Following the events of Elimination Chamber, Dragunov looks persistent on training for his big match against his leader at Wrestlemania for the coveted IC Championship. Following Dragunov's victory, Gunther gets a bit nervous due to Dragunov being one of two people to beat him in WWE. He tries to combat this by ensuring Dragunov isn't able to have matches but he is unsuccessful in doing this. Instead, he forces Dragunov to endure a Open Challenge Gauntlet Match to prove that he is a worthy challenger. Gunther also puts Dragunov's IC Championship opportunity on the line to give him that extra security leading to Wrestlemania. This forced stipulation does not bode well with Dragunov but he still goes ahead with this added torture because HE'S ILJA FUCKING DRAGUNOV!!
With Gunther observing from the outside, Dragunov stands in the ring, awaiting his first opponent who turns out to be Angel Garza. Garza is toyed about with for a few minutes before Dragunov hits him with the Torpedo Moscow to dispatch of the first competitor. Next to come out is Ashante Adonis, much to Gunther's displeasure. Dragunov makes Adonis his bitch, sending him back to catering with the Torpedo Moscow. This continues to happen as more and more jobbers come out just to be smacked out by Dragunov. This leads to Gunther just stopping the match and telling Dragunov he's proved nothing here, so instead, he'll have a 2v1 handicap match next week against Vinci and Kaiser.
The numbers disadvantage does take a toll on Dragunov heading into the start of the bout but he manages to recuperate and take on both men at once. Dragunov eventually lays his stablemates out, ending the match by choking the life out of Vinci with the same submission he beat Gunther with, all while staring a whole through Gunther who for the first time in his career looks to be at unease. As Gunther enters the ring, he and Dragunov butt heads as Dragunov asks him if thats enough, before exiting the ring.
Next week, Imperium bring Dragunov out as it appears Gunther has finally decided Dragunov is worthy challenger, but reveals he has one challenge left. Out of nowhere, Kaiser and Vinci jump Dragunov as Gunther looks down on him, calling him pathetic and saying he'll never be worthy to be a challenger for his title. Gunther then pushes his stablemates away, taking matters into his own hands as he starts choking out Dragunov. Dragunov eventually fades as Gunther hits him with the Last Symphony. Gunther doesn't think this is enough however, and calls for the steel steps in the ring. Kaiser brings them in the ring as Gunther picks Dragunov up on his shoulders and POWERBOMBS HIM ON THE STEPS!! Vinci and Kaiser drag Dragunov's lifeless body out of the ring as they begin tearing the announce table apart. Gunther joins them and puts the final nail in the coffin, POWERBOMBING HIM THROUGH THE TABLE!! Imperium begins backing away, looking proud at the carnage they've produced as Dragunov is stretchered out of the arena.
As the weeks close in, the chances of Dragunov getting his title match look slimmer and slimmer. That is until two weeks before Wrestlemania, during a Tag Team title match between Imperium and Alpha Academy, DRAGUNOV MADE HIS RETURN!!! He comes down to the ring as Vinci and Kaiser look in disbelief. Alpha Academy would begin distracting the referee as the champions come down to attack Dragunov, who lays out both of them. Dragunov would go on to hit Kaiser with a Torpedo Moscow before rolling him back in the ring, allowing Alpha Academy to steal the titles as Dragunov manages to rectify the first of his mistakes in Imperium.
The second mistake? Sticking by Gunther's side. On the RAW before Wrestlemania, Gunther and Dragunov come face to face on last time, and despite Gunther's best efforts over the past month and a bit, he still has to come face to face with his worst nightmare. Imperium walk out with him, clearly fucking pissed after last week's shenanigans but Gunther sends them to the back, insisting he wants to face his biggest demon on his own. Gunther tries getting into Dragunov's head, telling him he respects him after everything he's endured and understands why , but it doesn't work as Dragunov looks to get revenge, attacking Gunther as a form of revenge for last week. He hits him with a Torpedo Moscow as he vows to end Gunther's tyrancy over RAW.
Wrestlemania XL:
This is it. His big shot. Will Dragunov end Gunther's reign of terror, or will the tyrant reign supreme? Things don't look well for Dragunov in the beginning as he is manhandled by Gunther but after an unexpected slip-up from Gunther which Dragunov capitalises upon, he finds himself in the driver's seat, even hitting Gunther with a Torpedo Moscow but only getting a 2 count. Gunther would respond to this with his vicious chops before hitting that Powerbomb which gets a 2 as well. Gunther continues his assault, not letting Dragunov get a touch of offence in with the fear slipping through the cracks. This fear would turn into desperation as Gunther would hit a trifecta of Powerbombs for A 1 COUNT???!! Dragunov would come back to his feet right after this, clearly fired up as he knocks Gunther's head off with a brutal Lariat. This isn't enough as he hits the Torpedo Moscow as the reign looks set to be over BUT GUNTHER KICKS OUT AGAIN!! Dragunov then goes to the move which helped him beat Gunther 3 years prior, but Gunther scouts it and escapes before HITTING A BURNING LARIAT AND THE FINAL SYMPHONY!! 1..2..KICKOUT!!! DRAGUNOV IS NOT HUMAN!! Gunther's desperation picks up as he goes to the final resort, the Gojira Clutch. Dragunov evades it though and OUT OF NOWHERE HITS A TORPEDO MOSCOW!! He goes to the corner and signals for another, WHICH HE HITS!!! 1..2..3!! GUNTHER'S 667 DAY REIGN IS OVER!!!

I guess I pretty much explained it in the title. Just looking for a friendly and social 18+ guild thats relatively large and active but also open to beginners. I'm a CP 240 magplar and even though I'm loving the game and learning more and more every time I play, it is still a little overwhelming and I can't help but feel as though I'm missing out on the social aspect of the game as well as some of the later game group content, dungeons and PvP. Thank you in advance for your consideration!

For context, I (29 M) and my ex (27 F) were of different race and religious backgrounds, we are both doctors from an Asian country. My Ex is currently living with her single mother and her sisters in the same city as me. She is also the eldest in the family (this will be important soon), despite that we tried our best to make our relationship work. Everything was smooth sailing until early Jan 2023, when my Ex Mom discovered our relationship when she snooped around my Ex's phone and her eyes went red. She threatened to disown my Ex, kick her out of the house, started smoking heavily and calling my Ex hurtful things.
We pretended to breakup so to satisfy her mother whimsical needs. However, the end goal is always for me to finally meet her mother and discuss regarding my relationship with her and making it official. However, my ex keeps dragging this issue and at one time I grown impatient and requested her to arrange a meeting with her mother because its hard to arrange a date with my ex due to her mother preying eyes + we are on LDR so we dont meet much anyways (i moved 3 hours away for work) + i am a bit jealous because my ex occasionally went out alone with a guy friend for despite me telling her that i am not comfortable with it .
This decision will cost me dearly
Fast forward 2 weeks, in commemoration of our 1st anniversary I brought my ex to a fancy dinner, went to a theme park, had an amazing sex and suddenly, she decided to break up at the end of the day claiming that she would always choose her family first instead of me and she wanted our last day to be the happiest day. I was blindsided and my heart sank, in a fit of rage, i said some hurtful things, accidentally raised my voice (we never fought before this), calling her selfish and unwilling to fight for me despite all i have done for her. Our breakup was messy and the next day we had another meeting and she communicated that her mother had been growing suspicious past few months, drinking heavily, calling her names. This worried her so she decided to breakup officially. I was unaware of this incident and apologize profusely for saying such hurtful things and asking for a chance and time to repair our relationship. I wanted her to move out from her house as i think she is being emotionally blackmailed by her mother, however she denied this wrongdoing but accepted the idea of giving our relationship a chance.
Unfortunately, for the past 2 weeks, i noticed her becoming colder, distant and more irritable than usual. She would cry every time when we're talking about the future of our relationship and had lingering trauma from our previous quarrel. I apologized and started to call her everyday to talk as per usual prior to our fight. Trying to treat her even better than before, sending her meals and buying her a gift to soothe her ailing heart. As fate had it, I received a sudden notice that i would be transferred to even far off city to work.
To reaffirm our relationship status due to the nature of our Long distance relationship. I cooked her a dinner and invited her for a heart to heart talk. Fortunately, this discussion is far more calmer than before. I reasserted that I still love her deeply and wants to change and fix this relationship by talking openly about both our problems and find a solution for that. My Ex acknowledged that maybe breaking up on our anniversary is not the best thing to do at the time. In spite of this, my Ex claimed her fell out of love with me after our big fight and her scar will forever never heal.
I suggested taking a break so that she can heal but she thinks that time would never heal her and she would only be wasting my time. In a way, she is absolute in her resolve and would not change her stance. I pleaded with her to fix the relationship and showed our pictures together to at least rekindle our passion for each other but alas it was to no avail.
In the end, we broke up amicably but I cant help to think it was one sided. She even requested us to continue being friends but it is something I am conflicted with.
Tell me reddit, I know I was also in the wrong, but did we had any chance to rescue the relationship at all?
Sorry for the long rambling

These arguments used to downplay her feat literally makes no sense and some people who use them end up being hypocritical:
"She got more hurt than Kaido" - she is not Kaido, she is not as durable as him, obviously she would get hurt more easily.
"Her attack did no damage" - this instead being a argument, is a straight up lie. She literally did hurt him since he was bleeding.
"He had no reaction to her attack" - Neither did Kaido have any reaction or even remembered he got hit by Over Kong Gun from luffy.
"Just some drops of blood" - Doing blood scaling in this inconsistent manga is as pathetic as doing sweat scaling. Even Luffy had attacks did draw just a bit of blood, even Luffy Over Kong Gun didn't draw a single bit of blood, because Oda is weirdly inconsistent. Yamato straight up did One shot a number and the number didn't even bleed that much.
"It didn't scar Kaido, it is weaker than Rooftop Ashura" - one of the most disingenuous and dumb arguments, those who use this are literally dumb people don't even know difference between Blunt attacks and Sharp attacks. And those who use this are so disingenuous they may sometimes say Ashura is stronger than any attack from Luffy until Bajrang Gun because Luffy never did scar Kaido, and if we follow it more literally even Kaido have weaker AP than Zoro because he never did scar anyone.
What does say Yamato Thunder bagua = Kaido Thunder Bagua?
Letting clear from the get go, Thunder Bagua is a Yonkou level attack in both speed and power. Base Kaido casual or no named acoc attacks are already Yonkou level blows, since just one casual acoc blow can already split the sky, one casual acoc blow is much stronger than King Kong gun from Dressrosa.
Kaido Thunder Bagua in Base did One shot G4 Luffy, did speed blitz Luffy twice.
Yamato Thunder Bagua speed is equal to Kaido Thunder Bagua speed, because both couldn't speed blitz the other when they did their attacks at the exact same time.
Both attacks are equal in Power because neither one could overpower or knockdown the other at the exact time when they clash. If Kaido attack was stronger it would have pushed her away, but that didn't happen and only reason why it didn't os because her blow was equal in Strength.
Many attacks of Luffy were equal to that of Kaido attacks because of same reason, when both attacks clashed neither Luffy or Kaido named attacks did overpower the other, meaning that at least the attacks were equal in strength.
Then there is the other argument they use to try downplay her:
**"She was using Mirror mountain, that's why she didn't get sent flying"
This one is both a downplay and wanking argument for her.
Because this is literally like saying Yamato Mirror mountain is equal to Hybrid kaido scales, her Mirror mountain is a defensive move os literally like Kaido scales, she covers her whole body with tough ice. Kaido have a 24/7 defense because of his scales, and still with just blunt she did hurt him and crack open his scales to point he bleed directly from the scale.
So not just her speed, power and defense is equal to his, since both couldn't blitz the other, both couldn't overpower the other because:
their defenses are that strong or because their attacks were equal in strength or simply both.

I recently had to cut my dad out of my life cause he touted his big religion "viewpoint" and told me that the life I'm leading is wrong and sinful and I'll never be happy living this way. when I was trying to get some time to sit down and talk with him about life and truly open up about being trans(turns out he already knew). he's sent me an apology letter since but it was quite half-assed and "don't blame me for being a parent" and loaded with misgendering. plus i doubt i would have even gotten a letter had it not been my birthday. frustrating. (I also came out as pan/bi a while back and it was met with disgust. same with painted nails for some reason)
My step-dad has said nothing on the matter of being trans and continues to misgender me(unintentionally?? idk)
and my mom.. I've been out as nonbinary(when my egg was slowly cracking now I'm transfeminine genderfluid) for over a year and used they/them pronouns for the whole time she still uses he/him (unintentionally?) ALL THE TIME. I mean like I correct her and so does my sister ALL DAY LONG and it STILL happens. she says its cause "it's not proper and she's not used to it". actually both her and my step-dad have used that excuse multiple times and I've called them out and pointed at reasons why they're objectively wrong(they've done the whole run into the point and miss it multiple times). and I've had a deep talk with her and explained everything and then today she goes "I'm hurt that you don't go by your original name. it's pretty enough to be a girls name. I know it has nothing to do with me but I feel insulted. blah blah I've had a couple drinks so I'm being honest blah blah."
I'm just ridiculously frustrated. I feel like there's been adequate time to adjust to simply using the right words. I get that they may not understand being trans and thats fine cause i know for myself it's even confusing. but my pronouns and the langueage to use for me havent changed in over a year.
I have a lot of supportive people in my life and feel very lucky to be supported enough to be out publicly (partially done in order to expose my very bigoted family to it all. I've kinda been a "favorite" so this is a big needed shock to the family) so I feel lucky but I'm also extremely frustrated with the fact that the sole people who are supposed to be there for me no matter what are the biggest issues I've run into in my transition.
I'm really a patient person. and I've historically been a huge people pleaser so I'm very used to getting my buttons pushed and smiling through it. but I'm just feeling tired of it all and I know you all can relate. cause tbh I have it easy compared to a lot of y'all. sure I get shamed from tons of family but I have at least 3 siblings who wouldn't dream of doing so and love me deeply. and i have quite a few friends who do the same.
I feel frustrated and then I feel guilty for feeling frustrated. which makes me frustrated.
but on a happier note, I love y'all. this subreddit has helped me SOOO much and I feel lucky to be a part of this community. as an elder Gen z, I do my best to break down the barriers around me so the rest of yall can run free and I have an army of allies that fight by my side. for me. and for you. happy pride month! be proud of yourself and like my grandpa basically said: it takes bravery to introduce yourself when that doesnt align with people's expectations. be brave. be proud.

Hi GiftofGames,
I am A Dub. I am 17 Years old and currently studying. I never won any games in Giveaway (Idk its my luck or what :/ ). Earlier I requested for a game two times here, and guess what, one person accepted that and then the thing comes, his product key didn't work, my Luck I guess.
This time I'm requesting for Watch Dogs Legion. I hope this time I get the game. You may ask why, so here are the answers
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Why Watch Dogs Legion?
I am a huge fan of Watch Dogs series, I have played Watch Dogs 1 and I loved, I used to play that game a lot! Nowadays I am playing Watch Dogs 2, before this post I was playing that game only, love the open world, hacking ppl and playing co-op, but there aren't a lot of players left in this game now, but still love doing those mission again and again and getting police to chase me lol. I have played Watch Dogs legion too at my Uncle's house and I loved it, idk why people don't like this game.
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Why I can't buy it myself?
As you know, typical parent's mind, "Its a waste of money". I heard this for years and years, now I only get 1 game per year on my birthday, which passed in February. And I can't afford it myself. My parents don't give me pocket money (They think I would get spoiled). So yeah, I have no means of buying games. My parents only buy games upto 1000 rupees (about 14 US dollars). One more thing, I don't have any payment method, so yeah, all doors are closed for me for buying this game. Please someone fulfill my dream :(
So yeah, from my full heart, I request if someone can gift me this game. Thanks a lot everyone :D
Steam Profile: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198989224904/
Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239550/Watch_Dogs_Legion/
Also, I have 2 dollars in my steam account, you can also gift me 5 dollars so that I can buy from my steam wallet.
Again thanks a lot for reading my post!

Hello
First of all I'm not english. I'll try to make this accurat but some words could be different in my language and I don't really know what to use instead. Sorry for that.
So, I got a Dacia Sandero from 2016. Since I'm not driving much, it only got 15 000 km since. I never did maintenance before with it but it was becoming necessary (even without driving much) and I need to do 700 km next week. Everything went okay except for the oil filter. They said they couldn't change it since the... dome ? I don't know, the thing protecting it is too tight and they can't remove it without risking to break it. They did the oil change and told me to go to my seller. They said they can do that, open it, put the new filter and replace if it breaks, but my appointment is at the end of july.
I still need to drive 700 km next week. So is it safe to drive like that ? I mean I know the new oil will be dirty because of the filtrer but... Is there any real risk ?
Thanks !

I bought my copy early through Epic but I haven’t been able to log in to the Nacon services… I’ve had a support ticket open with them for almost 3 weeks now and support is a bit lacking and I’m still without a resolution
I’ve tried 3 different email addresses and user names, but still no joy

Why does my drinking Bud Light offend you?
May 30, 2023 4:39 pm • Last Updated: May 30, 2023 4:41 pm
By Mike DiMauro
Day Assistant Sports Editor
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
News item: Anthony Bass, a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, shared a video Monday via Instagram endorsing an anti-LGBTQ boycott of brands such as Target and Bud Light.
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"Here's the reason biblically why I believe Christians have gotta be boycotting Target, Bud Light, and any other corporation that's pushing the things they're pushing,” Bass said. “I think a lot of people make this into a political issue, or they say, 'Oh, what's the big deal?’
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“This is evil, this is demonic, we won't stand for it, we're not going to go to the stores anymore and we're not going to give you our money.”
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It would be impolite to wish that Mr. Bass, who throws a ball for a living, blows out his elbow. Perhaps then he could simply blow it out his tailpipe.
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Because I’ve grown tired of sanctimonious and hypocritical moral outrage over what Target and Bud Light are “pushing,” while it’s permissible that Bass and his ilk get to “push” their beliefs on the rest of us.
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Example: In the last two months or so, I’ve been questioned a half dozen times in public as to why I’m drinking Bud Light. Seems people like Bass have objected to Anheuser Busch’s marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Their boycott of Bud Light has led to a decrease in sales both locally and nationally. (Local bar and restaurant owners say Bud Light sales are down almost 30 percent.)
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It is their right, of course, to boycott the product. I’m just curious as to why what I’m drinking is their business. I drink Bud Light because I like it. And I’m still drinking Bud Light because I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. I’m respectful enough to support someone else’s desire to evolve into another gender. And I’m not stupid enough to believe that my decision to drink Bud Light changes who I am or what I stand for in any possible way.
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But I wonder why it’s so important for people — and the questions to me haven’t all come from men — to announce their disdain for a bottle of beer, tacitly implying their sexuality is “normal.” Remember this one and write it down: If you are truly comfortable with who you are, you needn’t announce anything to anyone.
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And yet to further illustrate how screwed up this country really is, there’s this: Anheuser-Busch hasn’t merely been accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership, but some LGBTQ+ campaigners have also criticized the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.
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Amid all the finger-pointing and fear-fanning, the truth hides in the corner, too scared to emerge. The truth is that we are supposed to think critically, weigh evidence from both sides and then make up our own minds. Instead, we’ve become a country hell bent on legislating whatever cause we think is right and just, while burying the other side from all consideration.
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It’s political tribalism. All or nothing. One side or the other. If you’re not in agreement with every morsel of the transgender movement, you are a snarling, hating, infidel. If you’re not in total agreement with Anthony Bass and his beliefs, you’re going to wither in hell.
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But what if — and hold on to your ascots here — two conflicting positions can still be true? Example: What if I support Bud Light’s decision to use a transgender influencer, but also believe that transgender high school athletes belong in their own division?
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I disagree with the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy complying with a state law that requires all high school students be treated according to their gender identity. We should consider a sports-centric law that acknowledges sports' unique challenges and accommodates the physical component for success that exists virtually nowhere else in society.
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Sex discrimination in education, health care, housing and financial credit have no place in this country. But we must — must — realize and accept that sports require a physical component to succeed that calls for different guidelines.
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Put it this way: Applying to a school or for health care, housing or financial credit requires no physical component to succeed. Sports require speed, strength and agility and do not fit under the same umbrella. And yet sports are routinely shoved into the same arguments about unfair treatment. Injustices get piled on for rhetorical usefulness, even though they're not applicable.
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The male born composition has inherent physical advantages, rare exceptions noted. But in the aggregate, there are physiologic differences between biological males and females. I don’t believe writing that makes me transphobic. We should respect a person’s pronoun of choice. But that doesn't mean we have to blindly agree with claims that are not supported by science.
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Yet that appears to be the new end game in this country. Blind agreement. Their side or yours. And here I sit, sipping my Bud Light, trying to figure out why so many of us act like the last three letters of Anthony Bass’ last name.
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This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
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Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
READER COMMENTS
Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:30Report
Robin great points the right can’t even keep track on who to be mad at. Why are they so sensitive? I here Chick-fil-a is evil now for they “ensuring equal access,” “valuing differences,” and “creating a culture of belonging,” under the title, “Committed to being Better at Together.” what monsters!
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Philip BroseJune 1, 2023 at 16:27Report
William Peter the guidance councilor?
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Joseph B De La CruzJune 1, 2023 at 15:15Report
This article pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the situation. Bud Light basically sent someone a can with her image celebrating a milestone. The fact it turned the beer into enemy number one doesn’t surprise me considering the vitriol that has become commonplace in our country. I have had plenty of private messages regarding a video I posted supporting a beer, and more importantly a human being. Most have been vehemently against my support of both and relish the chance to send me a screen shot of Bud Lights stock on a daily basis with a “Go woke, Go broke” ending. I believe much of the vitriol comes from news and talk radio which is why Spotify now fills my vehicle with music instead of talk. I ask everyone to limit their news intake to 30 minutes per day regardless of your party affiliation to center your life. Sometimes my radio will land on a “news station”, and I can feel my blood pressure rise as the most divisive topic of the day is being discussed with a majority of the facts not being considered. I am not recommending folks to ignore what’s happening in our world, but would point out that our country has survived many decades without the need for “up to the second” news reports. Most of the things we worry about will never happen and it seems our country is living in a constant state of fear which is certainly to blame for the vitriol. There will never be a point where everyone in the country will collectively say we are all happy with everything, but I still have a deep believe that with constructive conversations and true empathy we can get us close. When I get my boat in the water I would love to have an ice cold Bud Light while listening to my relaxing boat playlist, and of course talking with my favorite sports writer. That’s an invitation Mike. Great article.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 13:41Report
“Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%.”
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All the more reason to explain what set this off. Completely unhinged.
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“My take, buy Coors stock now”
And that statement reinforces my point since Coors has been a decades long supporter of LGBT rights probably the biggest supporter (it all began with a workegay alliance boycott ironically… or not)
“Coors Light has been a sponsor of The Center and Denver PrideFest for decades,” says Rex Fuller, CEO of The Center on Colfax. “The work we have been able to do at The Center over the last four decades would not be possible without this support and we are grateful for it.”
Beyond supporting Denver PrideFest, Molson Coors has a distinguished history of supporting LGBTQ communities across the country, with significant support for organizations such as Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Amateur Gay Athletics Association of America, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, LGBT Victory Institute, Out & Equal, and One Colorado.
In addition to these partners, Molson Coors works with local LGBTQ organizations in key communities through its Tap Into Change program. Annually, the summer program donates more than $100,000 to these organizations with a consistent growth in impact each year. Events take place in each city to help raise additional funds, awareness, and support for the missions of these local organizations. Over the past 10 years, Tap Into Change has raised nearly $600,000 for local LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofits.
https://denverpride.org/coors-light-supports-the-lgbtq-community/
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This is even though like 2006, 2010 and 2014 they had to go through boycotts for this. And they did shrink back in response, but also came right back and didn’t move backwards for long.
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And what will I do?
Continue drinking Corona because I drink what I drink.
It’s damn near impossible to do a successful boycott long term. The web of corporate connections means when you think you’re hurting one, it’s actually benefitting another one connected to it.
The beverage brand that owns Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois, is suing US beer-maker Constellation Brands for using the Corona brand name in a hard seltzer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
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Beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) acquired Corona’s parent company, Grupo Modelo, in 2013, but US antitrust regulators required it to sell the company’s US-based business to Constellation. AB InBev retained rights to the products in other markets, and the deal gave Constellation the rights to produce Corona and other Modelo brands in the US.
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William PeterJune 1, 2023 at 13:36Report
The virtue signalers didn’t like my harmless comment. I guess being offended by an opposing view is reason enough to silence someone in 2023
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Richard GoldenJune 1, 2023 at 12:57Report
Robin- not certain this article nor all the comments will move the needle. Bud Light sales are down between 26% and 35% nationwide additionally Budweiser and other AB brands (Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light to name a few) have also taken a hit of around 11%. Bud Light has been the best selling beer in the USA for over 20 years and the normal volume of sales is 27 million barrels a year or 1134 million gallons. A 30% drop equals a loss of 340 million gallons a year. My take, buy Coors stock now
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Chris JawakaJune 1, 2023 at 10:12Report
People are allowed to drink or not drink whatever beer they want and for whatever reason they choose. End of story.
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Robin DaudaJune 1, 2023 at 09:05Report
Do people realize that Bud Light sent a pack of specially made cans with the person’s face on it and did a minute long or so bit released on like TicTok? It wasn’t some big nationwide PR campaign yet it rubbed someone the wrong way (or so they would like us to think) and it snowballed into this.
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I don’t ever want to hear about people calling “the libs” snowflakes or use their center liberal stances as a weakness. These champions of “conservatives” are gullible whiny babies.
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I watched in real time a bunch of idiots blow something up out of nothing and then saw them flocking to the internet people with their influencer pages and podcasts and publications where immediately they were being hawked “anti-woke” beer and all these other wares, often made by the same places they are boycotting for double the price.
There is a whole market opening up to people that will only get their businesses off the ground (temporarily for a quick cash grab) by using these outrage tactics and capitalizing (literally) on impaired brains that as Mr. DiMauro correctly observed “Blind agreement. Their side or yours”
Bless your little void of empathy and common sense hearts. Don’t spend all your money in one place now, spread the wealth to these people selling you overpriced junk.
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Paul LevasseurJune 1, 2023 at 07:47Report
Mike is discussing one of this election cycles right wing culture war hot spots.
If you can’t get elected because of your governing skills you’re going to have to try to get elected by getting people angry and hateful. The right wing loves doing that. It’s their bread and butter.
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TOM DONNEEJune 1, 2023 at 06:46Report
Preaching hate and preaching tolerance ARE NOT the same Evan
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DANIEL STORMSJune 1, 2023 at 05:56Report
I always liked this formulation: “In the first place, what makes it any of you business? And in the second place, my reasons for saying yea to [whatever it is that offends you] are at least as valid (and maybe more so) than yours for nay. And in the third place, what makes it any of your sodding business in the first place?” I agree wholeheartedly with your plea for reason and tolerance. Not to seem argumentative but rather to add information to the discussion, though, you might be interested in this blog post from a biologist about the supposed physiologic advantages a trans man or woman has over a cis athelete: https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2023/05/31/we-hunted-the-rabbit/
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Evan AndriopolousJune 1, 2023 at 03:10Report
For me… Bud Light as a “beer” sucks. I would rather support local breweries that provide far better beers. As far as this column… as far as AB selecting this influencer in their campaign I have no opinion on it or that person. Up to each to decide for themselves.
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Regarding this column actually Mike what you are writing is basically the same as the boycott and the changes in attitudes (political divide) of the country. Often used by politicians on BOTH sides of the aisle screaming to be open, defending one´s right to choose, freedom of speech etc.. and this is the most important part..”unless it does not validate their opinion or view”. This is exactly what you are writing. So if someone elects to boycott something and we know the WOKE police and Leftists enjoy not only condemning opposing viewpoints to the point of boycotting, attacking employers for the “views” of their employees etc… and demanding they be removed from the position their are in. So if someone boycotts something let them… I would ask you… why does it offend you that others are using their constitutional right by boycotting (freedom of speech). I always respect other´s opinions and even when we do not agree. Sadly we live in a world where people are afraid to speak up due to the potential ramifications. None of us will always agree and I know the powers to be are trying to “force” us to all be uniform in our opinions which is sad. And btw Bud Light is terrible anyway… How about you focus on sports.
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Benoit BenoitMay 31, 2023 at 20:12Report
Ironic you drink because you like it but will continue to drink it because “ I will not marginalize people based on gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.” Not just because you like it.
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William PeterMay 31, 2023 at 17:46Report
This comment has been removed for violating The Day’s commenting policy.
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JAY DEMPSEYMay 31, 2023 at 16:53Report
TY Mike….. I drink Bud Light most all the time unless in Ireland…and support Levine Distributors in our area and my friends that work there. I think the cancel culture is terrible whatever your political party of choice is. Very sad that social media has done this to us. I have good friends that I can no longer talk politics with because of the “great divide” that enriches social media giants.
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ROBERT WARNERMay 31, 2023 at 16:45Report
I suppose a similar question could be asked, “Why does a person wearing a MAGA hat bother some people?”
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David NowakowskiMay 31, 2023 at 14:30Report
great column, Mike. I’d like to think there are far more folks who see this subject and all its nuances the way you do…but you are probably right again in saying that it is tough to go against your chosen tribe on any component, regardless of how you might actually feel. thanks again!
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Andrew RogersonMay 31, 2023 at 13:33Report
Mike DiMauro – well said sir, on all counts.
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Lynn YoungMay 31, 2023 at 13:28Report
Drink what you like. Be who you are. Live and let live.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 12:36Report
Light Beer is like Sex on the Beach….****ing near water.
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Paul NUNESMay 31, 2023 at 11:44Report
Does anyone remember the first light beer and the commercial featuring a slice of bread?
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 11:05Report
Richard, must have been some other brand light. Bud Light? It was probably 10 years ago. But he could have been messing with me.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:17Report
Malcolm- The moral of the story is; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 10:16Report
Thomas- as far as I knew and as far as I can tell Guinness is the most popular beer in Ireland holding a full 25% of the market share. Bud Light does not even show up in the top ten (https://www.beer100.com/best-selling-beers-ireland/) I think the guy was pulling your leg. Bud Light only became available in Ireland in 2020.
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Malcolm JulesMay 31, 2023 at 09:32Report
A corporation decided to target one of their products to a specific community and failed….end of story.
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Margaret KliseMay 31, 2023 at 09:12Report
Agree/agree. Good article, Mike.
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SUSAN HOTCHKISSMay 31, 2023 at 09:06Report
I always enjoy Mike’s opinion pieces. In total agreement about the transgender athlete issue.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 09:00Report
Tom, hope all is well with your daughter.
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:57Report
A Bud Light story: Several years ago while in Ireland my son and I toured the Guinness brewery. Of course there’s a pub on the top floor and while getting a pint of Guinness the bar I notice several taps Bud Light. I asked the bartender “why in God’s name are you serving THAT stuff in here?” He replied that it’s the best selling beer in Ireland. Go figue!
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THOMAS MORIARTYMay 31, 2023 at 08:51Report
Good column Mike. These anti “woke” zealots claim to support democracy but would be no different from the Taliban if they had their way.
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Richard GoldenMay 31, 2023 at 08:42Report
All this talk of beer makes me thirsty…but I have found that drinking beer has become an unwelcome undertaking. No beer allowed at the beach, nor while night fishing in Waterford, nor surf fishing at Avery Point, nor at any state boat launch, nor is state parks- try walking down the street with a cold one….
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Chris JawakaMay 31, 2023 at 08:08Report
IMO The left loves their cancel culture but gets all grumpy when the right does the same. Hey it can go both ways. That said I really don’t care about the Bud thing. Its not like they sold beer with its face on it.
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Matther TookerMay 31, 2023 at 07:35Report
Thoughtful piece as always Mike. Perhaps the best offset for the 30% decrease in Bud Light sales would be a 30% increase in church attendance. I am betting that won’t happen. (Matt Tooker)
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KEITH J. ROBBINSMay 31, 2023 at 06:11Report
You drinking Bud-Lite does not offend me, although it is a horrible beer. What is my concern is a guy using the ladies room that my nieces use!
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TOM DONNEEMay 31, 2023 at 05:55Report
Agree Phil. Well done Mike!! Waiting for my daughter to come out of surgery. Then we’ll stop for a cold one, think I’ll make it a Bud Lite!!!
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Philip BroseMay 30, 2023 at 16:59Report
Mr. DiMauro is always thoughtful and intelligent. The best writer at the day. Give the guy a raise.

Enili is one of the largest southern princedoms, the strength of which is heavily reliant upon the support of the Kawriq Empire. It is ruled by a prince, currently Izevel, who is the head of the princedom senate, overseer of the court of judges, and possesses unquestionable executive power within the nation.
The soil there is of a bright orange to dark brown coloration. Alhough it does not hold many natural resources, it is a treasure in itself, fertile and capable of sustaining great forests and farmlands. Woodwork, harvested crops, livestock meats and furs, woven fabric, pottery and glass, as well as experienced professionals make up most of the country's exports. Metals, spices, alcohols, scrolls of papyrus and many other materials need to be purchased from merchants from the north, east, and west. The people of Enili commonly use clay tablets for writing and notation, but since the nation fell under the influence of the Kawriq Empire papyrus scrolls began to significantly gain on popularity.
The princedom does not possess a large army, and its city lacks in strategic defenses. However, it does maintain a fleet of over fifty state-owned ships to deal with pirates and perform escorts of important individuals and resources, while the city militia is numerous, well-trained, and well-equipped.
The City of Enili, located on the most eastern flank of the Kawriq civilization and easily accessible from land and sea by travelers and merchants from far away, has become a safe stop for those travelers. It allows them to rest in their journey, make repairs to their vessels and equipment, and resupply at a relatively cheap price. Many buildings at the center of the city were built out of white imported marble and sandstone, while on the outskirts wood and orange clay bricks are the most dominant materials.
The city has been expanding both in population and size at an unprecedented pace for the last few years, reaching no less than one hundred thousand citizens, about sixty thousand non-citizens (mostly immigrants from Kawriq, and people from the dry and hot north) and thirty thousand peasants with limited rights. To gain a citizenship and the benefits it grants one has to serve at least twenty four years in the city militia, navy or military (and half as much to become a half-citizen) or be born to a pair of citizens, or one citizen and one half-citizen. Half-citizens are effectively citizens who were born to pairs of a citizen and a non-citizen, however child of a pair of two half-citizens will always be a non-citizen. They can improve their status and become a full citizen by paying a half-citizen tax for twelve years and completing a written test of citizenship.
The city posses a primitive, mostly covered sewage system, making it suprisingly clean and pleasant-smelling for its size.
The faith of the feathered twins has recently become the main religion, and while the cults of most of the lesser gods have died out or been nearly completely abandoned, however their statues and symbols are still understood to attract good spirits. They are still actively prayed to, but more as a group. Those relics of the past can often be seen in public meeting areas and households, bringing luck to the citizens. Similarly, the fossils and bones of long-dead animals have always been understood to protect from tge evil spirits, the fuller and more accurately articulated the skeleton, the better. In accordance with the dominant Enili philosophy known as the "palace of the higher needs," no temples or ancient statues were purposefully demolished. Instead, they were repurposed to serve the feathered twins. The religious conversion was mostly swift and bloodless, thanks to countless public speeches by philosophers, government officials, and public representatives, as well as successful negotiations between interested parties.
There are many skilled craftsmen living within Enili, purchasing raw resources from merchants and selling finished products with profit. Many private, priesthood-owned and state-owned schools exist there, the most well known of which is the Enili School of Craftsmanship and Philosophy, located in a repurposed ancient temple on the western bank of the river Izu. According to many the Enili School represents the highest standard of education in all southern princedoms. A large population of alchemists lives in the eastern part of the city, producing and selling a great number of elixirs of questionable effectiveness, though there are many things they produce that have been proven to function as intended, coloured glass being one of them. The woodwork sector is also strong within the city, producing great art, furniture, and sturdy ships of the Enili pattern. Many poets, artists, sculptors, architects, engineers, and philosophers also live within the city, and their works are the pride of Enili people.
The coinage there is somewhat unusual. The "unicorns" are the very recently introduced coins of the highest value. They are round, made of platinum and iron, and bear the image of the creature on one side and the stylized profile carving of Izevel on the other. They are worth one thousand of the golden coins each. The "envoys" are the second most valuable coin, made of gold, square, and with a hole at the center. They bear the image of two envoy birds on one side and the ruler of the Kawriq Empire on the other. There is also another, older version of this coin still in use called "phoenixes," which has the image of a phoenix on one side and the likeness of either Izevel, Izevel's father, or another old ruler on the other. Each golden coin is worth twelve silver coins. The triangular silver "altars," each with a hole in the middle, bear the images of a fish, a crowhorse, and wheat, respectively in each of the corners, and the panorama of Enili on the other side. Each silver coin is worth twelve of the round coloured glass coins, known as "tokens", which can bear a great variety of state-mandated symbols, and are mostly orange in coloration.
The Morning Mountains Colony is a territory aquired relatively recently by the Princedom of Enili by a threat of force and exchange of many coins. It's a small but growing city located near the source of river Izu, counting around ten thousand non-citizens in population. It is ruled by a council made up of its inhabitants and a governor from the City of Enili. The Colony is relatively prosperous and content with it's current political situation. Trade has significantly increased since it joined the princedom, living conditions have improved and a few schools and roads have been built. It's better fortified than the City of Enili, with a steep cliff protecting it from one side and a palisade from the other. The Colony possesses a military force counting around one hundred armored envoy riders, three hundred crowhorse-riding archers, three hundred infantry and ten ships. The purpose of this very expansive force (maintained mostly from the taxes of the citizens of the City of Enili) is to protect the trade routes, eliminate bandits, maintain peace and protect the north of the Princedom of Enili.
https://imgur.com/a/1rowOEA

Right now, all I want is an opinion, advice, or just someone to read this and have their say!! I (18f) had been clean from sh for over five months. Im in a relationship with my boyfriend (26m) who has also sh in the past. After a confronting couple of weeks and I horrid day at work, I relapsed the other night and I’m in a new relationship with a man that I am falling for HARD and as far as I’m aware, he is too. We have had a relatively fast moving relationship and both have several kinds of trauma that affect us in different ways. (My trauma is still very relevant in my life) We have similar interests, similar goals in life and a similar sense of humour. We have fantastic chemistry and an amazing sex life; he respects me, is patient with me and has done many things to prove to me at this point in our relationship that he is not just fucking around and is very serious about me. He ticks so many more boxes but you get the point…
I had a couple of hours worth of a panic attack this night and after trying to go out and nobody reciprocating my attention, I turned my focus onto the fact that my boyfriend had not contacted me for quite some hours before and after he knew I had finished work and wanted to see him that night. I ended up contacting him after noticing his snap score go up while I was left on opened and told him I had messed up (because I did royally, on myself) and after a long conversation over the phone right after I relapsed, he told me he was coming over tonight to see me, cook for me, cuddle me, and make sure I was okay… He has been acting off and not messaging me the same all day, and after letting him know that I had finished work today and was about to pick him up, he let me know that he was going out drinking with the boys at his football club instead. I felt/feel shattered! How could he be okay doing this, how am I not a priority, how could he think this would help me?! I simply couldn’t believe this almost imperfectly perfect man would pull what I felt/feel to be one of the scummiest things a man could do, specially since I had previously called of a very personally important event to make sure he was okay after having a hard night and struggling emotionally to let me in. Anyway, I made him call me, almost ready to call it off, knowing I deserve better and to be a priority in my partners life; and to kind of sum things up, I explained how much of a choice I felt and how I deserve to be a priority and that I felt even more alone then when I initially relapsed. In response he told me this is how it was going to be if I do this to myself, that he feels heartbroken that I’ve done this to myself again, that it hurt him, made him feel like he wasn’t making me happy, like he wasn’t enough, and that he won’t reinforce me doing it again by giving me the best attention and showering me with affection when I do it. After an emotional conversation where we communicated clearly and calmly, I told him back and forth how devastated and hurt I was and that he was showing me that he didn’t care as much as he claimed, and his actions didn’t match up with his words. He explained to me he was sorry I felt this way and ended up saying how much I mean to him and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and that he wants to prove that I am the biggest priority in his life, that he has never felt like this for someone and just wants to be able to make friends being in a new town and wants me to have a life as well and reach out to friends. I explained how his actions showed none of that but we got to some sort of conclusion. We came to some sort of peace point in the conversation where he said he was planning on coming over tomorrow night, when I finished work early and didn’t work the next day, and we ended up saying our goodbyes; (me still sulking) I was/am still hurt after not contacting me again all night, but he left the conversation saying the words “I love you” before hanging up the call. he’s never said that before and I was left with my jaw on the floor and didn’t have time to reply. It felt like time stood still and now I’m so confused. We’ve had conversations where he explained how he felt about me, like he is in love but he is almost so scared to say that word because he’s been bruised by it so much in the past and doesn’t want to scare me away by saying it. (I assured him it wouldn’t since I desperately want to say it too) and he just said it. This is a big deal…
I hate texting, he isn’t good at texting and we both have ADHD. Communication when we aren’t together is always stressful for me specially since I have an anxious attachment style and am a chronic over thinker, and he seems to be a bit more avoidant, but when we are together or have a clear understanding in a space or on a situation, it’s golden and he feels like home.
Am I wasting time with a man who doesn’t care about me as much as I care about him? Is this a gaslighting and an emotionally abusive situation? Is he just stringing me along for sex and attention when he gets bored and lonely? Is he just being a bit of a man who needed time to process everything and I should cut him some slack? Or is this the kind of tough love that I need hear, to be able to pull my head out from my ass??
Please, I have no one to go too. If you’ve made it this far, give me something to work with, anything is appreciated at this point…

This is even harder than I expected. TF journey really is something else.... I still stand by the strong assertion that it is still the most fantastic blessing one could hope for. It's definitely very challenging, but the path to Heaven/enlightenment (for everyone) is through the flames. You can't go up without first going down (no rebirth without the death). Every soul will have to do this eventually. And TFs just massively, massively accelerate that process. Meaning, it's more difficult and hurts more initially, but you make it through the flames of suffering far quicker and reach much higher states of consciousness and vibration much sooner.
My own journey is evidence of that. I was broken many times by you and endured unbearable heartbreak and blah blah. I also had massive flare-ups of my shadow in the beginning. But because of that, instead of taking decades to progress a few steps, I shot up to this extremely high and rare state of consciousness/awakening at break-neck, unheard of speeds. Just 4 years into this journey and I can already say all the suffering and difficulties were totally worth it to have reached the state I'm at now. And because of that, I'm extremely grateful for every moment of it.
tldr; TF = Hard mode. Hard mode = 100x exp
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I wasn't allowed to join your stream today. And it hurt. I first hesitated because of how you reacted to me in stream yesterday. It seemed like you wanted space from me, so I wanted to give you that. But I wanted HS to make the decision. And then a bunch of things started arising to heal. Fear of rejection. Rejection from literally anyone else in the world is so easy to brush off, so I wouldn't really fear anyone else. But with you, there's that otherwordly soul connection that brings the deepest and strangest connection I've ever felt with anyone. Rejection from you isn't something I can just brush off. I know it will hurt. Which is fine, because it's always just another opportunity to heal a samskara. But it's never fun and stings everytime I even get a hint of it from you. It makes me feel like such a baby, but again, this only happens with you. And the great news is each time this happens, I remove another layer of that negative emotion permanently from my system--though there will likely be many more layers to go lol.
Once much of that fear was transmuted, and I thought I might be ready to connect, the intense soul longing for you arose. And then frustration for this complicated situation that we're in and the inability to just connect with you normally and not just in this weird, superficial way through a public gaming streaming platform. And then hopelessness of feeling like this is pointless and I'm not gonna be able to form a deep/meaningful connection with you given the extreme limitations of our communication, and that this is probably just going to end up the same way, with me falling back into chasing you and you continuing to cling to Ethan, and then HS pulling the plug and forcing me to walk away for good.
But then I snapped out of it. While describing this sounds like I was in some debby downward emo spiral, these kinds of thoughts don't last very long before I recognize that I'm caught in ego consciousness and "wake up" again. Then the thoughts fall away, I go into higher consciousness and begin transmuting. The thoughts aren't ever able to drag me down to really low/negative states. It's just in this case, so many different things kept arising one after the other. While unpleasant, this was still pretty manageable. But then that intense soul longing and sorrow came up, and that was a tough one.
Normally when negative emotions arise, I am able to transmute them fairly quickly. But the soul longing/sorrow that arose today was a huge one. My soul was in such desperate, intense longing for your soul. Wave after wave after wave kept arising, and I had to go lie in my bed and go into deep meditation for hours transmuting. It's the first time since HS awakening that something like this has happened and that I haven't been able to fairly quickly heal samskaras.
The thought did arise, "God, this sucks. I don't wanna do this anymore. I just wanna go back (run away) to my peaceful non-TF journey where things are so much easier and simpler...." That thought almost immediately was recognized as bullshit. Because that would imply abandonding my beloved to her Hellish fate, which I would never do so long as there's a chance of helping. And even on a selfish note, this is the crap that needs to come up to be healed because this is the crap that's keeping me from my bliss and ascension. So I'm very blessed to have this opportunity through our connection.
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I also reminded myself that I shouldn't get attached to you or the idea of Union. This again is becoming more difficult as the soul love grows. But I need to stay open so I don't obstruct HS from acting through this person for our highest good. So I won't say, "I miss you, I'm sorry I couldn't spend time with you during your stream today, and I wish we could connect more." But I will say that I love you always.
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tldr; we probably both needed space today. And if I wasn't such a zomgAwak3ndB_ing, I might say something like, "I miss you like the sun misses the flowers in the depths of winter; instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world which your absence has banished me to."

It is Medium and Regular Multicam. Open to anything. Still looking for M/L or just L Opscore for under $1100.

Samuel Gornan. An interesting character in the lore that we don't actually know much about.
Featured mainly in PS2 Chronicles - Acquisition March 23rd, 2849, being introduced as a VS defector.
Excerpt: [ First thing, I will need protection from the Vanu Sovereignty. If given the chance, they will destroy me for this betrayal. Along with the research, I can provide ongoing value to the NC. The data I’m prepared to hand over will be useful to you much more quickly if I help your people interpret what they are looking at. ]
Supposedly, his data could have allowed the NC to get rebirth technology before even the VS.
Excerpt: [ You do understand the full potential of this technology, do you not? This will change everything. The leadership of the VS find more interest in deciphering the culture of a dead alien race than the practical application of the alien technology. Their funding and people are spread thin across dozens of research projects. If the New Conglomerate focused its considerable resources, you could beat the Sovereignty to a functional system by months. The Terran Republic by years. With luck, that will be enough time to end this conflict. ]
He was also willing to go to the TR if the NC didn't agree to his terms. But he would have been assassinated by the NC if he tried.
Excerpt: [ Insufficient. The TR will find a way to pay what I ask. Even if they don’t, the New Conglomerate will crumble. If the assassinations continue unabated, your corporate leadership will break. ]
Other excerpt: [ Felix led the defector towards the lift as Karin reached for her comm. link.
“Davis, you copy?”
“Yes, ma’am. What’s the word?”
Karin waited a moment, letting the two men get to the lift. As Felix and Gornan disappeared behind the lift doors, she responded.
“Have the snipers stand down. We got him.”
“Roger that, boss.”]
Samuel Gornan was later mentioned again in PS2 Chronicles - Acquisition: Rebirth June 12th, 2850 where he was killed off by a TR hit squad.
Excerpt: [ The details of the attack came back to me slowly, and then all at once. I had watched Felix die. I had watched Sam die. Security personnel whose names I still can’t remember laid their lives down to protect me, but they all had failed.]
[I should be ecstatic. We did it. What started with the acquisition of Sam Gornan and his stolen Vanu rebirthing research had reached conclusion. Rebirthing is a reality, and as far as we know, we’re way out in front of both the VS and TR. We’ve changed the game.
But I... can’t shake the guilt. It only saved me. Rebirthing is still far too costly to plug in more than a couple dozen people at a time. As the head of the project, I was the only one in my research division deemed important enough to get plugged in to the early prototypes. Felix is dead, and he doesn't get to come back. Sam is gone, too, when he was the one who had brought this tech to the NC in the first place! And he was, after everything, one of my closest friends.
I guess all I can do now is make it cheaper in the next iteration - find a way for it to protect more people. One day, I swear, we’ll have every New Conglomerate soldier plugged in, and we’ll all be spared the grief that comes with losing the people closest to us… but that wasn't today. Knowing that Sam and Felix could have kept their lives somehow has made everything so much harder.]
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So here comes a few questions. Did the NC actually beat the VS to rebirth technology? (while we know Henry Briggs underwent rebirth long before; we don't know when the VS was able to replicate it)
Vanu Sovereignty propagandists love to claim that the VS gave rebirth technology to the NC; but it almost seems as if the lore contradicts it. But are the propagandists actually right? Since we don't actually know when the VS reproduced rebirth technology; it is entirely possible that they finished it even before Samuel Gornan "defected".
Samuel Gornan might have acuatally been a VS double agent, whose objective was to give the NC rebirth technology, in order to prolong the war. He might even still be alive; if the VS had rebirth technology way before everyone, and he was plugged in before he went to "defect".
The reason why the double agent hypothesis is so compelling is because we don't even know if it is possible for VS to defect after becoming "enlightened" through "imprinting". Technology covered in: PS2 Chronicles - To Advance and Protect Humanity August 30th, 2846
Excerpts: [ Absolutely. Along with implants, discreet cybernetics, and some flash imprinting, you’ll be better than ever. ]
[ It’s better if we wait to address your questions. Things will be clearer for you after we begin the imprinting.]
[ Look, I’m sorry, you aren’t ready for this. I should have waited until after the imprinting, but here we are. Mr. Clay, you don’t get to see your family, not until we’re through with you. You aren’t prepared, and they are not yet part of the Sovereignty. ]
[ Oh, we count on it, Mr. Clay. You’ll likely recruit your wife yourself once you understand. Assuming she can be made to see reason we’d welcome her with open arms. If she can’t be made to see the truth, it’s tragic, but she’ll burn with all the rest. Your little girl is already ours, she just doesn’t know it yet. With our process, by the time Anni’s an adult, she’ll be an amazing specimen, a true paragon of the cause.]
So in short, it seems imprinting might be a form of brainwashing; or the very least 'data transfer'. We don't know how effective it is, nor whether every member of the VS undergoes it. The imprinting tech is utilized in 2846; several years before Samuel Gornan defected in 2849.
Also just to go over timelines, Henry Briggs drops his cover in February, 2845, and VS seemingly officially formed in June, 2845 by Chairman Willis Scott (I say seemingly since it gives Sandy Jones the title "Vanu Sovereignty Chief of Research and Development", but it is unknown whether he got that title that day or whether he had it prior; if he had it prior that would mean the VS officially formed prior to the date.)
Excerpt: Willis Scott's speech: [ We’re not siding with either of them, if that’s what you mean. But we can’t stay out of this any longer. They're going to destroy all of us, and take the whole damn planet down with them. To save the world that Vanu once ruled so that humanity can reach its full potential, we have to eradicate the threat. Today will declare our sovereignty - a Vanu Sovereignty. If only one force can live on Auraxis, it must be us.]
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Anyways, back to the subject. If Samuel Gornan was actually a defector; that means either VS imprinting wasn't done on everyone, or wasn't full mind control. Both these options I like since it means that the VS cult might not have a complete stranglehold on all of its members.
But the other option is that Samuel Gornan wasn't an actual defector; instead he was a double agent. But why give NC rebirth technology? Even if the TR wiped out the NC, that would mean the VS has one less opponent; they now just need to beat the TR who doesn't have rebirth technology yet.
But what if the VS want a forever war? Sure it is contradictory to their supposed goals; but their actions so far have been contradictory to their goals. Is it possible that the Vanu Aliens are manipulating the VS to produce a forever war for their enjoyment? This would actually fill certain plot holes. The Vanu Alien claims to Briggs never lined up in my opinion.
Regardless I find this all fairly interesting. Figured this would be a fun discussion regardless. I'm interested in reading more lore, so if anyone has links feel free to post them.

I've been with my gf since 2019. I've been doing all i could to make her happy, i would cook, I would clean, I would ride 9 km on my bike in 20 minutes when she got drunk and wanted to kill herself. I've devoted my whole life for her, the only reason I tried to better myself, i studied and worked was for her. When we started dating i was in a mental ditch and she helped me open up she would listen when i talked about my troubles with self esteem, she would comfort me when i would break down crying afraid that im not good enough.
Three weeks ago she started sexting with some random guy she met that same day.
She told me that she went volounteering in some movie and she men a few guys, who started flirting with her in a way that she described as "any other girl would be disgusted" but she felt like sbd wanted her body and it made her feel good so she flirted back. She said that she got contact to one of the guys and that he's really nice and nerdy, intelligent, depressed on therapy and over all really similar to me, in ger type. Then she said that she thinks she might be polyamorous and she wants to talk dirty with him cus it makes her feel wanted. (Later i also got out of her that she already planned out another meeting w/ him).
(Quick note its not the first time she had someone behind my back. Throughout the first 6 months we were together she was sending nudes to three guys behind my back. Obvs to get attention. I didn't care then but now i can't get the thought of that scenario repeating the third time)
I said that from my pov she isn't polyamorous because she does not love him, she just lies to me and uses him for boosting her self esteem, and that she sould cut contact with him and go to therapy instead using others to feel better.
Later i read their convo.
From the fucking beginning it was forced to be sexual and not by him but by her (i got in contact w/ the guy and he is fucking asexual so he did it only cus she wanted it). I read their messages and it was mostly what i would tell throughout those 4 years to her to show her that i want her cus she had low self esteem, other than that there she send a vibrator pic calling it "a soft pic". She forced the same validation i tried to give her out of someone else, showing me that I'm clearly not enough for her.
She went on a charade of crying and acting like she was bouta kill herself which clearly is manipulation yet she doesn't fucking realize it is. Few days later she started assuring that she still loves me and she will fight for me. She knows that she hurt me really bad and she will listen to my emotions and i won't have to do anything cus she will be the one to take care of me now. And i liked that.
Week later when i have another breakdown (which i have daily now and only way to avoid it is either drinking or playing fallout 2 till i fall asleep) and so far before that she would just hug me and start reassuring me as i instructed her to do. This time she started bitching about it cus "it doesn't motivate her to try" n shit. I was speechless. I started talking something i don't really remember but i said that we shoud stop seeing each other for a while. We gonna meet it 23rd of june.
I don't trust her anymore. I don't know what to do, i feel like i sort of still love her, most the time i hate her for what she did. I can't enjoy anything anymore, i feel like im useless, i can't go on anymore. I want to kill myself. But then i get jealous about her just getting to use me, ruin my life and just go out unharmed and then i want to do a murder suicide. I don't know what to do, i can't go on anymore. Please let me die, i hate it here

As the title says,
when I start games in exclusive fullscreen mode with Gsync enabled, the monitor refreshrate is limited to 120hz instead of the full 240hz. Is there any way to fix this?
The panel is used via HDMI 2.1 with an rtx 3090 on Windows 10 22H2 with latest updates and uses the full HDMI 2.1 bandwith, monitor firmware is up to date.
In Windows settings I can see that the VRR option is visible and activated. I read online, that this option shouldn't be visible with nvidia hardware so i'm a little confused here.
Ingame I can see the Gsync logo in the top right corner so it is working.
Also, If I alt Tab or open / close games, the screen freezes for like 7-10 seconds (probably changing gsync modes, it is hoooorribly slow doing that).
​

Things i've tried in NVCP:

turned vsync to:

• on
• off
• fast
• use settings for 3D apps
• limiting framerate to 237FPS / disabled that setting

turned GSYNC settings to:

• windowed and fullscreen
• fullscreen only
• 3rd Gsync checkbox option using settings for my specific screen

​

RTSS (Rivatuner)

• limiting framerate for specific games to 237 fps
• deactivating rivatuner and Afterburner

DDU

• tried to rollback to the last 4 nvidia drivers - no success.

Hi,
I have had a husqvarna 305 for a week and all is going well, except I don't get any notifications from the Automower connect app on my Android phone (Samsung). I have the notifications turned on in the phone settings for the app but still nothing.
I expected the messages that show up in the messages part of the app to trigger a notification on my phone, its that how it should work? Is there a setting in the Automower connect app itself?
Also, it needs to reconnect to the mower every time I open the app, it's this normal? I thought it would start connected 24/7.
Any help would be delightfully appreciated!

Looking at various AIO's currently and the LCD display on the various Kraken coolers has caught my eye.
Doing some cursory searches yielded many horror stories of the CAM software (or bloatware) starting years ago. Reading about the forced telemetry, and seeing forced sudden firmware updates pumped the brakes on considering a Kraken AIO. However I can see in more recent posts here on Reddit that there has been some large changes that seem to be in a positive direction (such as getting rid of cloud profiles).
Are most or all of the ghosts of Christmas past resolved? Is it in a better place but still requires some intervention (blocking telemetry, GitHub fixes)? Should it be overlooked for open source alternatives? Or should I fall into the Raspberry Pi rabbit hole and forget Kraken entirely?
Thanks for any input!

First off I would like to say I’m not trying to let people know who I am or give any of my personal life out. Which is why I made this fake account. But I do need advice for my situation. For some back story, when I was in middle school there was this new girl. We’ll call her Anne. I really like Anne but I was too scared to go up and talk to her. Throughout the entirety of middle school we never talked to each other, mainly because we were in different classes and my anxiety was holding me back. Then Covid happened and I thought I never see her. Then too my surprise when I was on online school for my freshman year of high school. She’s in 2 of my classes, and I was kinda happy about it. Then come sophomore year and by a mutual friend we got to know each other better. She considered me as a close and trusted friend and I was very pleased about it. I liked her but I didn’t want to ask her out cause for 1 anxiety and also due to the fact I just wanted to get to know her better. So for a while we’ve been friends and people at school thought we dated, on the outside I just said we were just friends and just laughed it off. But on the inside it was making feel good and a little happy. From my knowledge she wasn’t interested in dating and I was fine with it. But I can understand why people thought we were. Because I was so nice to her, if I had a money I can spend I would always give her snickers her favorite candy. And on Christmas I gave her ferrero rocher and Coke her favorite soda. And she even asked if I would buy her a shirt off of Amazon. I had a $50Amazon gift card for Christmas and I never used it so I figured we not. It was $20. She was very appreciative of the gifts I gave her and she felt guilty that I always gave her stuff and she didn’t. But I told her not to worry about. It was fine. But when it was my birthday she gave me a homemade birthday card inside of it, it was an Aki sticker. Aki is a character from her favorite anime called Chainsaw Man. A note saying happy birthday and thanks for being a good person. And the $20. I never spend the $20 cause I thought it so thoughtful and I still love the card to this day. I hid the note in my room so no one will find it and open it, or steal the $20 and I can still see it when I want to. So a little summary of Anne’s character, she’s the shy quiet girl in school. But her personality is that she’s weird and nervous. I don’t want to tell everyone about who she is but just to summarize everything. She’s just spends a lot of time on the internet and seen weird things that I’m honestly surprised that she knows these things. But I can’t judge because I’ve seen weird stuff too. And that’s mainly why she considers me as a close friend because I get her sense of humor and she doesn’t have to be afraid of being weird next to me. And just to make something clear she has other friends who she talks to, but it feels as though she’s more comfortable letting her weird humor out on me more than them. And I don’t have a problem with it. But the problem lays in to her not doing much back for me. I ask her to do something once, to get me charger back from some kid she was in class with. But she was too scared to go up and talk to him. The kid wasn’t intimidating at all as he’s just hyper and listen to a lot of drill music. I’m positive he’ll give her the charger if she asked him. But I get it she has anxiety. But on the other hand I was like, it’s not that hard to talk to him. I think the issue is that I try and be too nice with people to get them on their good side and I try not get people annoyed with me. Please read the comments for the rest of the post.

A throwaway, because who knows.. I’m sorry for a lot of text, but I don’t know how to do this in less words.
It’s been something like 6 or 7 years since we broke up and I’m mostly “over” it, but one never gets fully over it. He tried to stay in my life by being a “friend” and I went with it, he and my daughter had a great relationship, she grew up for 4 years with him around, part of that time us living together. He was a classic abuser.
He definitely has some kind of a personality disorder, not necessarily narcissistic, more hysteria-like. Not that important.
I’m not going to spend your time telling the whole story, but it’s a classic one: he was belittling me, gaslighting, refusing sex if I even tried to hint that I wanted it, creating a scene if he thought i wanted to “turn him on”, literally screaming at me “don’t you think I know what you’re trying to do?”, hysterical scenes in the street on my birthday when I didn’t want to do what he wanted (going to some Shitty club where someone invited him), cheating and lying when I was catching him, gaslighting again.
After we finally broke up, he once attacked me in the street in the morning, with tens of people watching, tried to grab my throat and stopped just in time. That was because he saw me walking and I said hi and asked him to please talk later, because I wasn’t in the mood, I was annoyed, but asked nicely. He left with his bicycle, but when I turned the corner to my street, I saw him viciously riding towards me, stopping right in front of me, threw his bike and spread his hand towards my throat swaying “what are you doing to me, you bitch!”. Damn, I went into memories and it actually helps me to grab the reality, so bare with me and thank you.
Anyway, a couple of years ago a girl I got to know told me how he had sex with her in the toilet of a friend’s apartment, where I was before that and just left to go back to my then 2 year old daughter. I felt like I got a superpower, wrote a deliberate message to him, saying that I’m finally free of everything he did to me - stds out of nowhere, thinking I was crazy, all that. Told him to cross the street when he sees me, and I should say, he does. He always said that he’s scared of me. Now he’s scared for real and I feel it.
A couple of years ago he met this amazing girl, I met her a couple of times, and she’s the sweetest. Smart, beautiful, nice. Then they moved in together and I felt like… like an uncle who’s been abusing me when I was a kid, married a woman with young kids. I felt nauseous. They got married about 8 months ago, which I found out about when Facebook suggested a friend, and it was his new wife with his last name. I just found out that she’s pregnant. I am just entering this area of my life with my new therapist, and I know there’s a lot of work to do, because it still makes me sick and I feel tension and anxiety when I find out something about them (it’s a tiny city).
HOW CAN IT BE?? How is it possible that they are married and she’s pregnant? How can it be that they’re happy? I just don’t believe in it. These people don’t change. I look at her and I think that she’s a victim, but am I wrong? I don’t know what I want from you guys, but at least venting with people I don’t know helps.

Like sure, I get the character is fictional but.. It looks like a freaking 5 year old child! I get that canonically it is 500 years old but like.. HAAAAH???!!! You are still openly attracted to someone that looks 5!
I have come across multiple people who defend borderline pedophilia! I just don't get it.
Like if you are attracted to something that looks like a 5 year old child, then chances are you might also be or get attracted to real ones since they looks so similar.
I was arguing on the internet with someone who was defending someone for commenting that it's ok to be sexually attracted to fictional character even if looks very underage, because it's fictional. Take note that the character that started this argument was Nahida from genshin impact, and she looks like a freaking 5 year old. The person also made sexual art of her.. That just makes me sick..
So, Am I wrong? Or is it ok just because it's a fictional character?