development projects in process, says economy minister

1,660,000 tourists visited Armenia in 2022, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said. Government will continue to improve tourism infrastructures, he said. 20 tourism cluster development programs are under development.

Armenpress

Armenian Minister refers to the issue of building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan referred to the issue of building a new nuclear power plant in Armenia. Large-scale works were carried out last year to extend the period of operation of the nuclear power station. The construction of nuclear power plants takes 8 or 10 years to build, the minister said.

Armenpress

Authorities plan to launch regular Yerevan-Kapan passenger flights

The Armenian government plans to launch regular domestic passenger flights from Yerevan to Kapan. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan told lawmakers on May 30.

Armenpress

Moscow attacked by drones – says mayor

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said no residents of buildings hit by UAVs were seriously hurt. Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov said “several drones” bound for Moscow were shot down by air defenses. The attack comes after two drones – claimed by Russia to have been Ukrainian - were also shot down.

Armenpress, Moscow drone attack damages buildings, Mayor says

Armenian President, Ambassador of Georgia emphasize the dynamic expansion of trade turnover between the countries

President of Armenia congratulates Ambassador Giorgi Sharvashidiary of Georgia to Armenia. Issues related to the development of friendly relations between Armenia and Georgia were discussed.

Armenpress

Inter’s Mkhitaryan gears up for Champions League final against Manchester City

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is recovering from his injury and will be ready to play in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City on June 10. The former captain of the Armenian national football team sustained a muscle injury to his left

Armenpress

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I (27f) have a neighbor (64m) who has started to mow their yard at night. I’m talking 10:30 or later, when it is pitch black. We live on larger lots in a semi rural area, so it normally takes them at least 1 hr or longer to mow and weed wack.
I really don’t want to be a karen, but their yard is very close to the side of my house where my bedroom is and I’m woken up at least once during the week by them mowing late into the night, sometimes multiple nights if they can’t finish they whole yard. My husband sleeps through it, but me and my baby (6month) aren’t able to sleep till the mowing is done.
The neighbor is already retired, so if they wanted to mow to avoid the heat they could mow in the early morning (they are always up and on their daily walk when I leave for work at 6). There is no noise ordinance for my area, so legally there is nothing I can do. We are on ok terms with the neighbor and I don’t want to cause tension since they have lived here 20+ years and we have only lived here 2. I have no clue how to address it with them, and this is the first summer they have started doing it. Between my baby, the mowing, and my work schedule I barely sleep. I am so so exhausted and unbelievably frustrated. Other neighbors have mentioned they share the same aggravation about the mowing, but no one has actually said anything to my neighbor.
I know it is not my neighbors responsibility or concern about my sleep schedule, but my husband thinks we should be the ones to say something. Especially since that same neighbor was quick to say something about us not bringing our trash cans in quick enough (no HOA so we could leave them on the street every day if we wanted). WIBTA for asking him to stop mowing so late?

Why did he (23M) break up with me out of the blue? (21F)
I’ll try to keep this short. About four months ago, I met a guy who travels for work up at the city my mom lives at (3 hours away) we instantly hit it off. We will call him Jack. Jack and I have never argued, never have an awkward silence. Nothing. He works a physically demanding job (80 hour weeks) and eventually we got in the schedule of weekends after work, and the one week off a month he’d go back home to his family and the next rotation he’d spend time with me in my town. It worked perfectly.
One thing that Jack always has done is he is very avoidant about his feelings. Asking him about his feelings is non existent, while I’m an anxious little bean. We had a great relationship that I saw progressing into something long term so I never saw the need to.
Cut forward to two weeks ago. Jack decides that he would like to meet my parents and he would like me to meet his and I would go back home with him. Before he left to go back home, we spent 3 days together. He gave me a key to his trailer, and I met his friends in my state. Things were going great. He would always let me know how I meant the world to him and he never missed a Goodmorning text, and he would remember every single detail about me. I know he cared. He even told his sister about me who is super overprotective and it was a big deal and roadblock for us. And, he states that he knows I’m the one for him and that I’m his other half.
Well, he goes back home and gets distant. Finally, I ask him about it and he lets me know that he is interested in me but due to the distance and the nature of his job that he just isn’t ready for a relationship, and that he has been thinking this since before the last time I got his key/came official. Whenever I press him for answers, he said that he just lost attraction and his heart wasn’t in it. I went to go see him in person yesterday and he was so cold to me. Wouldn’t even hug me when I was trying to be cordial. I told him that it was really hard for me to process that he told me and booked a trip back home with me to just turn around and go back on it, and he spent 30 minutes pondering his thoughts and you could tell his brain was on overdrive.
I guess I’m just confused. I left while he was sleeping and didn’t tell him. He texted me 3 times asking if I made it home, when I left, and if I even got any sleep. Part of me feels like he noticed that he was getting close with me and so he shut down, but part of me is hurt because he said he didn’t have attraction to me anymore. Iguess how do I deal with this knowing he’s an avoidant attachment style.. how do you just wake up one day and not like somebody? Or is that a cover? How do I move forward? I obviously can’t be the emotional regulator, but he also isn’t willing to open up to let me help and communicate.
As of right now; I feel like he is panicking that I left without telling him in the middle of the night. How do I navigate this for the best possible scenario?
TL;DR I don’t know how to approach my avoidant ex boyfriend and I can’t tell if he was honest with me.

As I was going through security clearance between 7:10 and 7:30 p.m., someone stole my Acer Nitro 5 laptop from a tray. I put my laptop into a separate tray, and when it was pushed through to the X-ray, I realized that someone had stolen it.
I immediately bolted off to inform the staff about this incident, and after a brief search of my luggage, they conducted a search. That didn’t get them anywhere, so they said they’d check CCTV. They left, and I didn’t hear back from them after that. 30 minutes later, they came back and said they were able to identify the person who stole my laptop and are trying to establish his whereabouts. I was asked to wait until further notice.
I waited impatiently until around 10 p.m. But since my flight was scheduled for 10.30 p.m. I was informed that I should proceed to the flight gate. The airport employees told me that if they happen to find the thief and retrieve my laptop, someone from the staff would deliver it to my flight gate. Unfortunately, even though I was the last person to board the plane, the laptop had not been recovered by then.
I was fuming by that point, so I informed the Delta Airlines crew member at the gate about this whole mess. She advised writing to Delta about this matter. I sent reports to both DCA and Delta via email, as well as filled out an online police report form. The scumbag obviously knew his stuff since Nitro’s a very expensive model + I had it in a City Leather Laptop Bag, full-grain leather and all.
In this situation, who would you advise contacting in order to receive further assistance? And who exactly is responsible for my luggage while I go through security and am forced to leave my belongings unattended, albeit for a small period of time? I still can’t quite figure out how they could pinpoint the guy on camera and not find him on the premises. I know DCA is big, but come on.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the world’s emerging superpower. However, it is also a country facing a growing number of economical, social, and ecological issues.
China’s GDP exceeds $11 trillion dollars, making it the second largest in the world after the US. Despite this, its rate of economic growth has sharply dropped to 6% in 2016 from 9% in 2013. The PRC has a highly centralized and government-managed economy, along with strictly regulated political life. Notwithstanding, some Chinese provinces are allowed to pursue independent economic policies.
China officially has a multi-party political system. However, in practice, there is only one party that holds significant power — the Communist Party of China (CPC), which was founded on July 1, 1921. The CPC’s ideology is based on the Marxist-Leninist doctrine introduced by Karl Marx (a Prussian economist) and Friedrich Engels (a German philosopher and businessman) in the 1880s. This doctrine was later supplemented by the theory of Socialism by Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin (a Russian politician and revolutionary).
The doctrine postulates that society is composed of two major economic classes — the working people (exploited) and the bourgeoisie (exploiters). According to this theory, a global economic crisis will lead to a revolution, with the working class taking control of the world and the bourgeoisie being eliminated. Ultimately, capitalism will cease to exist, and communism (where goods are freely available and nobody works) will prevail. Mao Zedong, the founder of the CPC, adapted this theory to the Chinese context by including Chinese farmers in the definition of the working class.
The PRC government plays a central role in both the political and economic aspects of China. The CPC governs China through an administrative pyramid, with the Central Committee (Politburo) and the National Congress at the top.
The National Congress is comprised of over 2000 delegates who are elected mainly from local CPC committee members. This assembly convenes for a two-week session in Beijing once a year. The 22 Chinese provinces are managed by regional governors appointed by the Central Committee, and their primary objective is to fulfill the CPC’s goal of achieving GDP growth. The government operates based on five-year plans.
The list of other political parties in China includes:
Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang (53,000 members, representing Taiwan residents in China); China Democratic League (130,000 members, mainly composed of the middle class); China Democratic National Construction Association (69,000 members, consisting of entrepreneurs); China Association for Promoting Democracy (64,000 members, primarily intellectuals); Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party (65,000 members, representing government employees); Zhigongdang of China (15,000 members, representing overseas Chinese); Jiusan Society (68,000 members, comprising individual professionals); Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (1,600 members, including prominent Chinese celebrities). All of these parties are aligned with and support the CPC in its major initiatives and policies. Opposition to the CPC is not tolerated.
Economic Review
Administratively China consists of 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the central government, and 2 special administrative regions.
China’s main economic regions:
Eastern Coastal Region: This region includes provinces like Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, as well as Shanghai. It has been a major driver of China’s economic growth due to its proximity to international trade routes and its well-developed infrastructure. The Eastern Coastal Region contributes approximately 45–50% to China’s GDP. Western Region: The Western Region comprises provinces such as Sichuan, Chongqing, and Yunnan, as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region. This region is known for its rich natural resources, including minerals, energy, and agricultural products. The Western Region contributes around 15–20% to China’s GDP. Central Region: The Central Region includes provinces such as Henan, Hubei, and Hunan. It is characterized by a mix of industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, and services. The Central Region contributes roughly 15–20% to China’s GDP. Northeastern Region: The Northeastern Region consists of provinces like Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. Historically, this region was a vital industrial base for heavy machinery, mining, and manufacturing. However, it has faced economic challenges in recent years. The Northeastern Region contributes approximately 7–10% to China’s GDP. Pearl River Delta: The Pearl River Delta is a highly urbanized and economically dynamic region located in Guangdong Province. It encompasses cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan. Known as a manufacturing and export hub, it has played a pivotal role in China’s economic growth. The Pearl River Delta contributes around 10–15% to China’s GDP. Yangtze River Delta: The Yangtze River Delta region covers Shanghai and the surrounding provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It is one of the most economically developed and prosperous regions in China. With a strong focus on finance, manufacturing, and services, the Yangtze River Delta contributes approximately 20–25% to China’s GDP. China’s Latest Economic Updates
Stock Market
The Shanghai Composite rose from 2892 in November 2022 to 3284 (as of May 17, 2023).
Currency
Yuan rose from 6.7 in Jan 2023 to 7.0 as of May 17, 2023
Employment
In March 2023, China’s surveyed urban unemployment rate decreased to 5.3%, the lowest in seven months, from February’s 5.6%. Those aged 25–59 saw their jobless rate drop to 4.3% from 4.8% in February, while those aged 16–24 increased to 19.6% from 18.1%. The unemployment rate in 31 large cities and towns also declined to 5.5% from 5.7%.
Employees’ average weekly working hours across China increased to 48.7 in March from 47.9 in February. In the first quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate slightly declined to 5.5% from 5.6% in Q4 2022. The government has set a target of around 5.5% for the year, with the creation of approximately 12 million new urban jobs. China has also set a 2023 GDP growth target of about 5%.
GDP
China’s economy grew by 2.2% (SA) in Q1–2023, the third consecutive quarter of expansion following the removal of travel restrictions in Dec-2022 and a three-year crackdown on tech firms and property. However, the uneven recovery showed that while consumption, services, and infrastructure spending picked up, slowing inflation and rising bank savings led to doubts about demand.
In Mar-2023, the central bank cut lenders’ reserve requirements for the first time in 2023 and Beijing promised more fiscal stimulus.
Inflation
In April of 2023, China’s inflation rate declined to 0.1% from the previous month’s 0.7%, which was lower than anticipated. The decrease in prices for both food and non-food items was due to an unstable economic recovery after the enclosure policy was lifted. Food prices fell notably due to lower prices of pork and fresh vegetables, while non-food prices fell due to lower prices for transportation and housing. Inflation for health remained steady, while education costs increased.
Trade
Country’s exports rose unexpectedly by 14.8% YoY to a high of USD 315.59B in March 2023, rebounding sharply from a 6.8% drop in January-February combined and beating market consensus of a 7% fall. It was the first advance in shipments since September 2022 as Beijing boosts trade with developed countries and emerging economies. Steel products (53.2%) and refined products (35.1%) were the largest contributors. Exports to China’s largest partner, ASEAN, rose 35.43%, while those to the EU (3.38%) and Russia (136.43%) also increased. Conversely, exports fell to Japan (-4.8%), Taiwan (-27.6%), and the US (-7.68%), while they expanded to Australia (23.7%) and South Korea (11.3%).
SVET Analysis Space (A-):
Advantages:
Strategic location: China is located in the heart of Asia, which gives it a strategic location to engage in trade and diplomacy with neighboring countries. China also has access to the Pacific Ocean, which allows it to trade with countries in the Americas and Oceania. Natural resources: China has significant reserves of coal, iron ore, and other minerals. The country is also the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, which are essential in the manufacturing of high-tech products. This resource base has fueled China’s economic growth over the past few decades. Agricultural productivity: China has a large and fertile agricultural base, which allows it to produce significant amounts of food. The country is the world’s largest producer of rice and wheat, and it has made significant advances in crop yields through the use of technology and modern farming practices. Disadvantages:
Natural disasters: China is prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and typhoons, which can cause significant damage to infrastructure and disrupt the economy. Resource depletion: China’s rapid economic growth has led to the depletion of some of its natural resources, such as water and arable land. This depletion can lead to environmental degradation and food insecurity in the future. Energy dependence: Despite having significant reserves of coal, China is also heavily dependent on imported oil and gas to meet its energy needs. This dependence makes the country vulnerable to supply disruptions and price fluctuations on the global market. Voice (C):
Pluses:
Stability: The Chinese government prioritizes maintaining stability and order in the country, which has helped to ensure social cohesion and economic growth. Economic development: China’s political system has enabled it to pursue policies that have led to rapid economic growth and development over the past few decades. Nationalism: The Chinese government emphasizes the importance of national unity and pride, which has helped to foster a strong sense of identity among Chinese citizens. Strategic planning: The government’s focus on long-term planning has enabled China to achieve its ambitious economic and geopolitical goals. Minuses:
Lack of political freedom: The Chinese government tightly controls political expression and restricts freedom of speech, assembly, and association, which has led to criticism from human rights groups. State control: The government’s control over the economy and key industries can stifle innovation and limit the potential for private sector growth. Lack of transparency: The Chinese government is known for being opaque in its decision-making processes, which can lead to uncertainty for businesses and investors. Human rights violations: The government’s policies towards ethnic minorities, such as the Uighur population in Xinjiang, have been criticized by the international community for alleged human rights abuses. Ethos (B-):
Han Chinese: The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group in China, accounting for over 90% of the population. They enjoy the most favorable treatment from the government and have access to the best jobs, education, and healthcare. However, this has led to some resentment from minority groups who feel marginalized. Ethnic minorities: There are 55 recognized ethnic minority groups in China, including Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongolians, and others. They often face discrimination and limited opportunities for advancement. Some minority groups, such as the Uighurs in Xinjiang, have also been subject to government repression. Rural residents: China’s rural population is around 40% of the total population. They often have limited access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities compared to urban residents. However, the government has implemented policies to try to bridge this gap, such as investing in rural infrastructure and offering subsidies to farmers. Urban residents: China’s urban population is growing rapidly and has access to more job opportunities, education, and healthcare than rural residents. However, this has also led to increased competition for resources and rising income inequality. Time (B-):
Positive scenarios:
Continued economic growth: China’s economy has been growing rapidly over the past few decades, and it is likely to continue. This could result in increased prosperity and an improved standard of living for many Chinese citizens. Technological advancement: China has made significant strides in technology and innovation, and this trend is likely to continue. This could result in China becoming a global leader in technology, creating new industries and high-paying jobs. Improved infrastructure: China has been investing heavily in infrastructure, such as high-speed rail and new airports, which can improve transportation and connectivity and stimulate economic growth. Increased global influence: As China’s economy and political influence continue to grow, it could become a dominant player on the global stage, shaping international politics and economics. Negative scenarios:
Environmental degradation: China’s rapid economic growth has resulted in severe environmental problems, such as air and water pollution. If this trend continues, it could have severe consequences for public health and the environment. Social inequality: China’s economic growth has also created significant social inequalities, with a wealthy urban elite and a poorer rural population. This could result in social unrest and instability. Political repression: The Chinese government’s increasing control over the media and the internet, and its crackdowns on dissent, could result in greater political repression. Economic slowdown: China’s economic growth has already slowed in recent years, and if this trend continues, it could result in job losses and economic instability, which could have global consequences. Overall
The Chinese reforms were initiated by Deng Xiaoping (1978–1992) in the late 1970s. These reforms aimed to open up China to foreign investment, encourage private enterprise, and modernize various sectors of the economy. As part of these reforms, the number of directly controlled industries was drastically reduced. Additionally, the number of price-controlled goods decreased from approximately 300 to around 20.
With that said, the government still exercises strict regulatory oversight and establishes guidelines and policies that private businesses must adhere to. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to play a significant role in the Chinese economy and frequently receive preferential treatment and support from the government.
Those policies were continued under Jiang Zemin (1993–2003), during which China was accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2001, and also under Hu Jintao (2003–2013). However, when Xi Jinping (2013-present) assumed power, there was a gradual shift towards increased direct control over the economy and the establishment of a more centralized system. This change was accompanied by the active implementation of mass-surveillance technologies.
That happened synchronously with the end of the world’s latest 80-year-long generational cycle, which began in the 1940s and 1950s. This cycle was characterized by massive political decentralization, resulting in the emergence of several dozen new states between 1940 and 2000. After the 2007–2008 debts debacle, this cycle of economic expansion, driven by the exploitation of readily available resources, came to a close. However, it was artificially extended for the next 15 years through the easing of monetary policies pursued simultaneously by central banks worldwide.
That led to an unprecedented growth of private businesses worldwide. It was accompanied by increased prosperity and a rising level of education across all segments of the population. Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, particularly in the high-tech industry, began to assume leading positions in the economic landscape. However, this economic progress was not accompanied by significant political reforms.
The old class of hereditary, mostly populist politicians, who often lacked education, managed to stay in power throughout that period, largely due to the outdated electoral system based on indirect political representation. However, when blockchain technologies were utilized to establish algorithmic consensus and enable effective direct governance, this new system faced resistance from entrenched political clans in all countries, resulting in its suppression.
China is currently at the forefront of this trend, with its political class focused on leveraging high-tech advancements to achieve both economic efficiency and comprehensive political control. However, there are two significant obstacles that China faces along this path.
Firstly, China is confronted with a shrinking population. In recent years, the country has undergone a substantial demographic shift characterized by an aging population and a decline in the working-age population. This is partially attributed to the one-child policy that was enforced from 1979 to 2016, resulting in a diminished labor force and a growing proportion of elderly individuals.
Secondly, there is a culmination of the resource-exploration and expansionist phase of global economic growth, accompanied by escalating political and military tensions worldwide. This situation is likely to result in a reduction of China’s import markets and an increased dependence on a less-competitive domestic market. Consequently, this could potentially lead to a scenario of stagflation, characterized by stagnant economic growth coupled with high inflationary pressures.
Faced with these fundamental challenges, it is highly probable that China will resort to aggressive and militaristic policies in an attempt to expand its territory directly or enforce its economic dominance in the Asian region through alternative means.
China is expected to continue on its trajectory towards increased global dominance through local conflicts and enhanced technological control over the economy and population over the next 15–20 years. However, this trend could be altered by a new wave of decentralization, which would require a significant deviation from current policies.
Such a shift may occur when not only the current generation of older politicians, but also the subsequent one (which is likely to further reinforce the existing trend), is replaced by “enlightened” technocrats who advocate for a return to decentralized approaches in both politics and economics.

2023 GV80 3.5T Prestige purchased in late Oct/Early Nov last year.
Manual says 12 months/8000 miles (this to me is the baseline). Car is telling me maintenance is due in ~700 more miles now at startup (which will be just short of 6000...something something oil life?). Genesis app is saying I should have had first maintenance (by time) back in February, 3 months after purchase, but also reflecting 12000 miles at the same time. Nowhere can I find info suggesting 3 months as a first check...
What the heck is going on? My driving is about 50/50 highway/city, mostly trips of 5-15 miles, with longer trips a few times a month (100s of miles of freeway). I could believe the car is suggesting something based on driving habits, but the app is stating 'normal' (not that I trust it), nor does my driving meet the heavy duty criteria for more frequent maintenance.
App is unusable for scheduling; my local dealer also will not call me back about getting something scheduled. Kind of dreading it to be honest.

Every time a city gets too big, the rents become sky high, the streets become filled with trash and homeless people, high crime rates, lack of empathy for people around you and loneliness, despite the glamour of living in a big metropolis.

Playstation Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Precious Edition	PS4 & PS5	40	Europe
Space Engineers	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Miasma Chronicles	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
War Mongrels	PS5	25	North America
Serial Cleaners + Dino Park DLC	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
TT ISLE OF MAN: RIDE ON THE EDGE 3	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
Skinny & Franko: Fists of Violence	PS4 & PS5	12	North America & Europe
Space Engineers	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
DriftCE	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Stray Blade	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Transport Fever 2 Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen PSVR2	PS5	20	North America
Football Manager 2023	PS4 & PS5	25	North America
Scars Above	PS4 & PS5	28	Europe
Chef Life Simulator	PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen VR PSV2	PS5	20	North America
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition PSV2	PS5	20	Europe
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder PSVR2	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Colossal Cave	PS5	20	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Dungeon Munchies	PS5	10	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	12	North America
Emoji Kart Racer	PS5	15	North America
Broken Lines	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
GRIME: Colors of Rot	PS5	15	North America
Do Not Open	PS5	20	Europe
Last Day of Lazarus	PS5	13	Europe
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition	PS4 & PS5	20	North America
LEGO Brawls	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition Island Explorer	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Serial Cleaners	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored	PS4	10	North America
Path of Titans + Founders Pack	PS5	20	North America
DreadOuts 2	PS4/PS5	15	North America
Two Hundred Ways	PS4	7	North America
Train Valley	PS4	7	Europe
Arcadegeddon	PS4/PS5	15	North America & Europe
Hourglass	PS4	10	North America
My Universe - Green Adventure: Farmers Friends	PS4	18	North America
Escape Game - FORT BOYARD 2022	PS5	18	North America
Lumberjack's Dynasty	PS4	15	North America
Tour de France 2022	PS5	25	Europe
Demon's Tier+	PS5	6	North America
This War of Mine Final Cut	PS5	15	North America
Ogre: Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	14	North America
Best Month Ever!	PS4 & PS5	10	Europe
The Fortress Deluxe	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Rogue Lords	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Metal Tales Overkill	PS5	10	North America
Winkeltje: The Little Shop	PS5	10	North America
Cathedral	PS4 & PS5	8	Europe
Liberated: Enhanced Edition	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
A Juggler's Tale	PS5	10	North America

​
PC Games

Title	Platform	Price (USD)	Region
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (Vol.1 + Vol.2)	Steam	35	Global
Redfall	Steam	30	Global
Thea 2: The Shattering	Steam	5	Global
Assetto Corsa Competizione 2023 GT World Challenge DLC	Steam	8	Global
House Flipper Farm DLC	Steam	8	Global
Total Tank Generals	Steam	12	Global
Leap	Steam	10	Global
Climber: Sky Is The Limit	Steam	5	Global
Sunblaze	Steam	8	Global
MADiSON	Steam	18	Global
Re:Legend	Steam	8	Global
Hard West 2	Steam	15	Global
Civitatem	Steam	8	Global
Terraformers	Steam	7	Global
Arcadegeddon	Epic Store	10	Global
The Tenants	Steam	12	Global
My Time at Sandrock	Steam	15	Global
Tennis Manager 2022	Steam	15	Global
Captain of Industry	Steam	15	Global
Space Engineers	Steam	15	Globalc
Bunhouse	Steam	10	Global
Nero	Steam	10	Global
Pro Cycling Manager 2021	Steam	10	Global
Rogue Lords	Steam	13	Global
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	Steam	8	Global
Solaris Offworld Combat	Steam	8	Global
Boombox	Steam	8	Global

​
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/mc209m/xterno50s_igs_rep_page/

Playstation Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Precious Edition	PS4 & PS5	40	Europe
Space Engineers	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Miasma Chronicles	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
War Mongrels	PS5	25	North America
Serial Cleaners + Dino Park DLC	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
TT ISLE OF MAN: RIDE ON THE EDGE 3	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
Skinny & Franko: Fists of Violence	PS4 & PS5	12	North America & Europe
DriftCE	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Space Engineers	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Stray Blade	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Transport Fever 2 Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen PSVR2	PS5	20	North America
Football Manager 2023	PS4 & PS5	25	North America
Scars Above	PS4 & PS5	28	Europe
Chef Life Simulator	PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen VR PSV2	PS5	20	North America
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition PSV2	PS5	20	Europe
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder PSVR2	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Colossal Cave	PS5	20	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Dungeon Munchies	PS5	10	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	12	North America
Emoji Kart Racer	PS5	15	North America
Broken Lines	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
GRIME: Colors of Rot	PS5	15	North America
Do Not Open	PS5	20	Europe
Last Day of Lazarus	PS5	13	Europe
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition	PS4 & PS5	20	North America
LEGO Brawls	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition Island Explorer	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Serial Cleaners	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored	PS4	10	North America
Path of Titans + Founders Pack	PS5	20	North America
DreadOuts 2	PS4/PS5	15	North America
Two Hundred Ways	PS4	7	North America
Train Valley	PS4	7	Europe
Arcadegeddon	PS4/PS5	15	North America & Europe
Hourglass	PS4	10	North America
My Universe - Green Adventure: Farmers Friends	PS4	18	North America
Escape Game - FORT BOYARD 2022	PS5	18	North America
Lumberjack's Dynasty	PS4	15	North America
Tour de France 2022	PS5	25	Europe
Demon's Tier+	PS5	6	North America
This War of Mine Final Cut	PS5	15	North America
Ogre: Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	14	North America
Best Month Ever!	PS4 & PS5	10	Europe
The Fortress Deluxe	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Rogue Lords	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Metal Tales Overkill	PS5	10	North America
Winkeltje: The Little Shop	PS5	10	North America
Cathedral	PS4 & PS5	8	Europe
Liberated: Enhanced Edition	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
A Juggler's Tale	PS5	10	North America

​
PC Games

Title	Platform	Price (USD)	Region
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (Vol.1 + Vol.2)	Steam	35	Global
Redfall	Steam	30	Global
Thea 2: The Shattering	Steam	5	Global
Assetto Corsa Competizione 2023 GT World Challenge DLC	Steam	8	Global
House Flipper Farm DLC	Steam	8	Global
Total Tank Generals	Steam	12	Global
Leap	Steam	10	Global
Climber: Sky Is The Limit	Steam	5	Global
Sunblaze	Steam	8	Global
MADiSON	Steam	18	Global
Re:Legend	Steam	8	Global
Hard West 2	Steam	15	Global
Civitatem	Steam	8	Global
Terraformers	Steam	7	Global
Arcadegeddon	Epic Store	10	Global
The Tenants	Steam	12	Global
My Time at Sandrock	Steam	15	Global
Tennis Manager 2022	Steam	15	Global
Captain of Industry	Steam	15	Global
Space Engineers	Steam	15	Globalc
Bunhouse	Steam	10	Global
Nero	Steam	10	Global
Pro Cycling Manager 2021	Steam	10	Global
Rogue Lords	Steam	13	Global
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	Steam	8	Global
Solaris Offworld Combat	Steam	8	Global
Boombox	Steam	8	Global

Playstation Games

Title	Console	Price (USD)	Region
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Precious Edition	PS4 & PS5	40	Europe
Space Engineers	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Miasma Chronicles	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
War Mongrels	PS5	25	North America
Serial Cleaners + Dino Park DLC	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
TT ISLE OF MAN: RIDE ON THE EDGE 3	PS4 & PS5	30	Europe
DriftCE	PS5	20	Europe & North America
Stray Blade	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos	PS4 & PS5	20	Europe
Transport Fever 2 Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen PSVR2	PS5	20	North America
Football Manager 2023	PS4 & PS5	25	North America
Scars Above	PS4 & PS5	28	Europe
Chef Life Simulator	PS5	25	Europe
Townsmen VR PSV2	PS5	20	North America
Cities VR: Enhanced Edition PSV2	PS5	20	Europe
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder PSVR2	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Colossal Cave	PS5	20	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Dungeon Munchies	PS5	10	North America
Overland	PS4 & PS5	12	North America
Emoji Kart Racer	PS5	15	North America
Broken Lines	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
GRIME: Colors of Rot	PS5	15	North America
Do Not Open	PS5	20	Europe
Last Day of Lazarus	PS5	13	Europe
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition	PS4 & PS5	20	North America
LEGO Brawls	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition Island Explorer	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Strategic Mind: Fight for Freedom	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
Serial Cleaners	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
S.W.A.N.: Chernobyl Unexplored	PS4	10	North America
Path of Titans + Founders Pack	PS5	20	North America
DreadOuts 2	PS4/PS5	15	North America
Two Hundred Ways	PS4	7	North America
Train Valley	PS4	7	Europe
Arcadegeddon	PS4/PS5	15	North America & Europe
Hourglass	PS4	10	North America
My Universe - Green Adventure: Farmers Friends	PS4	18	North America
Escape Game - FORT BOYARD 2022	PS5	18	North America
Lumberjack's Dynasty	PS4	15	North America
Tour de France 2022	PS5	25	Europe
Demon's Tier+	PS5	6	North America
This War of Mine Final Cut	PS5	15	North America
Ogre: Console Edition	PS4 & PS5	14	North America
Best Month Ever!	PS4 & PS5	10	Europe
The Fortress Deluxe	PS4 & PS5	10	North America
Rogue Lords	PS4 & PS5	15	Europe
Metal Tales Overkill	PS5	10	North America
Winkeltje: The Little Shop	PS5	10	North America
Cathedral	PS4 & PS5	8	Europe
Liberated: Enhanced Edition	PS4 & PS5	15	North America
A Juggler's Tale	PS5	10	North America

Happy Wednesday, Barkada --

The PSE lost 82 points to 6511 ▼1.3%

Thanks to Miguel R. Camus and Jing for appreciating the Zoolander references in yesterday's send (Google is wrong when it says the movie was released in 2001... right?), to kalelManila.eth, grinskin, and Jupitel Thunder for noticing that yesterday's horrific Martin Romualdez meme was AI-generated (I was experimenting with Midjourney; it was a tweak of a combo of this and this), and to 14dM24d, CertainBonus2920, Joel Jucom, John, and Enrico for the continuing conversation about the Maharlika Investment Fund and all of the potential risks that it may pose.
Shout-outs to Amos Henley, Homer, Tommy, RUNxCRYPTO, creeptocrypt, Indio Guerrero, Palaboy Trader, Bien EC, LanAustria, koninja, Dividend Pinoy PGG, meloi, CHARToons, arkitrader, KingArk, J o j o, Chip Sillesa, Lance Nazal, Evolves Capital, Inc., and Jing for the retweets, and to Maxi Leve, Edward Dulfo, Marvin Quezon, Evolves.co, Padilla GJ, Jayvee Menil, Genesis Umali, and Mike Ting for the Facebook shares.

▌In today's MB:

• Repower finds anchor IPO buyer
• PSE hit with P189M BIR assessment
• Boulevard Holdings un-suspended (for now)
• Alliance Global loses gaming partner Genting
• MJIC to finally complete private placement

▌Daily meme Subscribe (it's free) Today's email

▌Main stories covered:

">- [NEWS] Repower anchor IPO buyer in listed Japanese company… Repower Energy Development [REDC pre-IPO] [link] notified the exchange yesterday that it would extend its “book-building period”, but Merkado Barkada has learned from a source with first-hand knowledge that this is because REDC found a listed Japanese company that confirmed it will buy the majority of the REDC IPO as an anchor buyer. REDC did not say whether the extended book-building period would impact the tentative schedule of the IPO.

• MB: This is a fresh development that has many potential benefits to REDC both for this transaction, and going forward post-IPO. Typically an anchor investor can help build confidence in an IPO because it helps validate of the business model and support the valuation. That information could be useful to potential buyers, as the thought of a huge chunk of shares being off-the-market does increase the scarcity of the remaining float. I’m curious to learn the identity of the buyer, to learn more about the relationship between the parties, and to see if there are any strategic benefits to REDC beyond this deal. Of course, I’m also curious to learn the price, but there’s plenty of time for that.
  
  • [NOTES] Quick takes from around the market...
• PSE [PSE 164.00 unch] [link] notified the market that it received an assessment from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that it owed ₱189.2 million in alleged tax deficiencies, penalties, and interest, coming from calendar year 2017. The PSE said that it would dispute the BIR findings. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that the BIR was “just doing their job.”
  
  • MB Quick Take: Getting the BIR’s attention is never a good thing, but it’s important to put the potential size of this assessment in context with the PSE’s financial standing and performance. According to its Q1 earnings report, the ₱189.2 million is about 93% of its quarterly profit, but the PSE has over ₱2 billion in cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet that it could use to take the hit. It’s a weird situation that should cause some behind-the-scenes process adjustments, but this isn’t an existential threat by any means.
• Boulevard Holdings [BHI 0.07 ▲33.3%; 1304% avgVol] [link] had its 110-day suspension lifted after it finally submitted its annual report for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022, and the following three quarterly reports. BHI surged 33% on massive volume after the suspension was lifted.
  
  • MB Quick Take: Play if you want to play, but be warned that BHI is very casual with its reporting and is often suspended for failing to do the bare minimum with respect to its reporting obligations. BHI also seems to be alarmingly comfortable in a state of suspension, which is a massive red flag to me.
• Alliance Global [AGI 13.34 ▲0.5%; 573% avgVol] [link] is losing the Hong Kong-based Genting as its foreign partner in the local gaming industry. AGI revealed that it is buying Genting’s entire stake in Newport Wold Resorts project.
  
  • MB Quick Take: As I’ve said before, I’m not comfortable in my analysis of the gaming sector, so I’m not really sure what to make of this news. To an outsider like me, it just sounds like a pretty big deal to lose such a powerful 40% stakeholder in one transaction, but I’m not really sure what this means for Andrew Tan, AGI, and the Newport project. Any guest analysts interested in providing some context, please send me a note!
• MJC Investments [MJIC suspended] [link] disclosed that its board authorized the conversion into equity of ₱2.4 billion in “deposits for future subscription” made by HK Strategic Investors and Manila Jockey Club [MJC suspended]. The unusual deposits were made way back in 2021.
  
  • MB Quick Take: As an investor, I hate seeing these massive pending transactions on the books that fester for years. The depositors will get 2.2 billion shares out of the conversion, which is a 69% increase in the outstanding shares of MJIC. That’s a substantial change.

MB is written and distributed every trading day. The newsletter is 100% free and I never upsell you to some "iNnEr cIrClE" of paid-membership perks. Everyone gets the same! Join the barkada by signing up for the newsletter, or follow me on Twitter. You can also read my daily Morning Halo-halo content on Philstar.com in the Stock Commentary section, and in the Saturday edition of the Daily Manila Shimbun.

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Wanted to write up a post to anyone who might be going into a C&P Exam for PTSD and wanted to know the experience of it.
TLDR version; make sure to study the VA PTSD DBQ, realize where the examiner is trying to trip you up (I honestly believe they try several tactics as detailed below). Realize they are not your friends and it's in your best interest to be as honest but as direct as possible.
Background Info:
I worked as a CT in the Navy, never went to medical while I was in as I was told getting mental help would get my clearance removed. Definitely experienced issues that I won't discuss here due to the nature of the clearance.
I had gone in to my local VA hospital with major depression and talked to them about being suicidal in January of 2022. They were able to get me a VA approved social worker to work with and annotated in my record that I had a positive screening for PTSD. I then went in to my local VA advocate February 2022 and started my claim. I've had a year of psychotherapy through the VA since then and I believe the social worker put down that she believed I had PTSD with major and chronic depression.
I got my counselor (I had been paying for the better half of two years) to write a letter I could submit as evidence detailing my depression and PTSD from his perspective. I had submitted a PTSD claim in 2015 but the file was closed without a VA examination (they couldn't find any links in my medical record of trauma even though I spent time overseas in a warzone). I was pretty defeated so this time I wanted medical evidence to support my claim.
It seem to have worked as I was scheduled my C&P exam in May 2023 (sixteen months from submitting my claim for anyone wondering how long it took to get the exam). During this time of waiting for my exam I submitted signed letters from my wife, her family (detailing my depression, suicidal thoughts, cutting, alone personality, etc) and also signed letters from two shipmates I served with detailing what happen to us.
The Exam:
I arrived 5 minutes before my exam and was pretty silent in the waiting room. The front desk person was VERY friendly, almost overly friendly. Asking how I was, how the drive was, how my week was going, what I thought of the weather etc etc. I put on my serious face and gave direct answers "could be better, it was long, not good, it's cold". She sat back in her seat and then was quiet. I waited there for about 10 minutes staring at the floor until the Optum Serve psychologist came out.
She walked me back to a room where the chairs were arranged facing away from the door and the windows, towards her with my back turned to both. I could tell it had been purposely arranged to make it inconvenient to move with a table dividing the area and force me to sit with my back to the door and window, so I rearranged the chairs and sat with my back to a corner facing everything.
She was nice but I could tell she had read up on my file. She began by telling me she could not diagnose any issues and began asking me questions about my mom and dad, how they were, if they loved me and if I ever felt alone prior to the military. She then asked if I had ever been abused sexually prior to the military or ever been in trouble at school or law enforcement prior. To each question I answered "no" and that I had a great upbringing as a kid.
She then asked if "I was happy" keeping it open ended, so I asked her if she meant if I was happy now or prior to the military. She then said "prior" so I told her I was happy before the military and miserable after just to make it very clear.
It was then she started to ask me questions straight from the PTSD DBQ that I had studied prior to going in (make sure to look over the DBQ to see where your exam is going). Almost verbatim one for one so make sure to memorize it so you can see where they are leading you. One question she tried getting me slip up on were "Did your suicidal thoughts come after you were in the military?" to which I replied "they started when I was overseas in the military in 2007 and have gotten worse since". She replied with "So they didn't start after service just to make it clear?" to which again, I replied with the same answer but added in the depression now has kept me from keeping employment since she was pressing it.
She then asked how I would commit suicide, if I had a plan. I replied with my plan as I have thought about it a great deal. She asked what had stopped me to which I gave her a reply that she wrote down. I told her I also cut now due to how my brain is working and she asked if that began after the military, I told her it started at my first command (the letter from my shipmate detailed this fact in her statement saying she saw cuts on my arms but was unable to help as she was so stressed out with depression).
Almost after EVERY experience I talked about with depression, suicide and self harm the psychologist kept checking to see if it happen AFTER service. It was almost deliberate how much she was trying to get me to say it started after I got out. (I recommend keeping an eye out for this when you go in for your exam as the wording was very weird).
Finally, I got into the sexual trauma I had gone through to which I started crying. I never reported it due to being threatened that my clearance would be revoked if I told anyone. It's a long story but I broke down to the psychologist about it. She too also started to cry along with me about all the experiences I had gone through and how hard it was at such a young age to experience it all. I could see the tear drops come down her eyes.
It was after her crying with me that I believe she changed from trying to see if I was faking everything to actually helping me, walking me through what she thought I was experiencing mentally. She was saying stuff like "if you haven't put this medical term on your claim, you might want to look in to it" or "I would go get this checked up on". She was asking me questions that I had seen others here say to mention like paranoia, not being able to have friendships, being distant, being alone, having security cameras around my house. Not liking loud noises, not liking crowds, having panic attacks, etc. etc. Again, it was like she was trying to now help my claim with questions I had forgotten to tell her due to nerves. We covered the entire DBQ by the end of the exam.
As far as what she was writing out, I could tell she was annotating everything on the computer and the entire exam was about an hour and a half. Finally, she asked me how I was feeling letting me know that "after talking to a VA psychologist that most veterans feel much better and the weight usually has been lifted off them". I think this was a final trip up question to see my reaction of saying "Oh I feel much better! Thank you!". I didn't fall for it and replied "I just feel broken". I got up and walked out of the exam room.
Walking out, the same front desk lady who was overly happy got up and said "Have a great day and enjoy the weather! Thank you for your service!". Again, another trip up for me to reply back with something nice like "oh you too!" in front of the psychologist, instead I just ignored it and walked out while they watched me walk to my car.
Post Exam:
I'm checking my VA claim daily online but haven't seen anything change past "evidence gathering". I'm hoping I made a strong case but I'm not entirely sure if I'll get a rating as I never have had one other than an injury of 10%. The entire ordeal has completely screwed with me mentally and I'm STILL exhausted by all the questions.
Hopefully this helps another veteran out there to get the rating they deserve. We went through a great deal to be where we're at now and if by going through it I can help others in their walk, I'll gladly be there to help.

I'm very picky when it comes to movies and TV. In the last ten years, I've genuinely liked less than ten shows. I have loved far fewer.
Starting with the pilot, I loved this show.
I think season 1 is practically perfect.
Season 2 gets dragged down a bit by the whole prison storyline being kinda pointless, outside of foreshadowing. It's not bad foreshadowing either, it's just that the show spends a lot of time on something that probably could have been conveyed in two episodes or less instead. But season 2 develops Darlene and Angela, and introduces Dom... it's all still amazing, it just feels less focused.
Season 3 feels to me like how season 2 should have. Like season 2 it suffers from still feeling a little murky and unfocused. At many points in season 2 and 3, tbh, it could be argued that there wasn't a completely solid reason for the show to keep going. I'm glad it did, it just feels like they meander some.
Season 4. When it first aired, it felt off-putting to me for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to feeling like the show had just flat out cheated in places, and also due to there being SO MANY unclosed plot threads. None the less, i shrugged it off, and just told myself that I was probably imagining some of them due to poor memory etc.
Over the next year, I watched the entire series three times through, and season 1 along with some various other episodes too many times to count. This is not something I do with anything else. I never rewatch stuff that isn't twin peaks or community. OR this show.
But 2 months back, something reminded me of the scene before Angela's death in S4E1. Something about it was bugging me, and so I started the episode, watched it closely, and I felt kinda duped. The direction and performances and production quality are all great as usual, but suddenly there were major issues i started noticing things that are very hard to reconcile with the accepted explanations given by the show and this community as a whole.
In fact, I see two possibilities regarding the truth about this show:
(A) season 4 tells us 1 story at the surface level but that is just there obfuscate the truth
Or
(B) season 4 is a badly written and conceived collection of 13 episodes, despite the direction, production quality and performances all being uniformly amazing.
What makes this suck, is that if it's actually option B, it actively makes everything before it worse - especially seasons 2 and 3 - due to so much of the show being taken up by TONS of stuff, that according to the show and also this subreddit, doesn't matter, never mattered, and why would you even think that mattered, what is wrong with you, you stupid stupid question asker. After all the show tells us everything explicitly point blank in the finale.
Also, if you almost die in a nuclear plant meltdown that you avert from happening, but there is still an explosion and a fire that knocks you unconscious, when you come our of your coma you can be 100% CURED of your mental illness! As long you explain things to your alters nicely, they will finally understand and absorb themselves back into your consciousness so the real you can come out of hiding.
That last part is pretty representive of the issues I couldn't NOT notice this time around. I don't feel like the show we watched prior to S4 ever would have done something like this. I know Esmail has said this was always the plan, but man, for all the people on here who have a meltdown every time someone even mentions a question that falls outside the shows official Canon, or dares to mention anything "sci-fi" - how do you square THAT circle? Because, even though in wish to God it did, as someone very close to me suffers from schizoaffective disorder, mental illness just DOES NOT work that way no matter how hard you cried at the end. Honestly, time travel would have been more realistic and grounded than this. And don't dare try to say "it's just a TV show" or whatever if you are also one of the ones who get mad when sci-fi type elements or other possible interpretations get mentioned. Sometimes I feel like some of the people here, as well as Esmail, are trying to actually freaking gaslight anyone who think the finale doesn't really add up.
Angela's death and the moments that lead up to it, are also very strange and nonsensical in their execution. Why would Price agree to wear a fucking wire so White Rose could listen to him talk to her, tell her WR is a delusional psycho, and that she should really just let it go and move on - just to see of she buys it or not so WR knows if he is going to have his goons, who Price knows are like ten feet away, kill her. WHY WOULD HE DO THIS? And when did he agree to it? And why wouldn't he just write something down for her to let her know what is really happening so that he could get her to safety? Is Price just stupid suddenly? And why would Angela go from wanting retribution on moment to 30 seconds later just standing there as they shoot her in the back? And for that matter, why is WR, who for 3 seasons is calculated and meticulous and keeping everything on a perfect schedule, suddenly so sloppy and petty and obviously evil?
White Rose's whole character changes some in season 3 as well, but dramatically so in season 4, and not in any sense for the better. Up until this season, it was easy enough to believe she was possibly evil, but she was definitely principled and focused and you felt like there was ambiguity to her. S4 drops that entirely. She might as well put on a twirling mustache and laugh maniacally every time she is on screen with the exception of the two scenes in which she speaks to Elliot - in those scenes she seems sincere and empathetic, but due to the overall changes, we know that she is just trying to manipulate him. Or something. The last confrontation between her and Elliot makes no actual sense in many ways, but one of the things that really got to me was that SHE WAS RIGHT about Elliot, and Elliots response to her was just childish and dumb, not showing even a slight capability for reason or making a coherent argument against her.
And okay, the goddamned machine. If it didn't matter, and it never mattered, and people really should stop asking about it already because that's not what the show is about, stupid - then why does it need to be stopped? If it didn't work, then it poses no real threat outside of a nuclear meltdown, right? The plant is what needs to be shut down, not the machine. But Elliot went to infect the machine with malware to disable it. Disable it from doing what? If the machine is immaterial to the "REAL" story because it's a delusional fantasy that never could have worked anyway, and the only danger it poses is causing the meltdown, then why does Elliot go to infect her machine? He mentions that she wants to destroy the world to her. How? With ONE nuclear power plant melting down? And why is it such a problem that people feel that we should have been given answers to these questions? Elliot apparently knows what it does, and he also seems to think it's dumb, but he he goes there to disable a machine that doesn't work in order to keep it from doing something it never could do.
Better question - why was WR waiting for Elliot with the full brainwashing suite all set up for him? He wouldn't have gone if Price hadn't asked him to, to honor Angela, he says. But it must have been a setup somehow, because WR knew he was coming, and started running the machine long before he arrived. WR casually says that this process was never about brainwashing.
I find it funny the things that some people here will cherry pick facts over. In S2E11 most of the true believer types think everything that WR says is bs, EXCEPT for when he tells Angela that young Angela's bruises were fake. They accept this statement as absolute truth, despite WR seemingly brainwashing an entire army to kill themselves without hesitation any time something goes wrong or she says to. But clearly there is no chance she was lying about the seemingly abused girl sitting in front of a desk with a very deliberately placed copy of Lolita on it.
In that same scene, WR tells Angela Pont blank "it was not a coincidence that you and Elliot became the people that you are after the incident at the WTP". But, you see, she is lying in that part, because it makes the ending we got seem less complete. I would say that finding out whatever the hell that incident even was around be far more informative and useful than 10,000 revelations about being molested.
The episode before that is where Darlene talks about being kidnapped, right before Angela is kidnapped. These parallels either mean SOMETHING, or the show is possibly bad
The molestation reveal is a dumb twist in an actually otherwise great episode. I have now read 2000 and 1 reasons why S4E7 is the best episode of all time, and honestly, I get that it emotionally connected with a ton people, but I really don't see how this information changes anything about the story or characters for the better. And not to mention having Vera pushing the whole thing is pretty convoluted, and Vera's reasoning makes less sense even than leaving a computer game that allows your nemesis to shut down the project that is your life's work for no reason even though without that you technically win and also you shoot yourself because of faith or something.
Vera's return overall felt hack and unneeded for the story in S4, but the fact that they brought him back just to awkwardly facilitate a therapy breakthrough that, and I'm sorry I don't want to hurt anyone with my words, but a therapy breakthrough that I personally feel is another lie. When I look at the scene in S3 where Edward collapses, and the conversation they are having, and try to listen with this information in mind - dude, either the show is lying, or maybe the show is just bad. Because that scene is just STRANGE beyond human comprehension for me.in this context. It's so casual. It sounds more like something you might hear between two old, adult friends who got too drunk the night before, and one of them took advantage of the other. This does not sound like a conversation between an 8 year old and his father who it seems must have very recently raped him. I mean, Elliot acts like this just happened in the scene. And what kind of father apologizes for rape like that? I know there are people here who say this is a carbon copy picture of what this situation really looks like. Maybe it is for them, but as someone with some experience in this matter myself, I guess my picture is just a different one. And okay, fine, I can accept it could be like this for someone out there, but I just don't feel like it was the right choice here. The previous understanding that they were talking about Edward never getting treated for the cancer that kills him seconds later made much more sense to me. And besides, I don't know why we needed to know that anyway - because the show isn't really about that anyway, and you don't need answers for everything, right?
Honestly, the subtext of the show, I will agree, does point to Elliot being sexually abused. Just not by his father. It also points to both Darlene and Angela being abused as well, due to the Lolita references throughout the show. Now, I do think Elliot could possibly be blaming his father for what happened to him, but considering Krista is the least developed, most NPC like character in the show, I don't really trust that she is actually trying to help Elliot have a breakthrough - but that she is repeating the proper keywords to trigger this cover memory.
People will say that this is absurd, but WR KNOWS ABOUT THE SEXUAL ABUSE, as evidenced by the strategically placed copy of Lolita and her speaking to Angela as though her and Elliot were a package deal. There was no need for WR to mention Elliot at all. But she does, and draws explicit parallels between the two of them. The copy of Lolita, the abused young Angela, both point pretty clearly to sexual abuse. Darlene straight up uses the title charactes real name as her own alias. This is a lot of characters having been SA victims, so it seems to me that its all connected. Unless Edward was just the sweetest most prolific pedo in town, I think it's more likely something else happened, or at very least, others were involved. That would make 4.7 an episode that tried really hard to convince the audience of something that is just another layer, another obstraction to decipher. Or it's what the shows says it is and it just feels kind of lazy and insipid.
Look, first several times through, I didn't think any of this. It was only on this recent rewatch, after two years of not thinking about the show that I started noticing these things. After I had my theories I ended up here, and some of the cope I read from people here just blows my mind.
I honestly feel that the indoctrination rooms WR speaks to Elliot and Angela in seem to clearly be crafted in a very specific manner, not to brainwash Elliot or Angela, but to trigger the programming done to them as children. WR pretends that he doesn't know anything about Angela is that scene, but the book is right there. The girl is a double of her child self at the exact age the 'incident' is said to have occurred. Either these elements are purposeful and have meaning in the story, or in my opinion, this is just bad writing. Creating 20-30 intriguing mysteries with symbolism and suggestion and carefully crafted moments, only to toss them all and say they were all red herrings and none of them mattered, you freaking suckers, at very least, shows a lack of respect and maybe even contempt for your audience. The specific references to some of this stuff are too numerous to count. Oh, and that's not how red herrings are supposed to work, you don't spend hours of screen time filling the screen and story with hundreds of little 'clues' to mysteries you aren't even sure are mysteries yet. It makes no sense. All the meticulous crafting of scenes and moments and all the detailed set work, and the specifically framed shots clearly being used to tell the audience to pay attention to that stuff - all of that was just to fux with the audience so they wouldn't guess esmails masterminded secret that no one has ever done before of SA from elliots father, and the fact that the character we know as Elliot is actually another alter created by Elliot that imprisoned Elliot in his own mind , that is literally called the MasterMind. And wow, does that ever sound dumb when I type it out.
Why woulf Eliot create an alter like MasterMind specifically to not know who mr. Robot or his father or Darlene or a ton of other people were, but made sure MM knew who Angela, Krista, and his coworkers were, in addition to how to hack anything, oh and also program in his addiction to Morphine. I mean, if you were creating an alter with intention, and the intention was to create a dark antihero superhacker version of yourself, and you could edit out things like who your sister was, what your father looked like, etc - you know, a slick more focused version of yourself, wouldn't you edit out the crippling addiction? The show says more than once that MM was only born a month ago, so it was Elliot assisted by Mr. Robot that created Fsociety? I thought that made sense for a moment, that Elliot freaked out and created MM when he realized his goals were probably going to have collateral damage no matter what he did. So, then he would create MM, his comic book alter, and put himself in the loop so he wouldnt have to deal with the consequences and memories that were sure to come if they pulled the plan off. But then, when Mr robot pulls who were told is MM back into the fold of the hacker alliance, all MM does is fight him on it every step of the way. Not to mention it makes no sense to edit out Darlene, mr. Robot, etc if MM is meant to work with them.
I'm not saying that Esmail is lying, or that the reality the show sold you is definitely not the one it believes it is depicting - it very well be just as the show and so many insist that it is - exactly what the show explains. Nothing more, nothing less. What I'm saying is that if these are the 'real' answers, the show is providing these answers to questions that are different from the ones the show has given us. In other words, the show is actually, much to my dismay and chagrin, actually very badly written and conceived.
Now if MM was an alter programmed into Elliot when he was a child and triggered into life like a sleeper agent by the dark army in order to carry out this plan as a sort of secret weapon...this is strongly suggested by the moment in S1E4 where Mr. Robot in the monopoly mask gives a mask to Elliot and tells him - "It belongs to you now. Made in the Orient. Made just for your head. Now find your monster and turn the key." The whole show makes more sense through this lens. I never noticed it upon my first several viewings somehow - and this was my favorite episode for a long time, ive seen it the most of all. But once I saw it, I couldn't shake it. His father, as the elder statesman of fsociety, seemingly, passes the mask/torch to his son, says it was made just for his head in the Orient, and hands him a key and tells him to find his monster, which the show now tells us is actually MM. If MM was a programmed alter, designed to focus and use Elliots "rage" so many other things fall into place. They trigger the alter as designed, but it's Mr. Robot, the manifestation of his memories of his father that they did not account for. Mr. Robot is antagonistic towards MM because he knows what MM is and that the consequences he is there to bring about will probably lead to elliots death. It's possible, in this context, that Krista is probably sent specifically as a handler for MM, to monitor him and keep him from discovering his true origins, which would likely end badly for WR because they know what they created and what he is capable of. I would also add that in this version, I would surmise that MM was actually "born" a long time ago, but he was placed in the loop and lived there for years. In the loop, Darlene does not exist because as robot loop Krista explains to MM, not Elliot, that removing Darlene from the loop was their best chance at trapping him (elliot prime) here. She doesn't say it was Masterminds best chance at trapping him there, she refers to a they. It is implied it's the other alters she is referring to - but they don't seem to be taking responsibility for creating MM or the loop, and I see no reason why they would be lying to each other about that. It makes more sense if it was the brainwashing programmers she is referring to, and that they created the loop and then MM and then placed MM there. By having this alter living this loop for years, when he was switched on, he immediately tries to seek what he lived in there for all those years - a job at allsafe, a relationship with Angela, and a world without the Washington township plant (which was removed because being the place his brainwashing originally took place, it's presence might trigger him and wake him up too soon, just like Darlene, which backfired, to say the least). Those things really do kind of belong to MM, he lived that loop for so long. Think of the loop in this instance as training of sorts. I can only assume they would have updated the loop periodically as well, to keep MM himself somewhat up to date so that when he is triggered he would recognize certain people, such as Tyrell, who would have been given a 'monster' of his own, placed in that same loop, as well as Angela, but I think Angela's programming failed "you were supposed to be dead 90 days ago" or whatever WR tells her. She seems to swap with a colder, more monster like persona at times, but it's unstable. For a bit at the end of S1, the presence of her father seemed to trigger her. But it glitches or loses control leading to her Think about that - they wouldn't need to supernaturally share the same 'world' they would just all need to be on the same software revision. Once the Monster alters are triggered, they seek out to change the world they see into what they had in the loop - what does this vicious Tyrrell seek? Power, to be the head of e Corp, filled with so much rage, because of what he doesn't have in this world that he had before. Joanna seemed to be more his handler than his wife, and she seemed to know exactly what was going on with both tyrell and Eliot. This version of event explains these things that the show just kind of drops.
Now, I Cannot prove any of that. And the text of the show explicitly contradicts it, but this is the only way I can make thus stuff make sense. Even the ending where in the current Canon he pretty much just decides to not be mentally ill anymore, in this version that would make so much more sense, as he isn't curing serious mental illness through heroism, he is breaking the bonds of his programming. Which, hey, isn't a perfectly grounded concept either, but it's actually more grounded than the alternative.
Sadly, this does not fix the biggest problem with S4 - well, two problems, actually -
1 - the entire premise of the majority of this season - the magical hack they do that somehow bankrupts a 100 billionaires via 2factor phishing like some fuxing 4chan goblins. Many people have pointed out - no billionare would have that much in liquid assets in any single bank account. Period. The entire IDEA of what they claim to steal is not even connected to how things work. Every hacking scene in this show has been brilliant until this. What's worse is that I don't eve understand how this is supposed to stop WR - they wiped her checking account so now she can't buy ice cream for the deus group on the way home? Kidding. But, seriously, compared to everything the fans came up with and everything that came before, this was boiler plate, brainless writing. It doesn't make sense on any level, tbh. So, the idea is that WR is gonna kill Elliot once the project starts "shipping" (must be one hell of a FedEx box) - also, why couldn't she just rebuild a new one there? Nevermind, doesn't matter, I forgot - so, the plan is to steal ALL ZE MONIES, so she can't pay the shipping fees, thereby stopping her from killing them for a little longer? What next? Stalk WR who is somehow poor now, and have tyrell pay her to let him beat her up now and then? If anything WR would just recover in a week or so and kill MM in the meantime. The whole concept of this is asinine and truly below the shows high standards and possibly even below trash level network tv mystery of the week stuff. S4 is already pretty far outside of grounded, sorry believers.

1. The finale seems to me to be missing a major component that I feel was meant to be there throughout Angela. The scripts for season for absolutely stink of frantic rewrites to cover for something. It's pretty obvious what happened here - Portia left the show. They should have recast Angela, but I respect that Esmail tried to roll with it, and make it work without her character - it just feels like that is what seasons 1-3 were heading towards, Elliot, Angela, Tyrell and Darlene all united to fight back and take back control - but originally they would have been plotting to take down the machine itself.

I cannot prove this, to be fair. And I'm probably wrong, but it would have made so much more sense.
But what about the other stuff? If my ideas are so much better, why didn't the obviously more talented people behind the show do that instead? Portia leaving the show can't account for that. And you're right. But something else happened in the lead up to season 4s preproduction that might have just made the whole idea of an underground cabal of secret elites suddenly unpalatable to USA, and possibly to Esmail himself - a little thing called Pizzagate.
Rumors of the pizzagate scandal, leading to crazy people extremists threatening the employees of a small WASHINGTON Pizza joint. It would just look like the show was feeding conspiracy fires. Hell, in the same position I might have done the same thing. And sure, I might be getting the details wrong, but seriously, the story being told in at very least S1 and S2 matches up with this far better than what we got. It matches up with the ultimate ending and the MM reveal as well. This version, go ahead and tell me I'm crazy, but this version absolutely answers all the questions, except for the details of what the machine did. I think it probably was a massive control matrix of sorts, perhaps something that merged parallel realities with this one (not all that sci-fi at this point), it would have been tied to whatever happened to these kids, and it would have been the true source of White Rose's power. They would have banded together, finally realizing who they really were, and they would have destroyed the machine, and WR would have still pulled that trigger, but for different reasons. What reasons would those have been? I have ideas, but that's enough for now.
Seriously, I know these ideas are likely just wrong. That none of this was ever in the plan, and this is just me trying to make sense of the show, because the version we got doesn't really make sense. And I want it to so much. Because I love this show, but if all the symbolism and mystery and surreal everything were nothing but a bunch of puzzle box nonsense that never had answers and was just there to look cool, well, if that's the case then my opinion is sadly that my favorite show was ultimately not very good, actually. There are probably even better versions Than i could ever figure out, and if it was revealed that no, the stuff that I came up with was way off, but here's the real story and the we get hit with mind blowing thing that had to be changed for reasons? That would also be awesome.
But we wont.
I don't expect anyone to read this massive novel I spit out over the course of several hours, but if anyone does, thank you. I did this largely for myself because I needed to get it off my mind. Goodnight.

Welcome to Critical Role's world of Exandria! A far-spanning campaign setting filled with multiple continents and diverse organizations all with differing goals. Start in the wide-spanning continent Wildemount where you will discover pieces to an ancient puzzle explaining one facet of Exandria's long and fraught history!
🗺️ Compete in a journey to explore the depths of the ancient underwater city. 🌘 Discover the secrets of the two moons of Exandria, Cathia, and its red companion, Ruidius ⛰️ Explore the newest continent in Critical Role Mythos, the desert land of Marquet.
Campaign leading players through 1st to 13th level as you fight to discover great evils hidden away under the capital of Ank'Harel. Lead by a DM who is a big fan of Critical Role, and has extensive knowledge, love, and respect for this campaign setting.
Slots: 6 available
Session Duration: 3-4 hours typically
Price: $25 per person per session (paid via the SPG site linked below)!
Schedule: Wednesday 8 AM PST (Game Starts in June!)
Gameplay details:
We will be playing over Discord and I have our own server set up will a dice roller and world-building details. I will be screen-capturing Talespire over Discord during combat, and moving characters myself, so an individual version of Talespire is not necessary (but if you have it, you'd be able to play through there as well).
Link to the full game description: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clexy1tk8000008l54gt15eeh

Warning: lot to write and get off my chest; no therapist or counselor. Sorry in advance and thanks for reading.
Im posting from a throwaway account but i have been a long time lurker of this sub. I have a lot of respect for you gentlemen coming forward on your personal accounts with your experiences. I can relate to a lot of you so i felt i could come here and post as well because I am not in a good state of mind and hope someone might understand also. Trying to be tough as most men my age try to be (35). I hate to cry but I really feel like it right now. I think internally I am but dont have it in me to let it out. I'm really stressed out for a lot of reasons and I have no friends or outlets.
I am the most successful loser. Got a good job that makes about 95k a year. I have a loving wife and an awesome 9 yr old son. They make me happy and life worth living but without them I would probably quit life.
We recently moved cross country about 9 months ago and relocated from Oregon to New York. It was my wife's idea. In oregon she was very unhappy. She is black (I'm hispanic/white) and she felt targeted a lot. It wasn't unwarranted feeling the way she did. She had a few really shitty experiences in Portland, of all places, and they prompted her to find a more inclusive environment to live that was affordable. My son was not immune to those issues either who is not exactly special needs but is on the spectrum and has adhd.
When my wife told me she wanted to leave Oregon and go to New York I fought it hard. My parents lived in Oregon but that relationship between my wife and parents has forever been strained. To put it lightly, they hate each other. But because i have only my parents and no friends I didn't want to leave. Her happiness and depression really started to take a toll though. She wouldn't leave the house, take my son outside to play, wouldnt get a job, help keep the house clean, keep herself clean. She just was this empty person trying to play house wife. It was really difficult. So after a couple years of fighting it out I caved because she became soo unhealthy and I just wanted her to be happy. At the right moment an opporunity came up with my job for us to move to the city in new york we were looking at and i immediately jumped on it. But now I feel like the roles have switched. I fucking hate it here.
The city we moved to just sucks. It's a lot of petty shit why I don't like it but I'm not happy here because it's not conducive to our lifestyle. While the neighborhoods are cool the people in them are just... shitty. We live in a really nice neighborhood, very sought after, but the neighborly attitudes here are very fake. The reason I'm posting this (what pushed me over the edge i guess) is because I just pissed off my neighbor. It wasn't intentional. My son and I had a water balloon fight and he got mad we left some of the broken balloons in his front yard. I meant to pick them up last night I just forgot. He got mad because he picked them up himself. It just seemed petty when this guy is in his backyard sawing wood at 9 o clock at night or texting me at inconvenient times to move my car so he can get to his trailer. Just to clarify, his trailer is in the driveway that he made an agreement with the owner we rent from. Guy even asked me to watch his kids one day so he could go help his friend with something. Never have I treated this person with disrespect and always stepped up to the neighborly plate to bat a Home run but I'm the dick. The wives are friends too, sort of, but I just don't know. Its just fake. Aside the fakeness I do plan to go over and apologize again and bring a peace offering. I just don't know what. At the same time I'm very "fuck you, I know your game. Your suit and smile can't hide the truth." Probably a petty way to think but feeling nhiilistically cute about it. Reading what I just wrote about how I feel it just seems immature and childish. Thinking about it from his perspective I do get it. I understand his grievance. But it wasn't intentional. I just don't feel like going out of my way to do any more favors. Might be why I can't make any friends.
I have no friends to speak of right now. Most are dead, I have lost contact with, or have parted ways due to differences. I'm alone. And naturally I miss the ones I had. There are 2 In particular i wish i could talk to right now. Both died in a car wreck. Seperate car wrecks different years. Their loss was and still is very difficult for me. I think about them all the time. We would always check up on each other. Most of my closest friends are dead and at 35 I have no more left to lose. My close friends who are still alive aren't really, all there. I call them from time to time to check up on them but they don't call me to check up on me. I dont know if that's just life getting in the way but it feels one sided. Now that I live in New York, I don't know if it's in my head or if my west coast personality getsbin the way but my personality does not jive well here. I grew up surfing and skating and find myself calling people kooks under my breath soo often. Tried finding friends playing hockey but it hasn't quite panned out over 2 seasons thus far. Really trying to make friends here but I just can't to save my life. I'm an introvert, so that doesn't help. Socially awkward at times. The punk scene here sucks hard dick and bubblegum so I have no outlet to go to punk shows and hope to meet people. Been to the skate park, it is better than nothing but its not that good. Obviiusly no surfing here, too far inland. It just sucks.
My job, as great as it has been to me, helping me move to new york, is an endless amount of failures. Every day is a struggle to meet the objectives given to me and usually they are the same objectives but it plays out differently every day based on volume. I'm in management and it is soo difficult to meet those objectives. I manage a good 80 people all with different personalities and work ethics. It's like herding cats and I hate it. I've been told on numerous occasions im a good boss from my supervisors and crew but I'm not necessarily loved. Recently was just written up by my immediate boss for not adhering to instructions and failure to notify. A situation from 3 months ago that occurred while I was on vacation during my regular scheduled day off that my supervisor failed to notify me on. I found out from our maintenance department after the fact, not from my supervisors, what had happened and i notified my superiors. I was held accountable because even though I was on vacation, the responsibility fell on me and therefore my supervisors failure was my failure. Pretty shitty. But Corporate rules. My supervisor can't be held accountable either because they claim they notified me and called me on my personal phone, so says my immediate boss. When I proved to my boss I received no call from my supervisor by showing printed out phone records, showed my time keeping records that they input for my vacation, I was told it didn't matter. "I could have deleted the phone records from my phone". My job truly sucks. There is no winning. Only extreme ownership that could potentially cost you your job. Kind of wild to think about.
We can't buy a house right now. I know I'm not the only one in this boat but I'm feeling it especially hard because I owned a home in Oregon but sold it to move to New York. Inflation, the move, and other miscellaneous expenses have eaten away our savings and what little we got from the sale of our home. The value of the home went up when we bought it but we spent an arm and a leg fixing it before we sold it. We made money, just wasnt a lot or what we hoped for. We didn't intend to sell either it's just the timing really screwed us with trying to move here. In hindsight we should have waited a little longer to move. We might have been in a better position.
I miss my parents. Besides my wife and son they were all I had left. I cannot understate how moving to New York created a hole in me being so far away from them. It sucks. I talk to them once a week.
I try to focus on the good things. My wife and son are happy. They have friends, are less stressed, don't feel targeted and are comfortable. My wife just got a job and is working on losing weight. My son is doing wonderful in school. Way better than he did in Oregon because New York Schools are amazing. I guess that's all that matters. I would give up anything for them.
And this is my struggle right now. Trying to keep that PMA. But I'm not happy and I can't hide it right now. I've been grumpy for a while now. I thought spring would change that because the sun was coming out but that may have just made it worse.
I'm angry and bummed. I'm tired and stressed. I feel I need a vacation from everyone and everything. I just want a friend to talk to, my friend. And I want to cry but I'm stopping myself because I have to Man up because there is no other option.

I thought getting a diagnosis would be the hardest part of getting treatment, but it turns out finding a psychiatrist who isn't woefully uninformed is essentially impossible. I live in a major city and have Kaiser (I know, but nothing to be done for at least the next 6 months). I have been through 4 different providers in the last 8 months. Each of them was a nightmare. The first told me within our first 30 minutes that autistic people can't hold jobs. The second was impossible to schedule with and generally dismissive (told me I over-explain?! Like, excuse me, I'm asking for a schedule 2 drug should I withhold info instead?!). The third wouldn't increase my Adderall XR from 5mg until I stopped getting take out once a week but was fine with me taking Gabapentin three times daily despite my complaints that I felt high while on it. She also started insinuating in my second session that I actually have Bipolar Disorder (already ruled out by my diagnosing psychologist and decades of other providers). The fourth was so aghast at my periodic use of low dose THC/CBD edibles to relax that she threatened to withhold my medication unless I stopped using it and started taking a low dose antipsychotic every day to try and replicate the calming effect of the weed. I even thought about doing it because I have begun to doubt my own judgment. When I brought it up with my therapist she was appalled, she wrote in her notes that I was being gaslit! I just want a provider who I can be open with to navigate my ADHD and Autism. That's all. I don't care if it's a private practice, I'll pay anything. I just need help. Does anyone know of any affirming psychiatrists in Southern California? Please?

I've been working in this small clothing store for a year but have been in customer service for 4 years now. It sucks but I want to start uni this year and I need to pay for it somehow.
I live in a small town so there aren't many options. I was happy here for most of the time until their budget got cut. I'm barely making money and I'm only working with my boss these days. 95% of the people here are part-time workers too and I'm rarely scheduled with them which sucks. We're around the same age and it's fun to work with them.
I thought that working with my boss would be fun too because she always seemed funny and kind but I was wrong. She's just another two faced bitch. The apprentice tried to warn me too. Let's call my boss F.
F is fucking lazy. She always finds a reason not to work. She needs to pee and disappears for 30mins. She tries on different clothing and interrupts me while I cash someone to ask me if she looks good. She wastes time on stupid shit that isn't priority so I can focus on anything that needs to get done fast. It could be her turn to clean but she randomly remembers to do some paperwork and disappears again and I'm alone for an hour to finish 4 tasks at once. Then it's time for her break. She still has the audacity to stress me out whenever we're running out of time when she hasn't done shit. She trash talks everyone. It's weird. I was also accused of pretending to be sick when I had tonsillitis. The next two weeks will be hell. I'm surprisingly scheduled to work almost every day. It's just me and my boss and maybe an apprentice. I'm already losing my mind.
I got another job almost 100% secured. Gonna sign the contract soon and I'll start in July after my 3 week vacation. I'm thinking of handing in my notice tomorrow at work and just not show up again.
I was also weirdly attacked by an elderly coworker today. She's working like once a month and is extremely slow. I had to finish most of her tasks because she took forever to organize one small area. I wasn't cleaning "properly"
"You'd be in a lot of trouble if I was your boss"
We clean on a surface level because there's just no time. She doesn't clean and she can't work on the register either. She pissed me off and I had to stop myself from calling her an old and bitter hag.

More Games In the Comments! Feel free to throw out offers if its reasonable ill make a deal! also not everything can fit in my post so please check the comment for more items as they will be listed there! Shipping is $4 on games/bundled games for consoles its $8
https://imgur.com/a/cdidFl4
Game Boy Advance
Dragon Ball: Advance Adventure (CO) https://imgur.com/a/8Xks6xo $100.00
Gameboy Advance Console (Missing Backplate) https://imgur.com/a/yl4jFy6 $55.00
Mario Kart Super Circuit (CO) $20.00
Pokemon Emerald Version (Cartridge Only) https://imgur.com/a/xSEQKRy $185.00
Pokemon Ruby Version (Cartridge Only) https://imgur.com/a/GetLY4n $75.00
Pokemon Sapphire Version (Cartridge Only) https://imgur.com/a/ANQ3SQt $75.00
Game Boy
Pokemon Blue (CO) https://imgur.com/a/M33bjn6 $50.00
Pokemon Gold (CO) (NO LABEL) https://imgur.com/a/8Xks6xo $35.00
Pokemon Silver (CO) https://imgur.com/a/0Yj7wle $50.00
Nintendo Entertainment System
- NES Classic Edition Console (NEW) https://imgur.com/a/xpVjmR2 $140.00
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition (NEW) $150.00
Gamecube
Legend of Zelda Four Swords Adventure (DISK ONLY) https://imgur.com/a/LjYStvI $60.00
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/T5fViX4 $110.00
Legend of Zelda The Windwaker (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/5RlZrlY $70.00
Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker (CIB NO MANUAL) https://imgur.com/a/g8dlggF $55.00
Mario Kart Double Dash (CIB NO MANUAL) https://imgur.com/a/Znd2CrX $75.00
Mario Party 7 (CIB TEAR ON MANUAL) https://imgur.com/a/p368GaZ $58.00
Metroid Prime (CIB NO MANUAL) https://imgur.com/a/iFVJs99 $20.00
Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/bXbFudy $115.00
NBA Street (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/pHzQoIL $15.00
NBA Street Vol. 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ojCb4p0 $28.00
Sonic 2 Adventure Battle (DISK ONLY HAS 3 SMALL DENTS SEEN IN PHOTOS, STILL WORKS) https://imgur.com/a/t1CHtJ1 $25.00
Super Mario Sunshine (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3Pmjhfe $40.00
Nintendo Switch
2k Battle Grounds (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/hmFkIrI $15.00
Aegis Defenders (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/mLcAvE5 $30.00
AfterParty (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Mk5WzcV $32.00
Atelier DuskTriology Deluxe Pack (CIB) NEW https://imgur.com/a/9SMInnE $100.00
Baldo The Guardian Owls The Three Fairies Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/a35Dv6f $25.00
Baldurs Gate & Baldurs Gate II Enhanced Editions (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PksoMPb $45.00
The Banner Saga Trilogy (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/HA3o0pS $12.00
Battle Chasers Night War (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/t1HthQz $18.00
Bendy and the Ink Machine (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/eMTz28x $25.00
Big Brain Academy Brain Vs Brain (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dHoUKaa $25.00
BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/GvkLW0K $42.00
The Caligula Effect Overdose (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Ga6JAgV $80.00
Carto (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/0TpJ5y7 $40.00
Cat Quest (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/pPvnxTX $15.00
Cave Story (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/5KNZtk3 $35.00
Celeste (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3Dx1hBD $85.00
Chasm (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/V5GrCBQ $39.00
Child of Light Ultimate Edition + Valiant Hearts the Great War (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PX3rrrk $38.00
Children of Morta (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dbZciM7 $20.00
Citizens Unite (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Uy9Y0UR $35.00
Civilization VI (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/yrsJex8 $11.00
The Classic Collection DOOM (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/kpzFWWD $40.00
Crash Bandicoot 4 Its about Time (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3XSqbdG $19.00
Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/iwX0RDv $18.00
Creaks (CIB) (SUPER RARE GAME SEAL IS BROKEN) https://imgur.com/a/z94UHI5 $49.00
Crypt of The Necrodancer Switch Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/K0CBQGO $18.00
Darksiders War Mastered Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/nBFuqw9 $23.00
Darksiders: War Mastered Edition (CIB) (BLACK SPINE MISPRINT) https://imgur.com/a/1WYriyB $55.00
Darq Complete edition (CIB) $21.00
Deaths Door (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/oe2xri3 $30.00
Disgaea 5 Complete (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/jDWj9rD $28.00
Disgaea (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/FqIoidp $30.00
Disney Classic Games Collection Aladdin-Lion King (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/2c0Ld8Q $10.00
Divinity II Original Sin Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/HplD9ST $125.00
DOOM (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9pGCWjh $28.00
DOOM 64 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/pTdw1Tr $32.00
Dragon Ball Fighter Z (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Ol5BomI $17.00
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot A New Power Awakens Set (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/tB30opu $30.00
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/1pCc7np $15.00
Dragons Dogma Dark Ariser (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/DRciiSv $18.00
Dragon Quest Builders (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/LdD33Us $70.00
Dragon Quest XI Echoes of an Elusive Age S Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/iykQyfD $42.00
Eastward Japanese Version (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/4Tq3ayn $20.00
Eastward (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/8JwoQZ4 $25.00
Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Q2FsiAK $40.00
Fifa 18 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/KmTLH6T $10.00
FIST Forged In Shadow Torch (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/VJr4fh5 $25.00
Forager (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/osTqpsA $20.00
For the King (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gUzijUk $25.00
Forgotten Anne (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/u1YzEKP $45.00
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gBRi03a $30.00
Game Builder Garage (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/eamEEjr $12.00
Ghostbusters The Video Game Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/xkg4FR1 $18.00
God Eater 3 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/6LpIT1k $17.00
Hello Neighbor (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dynNpS8 $10.00
Hyrule Wariors Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/S5W12wz $60.00
Katamari Damacy Reroll (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/rQs0uQo $10.00
The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/6zbUcAy $8.00
Little Inferno (CIB SEALED IN SUPER RARE PACKAGE) NEW https://imgur.com/a/WZG5nZa $50.00
Maneater (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/r3MuYuZ $18.00
Mary Skelter 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/tsguMcv $50.00
Max the Curse of Brotherhood (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/kihAUGy $20.00
Metro Redux (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/zcMcq16 $18.00
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/bOkLg3h $55.00
Monster Hunter Rise (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/pWL7AMR $19.00
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/FI9xp55 $20.00
Moonlighter (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/bCHKLzT $14.00
Moving Out (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/HIudHBb $19.00
Mud Runner American Wilds (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/XRhLN9k $20.00
Mutant Year Zero Road to Eden (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/IneqNPO $13.00
My Friend Pedro (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ZdBwiyI $25.00
My Hero Ones Justice (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/HZinClR $8.00
NBA 2K Playgound 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/vO8XnXI $10.00
NBA 2K18 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ckD9Rzs $5.00
Neo the World Ends with You (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cUQtpW7 $19.00
Neon Abyss (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/bfyfLtN $35.00
Nier Automata The End of Yorha Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/x8LQqrR $28.00
Nintendo Switch Adjustable Charging Stand (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9RgpFwe $15.00
Nintendo Switch Fortnite Wildcat Bundle NO DLC CODE (Like New CIB) https://imgur.com/a/TbgUlA2 $230.00
Nintendo Switch The Legend of Zelda Skyword Sword Joycons (SEALED NEW) https://imgur.com/a/GAn3Qz8 $115.00
Oddworld Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/xsQtT21 $23.00
Overcooked 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/NcAiK3w $12.00
Pathway (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/nfFIXhe $28.00
Persona 5 Royal (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/msTpm8D $38.00
Planescape:Torment & Icewind Dale:Enhanced Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ZjHq7ZZ $21.00
Portal Knights (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/7CnsKzt $16.00
Quake (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/4Mi9u5d $29.00
Rayman Legends Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/GNGdkt1 $17.00
RBI 19 Baseball (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/0QgUJ1Z $18.00
Resident Evil Origins Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/GDJiG2G $21.00
Resident Evil Triple Pack (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/kLVKRvX $31.00
Return of the Obra Dinn (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Gi9OElv $43.00
River City Girls ZERO (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/8hRlS7q $45.00
Ruiner (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Ro0PDev $44.00
Rustler (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/BNanSSh $15.00
Saints Row the Third The Full Package (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/c4k0WI4 $16.00
Samurai Shodown (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/J7mvVLJ $120.00
Sega Genisis Classics (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/LRajpJz $24.00
Scott Pilgrim VS the World: the Game Complete Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/D5wFwgx $24.00
Scribblenauts Mega Pack (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/4DqC5QG $13.00
Scibblenauts Showdown (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/sQ2OcJm $10.00
Shin Megami Tensei V (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/njpBs7W $27.00
Shinning Resonance Refrain Draconic Launch Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/tVMEZbg $40.00
Shiren the Wanderer The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/jxgUi7o $41.00
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Zjum6eB $29.00
Sine Mora FX (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/BYJXW9o $13.00
SnipperClips Plus (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cwDtIYV $23.00
Snow Runner (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/5xEgVRg $28.00
Sonic Mania Plus (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/SBWJHpe $37.00
Sparklite (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/K06Zow0 $18.00
Splatoon 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/j1QmVRc $15.00
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9vS30oD $15.00
Streets of rage 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cznNyWs $25.00
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/b38hz1H $61.00
Steam World Dig 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/HoCfPSZ $33.00
Story of Season Friends of Mineral Town (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/vhQw7N7 $20.00
Story of Seasons Pioneers of Olive Town (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/VoAcpF8 $22.00
Super DragonBall Heroes: World Mission (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/EVJ2wQs $25.00
Super Mario Party (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9GNQ68N $33.00
Super Meat Boy Forever (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cXhABWX $28.00
Tactics Ogre Reborn (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gH8kxoV $33.00
Tails of Iron Crimson Knight Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cpoMKRe $25.00
The Takeover (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/x2Xf2Yd $33.00
Tiny Barbarian DX (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/mm65oo8 $25.00
Tiny Metal Ultimate (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/xTFXMDi $45.00
Tokyo 2020 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/yYYpTz1 $13.00
Trials Rising Gold Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/KZwA4xz $14.00
Trine Ultimate Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/jscrkZo $19.00
Ultra Street Fighter II The Final Challengers (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/LGvfkL0 $31.00
Undertale (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/8o4D2GL $29.00
Untitled Goose Game (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/c5MB7lX $21.00
Valkyria Chronicles 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/FtM6Az2 $28.00
valkyria Chronicles 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/TzkD03X $28.00
Windjammers (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/lSngDJo $29.00
WindJammers 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dlQHJcr $25.00
Witcher III Complete edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/8Nvjs8S $31.00
Wizard of Legend (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/j0xn64y $40.00
WonderBoy the Dragons Trap (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/1oYHdks $29.00
Wonderful 101 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/eFFM0dS $13.00
Yonder The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/R7pU8pl $20.00
Zombies Ate my Neighbors + Ghoul Patrol (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/p6nxsYy $42.00
Game & Watch Color Screen The Legend of Zelda (NEW) https://imgur.com/a/TLkOkTU $50.00
Game & Watch Color Screen Super Mario Bros (NEW) https://imgur.com/a/bGDIRhm $50.00
Sega Genesis Mini (NEW) https://imgur.com/a/aC1htyv $120.00
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS Console Pink (No stylus comes with charger) https://imgur.com/a/mH0rTZH $45.00
Nintendo DSi XL Dark Red (No Stylus Comes with Charger) https://imgur.com/a/VpnC5sC $80.00
Pokemon Soulsilver (Cartridge Only) https://imgur.com/a/hTfPhZ7 $105.00
Pokemon Platinum (Cartridge Only) https://imgur.com/a/Ox5vump $80.00
Xbox One
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/h2qZWFp $15.00
Alan Wake Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/P2mDv2v $15.00
Among Us Crewmate Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/kILJy72 $10.00
Assassins Creed III Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/0ETrE50 $15.00
Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/f7tYN75 $20.00
Assassins Creed Origins (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gbvWztt $6.00
Assassins Creed Odyssey (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Y3m8sS4 $15.00
Assassins Creed Rogue Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/RzEQM7b $25.00
Assasins Creed Valhalla (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/sVcyvfC $20.00
Baldurs Gate & Baldurs Gate II: Enhanced Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/BKUd5qZ $25.00
The Banner Saga Trilogy:Bonus Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/T03LtT6 $12.00
Battle Chasers: Nightwar (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9XS6gcb $5.00
Battlefield 1 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/a87qHTa $5.00
Battlefield 1 Revolution (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/wXSlydj $10.00
Battlefield 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ILycZuA $10.00
Battlefield V (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/wMC2rwe $3.00
Bayonetta and Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dMDh5CN $12.00
Blasphemous (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/RJZvW7C $25.00
BioShock The Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/8wYQcij $15.00
Bloodstained Ritual of the Night (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/e5d4PfI $15.00
Bully Scholarship Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/k2JlYcE $20.00
Cyberpunk 2077 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/osm8Y1o $20.00
Disney Classic Games Collection: The Jungle Book-The Lion King-Aladdin (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/FjD3ZyO $15.00
Disney Classic Games Collection: Aladdin-Lion King (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/VQ9NFQI $10.00
The Division 2 Gold Edition Steelbook (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/a8NtxBS $15.00
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/4SjBLXq $15.00
DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3Ukz9Q7 $15.00
Desperados III (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/p0vySj0 $10.00
Destroy All Humans! (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Vxhec0r $10.00
Diablo III Eternal Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/R6iOjOp $15.00
DOOM (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/slPQRI3 $5.00
DOOM Slayers Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3wvTHOE $15.00
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Anniversary Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/EDHOeDA $25.00
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9UgO2M0 $15.00
The Evil Within 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/nAaIjId $5.00
Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/cm4i5g4 $12.00
Farcry 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/X3du6SM $5.00
Far Cry 5 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/RvEnmbS $10.00
Far Cry Primal (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/quAhrG5 $12.00
FIFA 20 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9bOI7hm $5.00
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/GmDv43w $25.00
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/SVSfexg $10.00
Football PES 2021 Season Update (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/41yq69p $5.00
Football PES 2020 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/vEWCGsa $5.00
Forza Horizon 3 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/tAQKXOf $12.00
Forza Horizon 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/l0OImhr $20.00
Forza Horizon 5 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/425VG1H $42.00
Gears 5 Ultimate (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/tChmYok $35.00
Gears Tactics (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/0smhLOS $10.00
Grand Theft Auto IV (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ro1TuSV $15.00
Grand Theft Auto V (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/lPgear7 $20.00
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/eg67Hd2 $15.00
Greak: Memories of Azur (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/hcBTifb $5.00
Hades (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gaelV8D $10.00
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Aqrg2sY $20.00
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/F47pyxe $20.00
HITMAN 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/QN8THgW $14.00
The Hunter Call of the Wild (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/98guW0W $30.00
Immortal Fenyx Rising (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PYUMMNl $5.00
Injustice 2 Legendary Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/AoPaOYU $10.00
Inside + Limbo (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/EhbXNSM $12.00
It Takes Two (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/fOF026t $23.00
John Wick Hex (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3sCiGwS $12.00
Just Cause 3 (NEW) https://imgur.com/a/WANDo0y $15.00
Just Cause 3 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/LmZqmoY $10.00
Just Cause 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/YfSWCIP $10.00
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PyAErdZ $10.00
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/dVvDZv2 $10.00
Kingdom Hearts III (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/UKq4CA7 $10.00
The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/mK6sWBY $15.00
Maneater (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/OXi4loK $10.00
Mafia: Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/55Jitt0 $15.00
Mafia Trilogy (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/zi0yqJu $20.00
Metro Exodus Complete Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/NCKcZJo $15.00
MLB The Show 2021 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/T3pqFxH $5.00
MLB the Show 2022 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/AJossE3 $15.00
Monster Hunter: World Iceborne Master Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/pS0KlSo $16.00
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/iMcIPMO $22.00
Mortal Kombat XL (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/iE8bRcc $12.00
Mutant Road to Eden Deluxe Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/2d1QWkT $10.00
NBA 2k Playgrounds 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/117I6s2 $5.00
NBA 2K21 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PsoZLkV $5.00
NBA 2K22 75th Anniversary Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/3Y4I001 $10.00
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/TaNJTeV $15.00
Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/vufFWHl $15.00
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/NFJoSiR $15.00
Planescape Torment and Icewind Enhanced Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/gCf7hUn $10.00
Planet Coaster: Console Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/LI4CBXL $15.00
Quantum Break (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/G2AYDGY $5.00
Rare Replay One Epic Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/5ssCc0I $5.00
Rayman Legends (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/DLFWqiJ $12.00
Rise of the Tomb Raider (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Qpc3EWz $10.00
Red Dead Redemtion II (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9X10dKx $20.00
Resident Evil 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/YgmjQB8 $15.00
Resident Evil 3 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Z2Hjcpf $20.00
Resident Evil 4 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/iOQrXKU $20.00
Resident Evil 5 HD (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/UkVLZt8 $15.00
Resident Evil 6 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PQnX4E0 $20.00
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/hBXZG1D $15.00
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard Gold Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/VBBYsuU $20.00
Resident Evil Village Deluxe Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/29oJxE4 $30.00
Resident Evil Origins Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/RSmAio5 $17.00
Resident Evil Revelation (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/9hza08p $15.00
Resident Evil Revelations 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/upQJe9s $12.00
Rustler (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/4A7G0jM $10.00
Saints Row the Third Remastered (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/RYBCUkZ $15.00
Samurai Shodown (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/jr3RjJx $15.00
Scribblenaughts Showdown (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/yoW0HZ2 $8.00
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/ZJ3cVfk $30.00
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/AypqTPk $30.00
Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/wY9GxPc $10.00
Shenmue I and II (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/1u7rbRb $12.00
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/XtZdRxF $20.00
Sonic Mania (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/DMSg7OA $15.00
Stardew Valley Collectors Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/zzKFvRP $15.00
Star Wars Battlefront II (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/7EBpN1U $10.00
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/royE9Ki $15.00
Star Wars Squadrons (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/PN2Yfvr $10.00
State of Decay 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/wiHQoAM $10.00
Sunset Overdrive (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/IG19uho $5.00
Tails of Iron (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/fJWxywZ $15.00
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/CKLm4yU $15.00
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/0AekNeI $15.00
Tony Hawks Pros Skater 1 + 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/Fqlh4oh $15.00
Watch Dogs 2 (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/oBx28Bb $5.00
Watch Dogs Legion (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/BEq1D24 $10.00
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Zoo Tycoon Ultimate Animal Collection (CIB) https://imgur.com/a/6X19iKy $10.00

For some background this is a Star Wars Fantasy Flight game set soon after the destruction of the first Death Star. We are playing as a ragtag team of rebels that consists of a Chadra-fan mechanical engineer (me), her slicer droid companion, a meatheaded farmboy with a goodheart who serves as the muscle for the party, and an old Mon Cal space captain (the titular player).
The first incident occurred shortly after wrapping up the first story arc on one of the planets in the sector and we were heading for another. There was a large Imperial presence on the world as it was in an open state of rebellion, that we as members of the Rebel Alliance were being sent to assist with. Because of this there was more bureaucratic red tape to get through before we could land and we were hailed by an Imperial Air Traffic Controller.
This was a while ago so I don't really remember how the argument went, but needless to say there was indeed an argument between the captain and the controller, which probably wasn't a great idea to get into with the person who controls if we get on the planet. Predictably the ATC doesn't allow the rude space captain who refuses to follow protocol to land. Oh well, I guess we could try coming back later when they aren't working, or borrow a different ship from the rebel fleet, right? Wrong. The Mon Cal player (who now bears a grudge against this low-level Imperial employee) wants to fly their way down regardless.
The rest of the party didn't think this a very good idea and decided to "mutiny" and try to force him off the ship's controls. Now, the session before was our first real chance to stock and gear up since we had started the game and I had decided to buy four plasma grenades and give one to everbody. I figured they could come in handy against the stormtroopers we would be encountering on the next planet. The Mon Cal player had other ideas though, evidently unhappy with the notion of his ship being taken away from him even momentarily, the captain decided to fish out that very same grenade and threaten to blow everyone and himself up. Luckily, I passed a coordination roll and immediately confiscated it from them and the situation was handled, we went back for a different ship and eventually made it planet side.
Flash-forward several months and there is now an all-out war in the streets of the capital city and we are helping the rebels there take district after district. Our current objective is to blow up a bridge to keep Imperial armoured infantry and tanks from crossing into the territory. As we arrive on the scene a ship lands directly behind us and out steps the bounty hunter from the farmboy's backstory. They begin to fight and me and the droid player take the opportunity to plant the explosives before the imperials decide to cross, leaving the farmboy and captain to take on the bounty hunter.
For more context Farmboy is essentially the party tank. They have solid defense and insane brawling stats and a gauntlet with a shield they bash people in the face with to go with them. So they immediately go to close the distance and engage them in melee range, unlike every other encounter however the only person left to shoot at IS the person they are engaging. This means that if the Mon Cal player wants to shoot the bounty hunter but rolls badly there is a high likelihood of shooting their teammate, which they do end up doing once or twice.
The encounter goes on and the bounty hunter is proving to be an equal for Farmboy in melee combat, it's not looking great and this is where I think the Mon Cal player starts to get frustrated and they decide to take out their "other weapon". Now between the session with the first incident and this one the Mon Cal player got their hands on a rifle with the explosive property, I don't exactly remember how. You might be thinking that should have been a red flag considering, but no one really cared about the first incident all that much aside from making a joke about it every now and again. The grenade wasn't really strong enough to kill any of us outright, and none of us thought the GM would make the consequences fatal had the worst case happened. Plus one or two session before they had made use of the rifle to great effect. ....this would not be such a case.
Mon Cal fires their rifle directly at the two of them and hits Farmboy who is critically hit and HP goes down past zero. Unfortunately, the Bounty Hunter is injured, but still standing (as Farmboy took the brunt of the hit).
It's important to note that in Star Wars you don't make death saves when your HP goes to zero like in D&D, instead whenever you get critically hit you roll on the crit table and take a wound of some kind. The more crits you have the higher you are likely to roll with the highest rolls being death. Farmboy had 2-3 crits before this encounter so the probability of such an outcome was becoming increasingly likely.
Seeing that the Bounty Hunter was still alive the Mon Cal player readies up for another shot. Threatening her that he doesn't care if Farmboy lives or dies, he'll blow them all up just to spite her if it comes to that etc. I believe he does fire at them and crits Farmboy again (I recall the image of him shooting his prone unmoving body with an explosive round), but it's been awhile so I could be misremembering. Either way the Bounty Hunter decides to back off and go lick her wounds.
"Well it worked, didn't it?" is all the Mon Cal player would say.
More months pass, the planet is free and we've been on a few more adventures. We are about to set off on another when we notice a distress signal coming from a lunar colony nearby. The power is out in one of the domes and we use the ships internal power to open the hatch so we can go inside to investigate. The place is like a ghost town and we can't seem to find anyone. The GM has Farmboy make a roll and they fail leading them to get hit by a sniper shot in the chest. The Bounty Hunter is back! Though like I said Farmboy is a tank so it honestly wasn't too bad, his spacesuit was perforated however.
The GM took this time (and several others) to warn that if too much damage (like say from an explosive round) happened to the dome it would depressurize and anyone not wearing a helmet or with a perforated suit would die. The session continues and we are essentially pinned down and in a drawn out long ranged firefight. Admittedly, it was fairly frustrating as only one of us had a weapon reasonably capable of engagement at that range and the dice were not rolling in our favor. For my part I tried stealthing closer to her location, but was spotted and critically hit twice, taking me out of the encounter and perforating my suit.
At this point Mon Cal player has had enough and states that they shoot at her with their explosive rifle. It misses and the GM makes a roll and says it hit the side of a building. This doesn't deter them at all however and they want to go for another shot. Farmboy doesn't like that and goes to knock the Mon Cal captain out. This causes a huge argument between them on one side and me and the farmboy player on the other as we obviously didn't want to die. They said that they "didn't know what else they were supposed to do." That it was "the only option available to them." and "the correct strategic decision". The back and forth went on for 15-20 minutes, or at least that's how it felt. It honestly really upset me with how callous they were being in taking a risk that didn't even affect them as their suit was fine. Especially after I suggested that, if they were really okay with taking such strategic risk, they put their own neck on the line and try charging them with farmboy since she can't shoot everyone at once. They didn't want to do that for reasons beyond me and insisted on their first course of action. At some point I just left the call and told the GM to let me know what happened. Eventually the GM messages me and tells me I have been revived. They defeated the bounty hunter somehow, I didn't really ask for the specifics as I was still sour on the whole situation.
When we landed back on the planet to rest up and everyone was sleeping I asked the GM if I could make a stealth roll. "Sure, what for?" "I want to steal Mon Cal's rifle" The Mon Cal player was not happy with this to say the least, but they failed their opposing roll and my sneaky lil' bat made off with it to sell for credits. This in turn started another argument to the extent in which Mon Cal's player was threatening to kill my character next session or fly off and abandon the party and we really didn't know how it was going to turn out.
This is definitely the closest the campaign had ever come to ending for a multitude of reasons. Thankfully, we didn't play for a few weeks because of scheduling and everyone cooled off and things ended up fine. We are all still friends, although they aren't being invited to the Pathfinder game Farmboy is going to start GMing.
So, yeah, that's the story.

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2013 China Lunar Year Set - Year of the Snake - 1/10oz Colorized 50yuan Gold + 1oz 10yuan Colorized Silver - $315 (COA Included, Coins in Mint Capsule) $OLD
2012 China Luna Year - 1/10oz Colorized Year of the Dragon 50yuan Goal - $270 $OLD
1984 Chinese 1.5g Panda - Beautiful Condition, stunning to look at - $180 $OLD
1975 Kingdom of Swaziland 50 Emalangeni - 0.1247oz agw - $275 (Case/COA Included, Coin in Mint Capsule) - NGC
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