Journal of Other Forum Analysis (Volume II, Issue 2)

[Greatness Gone]

Again something I'm far removed from this as I have no intention of buying the game. Crimson Desert seems like a game legacy gaming media were going to hate on for some particular reason but I cant figure out the reason why.

Not really addressing gaming media specifically, but I empathize with this comment aside from the CCU whining. 

https://www.resetera.com/threads/crimson-desert-review-thread.1466764/page-61

it never surprises me the vitriol this place has for hyped games.  Like, this is sitting at pretty much an 8/10.  IGN gives it a 6/10 with 100 hours and people call it shit, Forbes gives it a 9.5/10 and people never mention the review again.  There are more high scoring reviews than low scoring reviews, yet the threads are filled with people just saying it's a failure.

I think there is sever confirmation bias BOTH WAYS that apply across this forum, and review and CCU threads could do with tighter moderation all around imo.

It's funny, we have countless threads here lamenting the state of the games industry, yet this game, that lots of people think got unfair or unearned amount of hype, has an 80%~ish, 8/10(!), mostly positive on steam, and threads for crimson desert are filled with people shitting all over the game.  Are there bugs? Yeah quite a few.  But the hyperbole over it being shit is just ridiculous. 

Constant posts asking while people are defending a game, while other people gleefully post memes and shitpost about how they knew a game was going to suck.  Do any of you that do this actually have fun playing games anymore?

And this isn't singular to this game either.  It happen all the time here for a variety of games that are hyped up and turn out good, not great, not shit, just good.  Too much weight is put on CCU numbers and review scores that just feed into what people want to hear.  Like, why on earth would anyone  care how many people are playing a single player game on steam?

[TylenolJones]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/remember-chuck-norris.1469305/

My sister (24) just sent me a text saying "Yo, wtf is Chuck Norris?" and it kinda threw me back into the early eras of the internet, where EVERYBODY knew who he was.

I don't even know much about the man, but I know about the memes.

Anyway, I told her he's part of internet culture from the yesteryears, and she needs to stop talking to whatever uncle who referenced that man. 😂

So era, when was the last time yall thought about ol Chuck Norris, Martial Legend?

Edit:

Edit: Pfft. Apparently he died yesterday! Man. I gotta read the news more.

No wonder she brought him up!

But...the point still stands! Prior to his passing, when was the last time yall referenced the man?

Funny thread, mods better close it asap.

[Boredfrom]

Again something I'm far removed from this as I have no intention of buying the game. Crimson Desert seems like a game legacy gaming media were going to hate on for some particular reason but I cant figure out the reason why.

Jason Schreier's quote struck me as a bit weird.

I've only played a few hours of the much-hyped Crimson Desert, so weight my opinion accordingly, but those few hours were so boring and soulless that I absolutely did not want to play anymore. Feels like a game designed for people who just want to Consume Content.

https://bsky.app/profile/jasonschreier.bsky.social/post/3mhej2qzta22p

Not because that opinion is necessarily wrong, but I wonder why he'd say that about this game but not AC Shadows or Star Wars Outlaws or whatever other soulless giant open world game you can think of

Because no Korean dev will know that he is shit talking their game and would make more difficult to him to get insider info.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/ai-art-found-in-crimson-desert.1469002/page-4#post-152840083

 User banned (2 months): Hostility. Multiple prior bans for the same.

I'm sure it was just temporary art like in Clair Obscur and they will patch it out.

One of the most ambitious games in a long, long time.

Do you use any sauces to gussy up the boot before you dive in or you just licking 'em raw?

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nvidia-gives-clarifications-on-dlss5-essentially-a-2d-ai-filter-not-directly-aware-of-geometry-and-textures-and-may-override-details.1468435/page-6#post-152823082

 User banned (2 weeks): Trolling and whataboutisms over multiple posts. Prior ban for similar behavior.

And yet again my comment was on your nonsense "ill will" statement and your response is a "but you live in society" retort. You said something stupid. Give it a rest.

You seem to infer that using DLSS is indirectly supporting Palantir.

Have you stopped playing video games and using your NVIDIA cards yet? Or maybe your Windows OS because of
Microsoft's involvement in Gaza?

I'm just curious. To me, it seems like your values are coming at odds with the situation, and you're making some weird association to put yourself on a moral pedestal. I have yet to find a fully ethical moral alternative to what you are suggesting. Every major player in the VG industry is involved into some shitty/shady business. I'm aware of it and I don't celebrate by any means, but I'm also not trying to paint people in a worse light than they are.

Good luck living in your ethically and morally superior lifestyle. It's one thing to keep companies accountable, it's another to infer that using a component of a technology that is litterally imposed to their customer base is an indirect support of wars and tecnofascism.

I think we are capable of saying I love video games, and I don't support companies supporting a shitty company like Palantir. But also there's a reality of not having control over that. I mean that's if you're in good faith.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nvidia-gives-clarifications-on-dlss5-essentially-a-2d-ai-filter-not-directly-aware-of-geometry-and-textures-and-may-override-details.1468435/page-11#post-152829310

 User banned (permanent): Troll account

Stop avoiding the question and answer it.

Ask me harder.

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/today-in-character-assassination-capcom-makes-alex-marry-impregnate-his-cousin-step-sister-in-sfvi-who-he-also-helped-raise-from-a-baby.1465594/page-15#post-152809831

 User banned (permanent): Troll account

"This incest/grooming is not as bad as this other incest/grooming" is quite the take, my man.

At this point, why care about individual murders when serial killers exist?

Again with the leap in comparisons. Why are we comparing incest, 2nd cousin incest at that from a video game to MURDERS? Are you insane?!?

Boy howdy do I miss when people didn't lose their shit over such minor stuff as weird video game relationships and compare them to real world problems.
Uncle Duff Mcwhalen was right about you 21st century posters.

[Greatness Gone]

Giving a fuck about Street Fighter’s story 

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/lgbtq-people-are-now-considered-a-stronger-form-of-currency-than-american-express.1468303/#post-152810173

I wish I was gay ;_; now excuse me I'm gonna fake my estrogen and make out with my nonbinary partner

Edit:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/applying-for-jobs-is-exhausting-and-soul-crushing.7907/page-106#post-152688259

GOD DAMN IT. I am pretty sure I got denied due to being trans but I can't prove it. I was perfect for that job, had perfect experience and the hours would had been fantastic. Fuck man I'm just trying to job hop I'm exhausted. This is a big city but apparently finding another job is a god damn nightmare.

Edit: lol got another interview for next week

[D3RANG3D]

It's just hollyweird being racist as usual against Asian media...

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/england-is-facing-an-unprecedented-invasion-the-problem-is-it%E2%80%99s-octopuses-and-they%E2%80%99re-devouring-everything-in-their-path.1469293/#post-152849032

One of the smartest animals. England Era, so many friends to be made. Dont let me down

https://www.resetera.com/threads/england-is-facing-an-unprecedented-invasion-the-problem-is-it%E2%80%99s-octopuses-and-they%E2%80%99re-devouring-everything-in-their-path.1469293/#post-152849236

delicious friends

https://www.resetera.com/threads/england-is-facing-an-unprecedented-invasion-the-problem-is-it%E2%80%99s-octopuses-and-they%E2%80%99re-devouring-everything-in-their-path.1469293/#post-152849458

Call me the fun police but personally I find these types of jokes incredibly distasteful, especially when we are talking about an animal that is incredibly intelligent such as an octopus.

I don't know why meat eaters love to joke about killing and eating animals so much. If you eat meat fine, but revelling in the idea of eating them as a response to someone talking about how said animal has intelligence or emotions etc always comes off as slightly sociopathic.

[Boredfrom]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/lgbtq-people-are-now-considered-a-stronger-form-of-currency-than-american-express.1468303/#post-152810173

I wish I was gay ;_; now excuse me I'm gonna fake my estrogen and make out with my nonbinary partner

Edit:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/applying-for-jobs-is-exhausting-and-soul-crushing.7907/page-106#post-152688259

GOD DAMN IT. I am pretty sure I got denied due to being trans but I can't prove it. I was perfect for that job, had perfect experience and the hours would had been fantastic. Fuck man I'm just trying to job hop I'm exhausted. This is a big city but apparently finding another job is a god damn nightmare.

Edit: lol got another interview for next week

I think they are a troll.

[Polident]

Im so pissed off about this. I've been enjoying the game. I know I have terrible opinions (loved callisto protocol) but this game is exactly the kind of janky systems fest I'm into, but i draw a hard line at gen AI, and ive put over 10 hours into this since launch now. I want to scream.

“There is no relation between untreated autism and trans people.”

Such a minor and mostly inconsequential part of the janky game.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/ai-art-found-in-crimson-desert.1469002/page-3#post-152839525

in other similar news, animal crossing for gamecube was just finally decompiled and ported to PC, able to run natively and allowing much easier support for mods and optimizations, in the vein of similar projects over the years like the Mario 64 decomp etc

...and the guy who did it used AI to help him do it

...and everyone on bluesky is seething mad about it and refusing to play it





here's the thing...a decompilation is a ton of complicated, annoying work...and it's also largely rote mechanical work without much creative process involved, you already know the endgame before you start: a game that functions identically to its original version

if you succeed in doing that, what possible difference could there be in a human made decomp and an AI-assisted one? both would be identical

This feels like the ideal and most pragmatic usage of AI tools. Where a person or small group have a passion project and limited resources and don’t intend to sell a product.

[NekoFever]

Giving a fuck about Street Fighter’s story 

I’m actually kind of taken aback that people both follow the stories of fighting games and actually care. I’ve been playing Street Fighter since the SNES and couldn’t tell you much beyond Ryu and Ken are bros.

[Kyon1988]

My life is complete joke but it comforts me I'm not Violet Wren

[Rendle]

Have you tried smoking weed?

[Gamegirl Nostalgia]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/today-in-character-assassination-capcom-makes-alex-marry-impregnate-his-cousin-step-sister-in-sfvi-who-he-also-helped-raise-from-a-baby.1465594/page-15#post-152809831

 User banned (permanent): Troll account

"This incest/grooming is not as bad as this other incest/grooming" is quite the take, my man.

At this point, why care about individual murders when serial killers exist?

Again with the leap in comparisons. Why are we comparing incest, 2nd cousin incest at that from a video game to MURDERS? Are you insane?!?

Boy howdy do I miss when people didn't lose their shit over such minor stuff as weird video game relationships and compare them to real world problems.
Uncle Duff Mcwhalen was right about you 21st century posters.

Wow. What a great thread to be made toward the end of Ramadan.. and even still active during eid of all times?

How is marrying her incest/grooming? She's his cousin, marrying her is permissible. This whole thread is an attack on Islam, y'all ain't slick. 

[Polident]

Giving a fuck about Street Fighter’s story 

I’m actually kind of taken aback that people both follow the stories of fighting games and actually care. I’ve been playing Street Fighter since the SNES and couldn’t tell you much beyond Ryu and Ken are bros.

I still don’t know if Ken is Japanese with colored hair or a Caucasian.

[Uncle]

Giving a fuck about Street Fighter’s story 

I’m actually kind of taken aback that people both follow the stories of fighting games and actually care. I’ve been playing Street Fighter since the SNES and couldn’t tell you much beyond Ryu and Ken are bros.

I know that chun li's village was destroyed but for bison it was Tuesday

[Uncle]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/today-in-character-assassination-capcom-makes-alex-marry-impregnate-his-cousin-step-sister-in-sfvi-who-he-also-helped-raise-from-a-baby.1465594/page-15#post-152809831

 User banned (permanent): Troll account

Again with the leap in comparisons. Why are we comparing incest, 2nd cousin incest at that from a video game to MURDERS? Are you insane?!?

Boy howdy do I miss when people didn't lose their shit over such minor stuff as weird video game relationships and compare them to real world problems.
Uncle Duff Mcwhalen was right about you 21st century posters.

Wow. What a great thread to be made toward the end of Ramadan.. and even still active during eid of all times?

How is marrying her incest/grooming? She's his cousin, marrying her is permissible. This whole thread is an attack on Islam, y'all ain't slick. 

counterpoint I found this other video where they asked this guy if it was ok to marry your cousin:

[filler]

[BananaBlast]

Giving a fuck about Street Fighter’s story 

I’m actually kind of taken aback that people both follow the stories of fighting games and actually care. I’ve been playing Street Fighter since the SNES and couldn’t tell you much beyond Ryu and Ken are bros.

Yeah fighting games all have terrible stories. And it sucks because the characters can be so cool and iconic, that you really wish they were part of a good narrative. Such wasted potential.

I still don’t know if Ken is Japanese with colored hair or a Caucasian.

Apparently the former, 3/4 japanese with dyed blonde hair, which honestly feels a lot more contrived than just making him a white man from America.

[Gamegirl Nostalgia]

C Viper is a MILF, that's all you need to know. 

[Hap Shaughnessy]

Have you tried smoking weed?

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

Sick of you guys talking about death and religion and genocide all the time. Lets make an effort to look on the lighter side of Palestinian extermimation, okay?

Just think back to October 7 when the "right" people were being killed. 

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/declared-war-on-my-downstairs-neighbor-mistake-or-time-to-double-down.1469362/

So, gonna try to keep this brief.

About, I want to say - Two years ago roughly, new tenant moves in to the apartment below mine, I'll refer to him as The Douchebag from here on - Previous tenant was an elderly couple who weren't long for this world, and ones before them some hooligans who were constantly yelling slurs (not sure if directed or just irony-poisoning) of whom I'm not sure if they were kicked-out or left on their own (but that's beside the point). The Douchebag immediately installs a doorbell camera on his unit which was a massive Vibe Check Fail in my book, but eh whatever - However eventually after about a month or so he confronts me about walking on the grass in front of his unit, so you know what, I comply and stop taking that shortcut, because hey, in this case he's got a point.

Fast forward to, not sure particularly when it started, but at some point after that he started to develop a habit of going around thumping/slamming on my floor/his ceiling, over the noise of my, well, existence as a human being. Eventually this "behavior" evolves into him playing loud and obnoxious music, and/or "ambience" at absurdly loud volumes - And then eventually blasting Joe Rogan and/or other chud podcasters at high volumes around 8AM Sharp, daily.

I believe around April 2025 (I have the exact timestamp on one of my drives, will check later), neighbor from other side of the building (Henceforth "Concerned Citizen") is clearly getting fed up with this and leaves a handwritten note complaining about it on both the front doorstep of both me and The Douchebag (I guess they didn't know which one of us was the source of the audio) - I check with the building manager, they acknowledge they know it's not me and somethingsomething looking into it. A week later, Concerned calls the cops, they talk to Douchebag, Douchebag directs them to me and insists I'm the problem because "[he] can hear [my] TV!" and "[he's] only loud because [I'm] loud!". I make it known to the cops that I'm not the one who made the call, citing Concerned as being the likely person who did. Cops decide this isn't their problem and leave.

From that point on, Douchebag's aggression starts turning up more and more, I guess he'd decided that I am The Enemy and the one who talks to the cops. Morning of August 23rd (2025), when I'm getting myself ready and packing my last few essentials for a flight to New York for AnimeNYC, Douchebag engages in a particularly spirited round of Floor-Slamming, culminating in yelling insults at me through my floor of which I unfortunately fumbled my attempt to record in a panic, with my phone camera being in Picture mode instead of Video - At this point I had started proactively documenting incidents of Douchebag knocking on my floor. At the airport I did make a point of calling my town's police department (non emergency of course) about the incident and his aggression, for which frankly I was starting to develop safety-concerns, however the response I got from them essentially boiled down to this not being their problem. At some point in the days prior, there had been another instance of yelling through my floor which had prompted me to start recording, after the sound of me getting up to take a piss at 4AM seemed to have also woken him up.

To be clear, these instances of Thumping/Slamming aren't just noise - Shit in my apartment is getting knocked over by how hard he's hitting his ceiling (Honestly I'm sure he's damaged his ceiling at this point). Anyway, a week later I get back from New York, which actually brings me to another matter of attempted diplomacy - I'd realized while in New York staying at a hotel that my bed's box-spring was in bad condition and made audible noise when I got on and off the bed, so, first order of business was buying a new one so I wouldn't make loud noises going to/from bed. For a week I had silence from downstairs, but I realized that it was because Douchebag was on his own vacation and his parents were occupying the apartment to dogsit for him. Naturally, upon his return, the aggression started once more. I don't have a clear timeline at this point (but I'm sure reviewing my recordings+timestamps will help), but it's a slow march of this getting worse and worse.

Eventually, by the start of 2026, Douchebag has started to play music at volumes loud enough that the building is literally shaking. Either end of January or start of February I finally reach out to the building manager about this, which I really ought to have done sooner. They're not dismissive outright, but they basically downgrade this matter to just "noise complaint" in their notes, but I do get a nugget out of them that firmly confirms that Concerned has indeed also been making complaints. Two separate notices get posted on Douchebag's door - I do not know their contents because I don't snoop (make a note of this), and for a while Douchebag behaves. He's still playing music and podcasts, now at merely discourteous volumes instead of building-shakingly, and stopped marching around pounding. Life is good.

March 7th. I wake up around 6AM (right on time), and very shortly after (within minutes), someone who I assumed to be Concerned was yelling/ranting about Douchebag apparently having been playing his music at 4:30 AM, presumably at Douchebag's doorbell-camera judging by the lack of another party speaking. I'm not sure how I slept through it if music was being played at 4:30, but Concerned seems to indicate that they've got no choice but to leave (I don't remember exact phrasing as I don't record stuff going on outside, plus I had just woken up). After this point, Douchebag is back on his bullshit again on Sunday, but cows-out from March 9th through March 19th after I shout back down at him in response to another Thumping-Session. Life is good.

Today, March 20th - I'm busy working from home - Perfectly still at my desk, working. I'm not walking around or doing anything that should make "nuisance" levels of noise. Douchebag is going around, thumping, and multiple times makes particularly hard thumps directly under my feet at my standing-desk, where I HAVE BEEN STANDING STILL. I thump back once in annoyance, and he seems to take that as permission to accelerate, and starts running around doing more thumps. Eventually I hit my time for lunch break, and rather than eat at home with this shitload of fuck going on, opt to walk over to the pseudomexican fast-food restaurant I need not name that's a five minute walk from my apartment for lunch.

Walking back, his window and blinds are wide open, right next to the front door to the building such that in order to not look through it, I would have to either close my eyes or look into the other neighbor's window. In my casual glance, I see him standing in the window, staring directly at me, and our eyes lock - Reflexively, I snap and flip Douchebag the middle finger, which prompts him to very angrily accuse me of being a "creep" who is spying on the neighbors/him, and we quickly get into a shouting match yelling at eachother - I make it fucking known that I'm sick of his shit and want him to stop thumping on my ceiling, make it clear that I wasn't the person complaining about the music, and well, say some things that my lawyer would advise not to repeat online in anger at him. His response is to, 1 - Double-down on the "creep" accusations, 2 - Insist I am the nuisance who is slamming because "the first and last thing [he] can hear each day is [me] walking/"stomping around" (For ref, I can't hear my own footsteps, so X - Doubt), 3 - Claim that his "slamming" is just him "spring cleaning", and 4 - Proclaim that Concerned "isn't" complaining and that he turned down the volume. I don't have exact recording of what he said, but the more I play it back in my head, the more and more it sounds like flagrant Gaslighting, which only makes me more and more enraged at him.

I avoid contact with him for the rest of the workday - I realized that getting into an argument might have been a blunder since he's got a doorbell-camera which probably caught all of it), with a plan to contact Concerned and others who potentially could've been plaintiffs to Douchebag's behavior so I can get an aligned narrative on Douchebag's behavior established, but Concerned doesn't answer their door, and the other unit bordering Douchebag refuses to answer their door - Their dog barks and I hear them telling the dog to shut up, but no one comes. Oh well, time to head over to the theater to watch Project Hail Mary with my friends (really good movie).

Anyway, I get back from that, and once again try to establish contact with Concerned & Friends. I realize Concerned's lights aren't on, but I realize when I check the mailboxes that their Nametag is gone - They've, like they said they would, moved out. So, I try "Other Neighbor" - Once again, dog barks, and now two people yell at the dog to shut up, and neither answer the door. So uh, I guess I'm officially going-it-alone on this.

Anyway, I guess my gameplan now is to properly compile and formalize the evidence I've been building since August (+ the scraps from beforehand), and my account of this two years or so of continuous harassment in one big email - And I guess send it off to the Building Manager/Landlord (whomever the office email goes to) to make it clear and establish context, either proactively ahead of him possibly forwarding that doorbell-camera footage, or correcting the record if he already has (But I believe he hasn't, as no notices have been posted to my door, unlike how quickly they were when I complained).

But you know what? Fuck, it felt GOOD to look him in the eye and let my thoughts on him be known. I'm not going to fucking bend the knee to his Alpha Male bullshit. We ball, we STAND AND FIGHT where I'm from.

TLDR I'm just going to assume they're crazy.

[Rendle]

Sick of you guys talking about death and religion and genocide all the time. Lets make an effort to look on the lighter side of Palestinian extermimation, okay?

Just think back to October 7 when the "right" people were being killed. 

Streamers?

[Taco Bell Tower]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/declared-war-on-my-downstairs-neighbor-mistake-or-time-to-double-down.1469362/

So, gonna try to keep this brief.

About, I want to say - Two years ago roughly, new tenant moves in to the apartment below mine, I'll refer to him as The Douchebag from here on - Previous tenant was an elderly couple who weren't long for this world, and ones before them some hooligans who were constantly yelling slurs (not sure if directed or just irony-poisoning) of whom I'm not sure if they were kicked-out or left on their own (but that's beside the point). The Douchebag immediately installs a doorbell camera on his unit which was a massive Vibe Check Fail in my book, but eh whatever - However eventually after about a month or so he confronts me about walking on the grass in front of his unit, so you know what, I comply and stop taking that shortcut, because hey, in this case he's got a point.

Fast forward to, not sure particularly when it started, but at some point after that he started to develop a habit of going around thumping/slamming on my floor/his ceiling, over the noise of my, well, existence as a human being. Eventually this "behavior" evolves into him playing loud and obnoxious music, and/or "ambience" at absurdly loud volumes - And then eventually blasting Joe Rogan and/or other chud podcasters at high volumes around 8AM Sharp, daily.

I believe around April 2025 (I have the exact timestamp on one of my drives, will check later), neighbor from other side of the building (Henceforth "Concerned Citizen") is clearly getting fed up with this and leaves a handwritten note complaining about it on both the front doorstep of both me and The Douchebag (I guess they didn't know which one of us was the source of the audio) - I check with the building manager, they acknowledge they know it's not me and somethingsomething looking into it. A week later, Concerned calls the cops, they talk to Douchebag, Douchebag directs them to me and insists I'm the problem because "[he] can hear [my] TV!" and "[he's] only loud because [I'm] loud!". I make it known to the cops that I'm not the one who made the call, citing Concerned as being the likely person who did. Cops decide this isn't their problem and leave.

From that point on, Douchebag's aggression starts turning up more and more, I guess he'd decided that I am The Enemy and the one who talks to the cops. Morning of August 23rd (2025), when I'm getting myself ready and packing my last few essentials for a flight to New York for AnimeNYC, Douchebag engages in a particularly spirited round of Floor-Slamming, culminating in yelling insults at me through my floor of which I unfortunately fumbled my attempt to record in a panic, with my phone camera being in Picture mode instead of Video - At this point I had started proactively documenting incidents of Douchebag knocking on my floor. At the airport I did make a point of calling my town's police department (non emergency of course) about the incident and his aggression, for which frankly I was starting to develop safety-concerns, however the response I got from them essentially boiled down to this not being their problem. At some point in the days prior, there had been another instance of yelling through my floor which had prompted me to start recording, after the sound of me getting up to take a piss at 4AM seemed to have also woken him up.

To be clear, these instances of Thumping/Slamming aren't just noise - Shit in my apartment is getting knocked over by how hard he's hitting his ceiling (Honestly I'm sure he's damaged his ceiling at this point). Anyway, a week later I get back from New York, which actually brings me to another matter of attempted diplomacy - I'd realized while in New York staying at a hotel that my bed's box-spring was in bad condition and made audible noise when I got on and off the bed, so, first order of business was buying a new one so I wouldn't make loud noises going to/from bed. For a week I had silence from downstairs, but I realized that it was because Douchebag was on his own vacation and his parents were occupying the apartment to dogsit for him. Naturally, upon his return, the aggression started once more. I don't have a clear timeline at this point (but I'm sure reviewing my recordings+timestamps will help), but it's a slow march of this getting worse and worse.

Eventually, by the start of 2026, Douchebag has started to play music at volumes loud enough that the building is literally shaking. Either end of January or start of February I finally reach out to the building manager about this, which I really ought to have done sooner. They're not dismissive outright, but they basically downgrade this matter to just "noise complaint" in their notes, but I do get a nugget out of them that firmly confirms that Concerned has indeed also been making complaints. Two separate notices get posted on Douchebag's door - I do not know their contents because I don't snoop (make a note of this), and for a while Douchebag behaves. He's still playing music and podcasts, now at merely discourteous volumes instead of building-shakingly, and stopped marching around pounding. Life is good.

March 7th. I wake up around 6AM (right on time), and very shortly after (within minutes), someone who I assumed to be Concerned was yelling/ranting about Douchebag apparently having been playing his music at 4:30 AM, presumably at Douchebag's doorbell-camera judging by the lack of another party speaking. I'm not sure how I slept through it if music was being played at 4:30, but Concerned seems to indicate that they've got no choice but to leave (I don't remember exact phrasing as I don't record stuff going on outside, plus I had just woken up). After this point, Douchebag is back on his bullshit again on Sunday, but cows-out from March 9th through March 19th after I shout back down at him in response to another Thumping-Session. Life is good.

Today, March 20th - I'm busy working from home - Perfectly still at my desk, working. I'm not walking around or doing anything that should make "nuisance" levels of noise. Douchebag is going around, thumping, and multiple times makes particularly hard thumps directly under my feet at my standing-desk, where I HAVE BEEN STANDING STILL. I thump back once in annoyance, and he seems to take that as permission to accelerate, and starts running around doing more thumps. Eventually I hit my time for lunch break, and rather than eat at home with this shitload of fuck going on, opt to walk over to the pseudomexican fast-food restaurant I need not name that's a five minute walk from my apartment for lunch.

Walking back, his window and blinds are wide open, right next to the front door to the building such that in order to not look through it, I would have to either close my eyes or look into the other neighbor's window. In my casual glance, I see him standing in the window, staring directly at me, and our eyes lock - Reflexively, I snap and flip Douchebag the middle finger, which prompts him to very angrily accuse me of being a "creep" who is spying on the neighbors/him, and we quickly get into a shouting match yelling at eachother - I make it fucking known that I'm sick of his shit and want him to stop thumping on my ceiling, make it clear that I wasn't the person complaining about the music, and well, say some things that my lawyer would advise not to repeat online in anger at him. His response is to, 1 - Double-down on the "creep" accusations, 2 - Insist I am the nuisance who is slamming because "the first and last thing [he] can hear each day is [me] walking/"stomping around" (For ref, I can't hear my own footsteps, so X - Doubt), 3 - Claim that his "slamming" is just him "spring cleaning", and 4 - Proclaim that Concerned "isn't" complaining and that he turned down the volume. I don't have exact recording of what he said, but the more I play it back in my head, the more and more it sounds like flagrant Gaslighting, which only makes me more and more enraged at him.

I avoid contact with him for the rest of the workday - I realized that getting into an argument might have been a blunder since he's got a doorbell-camera which probably caught all of it), with a plan to contact Concerned and others who potentially could've been plaintiffs to Douchebag's behavior so I can get an aligned narrative on Douchebag's behavior established, but Concerned doesn't answer their door, and the other unit bordering Douchebag refuses to answer their door - Their dog barks and I hear them telling the dog to shut up, but no one comes. Oh well, time to head over to the theater to watch Project Hail Mary with my friends (really good movie).

Anyway, I get back from that, and once again try to establish contact with Concerned & Friends. I realize Concerned's lights aren't on, but I realize when I check the mailboxes that their Nametag is gone - They've, like they said they would, moved out. So, I try "Other Neighbor" - Once again, dog barks, and now two people yell at the dog to shut up, and neither answer the door. So uh, I guess I'm officially going-it-alone on this.

Anyway, I guess my gameplan now is to properly compile and formalize the evidence I've been building since August (+ the scraps from beforehand), and my account of this two years or so of continuous harassment in one big email - And I guess send it off to the Building Manager/Landlord (whomever the office email goes to) to make it clear and establish context, either proactively ahead of him possibly forwarding that doorbell-camera footage, or correcting the record if he already has (But I believe he hasn't, as no notices have been posted to my door, unlike how quickly they were when I complained).

But you know what? Fuck, it felt GOOD to look him in the eye and let my thoughts on him be known. I'm not going to fucking bend the knee to his Alpha Male bullshit. We ball, we STAND AND FIGHT where I'm from.

TLDR I'm just going assume they're crazy.

Last sentences    It's a cool story tho

[HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth]

My life is complete joke but it comforts me I'm not Violet Wren

Cut my life into pieces
But at least I'm not Violet Wren

[benji]

No hate to the actor, maybe she has more going on than is known or she's comfortable making public. Casting for this role was always gonna be tricky.

One of the reasons for that is that in the years since 2020 when TLOU2 came out, the US and UK have rolled back trans rights substantially and especially in regards to access to healthcare for trans youth. It's shocking how far backwards it's gotten. Trans representation in tv and film has also regressed.

Even as far back as Ian being casted he wasn't allowed to be openly trans. Few teenagers have that opportunity and it's gotten so much worse in the decade since he got the role.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/%E2%80%98the-last-of-us%E2%80%99-adds-michelle-mao-as-yara-kyriana-kratter-as-lev-for-season-3-of-hbo-series.1469122/post-152848294

These feel like empirical claims that need to be demonstrated.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/crimson-desert-review-thread.1466764/page-61

it never surprises me the vitriol this place has for hyped games.  Like, this is sitting at pretty much an 8/10. 
...
has an 80%~ish, 8/10(!), 

This was already debunked by prominent members, MetaCritic uses a 100 point scale so this is not an 8/10.

[benji]

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