How long until anorexics lose weight

Hey all! I’m currently looking for some new friends in my life. I have a few friends who I talk to and see but it’s definitely become less over the years.
Ideally you live close to or around London as I often go to London but I’m based near Milton Keynes/Luton way so as long as you aren’t too far.
Kind of essential that you like going for walks and hiking. I’m working on my health at my age and losing weight as well as just eating better. I’m currently learning how to cook better which is fun but don’t expect me to cook a Michelin star meal just yet.
I have a home gym and lift 3 times a week, I’m not strong or fit yet but it’s fun. I enjoy a book and read most days, currently reading IT. I’m also big into video games, currently playing Yakuza Ishin and Max Payne for the first time.
I enjoy art and history so often check out a gallery or museum. Love trying new food and eating out. Love animals of most kinds and own a fat tabby cat.
Lastly I’d like to meet people who put effort in, often on Reddit or even irl I come across people where I have to plan everything, start every conversation, if that’s the case I’d probably just stop talking to you. Also if you have a post history with your body parts or sexual posts I will not be replying.
This is where I sign off, talk soon!

Me (14m) and my best friend of 5 years (13m) have been practically inseparable for so long until recently
He’s been hanging out with this dirty kid (as in mannerisms, we’ll call him Edd) and has been picking fights more and hanging out with him
I’m just afraid that Edd will influence him badly, and I don’t want that to happen, nor do I wanna lose him. Especially because he was my first true “best friend”
Can I know how to talk to him about the issue? Please keep me in your thoughts and thanks in advance!

My collarbone cracked because of a motorcycle accident. It didn't break fully so in 3 weeks it feels better now, but how long can I safely start working out again?
The doctor said I don't need any treatment and just need to keep my arm in an armsling until it feels better and told me I'll feel it when it's healed.
I'm thinking maybe I can just do bodyweight workouts or light weights for next week?

I'll post the instructions on how to duplicate. I want you to spread it as widely as possible so that the developers can urgently fix it.
Important note: I am publishing the original instructions, but it's important to clarify that your virtual machine needs to see your GPU, otherwise the game won't start. If you don't know how to set up a virtual machine, you shouldn't even try.
Requirements:

1. Windows 8.1 OS or Windows 10 (might be not working with Win10 in some cases depends on the build)
   
2. VM Workstation Pro (also Windows 8.1 / 10 )
   
3. 2 different HDD drives (one for ASA main + OS and another one for VM ware with ASA + their OS)
   
4. 2 or more (if more need more VMs) DPS dino in game (with huge damage)
   
5. Significantly Weak WiFi connection on your computer (your internet speed must be slow and it has to be exactly wireless connection)
   
6. Turn on VPN on both VM and Main screen
   

**TO DO IT ON CONSOLES USE MULTIPLE CONSOLES CONNECTED TO SAME WIFI NETWORK**
[W23426]
What to do:
You will have to launch any ascension (need to open tek cave's doors) - that is why make sure you are in full control of server and can make sure NOBODY will be near the tek cave (rendering)
Prepare items you want to duplicate inside some object's (preferably some dino with large size) inventory (has to be enemy target and alive)
Locate the object with loot at the point of tek cave where parts of it will be within an area of tek cave and other part will be in area of game world (outside of cave)
Server has to be high ping (since its ASA it is usually always high ping)
Prepare 2 or more dinos (if more need more VMs) with good weight and damage (make sure not to have item collection disabled) **TO DO IT ON PVE USE WILD DINOS (KNOCKED OUT)**
Locate 1 at the point where it would be within an area of tek cave and the other one outside of tek cave (but yet be able to damage the object with loot)
All dinos must be from DIFFERENT tribes (could be alliance)
Launch ark both on VM and your PC (accounts can be different)
Join the server
Ride all dinos on both screens
Wait until timer is about to refresh (server saves)
At the same time as timer refreshes (server saves) you have to DISABLE WIFI in general (not just PC) and then VERY QUICK Turn it back and simultaneously kill the body with loot on BOTH dinos AT the same time
If you did all correct loot will be transferred into both inventories.
How to get loot from inventories safely (without losing them):
Get dinos far away from each other
Then get loot from 1st dino first, transfer it out (since transfers are disabled atm just duplicate stuff you can put in dedicated storage) and after that get loot from 2nd dino (you may keep it on server or transfer out once transfers open)
Note: it is possible to do ONLY on 1 Device and with same WiFi network!

Backstory... I (29M) met this girl (26F) whilst travelling last month and we really hit it off the night before I had to fly out. We stayed up drinking and chatting until sunrise and eventually hooked up.
After flying out we maintained contact and quickly our conversation evolved into big messages about all different things we were into etc. Little bit of flirting here and there as well. We had agreed before I left that we'd catch up again in her home country in July/August and have made plans on what we'll do together.
For about 4 weeks we had maintained really good contact and would message about 2-3 times a day. Then I noticed she started taking longer to reply and wouldn't message as much during the day. I figured because she's still travelling that she's definitely not on her phone during the day. However, there were a few occasions when I wouldn't hear from her for 2-3 days, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Then she went silent for 5 days and when she finally messaged back she hadn't apologised or anything and just picked up the conversation where we left off. Normally I'd think an explanation or something would be courteous, but I could be wrong I don't know.
Now it's happened again and I haven't heard from her in 5 days. Also I've noticed she's not liking my instagram stories (or even viewing them) like she was doing so frequently in the first few weeks after meeting. I'm just so confused because if she were losing interest, I still don't know why when she does reply they are still long messages and she's still asking me questions as well. I just don't know that I could ever understand how someone could go 5 days without sending a quick message. No one can be that busy surely.
Can someone please tell me if I'm overthinking or if there's something I'm missing here?

I'm trying to hard to lose about 15 of the 20lbs I gained during menopause & a very difficult life event.
I know my eating habits have to be adjusted, but I also really miss being physically fit. It's not just weight gain it's lost muscle.
I've been building up my fitness slowly,otherwise I'll hurt, flare & fall backwards instead of making improvements. But it's lead me to wonder....
.... for those of you that exersize, what exersizes do you find work the best for you? And how long/how often do you work out?
So far I've been cycling, using a mini trampoline and doing indoor walking videos on YouTube.
I know endorphins help fibromyalgia. I know strong muscles help fibromyalgia. But this super slow progression is getting me down.
Hoping for some moral support and fresh ideas.
💕🙏

[I will apologize if this gets long or confusing, I have dyslexia and my typing isn't great.]
First off, my dear friend (we'll call her Celeste) and her fiance (Martin) had been dating for almost three years before he popped the question.
Martin's mother (Beth) was LIVID. She was a single mom whose husband had run off with a mistress and she was convinced that Celeste was going to steal her baby boy away from her.
Beth tried everything to break them up, claiming Celeste had stolen jewelry from her, sabotaging meals she made, trying to feed chocolate to their puppy (still can't believe that one…) and any time they confronted her about it, she would break down, crocodile tears and ranting about how she was “unloved” and how Martin would “leave me like everyone else”
Martin and Celeste are both the absolute sweetest people you could ever meet, they would never push the issue or cause “drama” about things (they never let her near the puppy again though) and they would always try to smooth things over and keep the peace.
I was asked to be a bridesmaid (I was 21 at the time) and I was the gopher for the MOH. The day of the wedding, I was sent to grab something from the bridal suite.
I was searching for it when I heard the door click open (quietly, like trying to sneak). I was behind a changing screen so whoever it was couldn't see me. I peeked out and saw Beth… opening the dress bag… with a pair of scissors in hand…
I instantly pulled out my phone and instantly started filming. (some people told me I should have confronted her and I understand that, but she scared me back then. 😥)
I watched in shock as she started shredding the dress!
Once she had finished, she zipped up the bag again and left. I instantly called the MOH and Celeste and told them they needed to get here now.
The wedding wasn't for several hours, Beth probably hoped that no one would notice until it was too late.
I showed the video to Celeste and the MOH, there was a moment of silence before the MOH exploded.
So, the MOH was Celeste's best friend and she was the storm to Celeste's calm. She knew Celeste avoided confrontation and she was always ready to throw down for Celeste if needed.
MOH was ready to storm downstairs and confront her, but Celeste stopped her, this was the first time I had ever seen Celeste this upset, and I knew… I was about to go down!
So, Beth had gone dress shopping with Celeste and her mom and had bought her mother of the groom dress, shoes, and a Fascinators (yes, she got a Fascinators.). The bridal shop had a bridal package where all of the dresses/suits/etc that were part of the wedding would be discounted when bought under that weddings registry.
Celeste called the shop and told them that she needed her second choice dress delivered to the venue as there had been an “accident”. She then told them to charge it to Beth's card.
The MOH and I were both shocked, but then Celeste told me to send the video to the MOH as she had a plan.
Now, I wasn't as involved in what followed, but I was informed afterwards and weathered the fallout with them.
Celeste got her new dress and she looked gorgeous! Beth's face when Celeste walked down the aisle was priceless.
But wait! There's more!
Celeste had the MOH add the video I had taken to the video they would show at the reception (with Martin's blessing of course).
When it was shown, everyone was looking at Beth, who promptly had her usual crocodile tears and whining, but this time, there wasn't anyone that tried to comfort her.
After the wedding, Beth called Martin SCREAMING about Celeste spending her money on “that woman”. Martin let her rant and rave before saying that she didn't want to lose her son, but she had caused that herself, then he hung up.
They were no contact for years until Celeste was expecting their first baby, then she encouraged Martin to reach out, giving her the chance to know her grandchild.
It's been almost a decade since the wedding and they have reconnected enough that Beth will visit them for birthdays and holidays. As far as I know, they're slowly rebuilding trust.

Warhammer: Shattered Destiny
Here's the fic. I've seen quite a lot of people ask for this. It won't be worked on until the end of The Final Shape. But I have made a prologue so people can get an idea of what's to come.
I need to know if the Witness' defeat is permanent or temporary, so I know whether or not to integrate them into the story.
Spoilers: The S/Os who die become Lightbearers, but I've yet to decide who dies and who lives, and whether or not I should follow the "Length of Death" rule or "Complete Wipe"
Length of Death - If a person who has been resurrected has been dead for a long time, they lose their memories. If they die and are revived within 2-3 years of dying, they retain their memories.
Complete Wipe - They lose their memories regardless of how long they've been dead.
I'm open to suggestions.

I’ve had a binge ed for years and am currently around 220. Although I have weeks where I lose weight and eat healthy, I keep coming back to this toxic state of mind. Stress has been building up on me and I just wish I was skinny again. I’ve been purging more but mostly eating way to much and then trying to starve. I just have this really big pressure on myself elf to be skinny again. I quite literally lost friends when I gained back a lot of weight and no one treats me like how they used to. I realize the immense privilege I had when I was skinny and feel awful now that I don’t have it, even if it sounds weird. As a young kid I was chubby and bullied a lot. Even by teachers, then I grew and lost a lot in middle school and now I’m back to square one. Even if middle school was a long time ago I’m still young and stick to how I used to look like. I wish I had a flatter stomach and legs and everything desperately. With work and school it’s so hard to stick to it because I’m so tired. I just want my old body back, the one where I could wear what I want and not be made fun of. Another thing, everyone makes fun of how you dress more when you’re fat. I just want to feel beautiful. I can’t even look in the mirror without picking every feature apart. I do take care of myself and I am going outside and walking a lot more but I wish I could just loose it all and be 140 again. Honestly if I had the money I would get surgery to be happy with myself.

I never thought we'd have this problem. When we started dating we had marathon, hours-long conversations every night for weeks on the phone. We seemed to be on the "same level" with interest in each other, curiosity about life, and hobbies. We also had shared goals and similar visions for how life should be.
Now married for 2.5 years and it feels like all my husband does is talk about his business (which is doing great, so it's a blessing) and his upcoming mountaineering trip. We literally never talk about "us" unless it's an argument. I feel we're losing shared meaning with one another.
But his business? He'll talk to me till he's blue in the face about it, even if all I do is say "mhmm" or "yeah, wow." His mountaineering trip? I have literally nothing to contribute to that conversation yet he'll talk, talk, talk about it. I have zero interest in these things. I actually used to be proud and interested until it absorbed my husband's every second.
On the other hand, my husband claims I have a lack of passion or joy in anything when I bring up his work obsession, which is simply not true -- I've been writing a book at a pace of 3k words a day, and have been working on quilting, an Etsy side-hustle, and working for my husband's company as a graphic designer. I listen to podcasts, I paint, I journal... I have lots going on, my husband simply does not care much to talk about any of it beyond the occasional, "Hey how's xyz going? Oh? That's great." Our one shared interest lately, rock wall climbing, seems to inspire little conversation, either.
I want us to have a sense of friendship again and I can't figure out where that might happen because we seem to have done a 180 on interests, hobbies, and life goals.
I tried to have a conversation with him today about it because all he's done today is work on his website for his business. He heard me come downstairs and didn't even say hello or greet me. I told him I was sad that we weren't connecting very much. I was trying my best to use an "I feel" statement and to not accuse. He became very activated (marriage counseling word) and said that I "didn't want him to work" (I never said this) so he "didn't know what else to do." He claimed that this was all because I needed him to "entertain me" and "make me feel better," which is "not his responsibility."
I told him again that I simply wanted to reconnect with him and that it was hard to do that lately because he's in his phone constantly, obsessed with work-related things. He called all of this delusional and said that "logic has left the conversation so I will too," then went back to his office but not before telling me to leave him alone and, sarcastically, to "have a great weekend."
Am I overreacting in thinking this is going off the rails? I feel so freaking lonely right now. I wanted a partner and a friend, and now I feel like I just live with a guy who wanted a brick wall to talk at but because the brick wall is talking back, it's a problem.
Thankfully we do have a marriage counseling session tomorrow night so I'm venting more than anything, but I do wonder if I'm being too sensitive or demanding.
TL;DR: My husband is constantly working on or talking about his business or his own interests to the point where I'm disinterested in interacting with him, which causes him to say that I have zero joy or passion in life. I think we're drifting apart and my husband is calling me illogical and delusional, which feels like gaslighting.

How many classes did it take before you started seeing results? It’s extra hard to lose weight with hypothyroidism which sucks but. I also want to know how many classes did it take until you could actually hold a base pace for jogging? I took my second class (which was a mayhem) class which didn’t help me any because I’m extremely sore but I feel like I just can’t keep up and constantly out of breath

I’m looking for encouragement, support, advice & prayer.
I’ve been wildly blessed in life. I look around and recognize God’s hand. It’s supernatural the way my life has happened. I came to Christ at a time where my income pretty much halted, and a lot of very large expenses popped up. For the last couple years, I’ve been nothing but bleeding money.
Still, I’m what most people would consider to be rich, especially in small town.
I have a lot of faith that my businesses and income can explode again at any minute. I know that God is able to bless me abundantly so that I can succeed in any good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Because I haven’t seen anything but red in so long, it makes me want to hold onto my investments and be really wise with my spending. I’ve always lived well below my means, so I have a good bit put away. But, I’ve been feeling convicted for a long time now to basically give it all away. I own my house outright, I own my car, I have no debt… outside of regular bills, I don’t really have any worries. My biggest bills right now are still legal fees, business management fees, etc etc.
God keeps putting it in my heart to trust him and to test that generosity by giving, and watching him pour his blessings (Malachi 3:10). I keep telling mySELF that once money starts coming in that I’ll start really tithing, but I know the point is to put your trust in God, and to give from your lack.
The thing is, I do want that. I want my faith to be that strong and trust him that much. I want to, as he tells us in John, to hate my life here so I don’t lose it. I don’t want to be the rich fool who dies with grain in his giant barns. I don’t want to be the rich young ruler who goes away sad because he doesn’t want to sell his things.
I want to give cheerfully and generously, but it’s overwhelming. I don’t know what’s generous and what’s foolish. I don’t know when I’ll start making money again, if it’s God’s will for me to make money again. I’m a single woman and have always relied on myself to take care of me, even as a kid. Because of my work as an artist, I’ve been out of the work force for 10 years and I don’t even know what I would do if I got a “real job.” Also because of my work as an artist, I know just one project needs to take off the way it has in the past for all those worries to be gone.
If I was still making money currently, I know this wouldn’t be an issue. But that’s the point right? To trust God, and to give knowing that he will provide for me? I know that he’s using me for his will, and his will isn’t for me to hold onto what I’ve earned.
I just feel scared and sad and anxious. I’ve been wrestling with this for over a year. I want to do what’s right and good, and then I get a random bill for $3000, I owe someone retroactively $7000, I have no idea how much certain things will cost moving forward, and I just don’t ever want to be in a position where I’m worrying about money again. I grew up really poor and really had to fight hard to achieve what I have, so it scares me still to put myself in a place where I can’t take care of myself. I’m 33 and essentially retired at this point. I at least have a pretty long runway until I have to worry- unless I give a large sum of money away.
I also wonder what that looks like in terms of my own ministry. To create art and music and events that will perpetually make money to funnel into the kingdom (that is genuinely my goal) I need a lot of money. That hit me when I gave my friend $1000 for his ministry which builds up Christian artists. As a Christian artist, I want to bring faith and Christ’s glory to a mainstream, secular audience. It’s my goal to be the image of a Christian who had secular success and gave it to Jesus. Music costs a LOT to produce.
It really comes down a lot to logistics… what exactly am I supposed to give? How do I mathematically figure that out? 10% doesn’t work on account of I’m losing money every month.
There’s a whole other element of my family who could really use a financial blessing. That’s been a struggle in the past because of my relationship with them and their irresponsibility with money. I’m past that phase, I’m ready to help them. My church just said today they need $700,000 to fix the septic, bathrooms, parking lot etc. I feel called to contribute largely but it’s really hard to imagine giving them money that my family could use so much more.
I know it’s not as complicated as I’m making it out to be. I’m just overwhelmed. It feels like a math problem I don’t have the formula to. I wish God would just tell me where to put it and how much. I know I’ll always be okay, even if I don’t ever see that amount again. I’m still scared about the uncertainty of my future.

Hey Everyone! I was working on the delayed chapters together in hopes of getting both of them out and over with at similar times. Crazy how long this chapter took to make (It was originally supposed to be the third!!) but I’m glad it was delayed so I could work on making it the best version it can be.
Completed Chapter 2s: Thearnt, Taland, Pascal, Harmony, Crowson, Asherah
(Next Chapter 2: Oukirii the Hunter)
Asherah the Chef, Chapter 2: Recommended Level 23
——————
(The Journey So Far…)
Asherah was separated from her home, in an avalanche that sent her falling to the bottom of the largest mountain in the realm…
She made it her mission to return home, and to climb the great mountain just like her mother did.
She felt stuck as to how, until she remembered a story she was told. About what her mother’s life was like before she climbed the mountain.
Asherah set out for Limesville, in an attempt to purchase the gear she needs to survive the climb home…
“So this is Limesville. Not what I imagined it would be, but it looks like a nice town.” Asherah says “I’d better get to the shop as soon as possible. Let’s get this over with.”
You’d head to the Limesville Weapons/Equipment Shop

• Travel Banter: A Heavy Drinker (Asherah and Pascal) Pascal notices Asherah seeming off put by Limesville, and asks her how different Snowmeet is from this town. Asherah says that “It’s hard to describe ‘home’ to an outsider. A lot colder than here though.” She continues to describe what the town is like. Pascal asks “Do you have an alehouse?” Asherah confirms, telling Pascal that they drink all the time. She’s become very good at stomaching a high level of alcohol. But she does have her moments, as she tells Pascal about a time where she and her friend Eden got very drunk.

Inside the shop, Asherah speaks to the Armorer. She’d ask if they sell any Climbing Gear, The Armorer looks puzzled, and tells her they haven’t sold Climbing Gear in years. Asherah sadly nods and leaves the shop with a dent in her mood.
Asherah is spotted by an older woman outside, she’d ask “Do I know you from somewhere?”
Asherah tells the woman that they don’t know each other, she just arrived in town just now, before trying to walk away…
“Wynona?” The woman calls out
“Hm?” Asherah turns around “Oh, you knew my mother?”
“You’re Wynona’s daughter?”
“Yes. My name is Asherah.”
The Woman eagerly walks over and shakes her hand “Call me Shelby! Your Mother and I used to work together at a restaurant here long ago. —Would you like to come see the old place?”
Asherah steps back. She’s hesitant, but the idea intrigues her enough to forget about the detour from her original goal.
You’d head to Shelby’s Bakery Restaurant

• Travel Banter: Persistence (Asherah and Orlando) Orlando applauds Asherah for still being willing to continue searching after finding that the shop doesn’t carry the climbing gear anymore. Asherah makes a remark that it “Runs in the family.” She teasingly continues “I could say the same for you.” Orlando asks if she’s referring to him persisting beyond death. Asherah replies “What Else?” Orlando changes the subject and asks her where she plans to look next. Asherah says she doesn’t know, but she’ll find some other town to look.
  
• Travel Banter: One True Cuisine (Asherah and Taland) Taland gets Asherah’s attention and asks her “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Asherah asks if she’d be able to cook the food in any way, Taland confirms. She states that the best answer is potatoes. Taland wonders “Why Potatoes?” Asherah starts listing reasons, Including a variety of meal preparations, going great with any seasoning or dressing, and generally being healthy. Taland internally remarks that she’s still talking and it feels like they’ve been here for an hour.
  

Asherah and Shelby head into the kitchen, where Shelby begins to prepare a customer’s order. She strikes up a conversation with Asherah by talking about her and Wynona’s time here.
“You are putting way too much flour into that.” Asherah interrupts
“I’m sorry?” Shelby replies. Asherah asks if she can help out a little. She rolls up her sleeves and starts working. Shelby asks what Asherah is doing, She’d tell her what she was taught by her father. About adding and removing ingredients to make a dish have good balance. Not being afraid to experiment with food until it’s just right.
“Sweetie, you’re adding a lot to the bowl. We’ll lose business if we give our customers more than they paid for!”
Asherah says “Then how about you and I enjoy the leftovers of this one?”
Shelby swears “The way you talk, You’re nothing like your mother!”
Asherah pours out the food into a pan and throws it in the oven. Shelby and her would clean up and start on the next order. All while telling stories of Wynona and Sterling. Asherah talks about their life after getting together in Snowmeet, and how her name was chosen. Shelby would continue telling funny tales about her and Wynona’s experience back when they both worked in this very kitchen.
Shelby pulls the dish out of the oven and sets it down. Asherah waits a few seconds before taking one of Shelby’s knives and cutting up the pastry, saving some for the two of them. Fresh out of the oven, Asherah and Shelby both take a bite of their serving. Shelby compliments the taste and texture, She thinks it’s different and better than before. Asherah and Shelby take the rest of the food on a plate out to the dining area.
You’d leave the kitchen and head to serve a table

• Travel Banter: The Scent of Home (Asherah and Harmony) Harmony would remark about how sweet the place smells. It reminds her a lot of home. Asherah tells her that she understands what she means. Harmony would chatter on about how sweet and familiar “home” smells. Asherah giving witty responses to her observations. Harmony asks if Asherah is feeling alright, to which she responds that she is, she just can’t wait to see home again…

They’d head over to a young man’s table, “Nice to see you Cedric!” Shelby calls out. Cedric greets Shelby and begins to eat.
Cedric looks up from his food. “Excuse me, What’s your name?” he asks Asherah, with a bit of concern in his voice.
Shelby answers “This is Asherah… She’s the daughter of one of my dearest friends.”
“Ms. Asherah, may I take a look at your arm?”
Asherah realizes she had her cut exposed. She hides her sleeve. “It’s nothing.”
“I ain’t never seen that. Where did you get a cut like that from?” Shelby says
“Does it matter? I told you it’s nothing.” She pauses “It was nice meeting you Shelby but I think it’s time for me to go somewhere else and find this climbing gear.”
The restaurant door suddenly and loudly swings open. Shelby tells the other two to not mind the person coming in.
Another Chef, introducing himself as Chef Giles, enters and approaches them. “Heh. How’s your little bakery going Shelby?”
“It’s going great Giles. I’ve found a new recipe today.”
“A new recipe you say? Did this lovely lady teach you?”
“Back off.” Asherah scowls
Chef Giles proceeds to insult Shelby and her restaurant. Spouting on about his being better in every way. His words start to get to Cedric, Who stands up and tells him to leave. Shelby assures Cedric “Sweetie, He’s fine…” Chef Giles would walk over to Cedric. Asherah and Shelby stand back and observe as the two banter.
The confrontation ends with Chef Giles punching Cedric and knocking him out. Sending the entire restaurant into a shocked gasp. Chef Giles warns all of them not to bad-mouth his grand restaurant if they know what’s good for them. He would then drag Cedric away, nobody tries to intervene…
Shelby explains to Asherah that Chef Giles has been a bother for as long as she can remember. “Wynona hated his guts.” she says. Asherah asks about Cedric, to which Shelby replies that she doesn’t know what Giles plans to do with him. Asherah feels angry at Chef Giles and tells Shelby that she’ll go “talk” to him. She warns Asherah to be careful.
You’d Head behind Giles’ Restaurant, Asherah would find a cook standing outside, with the door left open. She knows this might be her only way in…
You’d ambush the cook and enter the restaurant.

• Travel Banter: Ambushing (Asherah and Crowson) Asherah asks Crowson “How did I do?” He's unsure of what she’s asking. Asherah clarifies she meant knocking out the guard, saying that it’s something Crowson sure would know a lot about. “That’s highly insensitive.” Crowson replies. Asherah apologizes and says she’ll stop talking about it if that’s what he wants. He doesn’t know how to answer.
  
• Travel Banter: That’s the Spirit! (Asherah and Thearnt) Asherah asks Thearnt what the problem is after noticing that she looked down. Thearnt tells her “Oh! Um– I’m– worried…” Asherah asks what she’s worried about, Thearnt tells her that she’s afraid of what Chef Giles will do, and that sneaking into his kitchens has her even more paranoid. Asherah tells Thearnt to relax and that someone like Giles is probably all bark and no bite. She promises to teach him a lesson, and gives Thearnt a little more confidence as they head in.
  

Luxurious Restaurant: Kitchens, Danger Level 23
Luxurious Restaurant: Kitchens, Danger Level 24
Asherah finds Cedric tied up by rope. “Asherah…?” He says trying to move, “Agh– It hurts a lot, …But I’ll live.”
Asherah begins to untie the rope, as footsteps are heard from the other direction. “You!” Chef Giles enters. “Well, if it isn’t this one… “
“Afraid you caught me Giles.” Asherah says, she looks back at Cedric “What did you need him for?”
“Hah, Just Business deals– Here, I’ll give you a reward. I can get you a nice job here, and I’ll even let him go too!”
“Not a chance.” Asherah pulls out her axe.
“Hey…” Cedric calls out
“Don’t think too much of it. I’m here to fight him, not save you.”
“Really now?” Chef Giles says
“You insulted my home and the very art of cooking. I want to teach you a lesson here Giles.”
“Chef on Chef eh? Do your worst, Bakery waste.”
BOSS: Chef Giles
(Boost Dialogue: I’m not wasting any more time Giles!)
Chef Giles is worn out from fighting, Asherah and Cedric are standing back. Suddenly, Giles shouts and charges forward. A prompt appears on screen…
(Ambush this person?)
Asherah smacks Chef Giles with her frying pan, and he’d fall to the floor unconscious. Cedric jumps, Asherah tells him that “He’ll wake up. He’s fine.”
The two of them exit the restaurant. Shelby rushes up to them, and asks Cedric if he’s alright. He confirms that he’s unharmed, She then asks the same question to Asherah. Cedric takes this moment to thank Asherah for rescuing him. Even if she said that didn’t matter to her. Asherah doesn’t respond.
Shelby tells Asherah that she has a warm heart under her cold exterior. “Well I hope it doesn’t burn me alive.” she replies.
Cedric speaks up “You said something about climbing gear earlier… right?”
“That’s right.” Asherah says
“Well, I happen to have a set back home. I’m not going to use it, and I’d be more than happy to give it to you!”
“That would be great.” She pauses “And– Where is your home at?”
“It’s… A little far away, in a town called ‘Eastport’ It's a city off the coast…”
“The coast, as in– the Beachlands?”
“Yes, just over there.”
“Right.” Asherah steps forward “I’ll meet you there I suppose.”
“Ms. Asherah!” Shelby shouts “When you do make it home again, can you pass along a message to your mother?”
Asherah agrees. Shelby would begin to write down a recipe, after giving it to Asherah, She’d say to tell her that all of Limesville missed her after she left. Asherah says she’ll try to remember that once she’s back home at Snowmeet. With that, She says her parting words to Cedric and Shelby and walks away…

• Travel Banter: Can I get a bite? (Asherah and Oukirii) Oukirii asks what Asherah is holding, Asherah tells her that she picked up some fruits from the village just before they left. Specifically highlighting some apples. Oukirii asks if she can have a bite of one, Asherah agrees and Oukirii eats a peice of it. “!” Asherah is shocked “What?” Oukirii says. “I said a bite you little snack thief!” Asherah says. Oukirii protests, Asherah responds “Your two bites was nearly a third of the apple!” Oukirii replies “Sorry Asherah, I can go find an apple tree if you want a new one?” Asherah laughs and tells Oukirii that she’s not that mad. “I’m not going to spend the rest of this journey fighting with a child.”

(Ending Text)
After meeting with her mother’s old friend, Asherah was put in the direct middle of a feud between chefs.
Chef Giles was left knocked out on the floor of his restaurant after attempting to kidnap Cedric.
Cedric offered to hand over some of his old climbing gear. Asherah now sets forward to the town of Eastport.
She anticipates a quick stop. However, she may find that it could take a while longer before she’s ready to climb back home…
——————
Asherah the Chef: Chapter 2, End.

Hi everyone,
Here's the summary for the first half of Day 3 of Safe House. If anyone is watching along, I hope you're enjoying, because I've been enjoying watching so far!
Video Link 1: https://www.youtube.com/live/_YdNvxcfwdc?feature=shared

• Luke is exercising. Neo joins around 7:30
• 12:00 PD asks Luke and Neo to wake up everyone else in the house
• 19:00 Mix and Phuwin do a product plug for Deo Klear
• 24:30 PD invites everyone downstairs for the King of the Day Competition
  • 28:00 Phuwin reads the rules. Each person has to pick a toy from the board and mark it with a flag with their name. They must not try their toys first before the game starts. For each round of the game, everyone will wind up their toys, set them at the border of the board, and release them at the same time. Once all the toys have stopped, the person whose toy is farthest from the centre of the board is eliminated. This continues until there's one winner. They realise that the toys walk in unpredictable directions and speeds, so the game is down to luck.
• 40:30 PD invites everyone to collect their breakfast from the kitchen.
• 43:00 King of the Day photo op
• Breakfast highlights
  • They mostly talk about what time they each went to sleep. Some of them were on their phones until late. Some of them hung out talking downstairs until they fell asleep on the couch.
  • They're happy that they have spreads for the bread today
  • 58:00 Neo and Khaotung do the dishes (Neo complaining throughout)
  • 1:00:00 Mix, Earth, Neo, and Phuwin make coffee (very light product plug). Phuwin does a bit of virtual studying

Video 2 Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/zF2r5pTTHUs?feature=shared

• At 4:00 we join them while they're having fun and dancing a bit.
• 5:45 Mix asks everyone to play a game with him. Everyone has to place a cookie/biscuit on their forehead and wiggle it into their mouth without dropping it or touching it with their hands. Loser (the one who drops theirs first) will have to wash dishes for the rest of the day (Phuwin is exempt because he's studying, and Gun is exempt because he's sleeping).
  • 11:15 Earth loses immediately and asks to try again. Everyone starts dropping them, and they decide that they'll just determine a winner by whoever eats their biscuit first.
  • 13:15 The guys say that they want to see Earth win something for once. Earth ends up winning because he's the one who ate his first, although Luke never dropped his at all, so they decide to have a rematch with the two of them to see who can eat theirs first
  • 17:00 Mix asks Earth to make more chicken noises. He then presents Luke with the "prize" for winning the rematch: a box of Lactasoy (product plug)

Video 3 Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/Veym_wLTmd0?feature=shared

• Everyone is relaxing when we join them. Neo and Luke are having a jam session in the play room
• 10:30 Gun joins Neo and Luke in the play room and has a game for them (product plug for Sang Sang drink). Gun will will sing a series of songs but replace all the lyrics with "sang," and Luke and Neo have to guess the song titles. They're successful, so Gun gives them some drinks.
• 15:30 PD announces the next medal competition
  • 16:45 King of the Day pairs everyone up. People make fun of Neo and Earth for being lowest on the ranking.
  • 18:15 Mix reads the rules. Each person in the pair has to wear elastic bands that hold their ankles together. The pair will work together, holding long poles to carry a series of items from the table, through two obstacles, and into the basket on the other side of the course. If any object drops, they have to start from the table again with that object. They must carry the items by holding them from the bottom with the two poles, rather than pinching the items with the poles. The two pairs that can accomplish the task in the shortest time win one medal each.
  • 21:30 There's some disagreement about the way they have to carry the items, so Earth and Phuwin's first try is considered a practice.
• 37:00 PD announces that the two pairs who lost the game have to serve lunch to the winning two pairs. Mix asks PD if he can be exempt because he's King of the Day. PD says, "You may be King, but you still lost this game, so you have to serve."
  • Menu is rice vermicelli (khanom jeen namya) with green curry and crab, yellow curry with bamboo shoots, and roti with floral scented sweet egg yolk threads (roti foi thong)
  • Lunch highlights: They talk about how it's Gun's last day, so they might push him into the pool at one point. Neo asks everyone for cucumbers again (cucumbers are a common accompaniment to a lot of Thai dishes; that's why they have them so often)
  • 44:30 They talk about spice tolerances. Some of them don't like to eat food that's too spicy. Earth says the green curry is spicy, but Neo says it doesn't look too spicy, going from the colour (Thai green curry typically gets its colour from fresh green Thai chilis, so usually, the greener it is, the more spicy it is).
  • 47:15 PD wants them to talk more during the meal because it's a bit boring. They start talking about Mix because he's King of the Day. Mix tries to make a joke about Neo eating a lot of cucumbers, but the joke fails.
  • 49:49 They talk about who they think might be the final winner. Mix thought it would be either Phuwin or Gun, but since Gun is leaving, it depends on who comes to replace him. Now they think Khaotung might win. They make fun of Neo and say that if there's any game that involves witty talking, Neo would win, but they don't think they'll be any such games this week.
  • 53:00 Mix asks Neo if he's ever taught a foreigner how to speak Eastern Thai language (Isan). They first ask him to teach Luke, but then they realise that no one has heard Neo speak Isan before, so they ask for Neo to participate in their normal conversation, but reply only in Isan for the next 5 minutes. Neo says that he'll probably have to mix some Central Thai in because he's not completely fluent in Isan.
    • 54:45 Mix asks how come Neo speaks Isan like a Central person. Pond says because Neo lives in Bangkok now. Neo verifies Pond's statement and said that he was born in Issan (Udon Thani province) but grew up in Bangkok.
  • 55:10 Mix says they should try conversing where Neo speaks Isan, Mix speaks Northern Thai, and Luke speaks English.
    • 55:45 Mix says he wants to make a dramatic entrance as his Northern persona, especially because he's King today. The entrance is disappointing, so he tries again
    • 58:15 Neo offers to be the announcer for the second dramatic entrance and asks which province Mix represents. Mix replies that he's from Lampang. Mix can't think of what to say once he makes his entrance, but Neo and Phuwin push him out to get it over with
    • 59:00 Mix's dramatic entrance. Neo forgot which province Mix said, so he says the name of another random Northern province (Chiang Rai). Mix panics and can't think of anything to say in Northern, so he starts speaking English instead. They push him to commit to the English, so Luke speaks English with him and they try to get Mix to answer in a 2-minute answer, like how you might do in a language exam. He declines, and he thinks he's going to try 2 minutes of Northern instead, but then he decides he probably can't speak for 2 full minutes in Northern either. Mix says (in Central) that he was originally happy to be King today, but now he's not enjoying it anymore.
  • 1:04:15 Pond, Mix, and Luke play a bit with the camera in the kitchen. Pond hits his head on the camera. Pond and Luke wash dishes while the rest rest and relax
• 1:18:00 They discuss what to do next, and Gun says that he'll go into the pool if all 8 of them go and swim at the same time. The decide to play with a beach ball indoors for the time being while the sun is still quite hot.
• 1:26:00 They decide to get changed to play in the pool. Phuwin has a bit of studying to do first, but then he'll join afterward
• 1:56:30 They play live fish/dead fish in the pool. Earth is "it" first. At 1:58:15, Neo is sneakily continuing to move, until Earth says, "How come it seems like there's a fish that hasn't died?" Neo then joins Earth as another "it" person.

Video 4 Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/0bIyZJvVFzM?feature=shared

• They're still playing in the pool. They're playing a form of water basketball at the beginning, and then at 7:00 they decide to play another game of live fish/dead fish, this time with Gun as a referee and Earth "it."

I (f 30) am the youngest of two. My older sister (f 36) lives in the same state but a few hours away. She never came home after college because she was in a relationship. When we were younger she was a total mother's girlie girl and I was a daddy's girl. With that dynamic you can conclude that me and mom (f 55) weren't very close back then. When my sister went to college and it was just me and mom, we clashed all the time. I couldn't wait to go to college and be free. Unlike my sister, when i graduated from college I went back home and lived with my mom. While in school she found out she had cancer and I realized how important she was to me, during the summer I would take care of her. I became super protective because my dad (m 60) had died the second part of my freshman year. I guess realizing you only get one dad and mom did something to me and our relationship changed. Strangely, while in college I transformed into a girlie girl with all female roommates that treated me like a toy by dressing me up and taking me to parties. So, when I came home I started working right away. Had some messy relationships and crappy jobs, but my mom always supported me. From what I seen my mom and sister were still close, even with the distance. When Shawn would come home her and mom hung out, sometimes she would stay with us, sometimes not but they talked often. Note, I don't know if it was the age difference or what but me and my sister never got along. Somewhere in my 20's I realized that we were never going to be "those sisters" and called it for what it was. We are blood, but not friends, and I know if we weren't related we would never befriends on purpose. Don't get me wrong, I love her and if Shawn was hurt or in trouble I would help her but for now, for my mom's sake I talk to her on major holiday's and important family matters, but not to just catch up or anything. I honestly don't care. Sadly, if other family member didn't ask "how is your sister", I could probably go years without thinking about her. Anyways, it started off slow, like Shawn would come to town not stay with us, then she would come to town and not reach out until she was leaving, and then we wouldn't know she was in town at all unless she called my grandmother or posted something on social media in a familiar place. It was weird because they would always link up. Shawn loves mom's cooking and would come home just for that. Mom would go visit her and go to work events with Shawn, at the last one mom said they got into an argument because she was tired from driving 5 hours, going to the event without a nap and being on her feet all night. After the event mom just wanted to go back to Shawn's apartment and rest, but there was an after party she wanted to go to. Not wanted to go to the after party mom just wanted her to walk her back to the apartment and then Shawn could go. Shawn wanted mom to go with her and said they wouldn't be there long, but mom was tired. She was trying to convince her that she would only stay for 30 minutes, but we both know when Shawn is in a room she will talk to everyone and 30 minutes could turn into 3 hours real quick. When mom put her foot down and asked her to take her home Shawn got upset and started yelling "this is mom's side of the story", you never want to do anything, ugh, why can't you just have fun, ugh..... She said Shawn was just yelling her on the corner of the street while people were walking. Shawn stays in town where a lot of people walk and everything is close by. Then she agreed to walk mom back but walked super fast and mom couldn't keep up. She is shorter than me and my sister. When they got back, she let mom in, changed her shoes and went back out. When mom came home and told me what happened I was so confused. It isn't like them to argue. I guess you can say this was the beginning of the end. Shawn stopped calling her as often, went out of the country and said nothing about it until the day of. There were just a lot of things she was doing without communicating with mom, it came to a head when our phone plan bill went up 100's of dollars. See, the bill is in Shawn's name but mom pays the bill, well she use to until Shawn got an iPhone and added the cost of the phone to the bill. Mom and I have Samsung's. She did this without telling mom and because the bill was automated it took mom while to notice. When she did, she told Shawn to start paying the bill for the portion of the phone itself. She agreed but wouldn't pay it on times, there were times that my phone was off but didn't notice because I was always near wifi. Somewhere in the middle of this she got another iPhone and the bill went again. Shawn didn't know that just because she got another phone didn't mean she wouldn't have to pay off the other one. They went back and forth on the phone one day arguing, Shawn claiming she paid and mom asking her to go through the payment history and tell her where...... the arguing ended when she started yelling at mom, saying "you're triggering me, you're triggering me" my mom just stared into the phone in disbelief... We're black and raised in a very much black household so for those who know, know those are words that we just don't say..... Well that was last week and this past weekend was mothers day and Shawn didn't call mom.... We have a family group chat of about 23 people and she said it there but not directly to mom or sent a card or anything.... I asked her the Thursday before if she would be sending mom something on mother's because we usually work together to get her something or she send me money and I get her something and Shawn will send a card. But nothing. She didn't even call our grandmother.... I went to my boyfriends house after then mother's day dinner at my grandmother's house, where I stay most weekends and while there she called me. Mom calls when she says things are too much to text. bet she went home and found a package with a 15 pound weight in it and a note saying "I hope your mother's day brought you some joy",.... Um what??? I want someone to tell me why she picked this as a mother's day gift.... and just one ... one 15 pound weight, not a set. Mom works out but already has a set for 5,10,15, and 20 pounds weight that I know Shawn knows she has. Mom was really sad and she isn't the super emotional one of us 3, the emotional one is me. If there is one thing I hate is my mom feeling bad, but then for it to be caused by her own child was different. Shawn NEVER answers the phone like NEVER, I had to tell her our dad passed away via text after calling almost 100 times. Mom sounded like she wanted to cry and just kept asking me " Brit, what did I do wrong, I don't know what I did wrong". Dang, that broke me. Now I'm the bigger of the two of us, and my sister knows me well enough that she don't want these problems so instead for even calling I sent a long text, basically saying I was disappointed to call her my sister and she should be ashamed of how she is treating our mother because when she got fired and unemployment wasn't paying enough to cover her bill's mom paid. Shawn never paid her back. Over all she is one of the most selfish people I know. I just asked her how hard is it to say happy mother's day or send a card. I didn't expect a response, but she did, in only 15 minutes. She said " I appreciate your concern and believe me, this runs much deeper than a phone bill. I don't have the same relationship with mom as you. You only know what you experienced and what happened to you. So, I'm not going to try and explain the various dynamics between mom and I that led to where we are now. It maybe hard for you to understand today. Pls don't blame it all on me. I love you. " I don't even know what that means. I responded something like other than physical, emotional, or mental harm i don't know what could have happened so bad that she couldn't call and say happy mothers day though. I can't imagine my mom doing any of those things. but again she gave some therapy like response and asked me to give her time to heal.... Mom has no clue what various dynamics she is talking about. I'm asking for advice because I feel like she is going down the same path she did with our dad. After our parents marriage ended and we were living with dad, mom still came over 3 times a week and cooked, had us on weekends. It was like she never left the only difference was she didn't sleep at home. When the arrangement changed, dad came 2 weekends in a row. then every other weekend, then once a month, then we were lucky if we saw him at all. It broke my heart in high school when a boy in my class told me to tell my dad that he would be late for practice. I was confused and bugged him all day to explain what he meant. I found out that my dad was coaching baseball across the street from our subdivision about 3 times a week with games on the weekend. So, he could see random boys at my school almost everyday for at least 3 hours and couldn't come over before or after to see his own kids? I actual walked over to the park one day because I refused to believe it, but there he was. We never talked about it. I just started walking there and sitting in the dugout to be near him and he would drive me the 2 minutes back home. All of the players lived in our neighborhood and dad had a flat bed so he would drop them off too. When Shawn graduated high school she never talked to our dad again after that day. She never told me why. He also developed cancer while I was in college and was very sick, when he got better he tried to get back in our lives and I let him in mine, called him on holidays but he did some messed up stuff to me my first year of college so I pushed back a little between that dad would call me and tell me to call my sister on 3 way, if she answered she was forced to talk to him. She wouldn't say much and would always say she was busy or had to do something to do and promise she would call him back and never would. So, now .... as part of my trying to figure out what my mom did, I reminded her how she cried when she found out our dad passed and she just kept saying she thought she had more time and who would walk her down the ail when she gets married and never got a chance to fix things. I would hate for that to happen with our mom too. I know because of our relationship once mom passes away we will most likely not talk or see each other ever again. So, I asking what did my mom do to her? What can I do to help fix this or should I even try? Anyone have any suggestions or ideas, also sorry for the typos or misspelled words or if its hard to follow, but I ask for anyone's input if they have experience this type of situation? Side note, idk if this helps but when Shawn came to town the last few times she stayed with our Aunt Carla. She has baby of the family syndrome, where she thinks she had hard but was actually spoiled rotten and believes all her sisters and brother and their wives are jealous of her. It's total BS but once when mom and I weren't getting along and I stayed with her, she told me some crazy stories about mom sleeping around, getting drunk, trying to fight her and someone else and some other stuff. This was when I was in college and I believed what she said mom and I continued to be on the outs for awhile before I found out about her cancer and became her protector and caregiver for a while. I don't believe those stories so much now be her and mom had issues before, Carla has actually had issues with all her siblings at one point and finds the need to the the main character of her own story and everyone else's. Simply she's a "One Upper". Aunt Carla getting in Shawn's ear is one idea I believe, also Shawn's friend have ummmmm "other people problems" like mellow dramatic soap opera drama and she maybe internalizing their issues. But yeah help, where do I go from here?

Yesterday my ex from 2021 wrote a lovely introspective about our breakup. It was a long message, but essentially said that when I was reciprocating his effort every step of the way, he began to try to max out his life and was envisioning every other partner out there that might be a better match. That I was encouraging and adored him so much that maybe, he thought, that he could do better. But that he's ashamed of thinking that and he's sorry for breaking up with me out of the blue and I had deserved better. Thankfully, he left it at saying he'd always think I'm a tremendous and attractive human, without trying to get back together. I think I would have cut him as a friend if he had asked about that possibility.
It wasn't surprising though because he's the fourth ex to do this. Which means I'm 4/4 out of all my exboyfriends coming back months or years later saying they were blind to how good we had it. They admit they were still looking toward greener pastures. That they shouldn't have because I'm so sweet, so smart, so affectionate, so cute, so sexy, so good at communication, so logical, so easy to resolve conflict with, so... everything lined up with their checkbox of what they want (but how does that make sense? They left because they wanted more so I'm not everything they wanted). 3 out of 4 have attempted to rekindle and give the relationship another try.
I've asked them about any blindspots I might have had, and they say that I was great through and through along with the relationship we had. That they wouldn't change a thing about me, except one joked it would be nice if I were an heiress, and another that said he had lied about his feelings on family planning and actually struggled with the idea of meeting my kids and becoming a stepdad but was ready now. I appreciated the candor from him and we tried again, but I ultimately didn't feel like he really wanted to date me and was settling. He was talking about engagement and delaying proposing and then fully back to being uncertain.
So I've learned that you should never go back to an ex. It'll only cause you pain. So that's not an issue or anything I need to learn.
However, how do I stop dating men who don't appreciate what they have and are going to breakup with me even when the relationship is going well? Or how can I combat their growing feeling that really good isn't enough?
And because it's reddit, I feel like I need to include that I'm not chasing the top 10%. I swipe on guys based on the bio they've written.
I've dated a range of everything. I've been down to date people as long as they've been kind, respectful, and share some of my mostly nerdy interests/hobbies. Men who are ambitious/chill, oldeyounger, attractive/not attractive (but attractive in my subjective view), paycheck to paycheck or have retirement all figured out , single dads/divorced/never married/never dated before because of social anxiety, shy/gregorious --- and you get the idea.
Even if I were stuck on someone ideal to my specifications for shallow traits it's still realistic: They'd be the type that enjoys food a little too much and would be fun to go to the gym with, so they're mostly healthy, strong, but also has a bit of a gut. Great eyes and a warm smile. I love short guys and anyone in a range around 5'3" is perfect. But height is only a preference and I've dated tall too. I'm happy dating outside my ideal as long as they're kind, respectful, and gentle.
Then the second issue, attracting creeps. I spent a year intentionally single because I felt emotionally unavailable. I hopped back into dating apps in earnest starting in January and was fine until April. April/May has been unreal. It's completely worse than anything I've encountered before. I've never dealt with anything too creepy or severe sexual harassment before, but it's everywhere I go now.
-First dates have groped me after I said no.
-Flashed their penis and rubbed it on me while in public. (Police report submitted)
-Pressured me for sex right away and this guy, a salesman by trade, was not accepting no for an answer, so I said I would next date but couldn't go to his place that night - just to get away. But messaged him after and told him that I had lied to get away, wrote 100 no's and 1 yes doesn't mean yes, and blocked him.
-I found out another was a sex offender who was convicted of digital voyeurism of a kid under 14 (and preferred Stars Wars over Star Trek, doubly troubling, just kidding 😜)
-Another man anonymously called my work, could have been a prior date or completely random, and the recording of that could be used as the start of a horror film. He wouldn't tell me who he was, but acted like he knew who I was, and then lewdly asked about my bathroom usage...
-A guy I had barely met, but was not a date with nor interested in, must have hid my phone, then sent me to grab something, got into my phone, I caught him, and listened to him justify that he liked me and just needed to know what kind of person I was before getting attached. I just said it wasn't going to happen and left. He ended up sort of stalking me for a few days before mutual friends out the kibosh on him.
I'm sick of it. I've never felt unsafe meeting people in public, I figured public places were enough protection until this month.
I don't know what I'm doing differently to suddenly be preyed on by a bunch of creeps. I think I'm acting like I always have, but I have gained weight and maybe that's why? But why only now and not in January? Is it all coincidental?

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

I have no idea when it happened, but I feel like over the past couple weeks it’s finally just been this gradual but surprisingly fast process. After almost a full year of having emaciated looking limbs but a constantly bloated, large (if not pregnant-looking half the time) stomach, it’s like my body finally decided all at once “okay, I believe that you’re finally listening to me again, all this insulation can go wherever it needs”.
As someone whose biggest insecurity is my stomach, this last year has been hell. The weight going to my stomach for so long has made me almost give up at least 20 times just because I couldn’t bear it anymore. I spent months upon months crying every time I caught a glimpse of it - it was debilitating. But finally, my stomach is suddenly mostly flat (as flat as it can be without being starved), my arms and legs look healthy enough to hold me up and do stuff again, and even my face is less gaunt. I never thought a day would come when I said the last year was worth it, but oh my god, it’s so far beyond worth it. My body is healing. It’s going back to what it’s supposed to be. It took its sweet time to do it, but after what I put it through, I guess it needed to. I’m so happy.
If you’re in recovery and struggling with weight redistribution, it really does stop eventually. No matter how much weight goes straight (and even exclusively) to your stomach, it won’t stay there forever even if the healthy amount does because it has to. Recovery is like an awkward growth spurt where nothing looks or feels right until it’s over, but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel when it is.

I just passed 3 months last Thursday. I was reflecting about them and thought I’d post here.
Basically, this story starts in 2017 when I (at the time 315 lb 49 F) had a health challenge and changed to a low carb unprocessed (also no sugar no grains ) way of eating. I went from 315 lbs at five foot one to about 203 and then maintained that loss for about three years before the effects of plateau and regain started. Over the next 6 years I regained about thirty pounds which is a miracle considering any other time I’d lost weight, I regained it all and more in months not years.
I educated myself and realized that since only about 2% of people can maintain a weight loss of 10% of their body weight for a year because of the body defence of the higher weight. Hormones make people think they are hungry and need to eat more so they don’t starve to death even though they aren’t starving. These concepts are ones that appear in peer reviewed literature from several sources so I’m not making it up.
While I was a unicorn because I was able to maintain for several years, I believe because with the low carb unprocessed diet, I wasn’t also having high/low blood sugar - this is my theory based on a discussion with a dietician that told me a theory about some people and how they don’t have to be actually hypoglycaemic to have the effects of it ( ie. eating compulsively to bring up sugars). Still, the odds were greatly against me maintaining this loss. When I started experience difficulties in reversing little weight gains, I asked for a referral to a bariatric clinic so I could try things other than lifestyle changes.
Bariatric assessment process wasn’t good for me but in the end it was established that I’m not a good candidate for drugs, there was no point to optifast since I’d already made drastic lifestyle changes, and that my options were probably regain and surgery.
Since I had not screwed up my lifestyle changes, but was battling my body trying to get me to eat more, surgery became the obvious answer.
I was warned that I might not lose much more weight than the amount I’d regained since that amount represents almost thirty percent loss from my former top weight.
Now I’m 56 and post menopause. I was ok with this as long as I was able to maintain my loss more easily. I did not relish the idea of aging as a three hundred plus pound short woman ( getting shorter). I don’t need to be skinny either. I honestly don’t care at this point about my body size since even with my regain my mobility wasn’t hampered and my chronic health issues stayed resolved. Honestly , I haven’t even really noticed my weight loss in any meaningful way because I was already living better. I believe the meaning of health at any size means this. My body size only matters to the extent that I think it does and that includes that I don’t have to be a size zero to be healthier.
I had RNY surgery three months ago. Weight loss has been relatively slow but I’m happy to say that despite some small hitches like throwing up in the early days and low hemoglobin post surgically which has since resolved.
I was completely grossed out by protein supplements so the two weeks following surgery were tough. My surgeon encouraged me to eat according to textures ( which isn’t what the handbook says).
I had no pain after the day of surgery, or since . Things are going pretty well. I’d hoped to have more of a hormonal change to regulate appetite but despite feeling overfilled constantly, I’m losing weight, hitting protein goals with real food and the learning curve is getting less steep. My pre-surgery weight was 232 and this morning I was 194 so obviously it’s working for weight loss. I’m not under any illusion that this has been a perfect solution, but I’m happy to have my stress level lowered daily since my desire to eat is much curved and even if I want to eat, the threat of puking keeps me in line.
Weird things since:
As an Orthodox Jew who keeps kosher I’m having weird cravings for nonkosher foods which includes seafood ( which I’m allergic to!).
I hadn’t eaten sugar or artificially sweetened foods in almost 12 years and now I’m craving keto type sweets which I know affect my cravings. I’m not saying I’m indulging regularly but it’s odd to have the cravings.
Chicken strongly disagrees with me while red meats and lamb don’t.
I was mostly carnivorous prior but I often choose non-meat protein food items more now. I don’t really like beans but the other day I told my husband if he made a chickpea curry I’d eat it. BIZARRE. I am 100% getting all my protein in but beans are higher in carbs which worries me because my original health crisis seven years ago was diabetes related and I’ve been sub-clinical for 6 years. For me, I don’t actually believe in the concept of moderation so it’s disconcerting to say the least.
What’s really interesting is my general disinterest in food and eating. I know I have to eat and I know I have to prioritize protein. I have cravings regularly but ultimately I mostly eat to fill the hunger and don’t much care what as long as it fits the ‘get your protein in first’ model. In the end, since I don’t eat grains or other sweet things, this ultimately ends up looking like a diet of primarily animal protein, with vegetables and a bit of fruit thrown in. I’ve eaten a couple of keto protein bars but it’s not regularly.
For context, I used to be a serious foodie and a food professional and when I went low carb I cared much less. As long as my food was delicious and low carb and I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t care. Since surgery, some of the things i really enjoyed low carb have become sort of icky to me so I’m constantly revisiting what I like and don’t like. It’s a process 🤷🏻‍♀️.
Anyway, I have lots of homework to do ( one of the changes that happened seven years ago when my chronic health issues resolved, was my doctor suggested I go to nursing school) so I’m going to sign off but I wanted to share that though this is an imperfect process, it is one which I’m not sorry to have gone through. I sort of regret not doing it 20 years ago but on the other hand I guess I would not have been mentally ready had I done it much sooner than my health crisis, subsequent sustained weight loss and then learning how obesity actually works. On the other hand, I’m glad I was confident in my new lifestyle before I did it because i understood on a gut level what that meant.
If you read this far, thanks. Feel free to AMA.
Starting Weight 2017 was 315 Surgery weight was 232 ( Feb 2024) CW 194 GW- don’t really have one. I guess it was 203 since I was told I might not lose more than I regained.