Things to put in a picture

My (32F) partner (40M) blew up at me in a raging fit because I told him "I like how you handled the situation, but I would appreciate if you reworded this". That's only the beginning.
Context: One of his so-called newlywed "friends" is in an open marriage. We went to their wedding back in September. Well, his friend went behind my partner's back and was pushing me into a threesome exclusively with him and his wife. He was trying to keep it secret from my partner. Turns out his wife wasn't even in on it. We messaged her later and she said that was all his doing.
They all know I am strictly monogamous. My partner claims to be "into the lifestyle" that his friends are, even though he only participated in a few threesomes with exs and while he was single/not serious, he did swap once. He was not like an avid, everyday poly/swingeENM type of guy. He claims to just go along with whatever the woman he is with wants and never pressured me to do anything. He is one of those "if she's not happy, I ain't happy either" but he does have limits and sets clear rules.
None of that workaround was needed with me because we agreed to monogamy. We have been going 2 years now with no big issues regarding this. Just some misunderstandings here and there in the beginning.
So he tells his friend over the phone, "she's not into any of that" "she's not into sex with other guys" "she's not into girls". Then I brought up the topic of how it makes me uncomfortable when people (other than his friends) who don't know him have asked this question before and he has given the same response.
There was a past situation at the wedding where a woman was very interested in the topic as it came up. I wasn't upset over the mere mention, however I felt uncomfortable when he told her "she's not into it" and then carried on talking about his rules and boundaries like he is the threesome therapist. Then the lady was talking about how she's so into sharing girls with her man and how they are both so damn lucky etc... so I was basically listening to them. Wasn't upset about the entire ordeal, just the part where I felt like I was being put into some box while they talk about their sex lives as total strangers. I don't see him as someone that would cheat. I befriended the lady at the wedding and she was cool to hang out with otherwise. I wasn't mad at her or anything. I do feel like she was hoping to do something with us.
I later expressed my feelings to him, but he tried to justify himself regardless of my discomfort. It was not an argument, but that was the first time I told him how that makes me uncomfortable and why.
So backtracking to his sneaky friend. I asked if he could say "we are not into that as a couple" in the future if something like this comes up again. It doesn't sit right with me me when he erases himself from the equation. I feel like he is telling people he is still (if ever) into that stuff and just "settling" or tolerating monogamy for me. I tried to be polite and explain this, but he was cussing and screaming at me saying that I am "telling him to lie to people" and that it is a "part of who he is".
He also said that there were times I told him he is disgusting. I actually said certain things that people do are disgusting such as pressuring others, using it as a cope for their cheating, etc... I never said everyone in general who is sexually adventurous is disgusting or that he is specifically. He is currently friends with 2 poly circles and the newlyweds that are just an open relationship. 1 of the throuples is indeed riddled with toxic drama and they tend to be brought up a lot. There is a one D policy and the guy does some terrible things behind his wife's back that she made clear is not ok. I can't think of anything else I would have called disgusting.

He has led me to believe I am the AH too. He deeply apologized for yelling and came to agreement, but still seems to harp on me also being the AH. And maybe I am in some way as I could have handled it in a way that didn't trigger him. But I don't believe he should be yelling at me when I am just calmly expressing something I dislike. Yet, he didn't yell at his friend that was practically trying to have sex with me. What do you think? 

I'm still looking for one or two more perfect players!! I know this is long, but please read it thoroughly. I will be posting a lot of written information for the game in and out of character and need to make sure my players are actually paying attention! The application isn't short either, and I don't want to waste your time.
if the application is open, I'm still accepting players. Session zero is set for june 8th, time tbd.
A little about me - I’m Z (he/they) & I’m looking to run a slow-paced, roleplay-heavy game with a focus on queer players & narratives. Experience doesn't matter, I love having newer players in my games!
I'm 32, and I’ve been playing since 2017, mostly as a DM. Before the pandemic, I ran a lot of local store games and ‘how to DM events’ for adults, as well as library games for kids. It took me a while to adjust to playing online but now I prefer it, as it’s allowed me to find a whole new love for the game playing with different kinds of people and focusing on intentionally creating a safe space for those who don’t feel comfortable at most tables.
Format - I would like to run weekly voice sessions on discord (with optional cameras) using roll20 as our VTT & the option to roleplay via text on the server throughout the week, with either other PCs or NPCs - I also like doing lore drops this way, or giving previews to other things that are happening in the world. I like dndbeyond for character sheets (and I’m happy to share all my content), but as long as I can see them, you can run them wherever. I am bad about using music bots on discord, so I would love it if someone knew how that all worked and could help with that, otherwise I can share playlists on spotify.
Scheduling - I would like to play anytime between 8am MST in the mornings and let’s say 4pm or so on Saturdays, and again we’d be shooting for every week, but obviously life happens and we might need to take a week off. It would also be lovely if you have a slightly flexible schedule, just in case, as I can occasionally play on Sundays or Mondays as well. update I'm open to running a bi-weekly game if I get enough players interested who can fully commit to an agreed upon schedule. If you can only do bi-weekly, specify that on the application.
Sessions can be anywhere from 2 hours to 4 or 5 hours, depending on the amount of roleplay. I leave a lot of space in my game for in-character conversations, so if you are someone who gets bored easily / doesn’t care about the game if it doesn’t directly involve your character, this is not the game for you. For this reason, I prefer running smaller groups, 3-4 being the sweet spot.
Mechanics - we’re playing 5e* and the asterisk represents all the stupid rules that make the game less fun that I ignore or change. I care more about the story and roleplaying than the mechanics, I very much default to the ‘rule of cool’ or letting the dice decide your fate. I am very much on your side and if it ever feels like I’m not, please let me know. The basics are I don’t make you track food/arrows/ etc. and if you forget or misunderstand something major I’ll remind you or clarify. I also don’t care too much about times for donning / doffing armor and using action economy to pull out a weapon - we’ve all woken up well past our alarm and still made it to work on time; you can get your armor on for that middle of the night combat.
In a similar manner, we’re playing Dragons of Shipwreck Isle* where the asterisk represents all the parts of the adventure that I’m gonna change and try to make more interesting. I would ask for y’all not to metagame and look up the adventure, but mostly because if you’re comparing the module to what I run, it’s not going to line up and it will probably end up frustrating you. I am also looking at other modules as well but instead of listing them all, in the question on the form where I ask if you’ve played this specific module before, please list all of the ones you’ve played instead. If you just answer yes or no, I'll know you didn't read this. I don't like feeling like I need to trick my players into playing attention during the game, so I need to be able to trust that my players are paying attention.
Hard lines / veils in game - racism / sexism / homophobia / transphobia are NOT built into my fantasy worlds; we deal with that enough irl. I also don’t fuck with slavery, SA (this includes during combat, assault is assault even if they are a ‘bad guy’) or ERP. Anything sexual will be implied / fade to black, but I would prefer things not get too sexual. I don’t mind in character romance between PCs, but I would appreciate a heads up if you want an NPC romance for your character - and I will be checking in with everyone about your comfort level with this, if you want absolutely no flirting towards your character from any NPC please let me know that as well.
I will also stay away from harming kids / pets / elderly, and anything you would like to list as a hard line (something you don’t want showing up in the game at all) or veil (something that can be alluded to, just not graphically detailed). I will say there are heavy themes of undead present in the module at the beginning, and zombies / undead are a personal favorite monster of mine to use so PLEASE do not apply to this game if you don’t like fighting undead! My descriptions can get graphic at times when it comes to monsters & combat, but I will likely gross myself out before it becomes too gratuitous.
Triggers - even if you don’t think it will come up in game, triggers can unfortunately pop up with silly memes or jokes ooc. If there’s a certain image / idea that totally squicks you out and you don’t want them included ANYWHERE on the server, please let me know! Everyone’s comfort is a top priority to me, and keeping your triggers out of our safe space is really important to me.
Morality - I love moral ambiguity, but I genuinely don’t want any evil aligned characters. This is a collaborative game that requires everyone to work together to some extent; you don’t have to be instant best friends in character, but you will need you to communicate and check in ooc if tensions rise up in character. Play your character true to their actions, but make sure that their actions are fun and interesting for everyone involved, not just you.
I also always allow non-lethal combat options, such as knocking sentient creatures unconscious. I encourage trying to persuade / lie / bargain with those you have captured, but I will not condone outright torture. That said, there will be humanoid bad guys who won’t always be the most reasonable people, and may not collaborate.
Safety Tools - outside of open communication in discussing boundaries & triggers, I encourage the ‘X card’ method - whenever anyone gets uncomfortable and wants to immediately stop a scene, you can send a literal ‘X’ in either the main chat or to me privately and we will stop immediately. Ideally, we can get on the same page easily about comfort levels and everyone here will feel okay coming to me with any issues they have, but we are all human and things can pop up.
Expectations - The only thing I really ask out of y’all as my player is for open communication and I will always try my best to do the same. If something isn’t vibing with you or it makes you uncomfortable, even if it’s something little, please tell me. I expect you to be engaged with the story, and encourage you to keep some sort of notes / inventory / ‘to do list’ for the game. I also would really appreciate feedback - not just for how I run the game, but what you want to see in the game so I can put it in there. If someone’s character is interested in a specific realm of study in history / arcana / nature, I can build that into the lore. Same thing if you want to find a specific item or learn how to do a certain skill - let me know either in or out of character and I’ll try to make it happen!
Starting point - I am intentionally keeping this part loosey-goosey to accommodate players backstories & experiences! I am hoping to integrate the PCs into the initial plot hook / overall plot: the only tangible idea I have right now is "shipwrecked on an island", but my idea is for the PCs to heavily influence the story from the beginning.
Mechanically, you will start at either level 1 or 2 with Point Buy for stats, and I am imagining getting to at least level 5, but again, it really depends. I am happy to play for as long as my players want to keep doing things in character!
If you haven’t been put off by the amount of text, please click the link below to apply. If you thought this was too much and you skimmed the post to find this link, you’re probably going to get bored before you finish applying lol
Best of luck!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefOJuSFuzromCph2g6eBmeMEoIEH1t2grCuIbLa6O_i-9CWw/viewform?usp=sf_link

"Being a demigod is cool in a; 'You-might-die-but-at-least-your-parent-is-a-supernatural-being' kind of way."
Basic Info:
Age: 14
Date of Birth: December 3rd.
Nationailty: American
Race: Mexican-American
Fatal Flaw: Incompetence
Gender: Female
Sexual Orientation: Bi
Demigod Conundrums: ADHD
Hometown: Queens, New York.
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FAM

Name and Age	Relationship	Bit of Info
Alma Rivera Copeland, 34	Mother	Works as nurse, got remarried to Sia Copeland after Circe left her. Is ok to Cal, but fairly religious so dosen't respect Cal's sexuality.
Circe	"Ahem"	Literally no idea.
Sia Laura Copeland	Step-Mother	Cal's stepmother, tries to understand Cal, but really dosen't.

__________________________________
Powers:
Magic Vision.
Summon Magic Creation.
Close-up Magic.
Weaving Proficiency.
Herbology and Metallurgy Proficiency.
Swine, Guinea Pig, and Feline Affinity.
Charmsong.
___________________________________
FAVORITE THINGSSSS:
Food: Cheesecake. Yeah. Literally just Cheescake.
Drink: Shirley Temple.
Media: DRAMA.
________________________________
Appearance:
Faceclaim: Lily Calloway.
Voiceclaim: Maya Hawke
Height: 5'4
Weight: ExCUse mE?
Eye color: Green :)
__________________________________________
History:
Cal Was raised to be an above average daughter. Of course, that didn't stick. So she kind of couldn't stay in one school for at least 2 years. She got kicked out of manyyyy schools, from the time when she punched a teacher, to the time she convinced a kid to eat glue. (Which didn't end up well for the kid.) Her mom wasn't much help either, just a bunch of forced smiles and 'Mija, you can do it's. She knew the reason. It was because she was Bisexual, not the perfect image of the above average, straight, and perfectly religious picture. Ugh. Her Step-mother, Sia, was sorta nice, but, just wasn't her kind of person. Cal could tell that she tried hard to understand why it happened. Why Cal couldn't seem to stay in one school, or why she liked girls too, but she knew Sia didn't understand her. It was fine. So, you would expect her to be happy when Gregory came to fetch her for that camp, right? Wrong.
Present Day:
Cal was fed up with the stupid day. She had spilled her cereal all over her, failed her math quiz, gotten more name calling then usual at her school, tripped in front of everyone, and of course, Gregory turning out to be a half goat thing and telling her to abandon everything she's ever known just topped it off.
"So, I'm a Half-Bleed-"
"Blood"
"Whatever. And you want me to come with you to a Camp for kids like me?"
"Yeah."
She looked him in the eye, a calm, yet dangerous seriousness settling over them. And just as the suspense couldn't get any higher, Cal snorted and walked right pass Gregory. "Nope." It was funny. Almost as funny as Gregory's mouth hanging open. "No? That's it? Your passing up the one opportunity in your life to actually belong and you give a casual 'NO?'" He stammered, watching in disbelief as Cal mounted her motorcycle, that she promised her mom she wouldn't go any faster than 20 MPH on. She thought for a moment, bringing a finger to her chin. "Yeah. Yeah, that's basically what I'm doing." She said nonchalantly. Gregory scoffed, about to say something when a screech could be heard behind them.
"What was-"
"Get on the bike get on the bike."
They clambered onto the bike, Cal scrambling for the key, and Gregory, well, just sitting there. Finally, they took off, and let me tell you, it was much faster than 20 MPH. The screech sounded closer, and Cal went as fast as she could, zipping through traffic.
"Where did you say that camp was again?"
As Gregory gave her directions, the screeches got closer and closer, until finally, Cal felt something skim her leg. Something sharp. She snapped her head back to see a winged and fanged old women, looking particularly ugly with disgusting bony wings. "What was that for?!" She screamed at the bat lady thing. Gregory pondered the question. "Well, I guess the fury happened to be in the area, and then you started riding your motorcycle, and for some reason that attracted the-"
"Crap! I promised my mom I wouldn't ride my bike over 20 miles per hour. Don't the furies hate it when you like break a promise?"
He whimpered. "Yeah..." And just as she thought that they were done, a hill came into view. A singular tree. "Is that the hill!?" she yelled, pointing. Gregory snapped out of his fear, (mostly at least,) and widened his eyes. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. She sped up, darting over the hill to find what looked like a normal summer camp. She pulled to a stop, (the fury not chasing her because of the magical barriers), and clambered off of her motorcycle. It was beautiful. Or at least, that's what she thought from her blurry vision. Oh yeah. As she slowly lowered her gaze, she saw a large gash down her calf, pain shooting up her leg. And that's the last thing she saw before she hit the ground, and chaos erupted.

That things won't really change for a long time, if unlucky even centuries.
I know it's a stupid reason to be sad about, and getting mad at it is obviously not the answer.
I mean, I used to eat meat, but many times I felt conflicted about it.
Meat for people is just meat. There is no association wity any animal.
And if they say "I'll eat chicken", there's still a big disconnect, they don't really see that it was a living being just like them.
And if it's KFC or MC Donalds, there's even more of a disconnect.
It's just ignorance but when they mock you to make you feel or think you're weird or wrong that's even more messed up, even more ignorant.
Honestly the whole thing is just kinda sad and meat is kinda disgusting and even when I used to eat it I also felt conflicted about it... Blood, fat, cartilage, veins...
But people get accostumed to it and think it's normal.
But it's not "normal", just be a something is tradition doesn't make it right.
Many things that are wrong in our society have become normalized and that is kinds sad... Meat eating is just the tip of the iceberg.
Kids will grow up thinking these extreme temperatures are normal... But it's not normal.
It's so awful, because the climate would have been much more balanced and enjoyable. I work outside during the summer and it's so hot I get literally burnt.
Throwing trash to the floor is another one. The planet is our home and we treat it as if it was a dumpster, and we are ruining the climate... But the "funny" thing is that we are the ones who will suffer, not a species in another planet, WE are the ones who are living here and we are making it worse, why?
It also seems aggressiveness becomes normalized. If you are an asshole you are 'superior' or 'alpha'. No respectfulness or anything.
So many things wrong.
Also, I know I am going off-topic in regards to this sub, but veganism is certainly a step in the right direction, but if you ask me, we put a label on what should really be the norm.
The worst part is showing people animal videos, even "cute" ones like little chicks, being grinded alive or killed and people are just apathetic, they don't care, "it's not my business to worry about such things", or "it's just necessary", or "it's not that big of a deal".
But it is that big of a deal, and we human being, are capable of much more.
I'm glad there are still idealist, at least someone will show us "what is possible", so if we at least walk 20% of it then it might not be so bad...

Ok, let me star with explaining, what's my relation to The Witcher series. I read the books for the first time 16 years ago, when I was in high school. Then, a year after I read them again and that was it. Series was one of those formative books that helped developing me as a reader. Since then I read a lot of fantasy books, SF and even literary fiction. My taste evolved over the years, and some of the fantasy novels I read I consider to be better than The Witcher (polish as well as western ones), but Sapkowski's series stood firmly as one of the best. Although I haven't reread it for all those years, Witcher was somehow present in my life - I played the games and I watched Netflix's abomination. So I was really surprised that the books are divisive among English readers. Some of the complaints were baffling for me, some I could understand (series has it flaws, I'm fully aware of that). A lot of people didn’t see the qualities that me and other Poles finds in The Witcher. General consensus was that translation was botched. But could it be THAT botched? Or maybe the series isn't as good as I remembered? So I decided to read at least first short story collection in Polish and English back to back and share my impressions.
The post will be a very long one, because I want to give as much context as possible.
First of all I failed miserably at comparing original and translation. I'm not a specialist in languages and my English isn't perfect (I probably made tons of grammar errors already). I didn’t see any major flaw in translation. Nothing important, in my opinion was lost or twisted. There's some lazines on translator side, for example in The Lesser Evil story, when Geralt brought kikimora to the village mayor mispronounced it name as "kicizmora" in Polish. It meant to be a funny wordplay because kicizmora is pronounced very similar to kikimora and it should be translated accordingly in English. Translator went for literal translation and came up with "felinspectre". Joke was lost and English readers were probably wondering what tf is felinspectre. But it was only a minor thing, but perhaps there were more problems that I didn’t notice. Another reason why I failed might be the way I read both versions. First I read story in Polish and immediately after in English. So I have a full understanding of plot and all the nuances and reading in English was more of a reminder rather than actual reading.
So, about the book itself. Long story short - first book in The Witcher series is as good as I remembered or even better, because I understand much more. Sapkowski is a master of dialogue and after all those years it didn’t change. I'd say that I was even surprised how dialogue-heavy are the short stories. A Question of Price is practically one big conversation. But I don't think it's a problem. Sapkowski builds his characters, scenery and tension almost only through dialogues. I guess it might be a bit off-putting for people used to more typical fantasy storytelling. But then The Witcher diverges from standard fantasy quite significantly, although it might not be that obvious initially.
For starters the series is quite postmodern, not only because short stories are retellings of fairy tales but also because of the fact that characters are often using scientific terms that doesn't fit medieval-like setting. Then again - Sapkowski never intended to create coherent fantasy world. For those who don't know - Sapkowski wrote first story for a competition and didn’t plan any follow-up. But fans demanded more Witcher stories so he wrote more and then he wrote the whole series because fans wanted it. And it shows. Stories are all over the place - some of them are light and funny while other are much darker and deeper. There are some inconsistencies like for example in the first story Geralt killed two guys in the inn just because they're bothering him and to show off. Later he never killed anyone without very good reason. But I don't think it's a flaw. Sapkowski definetely had a blast writing the stories and readers with him.
I mentioned that because I got impression that a lot of western readers came to the series expecting classic fantasy worldbuilding. I watched review of The Last Wish by Phillip Chase and he was confused that book lacked any map and he had a problem to place stories geographically. Polish fantasy books are rarely set in secondary worlds not to mention fully fleshed worlds. As far as I know, only two authors attempted classic fantasy worldbuilding. Other authors who set their books in secondary world rather created an ilusion of world than actual world.
Thematically short stories revolves around who's actual monster. Very often they're human. But there are two stories in the collection that I want to highlight.
First is The Lesser Evil. It's probably one of the best fantasy stories ever written, hands down. Whole story revolves around a philosophical concept of lesser evil and Sapkowski masterfully created situation without good solution. Stregobor tells Geralt about girls who were born with the Curse of the Black Sun, which supposed to make them extremely dangerous psychopaths. Geralt questions every his word pointing out superstition and probably more malicious intentions behind alleged curse. It reminds me of witch-hunts and I guess that was Sapkowski's intention. Stegobor gives several examples of cursed girls who turned out to be dangerous but ultimately the whole problem comes to nature vs nurture question. Girls could be psychopats because of the curse of because all of the horrible things that happened to them. Among them was Renfri, who wants to take revenge on Stregobor for what he done to her in the past. Sorcerer wants Geralt to kill Renfri for him. Later on Geralt lerns about Renfri's side of the story (which is very different from what Stregobor said) and her plan to take whole market hostage to force Stregobor to leave his tower. Sapkowski creates here conflict where every party member has its own definition of lesser evil. For Geralt lesser evil would be killing Renfri and her companions before they'll kill people on the market. For Renfri killing Stregobor is lesser evil. And for mayor of the town lesser evil is remaining passive until Renfri commits any kind of crime, because she has protection of the king. Ultimately its Geralt who commits greater evil. Because Stregobor turns out to be the real villan of the story because he doesn't give a shit about people taken hostage and Renfri decide to be bigger person and release the hostages. But it's too late because Geralt already killed her companions seemingly without a reason. Although Sapkowski never answers if the curse was real there's good reason to believe it was all bullshit, after all Renfri wasn't cruel enough to kill innocents.
Another story I want to write about is The Edge of the World. I think Sapkowski here tried to tell equally complex story as in The Lesser Evil but it didn't work that well. But it isn't exactly what I want to talk about. The key fragment of the story is the argument between Geralt and elfs, how minorities like them should behave when face extinction. Elfs would rather starve to death but keep their culture and identity and Geralt thinks that they should hide their pride and assimilate with humans. Initially I was confused by Geralt's opinion because while reading I was trying to look at the book from westerner perspective and I also took western views on the racism and ways to solve it. I thought that Geralt should rater support elfs rather than despise them. But then I realised that there're many forms of discrimination and some of them are much closer to polish history. For those who don't know: at the end of 18th century Poland lost independence and was divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria. For whole 19th century invaders tried to deprive Poles their culture and language and among polish communities were two camps: allow it or fight. And I guess this is what Sapkowski was referring to.
Ok, I think I wrote post long enough. Let me know what you thing about The Last Wish and The Witcher books in general and if I should write on next books in the series. If I read them, I probably won't read English translation as it's futile.

-A freaking deer industry getting that 7 deer start with no monopoly buildings is a sore thing.
-facism strength for all units= all units If we make differences between religious units and military units, this description implies all so both !
-put multiple repair buildings orders in a row, domination is really tedious with all the pillaging districts going on. With repair times often at 1 turn this makes you do either lose production from excess production or put in a often useless second order to catch excess production. With the thought of you need to remember which cities have repairs going on and switch back to next building to repair. Instead of the project you run to catch excess production from repairing that workshop for example.

I'm a librarian at a school I work at; I get good pay, and I'm fairly liked by the students. I have a close student of mine who has a good knowledge of literature (something you don't necessarily see often), which resulted in a teacher-student bond over our favorite books. She usually comes into the library at lunchtime alone and reads quietly, which I was quite surprised at since I've never seen her speak to another student since I knew her but assumed she preferred it that way. Today was very different; she came in as usual, greeted me with a smile, and put a sheet of paper down. I looked down and realized it was a list. She explained that these are the books she would really like, and if it were possible to ask the school to fund some new books that were stated on the list, I was expecting maybe a teen romance or a comedy. But as I read the list, I felt slightly put off by the books she requested. Some of the books listed in the note included The Wings by Yi Sang, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and so on. One thing in common with a lot of these books is that they are necessarily dark and not something I would expect a 13-year-old to have her nose in. Do I order the books for her? or do I decline and tell her to stick to more light-hearted books?

I (24y) have been dating a girl (25y) for about 1 year now and we are planning to get married in early 2025. Everything is really great and we get on really well, but I can't help but be bothered by a few things. For context, we are both in our final year of medical school, which means we have pretty busy schedules and some work to do (especially now). For my part, I am also doing my studies at the military academy to become a medical officer, which adds more commitments and can be time consuming.
The thing is, I have always been very invested in her wellbeing. I have always gone out of my way to see her, I am always available to help her with her projects (day and night), she calls me every day (which is fine) but most of the time to complain about something or to keep her company. I have never counted the hours or the sweat I put in to see her or to buy her something, anything, to make her happy. She is aware that I put more effort into this couple and she feels bad about it from time to time.
What bothers me is that she seems to disregard this and 'gives too little back'. I don't expect any kind of recognition or imply that she owes me anything for what I do, it is done out of pure love and care for her. But, for example, I was accepted in my choice of specialisation, she was happy, as everyone is. It is now 6 weeks since she told me we should celebrate with a meal, but she has never found the time. But tonight is the third time in 3 weeks that she is having dinner with her friends.
She's also never read my thesis, even though I've read hers many times and worked on it. When I commented on it, she apologised and asked to see it; she only read the 300 word abstract.
I gave her my credit card because she had lost hers and she sometimes has money problems. I am happy to help her and want her to enjoy herself with some treats. It's been almost 2 months now, she hasn't gone to pick up her new card, so she has to ask for it back (which she has not yet done). She has paid almost 380€ for coffees (sometimes for her friends), a dress, ChatGPT4 and God knows what. To be honest, I don't really mind, but her saying that she's afraid to ask me how much she's spent and that she'll pay it back with "hugs" when we get married? I found that a bit disrespectful.
I love her very much, she is really wonderful, smart and beautiful. All of this doesn't define her at all! I have tried to raise these issues with her, but I know it would affect her and she would feel terrible, so I never really push it. I don't want her to feel that way, especially now that we have our last big exam.
But I can't get over this frustration. I feel like I am just an AH because I resent her not being as involved as I am without sharing much with her. I feel that I have put myself in these situations and that I have overestimated my resilience. I just wish she would have some commons senses sometimes.
So, AITAH for resenting my GF who isn't as involved in our relationship as I would expect?

This has been the hardest thing for me as a straight guy. My spouse and I have been married for 4 years, and it’s something she didn’t truly want growing up but the military had other plans for us. I’m a veteran now and have been out for a year. Lately, she has been hanging out with a guy who is trans and just seems full of life. He’s younger, and we have been through hell and back with the military along with my step son whom I take care of and the bio father is still involved. Anyways, she grew up knowing about not feeling like a girl and being more of a boy, and giving herself fake names, being more Tom boy and such. We married young, I recently got out of the military, and now all these things she has been feeling has been bottling up and is now on the surface. This was very recent. She told me she was trans and I reacted not so well. I was scared, felt unloved, betrayed, lost trust, because she put on this persona of being someone that would be considered “a wife” for me and she always hated that label. She doesn’t want to be that anymore and she’s looking more into getting therapy and possibly making those steps to transition. I scared for myself, she already told me she can’t provide the same love for me as how it was before, she can’t give me what I want out of her because her priority is herself in this mindset, she doesn’t want to get to close to me to become confused and she set boundaries because of how I reacted and there was a lot going on. We had a codependent relationship and that’s how my brain worked for her, now it’s like that way anymore. She wants us to be more independent and focus on ourselves. I’m scared for the change, I’m scared for the future of me, my son, and what it will look like. I need help myself. I’m seeking counseling again, but I just don’t know what’s worth my time in for investing would be worth it. She said she would have to deal with it if I left and she knows why I would and wouldn’t resent me for it. I’m only attracted to her and her period.. but she can’t give me what she gave me before so I feel alone. Her friend helped her realize what she was missing. It’s been a lot of I’m freaking out in the inside. She said take it day by day but she doesn’t want to not be in this mindset.: what do I do? I need help from the community please.

Prophet Muhammad said, The Prophet said: “The supplication, is worship.” Then he recited: And Your Lord said: “Call upon me, I will respond to you. Verily, those who scorn My worship, they will surely enter Hell humiliated." (Jami’at-Tirmidhi 3372) So according to Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s blessings be upon him) that if we ask for supplication from a thing it’s worship. And this is exactly what Catholics do. Pope Francis prayer for protection during the Covid-19 Pandemic: “O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick. At the foot of the Cross, you participated in Jesus’ pain with steadfast faith. You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need. We are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at Cana of Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who took our sufferings upon Himself and bore our sorrows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.”
“We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”This clearly shows the pope asking Mary for protection during the lockdown. Another example is this, “At the conclusion of this document presenting Catechism of the Catholic Church, I beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the incarnate Word and Mother of the Church, to support with her powerful intercession the cathedral work of the entire Church on every level” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church pp. 6-7) Another example is this, “The church’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship.” [...] “From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of ‘Mother of God,’ to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs… (Catechism Of The Catholic Church p. 275) And the final example I’ll give, “By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the ‘Mother of Mercy,’ the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. ( Catechism Of The Catholic Church. 706)
So the Quran is not creating a fake belief (ignoring Collyridians) about people worshipping Mary (Quran 5:116)
Sources Jami'at-Tirmidhi 3372 Catechism Of the Cathloic Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p1VrHkg140 Quran 5:116

I (27 female) married my husband (28 male) Sept of 2022. We had just met and started dating in November of 2021, so things moved kind of quick but we both knew what we wanted and it was just right for us. My husband's brother (32 male) got engaged to his now wife (25 female) after about 5 years of dating in March of 2022. My husband and I got engaged that June and my now SIL acted very unimpressed, almost as if we had stolen the spotlight from them, which obviously wasn't my intention. I thought it was exciting for all of us to be engaged and planning weddings at the same time. My husband and I were going to wait until 2023 to get married but I decided I wanted to marry him sooner and he agreed, so we set the September date for later that year. (Keep in mind my SIL hadnt set a date yet and had mentioned maybe Spring of 2025)
We had a very small backyard wedding with maybe 50 guests. We didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a venue and we also are more reserved so we didn't want a whole bunch of people there, only close family and friends. My MIL bought our cake, my parents bought my dress and everything else we bought. We borrowed a couple tables and tents from my SIL's family (that she offered, by the way) So nothing crazy. Then my SIL had her wedding with my BIL planned for the following September (2023, so that was moved up)
They wanted a bigger wedding with a pricey venue. They didn't want help with the cake because they were picky about what and how they wanted it. I personally asked her a bunch of times if she needed me to do anything and she said she had it all handled. I was also pregnant and due in August of 2023, which it became clear that this bothered her very much. Once my daughter was born she showed very little interest in her, to the point where someone tried showing her a picture and she wouldn't look and said "yup I've seen it"
She called my daughter an it. Lol.
She also refused to like any pictures of her on social media which I understand isn't always the fault of the person but that's one of her complaints about my MIL. She said to me "she never likes anything I post, only whatever you post of your kid"
My husband's aunt also watches our daughter and she refuses to take any kind of payment. We have tried paying her and she refuses. My SIL made comments one day about how we have a free babysitter so we should have a ton of money set aside. I got mad and told her to mind her own business, and asked her why it bugs her so much that I have a free babysitter who I've tried paying multiple times.
She proceeded to say "it doesn't bug me. I just find it funny that you and (Husband) didn't have to pay a lot for your wedding and everyone helped you yet when me and (her Husband) got married nobody lifted a finger. I get you were pregnant but still"
I was not only pregnant, but I had a c section and was still recovering when I had to stand as a bridesmaid at her wedding. I'm not really sure what more she wanted me to do 2 weeks after I'd been cut open and had a brand new baby to take care of, and on top of that I was on all kinds of medications after due to health issues that arose from the end of my pregnancy/delivery.
I told her I was sorry that I didn't do more, that I felt like complete shit but I also stuck up for myself and reminded her that I asked her if she needed me to do anything and she said "nope I got it all taken care of!" Well okay. Now I'm being told I didn't lift a finger.
I told her I can't speak for anyone else and what they did or didn't do, but that it has nothing to do with me and she can quit treating my daughter and I like shit.
So...am I the asshole here? I feel like she's made me out to be an asshole for getting engaged the same year she did, getting married before she did, and having a baby right before her wedding. Any snide comments and remarks she's made have suggested she resents me for whatever reason and all I've ever tried to do is get along with her and keep the peace even when she was making me feel like shit for simply living my life and being happy with my new husband. Am I missing something here? Anytime I try to talk about it with her she doesn't answer me and we don't talk for 4 days and then we go back to being civil, but I feel like nothing is getting resolved.

At times I have feelings of guilt that I am not close with my MIL, but I have my reasons. I will explain them. I guess I am looking for validation and understanding (and not giving into my inner voice that I am a bad human)
I am a 37 F married to a 47 M. We’ve been together 13 years. I am European, raised in North America and brought up the traditional Eastern European way. Both parent household. My husband was raised primarily by his father.
He is the gentleman that he is today because of his amazing dad. His father stepped it up, when his mother gave him and his brother away. She may be a good person, but she was a poor mother. She has her issues and traumas (adopted, albeit to a really affluent family that she kept on running away from until finally they gave up on her) The last time she ran away, she met my husbands father. She got pregnant, they married and had 3 kids (girl, boy, boy) Tragically, they lost their baby girl at just a few months old. I can’t even imagine. This may explain her behaviour moving forward.
They divorced and went their separate ways. From the time my husband was a little boy, she has endangered his life. When he stayed with her, she would party and surround herself with scum. Dated drug dealers, had guys break in with weapons, never protected him. As a child, when my husband would be visiting with his brother, she would party so hard that they would have to entertain themselves because she would be sleeping the day away. My FIL has told me there were plenty of times where he would pack them (and her food) while they were visiting or crash a party to swoop the boys up from their beds and take them home with him. She eventually met her now husband. He is a disgusting human (also participated in the partying and despicable behaviour) She clearly picked him over her sons. I do understand she has no self worth and that is why she attracts these types of men. The fact that he cheated on her and she still took him back, speaks volumes.
Fast forward to when I meet them for the first time. We just started dating, they seem fun, love to party - HELL I think this is so cool. As a young 20 something year old, I’m doing jagger bombs with my boyfriends mom!!! I’ve never dated a guy whose parents were like this. Then I started realizing “ohh, they do this a lot” to “ohh, wow, THAT was your childhood?” As my feelings starting progressing, my love and protection for him grew. (Also found out she got so drunk, she peed herself and my husbands friend had to pick her up and put her in the car, to list a few)
This is getting long winded. I’m going to try and wrap this up.
She has never been there for him. They would mooch off him. Take advantage of his success. His brother (he’s another story) and gf visit from another province, we all go out to brunch and they awkwardly tell the waiter they will pay for their bill and not ours (meanwhile we ALWAYS get the bill) They don’t take care of their home, it’s disgusting. They would rather pay for vip tickets to heavy metal concerts than maintenance on their home ….. the list is endless of all the things…
She has MS now. Has for a few years. She is doing well. Has a positive mindset, doing her research, following a good routine and diet. I have been on and off close with her. Each time I get close, she vents about her husband (the man she essentially chose over kids) Some of it is like disability abuse. The thing is, she allows it. When I try and step in with trying to facilitate help for her, she’ll then say “thanks, but Glen has it from here” meanwhile he hasn’t had it ever. Like when I I tried to organize an OT, or sliding scale cleaner (since she can’t clean and he just won’t) she the made it seem like all of a sudden he had it taken care of. Her walker broke. He didn’t pay to get it fixed. She vented to my husband (again, never protecting him) my husband got fed up and got it fixed for her. Now HER husband takes the credit for it.
I could go on and on….
My husband has sought therapy on and off during our relationship. That’s the thing, that pain just creeps up for him. He’s confronted her, they’ve talked things through. I’m just at the point where I am keeping my distance. If she ever really meeds me, I will be there, but currently I am all about encouraging my husband to try and cultivate a relationship with her. When I get involved, I hurt because I am a sensitive person and she just tells me all the awful things her husband does that she still rewards behind closed doors.
I volunteer at hospice, I spend time with seniors, but for some reason, I just can’t get close to her. I resent her for the things she did. I feel guilty.

I have been in a sexting situation with the same dude for the last 6 years … yes, 6 YEARS. To clarify, we know each other irl, but have never actually hooked up. We met as coworkers in our mid 20s and kept in (sexy and unsexy) communication. Over time, we both moved on to different companies, I moved to a different state, etc. In those 6 years A LOT has happened that I won’t outline here, but I don’t think we’ve gone more than a month, ever, without communicating. I went through a marriage and a divorce, he’s had several serious girlfriends, but we’ve stayed close friends (sorry, sexting included). Through all of this, we’ve kept the same “we’re just good friends but have the same kinks” vibes going. I’m now in my mid 30s and for once we’re both single at the same time. I’m afraid to go through with the deed irl bc I’m very much emotionally attached to him and I’m afraid I’ll get hurt and he’ll keep the same mentality that “were just good friends with the same kinks”. We’ve broken things off more times than I can count and always end up back at the same place. So … I’m scared to put all this out in the universe, but let me know your thoughts ….

How do I love long distance while giving her space?
My girlfriend and I are long distance and have been together 8 months, but Ive known her 8 years. We met in college and had a bit of a fling but I flubbed it hard, until she hit me up almost a year ago to clear the air. It's been mostly magical ever since; I haven't written in years, and suddenly I'm writing poems about her all the time. She's given me confidence in things and makes me feel like I'm not too much, and I love her in ways I never knew I could. She makes me softer and kinder and a person I used to be before I grew really disillusioned from failed career prospects and other millennial woes. But there's been some issues too
Short version is that she's been depressed for a few months now, and also suffers from bipolar disorder, and a mix of some new medication alongside the depression have made it really hard for her. I got wrapped up in my head about her falling out of love with me, as she told me last visit she still wants to be with me and loves me but doesn't feel "in love" anymore, but that it happened so suddenly (like overnight) she's almost certain it's the meds and that even if she can't feel the butterflys, she knows she loves me. This was a month and a half ago. And we've talked about it since, but I also felt how low she was and how dry our conversations were getting and kept getting more and more worried she was about to leave.
I brought up last week how I wasnt feeling emotionally connected and little ways we could try to improve it, because I'm finally getting comfortable voicing my needs in a relationship too, and she just broke down. She HAD been trying; what I saw as her pulling away was her trying so hard because she's running on absolutely nothing, but I was so wrapped up worrying about "us", I didnt see how much SHE was struggling.
We're in a pseudo-break right now; we had been talking all the time for months and I knew even before this we had to taper off so she wouldn't feel smothered, but I'm just sending her two voice messages a day with maybe the possibility of a phone call on weekends so we can catch up and not lose feelings while still giving each other space, but I'm at a loss. I'm a lover; im romantic and have big emotions and write poetry thinking about her. I know it can appear a lot and love bomby, but it's very genuine and she knows that, but I don't know how to balance loving like I do with giving her own autonomy, while also allowing myself the space to have my own life too.
I recognize I've put so much into this relationship that other aspects of my life have suffered, and I don't want that. I want this to be healthy for her AND me, because we both deserve that. I want to tell her all the things she is to me with all my flowery language but not make her feel like she's on a pedestal or not seen as she is, because she's not
TL;DR because this is getting long-winded: basically I need advice on how to feel okay and love how I do with her, which is poetic and genuine, while still giving her space and autonomy and I really don't want to fuck this up. I care about her too much to be anything but healthy for her, and I'm really worried I'm not at this point, but I want to be

Trigger Warning: drowning and pet death
Backstory: I (27f) moved in with my dad, stepmother (who I’ll just call mom, bc she’s great), my step-grandmother(my grandma), and two much younger siblings (15m, and 8f) almost a month ago. They have a border collie(BC) and 2 French bulldogs(FB1, FB2). Their yard is mostly concrete, and in the corner of the yard is a small in-ground pool/spa, about 1.5 the size of your average above ground hot tub. The previous owners of the house removed the gate that was originally blocking off the pool from the rest of the yard to the other side yard to create what we assumed was a dog run (there’s a bit of grass over there). This area is where the kids go for no dogs allowed sports practice.
My grandma and I were home alone with the dogs over the holiday weekend while the rest of my family was out for a big family trip for four days. All weekend was great. No major incidents, just one accidental double breakfast for the dogs due to lack of communication. Yesterday, my family gets back from the trip and about an hour and a half later, BC wants to go outside. BC LOVES to jump in the pool. 8/10 when it gets warmer she zooms from the back door straight in. But then she’s exiled outside for a while until she dries off enough to come inside. She tends to bark when she’s out back alone and mad she can’t come inside.
Because of that, sometimes I go outside and sit under the gazebo(canopy?) thing they have set up over their outdoor furniture and play on my phone or read or whatever, while BC runs around and jumps into the pool and tries to shower me by shaking off and asking for pets. From one side(the side I usually sit on that’s in the sun) you can’t really see the pool because of another two bigger chairs. The FBs have been trained since they came home(as little ones) to stay out of the pool after an incident where FB2 decided she wanted to sit in it with everyone else and sank like a rock. FB1 loved to chase BC around the yard and play and fight with her, and would stand at the edge and bark and wait for her to come out for more chasing.
So I’m outside with the exiled and swim happy BC and the FBs get let outside. I’m watching a show on my phone, mostly throwing the tennis ball for FB2 until she needs a break for bad hips, while BC and FB1 are running amock and barking at people walking on the street. It’s been about 45 minutes and BC isn’t dripping wet anymore, so I check with my dad who’s in the living room if she can come in, so then she and FB2 run inside and I realize FB1 doesn’t come in. Dad and brother confirmed he wasn’t let in when I wasn’t looking and he doesn’t come when called.
So I turn to look if he’s laying down sunning himself like he does and I see him floating in the pool. I screamed he’s in the pool and jumped in and put him on the side and start trying to do CPR because I don’t know how long he’s been in there, realize my little brother came out after me, and I scream for my dad because the dog’s not moving and what I’m doing isn’t working. My brother runs back in for mom and then three of us are there trying to bring him back and I’m still waist deep in the pool in demon shorts and socks and I can’t breathe because when did he fall in and why didn’t I hear him or see him I was RIGHT FUCKING THERE.
Then I realized my 15 year old brother is hugging me and telling me it’s not my fault while he’s crying because his dog is dead and I was hyperventilating and apologizing and repeating that I didn’t see him and then feel like extra shit because why the fuck does my baby brother need to comfort me and why am I making it about me right now. My mom had to tell my sister what happened, thank god she was upstairs with grandma when this happened.
We put him in a box with a blanket, my brother put his dog bed in it, and my sister gave him a treat so our uncle can give it to him when he gets to heaven. I think my dad took him to their vet’s office this morning so he can be cremated?
Realistically I know it’s not my fault. It’s an awful accident. My parents have told me it’s not my fault. My brother told me it’s not my fault. I stopped apologizing after my freak out. I just fell so awful. I was maybe 40 feet away and he was terrified and dying. I’m so, so, so sorry Big Meatball.

I love a good theory, i enjoy when people in the fandom put in the work to make good theories that are plausible but at the end of the day they need to accept that its just a theory..
It has become common in the fandom that when a theory gets popular enough it gets treated like canon even when its not, like the tanizaki siblings theory which got really popular (but is incorrect because they never pretended to be siblings in the book) and people started treating like canon, or the whole chuuya is not human thing from back when 15 was first released that still hasn't cleared up or the Whole mori lying about his ability theory that while plausible is not canon confirmed and is just a theory.
And i know mori is a controversial topic in this fandom but most of the things i see from both his fans/defenders and his hater are not canon they are either headcanons or theories but both sides insist is canon or will be canon. But at the end of the day are just theories and you can't tell someone that they are wrong based on a personal theory

It is almost June, seems like a good time to remind everyone who drops in to please...
Label Your Stuff!
The Lost and Found processes many many phones...and more phones! If you bring your phone to Burning Man, (that was funny, IF?!) make sure your have your full name and email address on your lock screen or on a card inside your phone case. This way, if you lose your phone out there, and come searching the Lost and Found, you can type your name in to find it rather than looking through all of the phone pictures trying to find yours.
Anything that can be misplaced or blown away...put your name on it, and email address too if it is practical.
Leave your keys in a safe place in camp, If you must carry them, include a fob with your full name and email address on it..
Why full name and email address? There are many Burners who find something on playa and take it home, thinking they will post it to E playa or whatever platform they prefer to use, trying to locate its owner that way. An email address makes it so much easier.
Hope this helps!.
I can't wait to go back to Black Rock CIty, and if you all lose something out there, come to the Lost and Found at Playa Info, 5:45 and Esplanade and maybe I will be the one who helps you!

Just read a post about there not being a lot of positive posts here sometimes so I thought I’d make one!
I’m a FTM to boy girl twins who are 2 months old today :)
When I was little, all I ever wanted was a boy twin and it actually occupied a lot of my thoughts — as I got older, that changed to wanting to have boy girl twins.
When I first saw the ultrasound, the only emotion I knew to explain it was pure bliss. I got some negative comments during pregnancy, sure, but nothing changed how I felt. I was somehow blessed with what I had always wanted — I thought because it was what I always wanted it for sure would not happen!
Their birth did not go as I had originally planned but both were safe and healthy — and the first few weeks were definitely hard — but these babies are the most special and precious thing in this entire world to me. They are truly my dreams come true.
Every single day gets a little easier, even if by a minuscule amount — so if anyone is telling you anything negative about being a parent to twins, I want you to know that while the challenges may require different adaptations, I think it’s pretty similar to being any type of parent:
Just when one thing gets solved or a little easier, there will be a new challenge. And that’s okay and that’s what we want, because it means they are growing and thriving! Also, just because something is everything you’ve ever wanted, does not mean it isn’t hard or that you won’t have bad days. It’s just worth it.
And if having twins was not your original plan or deepest wish, it’s okay to be disappointed or scared. Even though boy girl twins were what I wanted, there was a weird mourning when I found out genders (oh well that would’ve actually been cool if they were BB or GG). Mourning and thinking about what could have been is normal in so many different circumstances of life, even the happiest ones.
A lot of the hard is temporary — keep going! There are so many unique rewards to having twins and I hope that this post puts a little more positivity out there. Feel free to add your favorite things about being a parent to twins — I’d love to see what I have to look forward to from others ahead of me in the journey!

Welcome back to my running series of WWF PPV Reviews from a ‘blind’ perspective (I have no idea what’s going to happen; the results, the feuds or how good any of the matches will be). I have always heard stories of the attitude era and golden age but never watched it myself so I set myself to watching every single PPV event chronologically. I am also watching Wrestling Bios ‘reliving the war’ series to keep me updated inbetween the events with the feuds, and to get excited about upcoming matches.
Before I review the matches, based on the past few episodes of raw and last PPVs I’ll let you know, going into the event, which match I’m most excited for and which feud I’m most excited to see.
I really can’t pick between the rumble and HBK and undertaker. I think I’ll split it as the match I’m most excited for is the rumble whilst the feud I want to see develop is HBK vs Michaels, those two always have fantastic chemistry together.
WWF Royal Rumble 1998 Match Ratings
Goldust vs Vader 1.5/5
Six man Mini Tag team match 2.25/5
The rock vs Shamrock 3/5
New Age Outlaws vs LOD 1.5/5
1998 Royal Rumble 3/5
HBK vs Undertaker 4.25/5
Mike Tyson is in the building! I am a huge boxing fan and I sincerely believe Tyson is the greatest of all time bar none, so seeing him being involved in the ppv in whatever way he is, is so exciting!
What in the world is this new Goldust gimmick I mean I know they wanted to change it up but man… this is something else. After literally doing blackface the other week in raw as well… eugh just a weird gimmick and a miss for me. It’s like a weird fetish character… horrendous 😂.
The match was average, definitely wasn’t Vader at his best and I do hope we still see him in the rumble. The crowd was behind Vader and rightly so after all the bs Goldust has been putting him through; constant attacks backstage out of nowhere. The finish was pretty cool looking with with luna getting kind of Vader bombed and onto Goldust so that was a good ending. But it was short and not all that sweet.
This next match is more filler but 1/2 times I’ve seen these mini wrestlers they’ve done well so let’s see what they’ve got. Hoping for something fast paced and short.
I know it’s bad if I laugh at it but I’m sorry I just find it hilarious when max mini hits a closeline and the ring doesn’t even make a noise when the opposing wrestler hits the mat. To be fair to them they’re doing exactly what I wanted, a lot of impressive pure wrestling manoeuvres making for a fast paced match with not a lot of breaks. Lawler is absolutely brutal on commentary as per usual with these mini matches, which always makes me chuckle. We see Mike Tyson watching the match from the sky box and don’t you just love him, enjoying the mini match, just having a good old time. My god these mini wrestlers love arm drags don’t they I tried counting them and I literally lost count, if that’s your favourite move to watch make sure you don’t miss this one!! It was just good fun filler, they didn’t have a deep roster but in terms of some filler they’ve put on this was decent. They also got to show off their aerial skills as each wrestler performed different flying moves on the outside which was cool too.
We then see NOD trying to get into Austin’s dress room only to see an Austin 3:16 Styrofoam with a middle finger, this made me burst out laughing, I get the feeling that was Austin’s idea.
Then, I’m not sure if this is the first time we’ve seen him, but we see the future “greatest wrestler in the world” Shane McMahon sat with Mike and Vince. I wonder when he’s going to start to become involved. People may not like him now but back in the day all I remember is him doing extremely dangerous aerial moves of all sorts, you gotta hand it to him with the dedication to entertainment in the business.
We then get a promo by the rock and he sounds so much more confident and comfortable in this iconic heel role, he’s very quickly getting into this role. And for the first time when he makes his way to the ring there’s a divide between the crowd with a few “Rocky” and “Rocky sucks” chants being mixed in there.
I thought shamrock and rock actually had a great match here, they both performed well, with rock being more of a standout but I could have bias. I thought the finish was unique and creative with the rock playing dirty but getting a great heel decision in the end. Shamrock snaps again at the end of the match and decided to lay into the ref for his decision, and the crowd is really behind shamrock here. There aren’t really any amazing highlights to talk about just that both men performed well and this I’m assuming was setup to continue quite an interesting feud. Shamrock has really risen in popularity and, although negative for the most part, everyone’s talking about the Rock!
Then we see more wrestlers backstage trying to find stone cold but it breaks out into… -.-… a gang war… no comment.
Going into the LOD match I really hope they can pull something good off with this match it’s been a good while since I’ve seen something classic with them involved, and considering their legendary status I’m routing for them!
And… yeah I think it may be past their prime time to be honest. Recently, although they are still very popular with the crowd, they just can’t really seem to have a great match. Maybe it’s the people they’re working with or something; LOD and NAO didn’t have great chemistry but the post match was far more interesting than the actual match with hawk physically breaking out of handcuffs to go and help his teammate, the DQ finish was cheap though. Onto the big match of the night!!
There’s a stone cold promo video and during it we see the back of his truck which at first I thought read 100% pure ass. My brain bruh..
I think I’m going to give my overall impressions of the rumble after the match rather than a running commentary like I did with the last rumble so let’s see how it is! I can’t lie, with cactus jack starting I’m excited for this.
SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT over last years rumble. A much more complete roster made for a way better experience overall. I think not having so many wrestlers no one knew coming in just improved the whole experience so much. The pop for Austin was a huge highlight for me; it was absolutely insane! Seeing everyone just waiting for him to come in only for him to appear from the other side of the ring and just tear into literally everyone in the ring, f***ing awesome. I thought it was a little weird that after everyone was so focussed on him they immediately forgot about the whole bounty on Austin thing that was happening when he started brawling with people, so that was a bit of a missed opportunity.
I thought the start of the match was a really fantastic way to open the rumble as well having cactus jack and chainsaw man guy thing just going at each other with chairs and weapons made for instant entertainment. That ending was iconic as well, the rock with his heel rise and Austin being on top of the world trading blows 1v1 at the end of the rumble, just brilliant.
One thing I didn’t like was that there weren’t enough individual moments in the rumble; most of the match there were more than 6 or 7 people in the ring so no one got the chance to really shine on an individual level except the men left at the end. But the roster wasn’t that deep and it’s still on show here but it was a lot less obvious than last years.
We saw all three iterations of mick foley which was hilarious and a great way to fill some of those entrant slots with someone recognisable. I was surprised they didn’t have Kane involved in the rumble in all honesty but at this point in his career he’s only there to feud with undertaker and be a sort of presence in the wwf rather than an actual wrestler.
My favourites of the match were mick foley, the rock and Steve Austin, and im sure that’s to no one’s surprise, they just stole the show here. It was a little predictable having Austin win but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the match. Fun rumble, not the best but way better than the 1997 rumble. Time for the main event!
And what a great main event this was! Shawn and undertaker just produce absolute gold, they never seem to have a bad or even average match! I just adore their chemistry I can’t get enough of them in the ring together and it was good to see not a lot of involvement from the other DX members and just let Shawn and taker battle in the ring.
Undertaker is going to win after a very good looking jumping tombstone into the casket but then a load of the back locker room for some reason come to the ring and lay into the undertaker, only to be stopped by Kane coming to the ring and saving his big brother… but then he turns on taker AGAIN!! This bas**rd. There was a pyro botch for Kane when he did his usual arm raise but this didn’t take away from the moment too much. This was all just building up the undertaker and Kane feud more and more and I’m all here for it. Kane was just so badass in this era. I would’ve liked to have seen more weapons or something in this match since it was no DQ but it is what it is, the wrestling was pure entertainment.
Kane then literally lights undertaker on fire at the end of the match and this is all setting up for a revenge story from undertaker. I thought they did this feud so well.
Overall I thought the event was good, almost great, but just good. There weren’t too many dull matches or anything, and there were some great story elements all throughout the ppv involving lots of different superstars. We’re seeing some really big developments for the all time mega stars of the industry during this ppv and I love it! The rumble was one of the better ones I’ve seen and had a great main event to top everything off.
Overall rating 3.25/5