Cd Players For Home

... always been part of the CD spec. If / when the information ... it gets added to the CD Master. Small comment… CD-Text, I ... don’t remember CD-Text until car CD players, and I made sure mine ...!!!) didn’t come with it, our home stuff didn’t, and the Sansui ...

...all your strats are on CD, good luck!" And the ... Remember, guarding the base back home is also an objective; the ...) Enemy counterattacks engaging the players may have the ability to ...within aggro distance of the players to attack them from the ... orbital uplink that allows players at a base to call ... that player, or for players to call down a shuttle ... them (if no other players then they just a-move to ...

... onto a shelf. The two CD players/transports I was looking at ... Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ($179). All these CD Players, to include the Merak ($139), ...portable medium with digital audio players and streaming services, so the ... in my office, choose a CD, and play it on a home setup. This is where the ...think the Merak is a CD player worth your money? Yes, ...Merak makes a better pure CD player. CDs and vinyl for ...

...bittersweet reminder of the CD pouch that used to slide ...addition of "traffic-checking" – allowing players to simply punch through same-direction ...to the series, casting players as team owners AND drivers),...have even left my home state let alone the country,... MMO-inspired multiplayer racers where players can meet up, cruise, discover,...of customisation players could do to them. Oh, and it’s also home to a...

... foot football and signing more players from Gateshead!!!! I bet he.... We are singing non league players and non league managers. Hughes... the two central midfielders and CD needed at the beginning of... season. Were signing non league players and non league managers? Hate... our previous experience with signing players that were perceived to be..., Jones and Embleton sat at home earning a fortune and an ...

The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt has dropped its first ... 2027 and once again allow players to take on the role... that try to find a home. The White Wolf sits still..., Geralt is holding a sword," CD Projekt's Amelia Korzycka continued, referencing ... more Gwent cards, and that CD Projekt was still working on ... point in the future. Finally, CD Projekt's latest financial results have ...

...Elba to hammer home the point. Yesterday, CD Projekt announced ...the Past will return players to the role of... massive, monster.” But other CD Projekt developers have also chimed ...hugely busy time for CD Projekt. The Witcher 4 ...production continues, although CD Projekt has cautioned fans not ... be in development, CD Projekt has ruled out more...Witcher 4, and CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has ...

... the link to take it home right away: https://www.aliexpress.... the link to take it home right away (Shipments to overseas ... audio character of vintage portable CD players, the DM15 R2R is equipped ... sound signature as in traditional CD players, yet with extra abundant modern ... the link to take it home right away: https://www.aliexpress.... the link to take it home right away (Shipments to overseas ...

... with stalls. Now I'm a CD man, I have been since... picking my mum up from home, I spotted the grey player... showing it out performed dedicated CD players of a similar price when...

... all these home runs nowadays? We just got better players. Oklahoma hits... em like this for years now. CD is...

...I didn't even own a CD player, but I bought Prince's...to us to demo the players. I was living in an ... to run my little CD through some pretty good stuff ... digital replaced amazing analog home gear. Most people had crap. ... to abandon those decent home theater setups in exchange for ...my favorite albums with my CD copy, and it was no contest. The CD won by a wide ... up and flip the CD when I got half way ...

... wanted to be for home consoles what Dragon's Lair was ... first foray into the CD market, where they were finding ...7 million + Using the slow CD players of the time for fighting ... the cartridge version. Neo-Geo CD users knew that very well. ... adopters had bought the CD add-on yet. If Sega had ... games should be on CD at a certain point, they ... time for this. The CD add-on was still too expensive; ...

...reproduction of music in the home, including the fact that it ...time still made high quality CD players and Philips owned the Marantz ... be the replacement for CD but I was intrigued by ... settle for a Sony CD player but I did not ... TVs and even about CD recording decks but not a ... instrumental support for the CD format when it was introduced (... Polygram gave to the CD format). With Polygram gone, SACD ...

... dislike. They are clearly talented players but it's very noisy. Okay.... I found a Rozz Williams CD (Christian Death's Only Theatre of... and he had a portable CD player with him with Darkthrone's... with a professional, he came home with his mother, and said... I read Alison Bechdel's Fun Home a few years ago. On...

... nephew had lent me the CD and yet I liked it... the internet with hundreds of players, some of them even in ... win the new Lemmings 2 CD. I would definitely be entering ... More Lemmings. The game. My home town is where Lemmings was ...

...! has Deluxe Products Portable CD Player w/ 60 Second ... your favourite Music CD, CD Audio books, Kids CD Disc, Recordable CDs...60 Second Anti Skip protection CD Walkman. Do not let...can easily connect your Deluxe CD Players for home to your favorite speaker, ... can power your portable cd players using the INCLUDED AC USB... NOT INCLUDED) Package Includes: Portable CD Player, Stereo Earbuds, Micro-USB Cable ...

... university, the latency between my home and office is just 2ms ... I had every game on cd, all the boxes well kept ... only will your interaction with players in the game suffer so ...

... not Crimson. I buy the CD and enjoy the Beatles influenced .... It's the summer and I'm home from college so I go ... Tony Levin. I buy the CD and think that it is ... and tour. I buy the CD and it's a good one. ... Pat. Two drummers? Two stick players to add to the guitar ...

August SE15B Portable CD Player for Home, Car & Travel - ...Anti-Skip The August SE15B Portable CD Player, available on Amazon for... and tablets or transmit CD audio to Bluetooth-enabled headphones and...variety of audio formats, including CD, MP3, and WMA, making ...including headphones, laptops, and MP3 players Overall, the August SE15B is ...a well-rounded portable CD player that combines modern connectivity...

... wild animals and tropical sicknesses. Players will also have to face... to survive another day. The players battle will not only be ... that decided to make a home out of your body. What ... space Why Get your CD Key From Loaded? Digital CD key delivered instantly 100...% genuine CD key (we do not...

... threads discussing the re-ripping of CD collections from mp3 to a... 256 AAC, plus other in home streaming options, I go back ... the copyright scolds stay at home. If you are looking for ... a top tier platform for players of all levels. Ufasnake delivers ... and see why so many players keep coming back to ufasnake ...

... a builder has a CD then all players press it on CD and build a static... will use it better. Top players will instead ride that line. ... it is the very top players will always find ways to ... people like me have no home so to speak. I end ...

*Giveaway closed Here are the winners! u/180BySumm3r u/Rom-Gr u/Two_Years_Of_Semen u/WhoDatSharkk u/CapxxAkioxx Hi r/ForzaHorizon fam! Allan here from GameSir. 🫡 For those who don't know us yet, GameSir has been collaborating with Xbox for a long time to craft high-performance, precision controllers. We’ve always been dedicated to making the gaming experience feel like home for players, with the G7 SE and G7 Pro standing as our flagship products that have earned a lot of love from gamers worldwide. What makes the G7 Pro feel so special on the tarmac comes down to its next-level stick precision and an ultra-responsive 1000Hz polling rate. Equipped with TMR sticks for anti-stick drift and incredibly low latency, it gives you a massive competitive edge in racing games—allowing for micro-adjustments and pixel-perfect steering angles as you tear through the terrain. To make sure you can dive straight into the best titles the Xbox library has to offer on day one, every G7 Pro also comes packed with a free 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. We love being a part of this community, and our passion for racing games doesn't stop here. We are currently hard at work developing our very own racing wheels and dedicated racing controller gear, so simulation fans should definitely keep an eye on our updates for some major news coming soon! ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎁 The Prizes: 🎁 Main Prizes: 5 × GameSir G7 Pro Controllers (Just Comment to Win!) 🔮 Mystery Grand Prize : 1 × Forza Horizon 6 Game CD Key (An extra surprise prize that may drop for players who share their clips from any game across the entire Forza Horizon history!) Show your Gamertag in the clip (to prevent stolen clips). No phone-recorded videos of your screen (direct console/PC captures only). ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🛠️ HOW TO ENTER: Let's subscribe to r/Gamesir and r/ForzaHorizon Leave a comment to join the giveaway! (You can also share a video clip for a chance to win the mystery prize.) Account Requirements: To keep things fair and bot-free, your account must be 30+ days old and have at least 10 karma. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📅 Rules & Info: Duration: This giveaway will run until May 29th. Selection: Participation winners will be rolled randomly via RedditRaffler, while the Grand Prize will be selected by a panel of community members and mods to evaluate the submissions fairly. Delivery: We will DM the winners directly to coordinate prize delivery. One Entry Only: Please do not enter more than once. Bots or multiple accounts will be disqualified. Thank you to the mods for making this happen, and thank you all for keeping the festival spirit alive. See you on the Japan streets!bers and mods to evaluate the submissions fairly. submitted by /u/GameSir_Controller to r/ForzaHorizon [link] [comments]

EDIT: It came down to seeing if the amp re-clocks the digital signal to avoid any potential jitter, which mine does, thanks for some informative well-informed comments as well as some usual audiophiles completely misunderstanding digital audio vs. analog audio lol I was thinking of adding a CD deck to my home theater setup, but I realized I have a perfectly good DVD player that is wired up to output coax digital audio to my amp (analog signal is not used nor even hooked up of course), so I figured since I'm not relying on the DVD player's internal DAC (which may be better suited for music in a dedicated CD player) a DVD player should be completely suitable correct? Although it's a pretty nice player, even if it was a cheap model, that shouldn't matter either? Just a bunch of 1's and 0's (which cannot change or be enhanced) being passed to the amp for whatever it wants to do with it? Just wanted to double check... submitted by /u/StevenPlaysGuitar to r/audiophile [link] [comments]

Okay so I was tinkering around with all the stuff that I was most excited about in this game, the music, and I found it a bit frustrating. I expected the CDs would store in Rotom or a CD player at the very least a CD rack no? This was the first hurdle. Next I noticed DJ Rotom and the CD players don’t get very loud, you have to return to them to manually change the music and traveling with Rotom actually gets annoying when he can’t keep up with you. Lastly the selection of music is limited to what you have found, what you carry on you or the few CDs Rotom can actually hold. So here’s how I fixed the music situation in the game and once I figured out this little hack I knew I had to share it. First you want to empty your inventory of anything not CD related. Maybe make a couple temporary storage containers. Then make one more big chest that is required for this tip. Find your biome you visit the least. For me it’s skylands but some people get overwhelmed by rocky ridges, there’s no wrong answers here but it has to be the biome you use the least. When you have that figured out go to every chest and find all your CDs you need to have every one for this even duplicates and travel to the biome you chose. Next step is to go to the north-east most corner of the map, make sure it’s hard to get to, each time you try to step more north or east it should force you back, that’s how you know that you are at the corner. Then dig down 3 squares and put your chest down, and empty your CDs there, using your black rock that you have at least 400 of, bury the chest and return to your home that you have spent the most time at. On your cell phone, open your favorite music app and click “create playlist” From there add all the music you want to vibe to, this is by far the most important step. Be sure to add music from your favorite Pokemon anime, mine is pokemon Johto but you really can’t go wrong. Then put at least one head phone in. This will allow the music from your “Rotom” phone to enter your ear canals. Lastly forget the CDs ever existed. Forget where you buried them and spend your time getting cozy with your favorite pokemon listening to your favorite songs, even if they’re copyrighted and trademarked! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk submitted by /u/Griggledoo to r/Pokopia [link] [comments]

I decided the vinyls are too expensive and difficult to find for metal and rock. I just bought my first 4 CDs but I don't have a player. I want to find a home use player that can be wired or wireless so I can use speakers already around my house. Are there any anesthetically pleasing players that are recommended? I like the idea of the CD being visible in the player but the ones I've found have mixed reviews on amazon submitted by /u/BareArcher to r/CDs [link] [comments]

After a bit of a break, I'm back with another one of these. I tried something a bit different with the formatting this time, so hopefully it'll read better on mobile now (feedback's obviously welcome so long as you're not a dick about it). As usual we'll start with Nintendo EPD, then go through Nintendo's other subsidiary studios, move onto non-Nintendo-owned developers, and finally an odds-and-ends section. Will also note up front that (due to character limits more than anything, really) I've made a judgment call about considering certain longer-running rumors that still haven't panned out but also haven't seen any new recent developments to be "Cold Cases" and have left them out this time (coughFireEmblem4Remakecough), so if you feel something's missing I'd suggest checking for it in the previous version of this post. So without further ado, let's get into it. Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) What most people mean when referring to "in-house" Nintendo. EPD is made up of multiple producer/director-led groups with different focuses. They should broadly be viewed as groups led by key figures, with personnel able to drift from one group to the other as needed, rather than each one being a rigid and distinct studio unto itself. Should also note EPD seems to be undergoing some form of reorganization in recent years, so in some areas the exact internal structure is a bit more speculative guesswork than usual. EPD 3 The Zelda Team; Leads development on the major 3D games, and typically has input and oversight on Zelda games made by other studios such as Grezzo or Koei-Tecmo Switch 2 Editions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom released at the console’s launch, (handled by Nintendo of America’s Nintendo Technology Department) Aonuma, asked about an Ocarina remake by Game Informer: “[Laughs] No comment!" Nate the Hate: “In the second half of 2026, approaching the holidays if not the holidays, we are going to receive an Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2”; “This is something that I was a bit hesitant about in January, where I was like, I don’t know if they would do a full remake. I thought maybe they would do an HD remaster, but no, I’m hearing an Ocarina of Time remake.”; does not claim to know scope of the remake (i.e. how reimagined or 1:1 it will be); VGC corroborates Shpeshal Nick claiming to have details on the next Zelda game Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma, in an interview about Age of Imprisonment: “The Legend of Zelda: Age of Imprisonment is the first Zelda title released for the Nintendo Switch 2. If I'm honest, we wanted to be the first to do so [...] The inspiration we received from our collaboration with Koei Tecmo may be reflected in the Zelda we create. Please imagine this while playing Age of Imprisonment, and look forward to our Zelda.” EPD 4 The team behind more “experimental” games such as Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, and Nintendo Switch Sports. Their games often feature bespoke peripherals or otherwise focus on hardware-based gimmicks developed Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (April 2026); involved many of the key figures who worked on previous Tomodachi games (Sakamoto was even still the producer) under EPD 7, so apparently that team is just operating as part of EPD 4 now? co-developed Switch 2 Welcome Tour with Nintendo Cube Midori: “There is also a project at Nintendo in development with the codename Anna. Elsa is the codename for Nintendo Switch Sports. So this title might be related” Nate the Hate: “I have heard, I don’t know if it’s a brand-new game or if it’s a definitive edition, Switch 2 Edition, but we should also be seeing a Switch Sports arrive on Switch 2 this summer.” Project Rockstock (aka that NSO Playtest game): Related patents tie Yusuke Amano (director on Splatoon, Splatoon 2+DLC, planning supervisor on ACNH), Tsubasa Sakaguchi (director on Splatoon, Labo) to the project EPD 5 Animal Crossing and Splatoon; Should note that while the two series typically share a producer, there’s historically been little to no overlap in directors and about the same (if slightly higher) overlap in the rest of the staff as found in most other EPD-developed titles, so it’s possible for both Animal Crossing and Splatoon to have games in active development simultaneously Drag X Drive released August 2025 for Switch 2 (putting this under EPD 5 since Animal Crossing/Splatoon’s Hisashi Nogami was the producer; however, this was seemingly a relatively ad-hoc ~20 person project that didn’t seem to pull too strongly from any one group) Animal Crossing Switch 2 Edition and the 3.0 update for both Switch 1 and 2 released January 2026 Splatoon Raiders releases for Switch 2 on July 23rd 2026; single-player focused spin-off, has co-op After September 2024’s Grand Festival in-game event, the official Splatoon twitter account detailed future plans for the game. TL;DR new content is ending, but Big Runs and seasonal Splatfests will rerun at least for the next year, old catalogs will keep looping, and balance patches will continue for an undisclosed period of time; a Switch 2 patch was released as part of the 10.0 update in June 2025 and events have continued to rerun into 2026 The outcome of the Grand Festival (Team Past winning over Teams Present and Future) is expected to have some impact on the next Splatoon game, as the results of Splatoon 1 and 2’s final major splatfests were both reflected in aspects of their sequels Nash Weedle claiming to have details on next Animal Crossing EPD 6 Generally sticks to overseeing Intelligent Systems’ non-Fire Emblem games (i.e. Paper Mario, WarioWare) as well as all games developed by Retro Studios and Next Level Games (also Tantalus’ Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD) In a January 2026 interview with Nintendo Dream, long-time producer Kensuke Tanabe stated Metroid Prime 4 would be his final title developed at Nintendo and indicated that Risa Tabata (an assistant producer who’s worked with Tanabe since the original Metroid Prime) could take his place as producer on any future Metroid Prime games Tabata had her first full producer credit on 2024’s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake, indicating she has already begun to take on other Tanabe-associated series In March 2026, it was announced that Goro Abe (chief director of the WarioWare games) had left Nintendo EPD 7 As SPD 1, developed the Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi games, WarioWare titles with Intelligent Systems, and Metroid: Other M with Team Ninja; as EPD 7, co-developed the recent 2D Metroid games with MercurySteam and the recent Famicom Detective Club games with MAGES May have been folded into other groups as part of a recent reshuffling/restructuring (see EPD 4/Tomodachi Life above) Presumed to be attached to Rhythm Heaven Groove (July 2, 2026) (unless that’s also EPD 4 now?) Emio-The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club released August 2024 In both Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview and a later interview with Famitsu, series creator/director/writer Yoshio Sakamoto indicated that he is interested in continuing the series, and also that he feels Kaori Miyachi (EPD, assistant producer/co-director/co-writer on Emio) could become his successor in the future helming the Famicom Detective Club series EPD 8 aka EPD Tokyo 3D Mario (also Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Captain Toad, co-developed NES Remix with indieszero), now also makes 3D Donkey Kong Released Donkey Kong Bananza in July 2025, Emerald Rush DLC in September 2025 Producer Kenta Motokura has expressed interest in maintaining both 2D and 3D Donkey Kong: “we thought that by creating something new, leveraging our experience developing 3D Mario games, we'd have the opportunity to create two separate branches – 2D Donkey Kong and 3D Donkey Kong – just as we did with Mario games.” developed new content for the Switch versions of Galaxy 1+2 (porting handled by NST) Nate the Hate: “One game that will not be releasing in holiday 2026 is 3D Mario. 3D Mario will be releasing in 2027.”; VGC corroborates 2020 hiring call for a “level designer for new 2D action game (working in Tokyo)” Evidence for the "split team" theory Nintendo confirmed Donkey Kong Bananza is from “the same team as Super Mario Odyssey”, though VGC notes “when asked for clarification, a Nintendo spokesperson would not clarify whether Odyssey’s same creators were working on DK, or if it was a different team within the same company” Kiwi Talkz: “DK Bananza is being developed by a new team that was spun off from the Odyssey team. There are a lot of younger devs in the Odyssey team that grew up playing the DKC games and wanted to make one. I've heard the Kremlings are making a return. 3D Mario is still on the way” supported by a 2021 DK Vine report on an EPD Donkey Kong game: “I've been led to believe that this is a new EPD team that has formed from other teams specifically for the purpose of creating Donkey Kong games.” Summary of Odyssey/Bowser’s Fury/Bananza overlap in core developers EPD 9 Mario Kart, Arms (also Nintendogs back in the day) Mario Kart World released for Switch 2 in June 2025 long-time Mario Kart producer Hideki Konno confirmed in January 2026 that he left the company the prior July EPD 10 Pikmin and 2D Mario (including Mario Maker) Mario Wonder Switch 2 Edition released in March 2026 Pikmin 4 received an update in November 2025 that added a photo mode, Decor Pikmin, and easier/harder difficulties Pikmin 4 appeared on eshop grouped with other “free next-gen patch” games Nate the Hate: “Now another game I have heard could potentially make the summer is the long-awaited Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition. I’m not sure if it’s necessarily set in stone that it would be a summer release, but we should definitely be seeing it this year.” Pikmin 3 Deluxe rated for Switch 2 in Europe Nash Weedle claiming a Pikmin spin-off featuring new gameplay and potentially a new artstyle is in development, numbered titles will continue to have the same gameplay as previous entries; Also claims PIkmin 4 will receive an upgrade on Switch 2, claims to have heard it will be a Switch 2 Edition EPD Co-Production Group The apparent successor to EPD 1&2, and may have taken on responsibilities formerly held by EPD 6&7 as well. This department is essentially a catch-all group, being EPD’s point of contact, input, and oversight on any Nintendo projects that aren’t already primarily being handled by another EPD group (e.g. Smash, Pokemon, Kirby, Xenoblade, etc). Arguably has the broadest reach but consequently doesn’t leave as distinct a fingerprint. Other Nintendo-owned Studios Mario World outside of EPD 1-Up Studio Formerly Brownie Brown. As Brownie Brown, developed games such as Magical Vacation, Sword of Mana, and A Kappa’s Trail; co-developed Mother 3 with HAL Laboratory; As 1-Up, acts as a support studio primarily for Nintendo EPD titles (most frequently EPD 8 projects, though also credited in occasional non-EPD 8 games like Tri-Force Heroes, Ring Fit Adventure, and Animal Crossing New Horizons) Has recently been credited on Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Mario Wonder S2E iQue Previously distributed Nintendo games and consoles in China under the iQue Player branding; these days, iQue’s primary role has been Chinese localization while also working on emulation and development support Most known for handling N64 emulation (first for WiiU Virtual Console, then for Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and now for NSO) Monolith Soft Xenoblade games, also support for mainly EPD 3&5 games Tokyo studio has 2 production teams; the 1st develops Monolith's own titles, and the second assists with EPD 3’s games; the Kyoto studio “is staffed mostly by designers, and has supported the graphics development of titles such as "The Legend of Zelda," "Splatoon," and the "Animal Crossing" series” Announced the establishment of a new R&D division in Oct 2024: “The R&D team has three roles: streamlining the development environment for the entire company , supporting tool development for each section , and researching and developing new technologies” Provided technical support and contributed to the world and character design for Mario Kart World Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition released March 2025; a Switch 2 Edition released Feb 2026 August 2024: 1st Production Group recruiting for “a ‘new RPG’ brought to you by General Director Tetsuya Takahashi” (executive director/story writer for the Xenoblade series); “The new RPG is taking on many new challenges compared to previous Monolith Soft titles” Caitlin Thorburn updated her Spotlight page with mention of a Xenoblade game dated for 2026 where she plays Kos-Mos Midori: “I was told a few months ago that Monolith Soft was working on a project with codename Legacy. But I do not have any other information”; “This is a project in development with Nintendo.” A file named “test_legacy” was visible in a video on a MonolithSoft recruiting page - Nash Weedle hinting at Xenoblade X 2 Next Level Games Luigi's Mansion 2&3, Mario Strikers, Punch-Out Wii, Metroid Prime Federation Force 4 Next Level devs were credited as game designers on Metroid Prime 4 Shpeshal Nick: “As far as I know, they are doing a new [Luigi’s Mansion] game … There’s also a Luigi’s Mansion amiibo planned so I’d assume that’s for the new game” Nintendo Prime in March 2023: Claims an F-Zero GX remaster is one of two projects in development at Next Level Games Nintendo Cube Formerly NDcube. Mario Party (from 9 onwards), Clubhouse Games co-developed Switch 2 Welcome Tour with EPD 4, released June 2025 A Switch 2 Edition of Mario Party Jamboree released July 2025 Nintendo European Research and Development (NERD) Mostly works on emulation, and is frequently credited in "novel technology"-heavy games such as EPD 4 projects and Velan Studios' Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit "special thanks" credit on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream in April 2026 Virtual Boy games were added to NSO starting Feb 2026 Shpeshal Nick: Wii/DS/Sega CD coming to Switch Online “eventually” Nintendo patent suggesting DS games potentially coming to NSO Nintendo Pictures Formerly Dynamo Pictures. Animation and motion capture studio As Nintendo Pictures, credited on Tears of the Kingdom (special thanks), Pikmin 4 (very special thanks), Mario Wonder (character design/character action design/field design/cinematic design/technical support/project management/special thanks), Super Mario RPG remake (character art/animation art/technical art), and Another Code Recollection (very special thanks) Most recent game credits are, uh, mo-cap for Death Stranding 2 and Romeo is a Dead Man (games sure take a while to make these days, huh) produced the Pikmin short, “Close to You” Nintendo Software Technology (NST) Released a remake of the original Mario vs Donkey Kong in February 2024 handled the rereleases of Galaxy 1+2 (new content done by EPD 8) in Oct 2025 Ongoing support for F-Zero 99 1.7.0 update (December 2025) added 3 new Secret Tracks to the game Nintendo Studios Singapore Formerly Bandai Namco Studios Singapore. Primarily an art support studio. In Nov 2025, Nintendo announced it would acquire 80% of the studio’s shares (with the remaining shares to be acquired “after a certain period, once the subsidiary’s operations have stabilized”) Non-Nintendo games: Hirogami, Taiko no Tatsujin VR Festival; support work on Ace Combat 7, SoulCalibur VI, Tekken 7&8, Tales of Berseria, Code Vein Nintendo games: support work on Mario Sports Superstars, Splatoon 3, New Pokemon Snap, the original version of Metroid Prime 4 (rumored) Nintendo’s press release specifically highlights both “strong expertise in creating in-game art assets” as well as the studio’s prior work on the Splatoon series special thanks credit in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (as Bandai Namco Studios Singapore) Retro Studios Metroid Prime series, DKC Returns and Tropical Freeze, support for Mario Kart 7 Metroid Prime 4 Beyond released December 2025 for Switch 1&2 Nash Weedle claiming Prime 5 has been developed in parallel with Prime 4 Kiwi Talkz: “It’s unlikely Retro returns to Donkey Kong again, there were unique circumstances at play to allow them to make the DK games.” “I imagine after Prime 4 they will do PRime 5 and then move onto another IP due to franchise fatigue” Shiver Entertainment A porting house acquired from Embracer Group in May 2024 Has handled the Switch 2 ports for the last few WWE 2K games Systems Research and Development Programming assistance on many Nintendo games dating back as far as the Famicom/NES port of Donkey Kong in 1983 before being acquired by Nintendo in 2022 Close Partners and Frequent Collaborators The Nintendo Keiretsu and Friends; my general rule of thumb here at least for now is “has worked on two or more Nintendo games since the launch of the Switch 1” Arika Endless Ocean series, multiple Dr. Mario games, Tetris 99/Mario 35 Most recently released Endless Ocean Luminous in May 2024 Bandai Namco Developed Kirby Air Riders for Switch 2 with director Masahiro Sakurai, released November 2025 “We partially produced the visual assets for courses, characters, machines, props, animations, and more” for Mario Kart World Studio 2 and Studio S: “Specializing in commissioned development projects within the company”; Bandai Namco studios seemingly dedicated solely to Nintendo co-development projects. Looks to comprise both the Smash team as well as the EPD 9 support team Going off the interview section of their website, people at Studio S have worked on Smash games, while those at Studio 2 have worked on EPD 9 games Bloomberg: Bandai Namco Games has cut its workforce by ~100, has cancelled/paused games based on One Piece and Naruto alongside a Nintendo-commissioned title Studio 2/Studio S web page removed Camelot Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, Golden Sun Mario Tennis Fever released for Switch 2 in Feb 2026 DeNA Nintendo’s primary partner in the mobile space. Also contributed to the development of the current Nintendo Account system. Co-developed Pokemon TCG Pocket with The Pokemon Company and Creatures Joint ventures Nintendo Systems established in 2023, ownership split 80/20 between Nintendo and DeNA, for the purpose of “research and development, as well as operations to strengthen the digitalization of Nintendo’s business, in addition to the creation of value-added services” (read: Nintendo Account and online/eshop stuff) in 2024, one of DeNA’s studios, DeNA Digital Production, which had been working on Pokemon TCG Pocket, was rebranded as Pokemon Card D Studio; 66.6% owned by DeNA, 33.4% owned by The Pokemon Company most recently released Fire Emblem Shadows for mobile in September 2025, co-developed with Intelligent Systems Eighting Kuru Kuru Kururin series; handled the port and new content for Pikmin 3 Deluxe, co-developed Pikmin 4 with EPD 10; included in the credits for Switch Sports as of the July 2024 basketball update Game Freak/Creatures Inc./The Pokemon Company (this whole mess) Pokemon Legends Z-A launched Oct 2025 for Switch 1&2; Mega Dimension DLC released Dec 2025 Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen released on Switch eshop in Feb 2026; a function found in the version of the emulator used for this release seems to recognize IDs for Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Pokemon Wind/Waves releases for Switch 2 in 2027 Pokemon Pokopia, a spin-off developed by Game Freak and Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force, released March 2026; Teraleak indicated planned DLC/post-launch areas include Cerulean, Cinnabar, Lavender, Celadon, and Indigo areas, expected to be completed by second half of 2026 (timing very subject to change, leaked timeline originally had Pokopia slated for late 2025) Pokemon Champions, developed by Gamefreak and Pokemon Works (a joint venture established by TPC and ILCA), released April for Switch, mobile version coming sometime in 2026 Pokemon TCG Pocket, developed by Creatures Inc. and DeNA, released in October 2024 The Teraleak detailed Pokemon series plans into 2030 (based on internal docs from several years ago; so far, games have generally launched half a year to a year later than projected timelines) Project Ringo: codename for next Legends game, set in Galar 1000 years in the past, targeting “2028 or later”. Focus on Pokemon behavior and autonomous decision-making, group/swarm dynamics, physics-driven movement and interactions, and large-scale encounters in open environments Project Seed: codename for new online game featuring the regions from the first four generations (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh) Gen 11 targeting 2030 Project Rodeo: online co-op game for Switch and mobile, unclear if still in development Good-Feel Wario Land Shake It, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Woolly World/Crafted World released Princess Peach Showtime in March 2024 released Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May 2026 Poochy and Yoshi’s Wooly World logo featured in Switch 2 direct during “compatible Switch games” segment; likely just an error that was meant to use a Yoshi’s Crafted World icon Grezzo Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora’s Mask 3D, Ever Oasis, Luigi’s Mansion 3D, Link’s Awakening remake, Miitopia remaster; co-developed Triforce Heroes with EPD 3 most recently co-developed Echoes of Wisdom with EPD 3, released Sept 2024 Aonuma interview (Nov 2024) indicates interest in developing more new topdown Zelda titles: “And so we will also have those dynamic 3D Zeldas as well, but in addition to that, we’re also hoping we can continue with these 2D top-down Zeldas.” NashWeedle seemingly hinting at a followup to Link’s Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom coming in 2027, codenamed “Bernard” HAL Laboratory Kirby, Boxboy, Part-Time UFO A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Forgotten Land released August 2025 Kirby series director Shinya Kumazaki called Forgotten Land “the first step in our kind of ongoing moving forward challenge of now also creating 3D Kirby games” Nate the Hate: Kirby Planet Robobot coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025; Sept 2025 “With Air Riders coming this year... odds favor Robobot slipping to 2026.” indieszero Electroplankton, NES Remix series (with EPD 8), Sushi Striker, Brain Training for Nintendo Switch (with EPD 4), Big Brain Academy Brain vs Brain (with EPD 4) Most recently co-developed Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition with EPD 4 Intelligent Systems Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, Wario Ware Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave to release on Switch 2 in 2026. Nate the Hate: “We will have Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave come out for Switch 2 in summer of 2026. As of April 2026, Fortune’s Weave has received a PEGI rating Released Fire Emblem Shadows for mobile in Sept 2025, co-developed with DeNA Released a Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door remake in May 2024 datamined code related to support for 4K resolutions, suggesting a possible planned next-gen update Given a special thanks credit on Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Koie Tecmo Warriors games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, co-developed Three Houses with IntSys Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment released November 2025 for Switch 2 Pokopia released March 2026 for Switch 2, co-developed with Game Freak; Teraleak indicates the game is planned to receive DLC Mages Known for visual novels such as Steins;Gate. Worked with EPD 7 on Famicom Detective Club remakes (2021) and Emio (2024) MercurySteam Has co-developed recent 2D Metroid games with EPD 7 a Nordisk Games financial report in 2023 stated MercurySteam was working on two large, undisclosed titles (one of which was presumably Blades of Fire which released in 2025) Nash Weedle claims MercurySteam working on Super Metroid remake Kiwi Talkz: “I know Samus Returns HD exists in some form”; “That doesn’t mean it got developed into a full title. There were some experiments with it, I know MercurySteam makes HD assets for all games and then downres it, so it’s possible that MercurySteam are sitting on it, or it got outsourced. I heard about Samus Returns HD years ago but then radio silence since” PlatinumGames Bayonetta series, Astral Chain, co-developed Star Fox Zero with EPD Nash Weedle (via Google Translate): “Bayonetta will receive a trilogy edition with its three main games in one pack for the Switch 2. The games will bring visual improvements (HDR confirmed) and performance. Due to backwards compatibility, it can also be played on Switch 2 with improvements” Prior to Astral Chain’s release, director Takahisa Taura talked about having ideas of how to expand it into a trilogy or more Apparent exodus of multiple high-profile Platinum employees, including Takahisa Taura (Astral Chain director) and Abebe Tinari (Bayonetta Origins director); Taura has since launched his own Eel Studio reddit post alleging details of Astral Chain 2 Sora Limited Literally just Masahiro Sakurai and his wife Michiko Sakurai (who has designed the menus and UI for most of their games); exists to streamline the process of taking on contract work Kirby Air Riders released for Switch 2 in November 2025, directed by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by Bandai Namco. Sakurai has confirmed there is no DLC or sequel planned for Kirby Air Riders and stated in Dec 2025 that the Air Riders team would soon disband Masahiro Sakurai noted in 2023 that "for now at least, I can't imagine a Smash Bros. title without me" Sakurai has also previously claimed a console port of Kid Icarus Uprising “sure would be nice” but notes that “without a team around to work on it, crafting a follow-up seems difficult” Tantalus Media Largely a work-for-hire porting/support studio. In the Nintendo sphere, they’re responsible for remasters including Twilight Princess HD, Skyward Sword HD, and most recently Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD in 2024 Ubisoft Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot seemingly confirmed a next-gen update/rerelease of Mario+Rabbids 2 in 2023: Nintendo [has advised] that it's better to do one iteration on each machine. We were a bit too early, we should have waited for [the next console]. Because you could play a great game. And we think it will last for ten years, because we will update it for the new machine that will come in the future." However, between Davide Soliani’s departure from the company in 2024, as well as Ubisoft’s recent spree of firings/closures/cancellations, it’s unclear if this is still planned Chris Dring: Before disbanding, Ubisoft's Mario+Rabbids team pitched a new game in the series that didn’t get approved Ubisoft is “working with Nintendo to improve VRR support” on Switch 2 “not just for their own titles, but for every game” Misc. Odds and Ends Things that don't really fit anywhere else The Star Fox stuff Nate the Hate: “the game that looks to be kicking off the Nintendo Switch 2 summer of 2026 [...] a brand-new Star Fox game; “I’ve been told it is a classic-style Star Fox game. I’ve been told the visuals are supposed to be very good, very very satisfying. And I’ve heard it does have online multiplayer.” VGC corroborates; Oscar Lemaire corroborates, says he was told multiplayer is a focus; Alex Donaldson has been told the new Star Fox game is ‘really funny’ Nate: “As said several days ago: I do not doubt the game's existence. Several outlets/people have spoken on the game beyond me, as well. Timing for reveal was off the mark & wrong. That's a miss by me. “ Liam Robertson: “It's real and it's happening and that hasn't changed.” Was asked in 2024 about an Assault remaster and responded “Well, there is something happening with Star Fox but I have never heard about that specifically.” references to Star Fox objects such as Arwings were found in the code for Switch Sports Confirmed: On May 6th, Nintendo announced Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2, releasing June 25th (developer not confirmed) Youtube comment from user Malo932 made several claims that lined up with claims Nate the Hate would make on an episode of his podcast roughly half a day later (new Star Fox in summer 2026, Ocarina remake in 2026, 3D Mario in 2027), but also that a Super Metroid remake is coming in 2026, that there is an “adventure” Star Fox game in development for not-2026, and that a Wario Land game could release in 2027 DM sent to youtuber Poro Michele prior to Nate the Hate podcast ALSO made similar claims to Nate and Malo932; additional information: Super Metroid remake will have a “pixel art” style and that a Metroid 6 made by Mercury Steam is also in development but won’t release in 2026, Mario Kart World DLC postponed to 2027, Ocarina remake not based on 3DS version In a November 2025 investor briefing, Shuntaro Furukawa stated that “Going forward, we will shift our primary development focus to Nintendo Switch 2 and expand our business around this new platform”, potentially signaling few upcoming last-gen/cross-gen releases remain Former NoA marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang confirmed in April 2026 that during the Switch 1 era, Nintendo would often ‘vault’ finished games and hold them for future schedule gaps Panic Button confirmed the studio worked on the next-gen patches for several 1st party games that were available at the Switch 2’s launch, specifically Mario 3D World+Bowser’s Fury, ARMS, Mario Odyssey, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe In May 2025, Nintendo registered new trademarks in Japan for Magical Starsign and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (noteworthy because they were previously released as “Magical Vacation: When the Five Planets Align” and “Wish Room” in Japan) Donkey Kong Country Returns HD developed by Forever Entertainment released for Switch in Jan 2025, received Switch 2 update Jan 2026 Reason to expect more ports/remasters from the studio in the future: 2021 story about Forever being given "significant financial support from Nintendo...to release several titles on Nintendo Switch" Chris Dring/GamesIndustry.biz: ”Nintendo is actively meeting with independent developers to find new partners. Some of that is around publishing indie games, … but it’s also seeking studios that could work on some of its IP.”; “Nintendo regularly works with third-party teams, … But the company is looking to add to that roster, and I know of three studios that are deep in conversation around making games based on Nintendo brands” submitted by /u/blackthorn_orion to r/GamingLeaksAndRumours [link] [comments]

This is the official Eurovision Live Blog of Vienna 2026, coming to you from right in front of the Wiener Stadthalle stage! We’re sharing what we see as the artists rehearse their performances for the very first time. Got questions about anything? Ask away in the comments section! We’re here all day. We wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else, would you? 🤩 Here’s the rehearsal schedule for Day 1. We start with Moldova, apparently take a brief detour to Palma de Mallorca (???) and after five more countries have rehearsed, we end the day with Finland. Fin. 10:30 🇲🇩 Moldova: Satoshi - Viva, Moldova! 11:10 🇸🇪 Sweden: FELICIA - My System 11:50 🇭🇷 Croatia: LELEK - Andromeda 12:45 🇬🇷 Greece: Akylas - Ferto 13:25 🇵🇹 Portugal: Bandidos do Cante - Rosa 15:00 🇬🇪 Georgia: Bzikebi - On Replay 15:40 🇫🇮 Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen - Liekinheitin All times are in CEST. Which is appropriate, because if you open your map app in Vienna and zoom out, you realise that you really are right in the heart of Europe, they’re not just saying that because it sounds poetic ❤️🤍❤️ --------------------------------------- 10:15 - We're in Wiener Stadthalle The Live Blog is where Eurovision fans and friends come to get the very first insight into what all 35 performances are going to look like on 12 | 14 | 16 May. Before our photos are published and our preview clips released, this is your place to discover every detail and ponder every prop. Until the visuals arrive, you can rely on our words. And as we’re in Austria, the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe might even be popping up to assist. Who The Hell Is?... First things first. Your gal Heidi, who you’ll remember from doing the Live Blog in previous years, is currently off on a multiple-week jaunt around Europe. But she hopes to be chatting with you again in the future 💬 Instead, you’ve got me, the social media guy. I write the captions across the Eurovision social media platforms all year round. And it’s nice to not be restricted by a shorter character limit here, because I’m sure there’ll be plenty to say. --------------------------------------- 10:30 - Moldova and mash-ups We're waiting for Satoshi to take the stage. He said it would happen and he was right - Moldova is about to be on duty! I was humming Viva, Moldova! earlier this morning and it suddenly drifted into Forogj, Világ by NOX. That’s got some monumental mash-up potential right there - 🇲🇩 2026 vs 🇭🇺 2005 In the grand spirit of the Käärijä x Baby Lasagna interval performance at Basel 2025, drop your dream Eurovision mash-ups in the comments below. --------------------------------------- 11:15 - Saluti. A tutti. The first Live Show of Vienna 2026 on Tuesday 12 May has got its party-starter, its hype guy and its on-your-feet crowdpleaser all in one. This is an ideal Semi-Final opener from Moldova - Viva, Moldova! by Satoshi. If you’ve seen the Selecția Națională performance which won in Moldova, you’ll be well aware of the BIG energy that Satoshi exudes by bouncing enthusiastically around the stage. Well, at the Wiener Stadthalle he’s got even more space to cover, and you can tell he’s absolutely in his element exploring every inch of it. He’s as happy to be in Vienna as we are delighted to have him - and Moldova - right here with us. At the start of the performance we even get to see the Moldovan flag beaming out in big lights from behind the screen. And it’s a beautiful sight! Call us Athena Manoukian in 2020 because we’re currently thinking one thing: CHAINS ON YOU! Satoshi is adorned with rows of chain mail on his shoulders, draped over a blinged-out sports top in royal blue. Royal blue - fitting for our Moldovan king 👑 The choice of accessories has caused what you could call a chain reaction… those chains have extended to his band and his co-performers (oh HEEEEY, Aliona Moon, it’s been a minute!), with every outfit accented with a touch of shiny metal. Not that the heavy material is weighing anyone down… So! Much! Bouncing! If you’ve been getting to know Satoshi since his national final win, then you’ll be familiar with his deep appreciation for Japanese culture. He’s ensured that this is on full display here, with a cute n’ colourful backdrop that viewers will no doubt find adorable. Cos it is adorable. And features even more bouncing. --------------------------------------- 11:40 - First Look photos are on their way We’re officially SEATED. And we hope you are too. Our seat is in the Wiener Stadthalle, facing the stage. To our right is a big production team that are checking every performance closely on their monitors. They’re made up of lovely folk from the Austrian broadcaster ORF, as well as our Eurovision office besties. To our left is the phenomenally talented Eurovision photography team 📸 We’re truly blessed to have Corinne, Sarah-Louise and Alma are back with us once again. They’re gonna be darting around the arena at an impressive speed, taking gorge pics of all 35 First Rehearsals and painstakingly choosing the best shots to upload. The first images will be released tomorrow on the Eurovision Song Contest Instagram and Facebook! Now, Sweden is up next. Time to open our head, our heart... --------------------------------------- 12:00 - MY 💥 MY 💥 MY SYSTEM Guys, we’re shaking. We’re physically shaking. Not because we’re in the presence of icon FELICIA (though that can’t be fully counted out), but because those banging synths near the end of the song (you know the part we mean, we know you know) are making the arena floor actually vibrate. It’s like a potent current of epic electronica is running underneath us. And it’s not an unpleasant feeling, truth be told. FELICIA is dressed in black and sparkling red, the colours of a Black Widow - which is incidentally the name of her debut single, if you’re on the hunt for more FELICIA bops. It ain’t the black and red number you saw at Melodifestivalen, however; her outfit’s had a system upgrade! The performance opens with FELICIA getting the wind-machine treatment, parting a cloud of smoke and revealing the Swedish singer standing on stage. Well, revealing her as much as one can behind that mask. And yes, Tuesday night viewers are going to get to enjoy that thrilling switch-out of masks near the end of the song. Accompanied by GIANT FELICIA climbing out of the screens and into the audience. It's still a total gag, no matter how many times you've seen it. As with the Melodifestivalen-winning performance from March, FELICIA is engulfed in lasers throughout. Lots of 'em. But new for Vienna is some interaction! During the second verse we get to see FIGHTER FELICIA literally battling away lasers with her bare hands, before she tames them into doing her bidding. Before long those lasers are framing her poses so that she can look extra stun for audiences at home. This diva knows her lighting. --------------------------------------- 12:35 - Stationed for the Croatian nation There’s just something about being in the presence of the LELEK ladies singing in unison. It changes you. We may never be the same again 🥵 Not long into their performance of Andromeda, we get a stunning shot that really makes use of the catwalk leading from the Green Room up to the stage (and it’s the first time viewers will get to see the catwalk element properly pop). It serves as a dramatic presentation of the Croatian group, giving their arrival to the Eurovision stage the majesty it deserves. LELEK fans will know from their Dora-winning performance that the band LOVE a robe ensemble. The striking fashion choice returns for Vienna, but this time they’ve woven a deep blood-red colour into their scheme. It’s a chilling visual and therefore a superb stylistic choice for a song teeming with this much drama. The ladies aren’t doing all the legwork, however. The screen behind them plays a big role in the telling of their story. It takes the viewer from a mystical cave to an enchanting forest, closing the performance by pulling us through a wormhole at such high speed, it feels like a time warp we have no choice but to travel through. Can that time warp take us back 30 minutes please?... We wanna watch those three run-throughs again! --------------------------------------- 13:00 - Ferto fun for all coming up Everyone has had a well-deserved break, but we're all back in the arena now. Another rehearsal? Ferto! A new performer to see? Ferto! Akylas from Greece? Su léo ferto!!! He's about to take the stage for the first time 🇬🇷 --------------------------------------- 13:35 - Hey kitty kats 😸 Is this real life? We’ve just been taken right inside a video game. And we’re legit winning 🎮 🕹️ 👾 Akylas is taking the Eurovision Song Contest from Arcade to arcade games! This game creates multiple illusions for the viewer and, in it, Akylas wants to introduce you to some new characters. But we’ll let him tell you more about them on Tuesday 12 May… Our Greek hero Akylas turns into a tiger on that Wiener Stadthalle stage. Not least because he’s dressed stylishly in an orange and black palette. The furry boots are out in force, as is the cutie kitty-kat hat with the lil’ ears. No Eurovision fancy-dress party is ever gonna be without one. And Ferto is certain to be a dance floor staple at those parties for at least another 70 years. Just when the audience thinks they are getting to know Akylas, everything changes. He stops, removes his funky shades, steps out of character and addresses his mother in an emotional display. Mommies everywhere are gonna love this. Daddies, too. --------------------------------------- 14:10 - Time to look at the world through Rosa**-tinted glasses 🌹** Portugal’s staging commences with a continuous shot that pans through the lineup of Bandidos do Cante singing to their audience. It’s like a Wall of Song - if the video game theme from the entry before them had continued into this one, then the Portuguese Wall of Song would be a proper ‘final boss’ moment! Like a lineup of football players singing their national anthem before a trophy-deciding match, you can tell that Bandidos do Cante are just as proud to be showcasing their beloved Cante Alentejano genre as the world watches. In Rosa, they’re not just performing in the genre, they’re telling the listener about it, too. If you watched the boys’ performance from Portugal’s Festival da Canção, then you’ll remember that they are momentarily joined by a sixth member! Their violinist is back and contributing a magical moment to proceedings, enhancing the soothing tone that’s already been set by the band. Bandidos do Cante give the First Half of the First Semi-Final a change of beat, which many viewers will no doubt appreciate. The performance ends with the visuals on the screen behind the band springing into life. This is when Rosa blooms, literally and figuratively speaking. And there’s not a thorn in sight. --------------------------------------- 14:15 - BREAKING! 🚨 No, literally, we're going for a break It's lunchtime. And we're gonna need to be on a high-energy bzzzz for Georgia. Not to mention the fire we'll need for Finland! 🔥 See you shortly xoxo --------------------------------------- 15:15 - Ready for replay Shall we talk about the stage? One thing we mentioned in the LELEK write-up was the catwalk element. It runs all the way from centre-stage to a double set of steps leading right up to the Green Room. It ends up splitting the arena completely into two halves. If you enter one side of the floor, you won't be able to pass into the other. One of our favourite things about the Live Shows in recent years has been the camaraderie we’ve seen going on between the artists in the Green Room. Everyone is rooting for one another! With this set-up, the performers are going to be able to strut down the catwalk, look up and see all of their new besties cheering them on. And that’s such a wholesome thought 🥹 Back to Day 1 rehearsals and Georgia are up next. We're gonna watch their song On Replay. Well, for three run-throughs, anyway. --------------------------------------- 15:50 - Don't. Think. Let. Go! It’s the stuff of dreams. Bzikebi representing Georgia at the grown-up Eurovision Song Contest - and they’re dressed fully in black and yellow 🐝🐝🐝 The talented trio are proud to pay homage to the big buzzzz around their Junior Eurovision beginnings and their outfits are a cute Easter eggs for longtime fans. Their hornet-themed high fashion has understandably had quite the glow-up since that Junior victory back in 2008. We’re at Vienna 2026, but Bzikebi look like they’ve come to us from some decades in the future. Yellow catsuits cinched in with black-striped PVC. It’s giving superhero, which is fitting really, because Bzikebi are our very own connecters of the ESC and JESC multiverse. But wait… there’s more! More Bzikebi, that is. Performing behind the Georgian group is a second iteration of the trophy-winning trio. Meet CYBORG BZIKEBI! They may look intimidating (don’t stare into those eyes for too long), but they’re here to help our Bzikebi babes. These cyborg overlords are surging the popstars with power. And with great power comes great… lasers! The laser show on display here is electrifying. Bzikebi weren’t lying when they said they were gonna “la, la, la light it up”. --------------------------------------- 16:40 - He's ready to sing and she's ready to string 🎤 🎻 Have you been likin' Liekinheitin? Linda Lampenius stands alone on the deserted stage of what was once an orchestra. Now, it’s been littered with the overturned chairs and sheet-music stands of Linda’s former musician colleagues. But what could possibly have happened here? Shall we head to the confessional box to find out? There, we find Pete Parkkonen, and he’s been in touch with the wardrobe department for an outfit upgrade. In the confessional box, Pete has got some things he’d like to get off his chest - and this all-new open top of his is gonna make that an easy-breezy process. It’s not just Pete who’s had an appointment with the Tampere tailors. Linda Lampenius has lightened her colour palette! Her dress, while structurally similar to what you’ll have seen at the Finnish pre-selection UMK, is now a striking silver. It makes her slow descent towards the burning confessional box even more otherworldly to the eye. And it’s difficult to look away - both performers are emanating star power so brightly here. The staging for Liekinheitin has turned the Eurovision Song Contest into an Olympic sport, with silver-clad Linda Lampenius going for gold in the sprinting category. When the camera pans away from her towards the big climax of the song, the audience at the Wiener Stadthalle will be able to watch as our heroic violinist races towards the back of the stage to be reunited with her duet partner. There, she’s lifted up onto the abandoned orchestra seating for a final showdown with Pete. It brings him to his knees and the set goes up in flames, destroying all evidence! --------------------------------------- 16:50 - Now it's your turn! We just had our big finish with the Finnish! Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen were the last act to rehearse for Day 1. Social media guy has some social media stuff to do, but I'm sticking around here for a little while too. Ask me some questions in the comments below and I'll see what I can answer. --------------------------------------- 17:30 - What to look forward to tomorrow What a day. What a tonne of top-tier tunes. What a load of lasers. We'll be back tomorrow morning at 10:00 CEST sharp ⏰ And we've got all this to look forward to: 🇲🇪 Montenegro: Tamara Živković - Nova Zora 🇪🇪 Estonia: Vanilla Ninja - Too Epic To Be True 🇮🇱 Israel: Noam Bettan - Michelle 🇧🇪 Belgium: ESSYLA - Dancing on the Ice 🇱🇹 Lithuania: Lion Ceccah - Sólo Quiero Más 🇸🇲 San Marino: SENHIT - Superstar 🇵🇱 Poland: ALICJA - Pray 🇷🇸 Serbia: LAVINA - Kraj Mene We'll also be posting some First Look Photos from today's rehearsals, so that you can finally get to see a glimpse of how things will look. Oh, and mark your diaries for 10:00 CEST on Monday, too. Not only will we be back with Day 3 of the Megathread, we'll also be revealing some news about the Live Shows on eurovision.com 👀 submitted by /u/eurovision to r/eurovision [link] [comments]

Around 1998-ish, I started working at a very busy Funcoland in NY on Long Island. I eventually ended up as one of the store managers. It was a very fun time & I’m still close friends with MANY who I employed there - over 25 years ago! I helped launch the Sega Dreamcast as well as the PS2, GameCube, first XBOX etc. We also still sold Sega Genesis, SNES & NES carts at the time… PS1 was huge… so I built up a collection back then. Nobody really cared about those at the time & I brought home DuckTales 2 in a box & other rare 8 & 16-bit games at the time. A guy would walk in with, say a CD-I or Atari Jaguar and we didn’t take those… so I’d offer them cash & usually take it from them. Prior to all this, I worked at Acclaim (before they went under). I worked on Shadowman, some WWF games, and Revolt (which was great). I was mostly just quality control & a bug tester though. But I’ll never forget that dark high-tech office. It had a full motion capture studio at the time. Wild stuff. Being a pro musician (I have toured with many celebrities as a keyboard player & performed on shows like Jay Leno - but this was many years later) … one of the local drummers in town was so beefy and tall - with his “drum arms” that they actually used him for some Shadowman captures. I still have VHS tapes with early Shadowman footage on it & some bug report sheets. Maybe I’ll post those another time. I also worked with the Bygone Dogs, the band that was featured on Sega Saturn games like Cyber Speedway. That’s a LONG story though. Anyways… When Funcoland became corporate & got bought out.. my store became GameStop. It got miserable really fast. I left a year later. The fun def went away. 😂 The day they took down the big neon store sign & replaced it with a GameStop one… it just got thrown in the back room to be trashed! My higher-up boss at the time said, “take it if you want it” and you bet I did! My parents were not exactly excited about keeping it in the basement along with 50 promotional cardboard standees lol… but … it sat there forever. Fast-forward 18+ years later and my parents were retiring & selling their house in NY to move south… and I was getting ready to move to Nashville to a small apartment at the time… As much as it would make a great sign for a basement bar or game room, it was too big to travel around with. So I took a few pics of it on their dining room floor… this is one of them… and posted it on Craigslist I literally had 7 people fighting for it - 3 local retro game stores begged me to sell it to them. I ended up selling it to some dude 😢 I kind of wish I still had it. But it’s a fun story & I know some of you are as nostalgic as me for the good old Funcoland days … So I wanted to share this photo & tell the tale. Anyone have stories about either working there, or going there as a kid? By the time I worked there, they didn’t have those “monthly newspaper pricing sheets” anymore… which was fun as a kid… to see all the used Nintendo game prices etc… All I remember once it became corporate: suddenly all this pressure to sell Game Informer subs… we got stuck doing 3 hours of counting inventory daily instead of spending time helping customers choose games…. It just sucked. No pay raise either. Regional manager was a total ASS that knew nothing about games. Then a new manager came in who was on speed pills all day. Ugh I worked there until the first XBOX came out (not the 360) … which was a weird time, as I was a HUGE Dreamcast guy… and it became the Dreamcast 2 in a way. With Panzer Dragoon and those ports of Shenmue & stuff. When PS2 first dropped and people would ask “which system should I buy” I would always say Dreamcast. Whoops! 😬 I had no idea it would die 2 years later. I just wanted to push Sega. Good times! Cheers all. I do have a few photos from inside the actual store. Maybe I’ll do more retro story posts like this. Thanks for reading the rant. submitted by /u/HighlySeasonedGamer to r/retrogaming [link] [comments]

Game Information Game Title: Marathon Platforms: Xbox Series X/S (Mar 5, 2026) PlayStation 5 (Mar 5, 2026) PC (Mar 5, 2026) Trailers: Rook Cinematic | Marathon Marathon - Rook Cinematic Trailer | PS5 & PC Games Launch Gameplay Trailer | Marathon Developer: Bungie MetaCritic - 81 average on PlayStation 5 with 35 reviews | 81 average on PC with 32 reviews OpenCritic - 80 Top Critic average - 69% recommended (nice) - 58 reviews Critic Reviews 3DJuegos - Mario Gómez - Spanish - Recommended Divisive as it might be, Marathon is an incredibly polished product that ultimately brings the genre into maturity thanks to its ideally sized maps, flexible matchmaking, deep and satisfying combat and (perhaps most importantly) rich endgame system full of both short term and long term goals for the whole season. Game has you building up some quality loadouts, then wasting it all on unfortunate runs and not giving a damn about it since you'll be back in stock in no time. Great gameplay loop overall... if you have the patience to learn it. 4P.de - Christian Just and Sören Wetterau - German - 7.5/10 Marathon is an extraction shooter that truly does its own thing. It is visually unique, yet complex and not easily deciphered. However, those who stick with it are rewarded with fantastic matches and a motivating gameplay loop. Areajugones -Álex Pareja - Spanish - 8/10 Marathon demands a great deal of patience and time before you begin to truly enjoy it, but as the hours pass, it manages to transform into an obsession. Bungie’s signature touch is evident in its gameplay, as well as in the construction of its universe and its difficulty. It stands unique among extraction shooters, yet its high barrier to entry—along with the constant dedication it demands—won't win over everyone. Atomix - Sebastian Quiroz - Spanish - 85 Marathon is a difficult game to recommend. It's undeniable that Bungie has done a great job with this title, but it's not an experience for everyone. The gameplay is too aggressive for a large portion of the audience, and even those initially interested may be discouraged by the steep learning curve. It remains to be seen whether this game has what it takes to survive this challenging period for games as a service, but if anyone can make it happen, it's Bungie. But Why Tho? - Matt Sowinsky - English - 8/10 Marathon has me locked in, sitting in my brain until my next run. The barrier to entry is high, but it’s rewarding, with each death being a lesson learned. CD-Action - Jakub Dmuchowski - Polish - 8+ Marathon is a very good shooter, but in the long run, it may paradoxically suffer from being limited to just one game mode. CGMagazine - Zubi Khan - English - 8.5/10 Marathon is an addictive extraction shooter featuring the same masterful gunplay that has made Bungie legendary, making it a must-play for fans of the genre and even those adverse to it. Console Creatures - Johnathon Cariati - English - 7/10 If you give Marathon your time, it will reward your patience. I really believe that. I also think the time commitment is a big reason this game won’t be for everyone. And maybe it doesn’t have to be. After all, a game for everyone is a game for no one. This isn’t a casual shooter that’s welcoming to new players. If you’re willing to stick with the game, learn the systems and play with friends, then there’s a good chance you will find a shooter you really enjoy. If you’re looking for something easier to jump into and understand right away, then Marathon is going to be a much tougher sell for you and your friends. Daily Star - Tom Hutchinson - English - TBD Gameplay is brilliantly addictive, the graphics and sounds standout - it’s just that crappy menu system that falters. There’s more to come from Marathon but this is a great start to a live service shooter and a great rival to the likes of Arc Raiders. DayOne - Győző Baki - English - 7 / 10 Marathon is a hugely inconsistent game. Some marvelous vistas and stylistic choices, yet the world feels void of interesting events and feels small, with only a few small, static and repetitive maps. Some great shooting is accompanied by a crazy low TTK that encourages playing as passively as possible. Destructoid - Scott Duwe - English - 8.5/10 Everything about Marathon has been polarizing from the start, including its very existence as another live-service game alongside Bungie's Destiny 2. But in spite of its faults and struggles, the studio has managed to ship a great yet niche extraction shooter, even with its high barrier of entry and existing flaws. It's absolutely not for everyone, but if it's for you, it may be your next addiction. Dexerto - Nathan Warby - English - 3/5 Marathon is a wildy inconsistent game that reaches blood-pumping highs, in between rounds of pure frustration. There's a great shooter hiding in there, but players will jump off before they find it. DualShockers - Shane Limbaugh - English - 8.5/10 Marathon is hands down the best extraction shooter on the market. From the gunplay to the way the game handles the distribution of story, there's a lot to love in Marathon. While the quality of life could be improved in some respects and some of the UI elements could be adjusted, the overall game stands as a testament that Bungie knows how to make a good game. Eurogamer Germany - Benjamin Schmädig - German - 5/5 Marathon is an incredibly intense, nearly perfect first-person shooter in a visually breathtaking scenario. It keeps you engaged with an incredibly well-tuned cycle of looting and improving, while you constantly progress even after failing a mission. EuroGamer Portugal - Adolfo Soares - Portugese - 3/5 Not even Destiny's brilliant gunplay can save Marathon from its own mess. Bungie's new shooter drowns in too much visual noise, rudimentary menus and boredom. An extraction shooter that doesn't innovate and becomes tiresome long before it becomes fun. If you're hardcore in this genre, Marathon can be seen in a much more optimistic light. Everyeye.it - Giovanni Panzano - Italian - 8/10 Marathon is not a game for everyone. The hardcore nature of Bungie’s latest effort creates an experience with a high barrier to entry—one that will drive away anyone unwilling to commit to mastering its intricate mechanics, while conversely trapping everyone else in an endless loop of runs. This specific quirk ensures the game will likely never become a mainstream hit or reach record-breaking levels of popularity; yet, there is no doubt that Bungie’s take on the extraction shooter genre is one of the most compelling titles currently available on the market. Anyone with a visceral love for this subgenre should at least give it a chance—or, to put it more aptly, try going for a run. Final Weapon - Saras Rajpal - English - 4.5/5 So far, Marathon is an absolutely fantastic multiplayer shooter. The narrative manages to be compelling, even without a single-player campaign; the presentation is a treat to look at, and the gameplay still has me hooked. While I fear for its ability to deliver consistently good content in future updates, Bungie's care for the game thus far and the fact that it already has a committed fanbase have me hopeful and even excited to see how Marathon continues to grow in the coming weeks, months, and years. If you're a fan of multiplayer shooters, then this is a must-play. Finger Guns - Joshua Thompson - English - 8/10 Bungie are once again at the forefront of sci-fi with their extraction shooter Marathon. Whilst none of the elements are purely unique individually, Bungie have cultivated a brutal ecosystem that gives you as much as you're willing to put in. The barrier to entry is high, and the player base are already daunting, but what is on offer is an FPS with exceptional gunplay and heightened encounters, wrapped in a brilliant setting. Game Informer - James Galizio - English - 9.25/10 Like any good extraction shooter, Marathon is a game about the choice and consequences inherent within a run. Yet, it's more than just that. Bungie's excellent audio design and gunplay, paired with increasingly complicated level design borrowing from over a decade of expertise designing Destiny raids coalesce into something special. Marathon is proof Bungie is still at the top of its game. Gamekult - Alex Cortes - French - 6/10 Marathon makes excellent use of Bungie's strengths, whether in its narrative, visuals, or gameplay. But despite this polished presentation, it remains a relatively conventional extraction shooter, and the few attempts to differentiate it—particularly the fast-paced and challenging combat and the hero system—fail to truly convince. There's no doubt the game will find the dedicated community it deserves for its undeniable qualities, but following the vibrant Arc Raiders unfortunately makes Marathon somewhat bland for the average player. GameLiner - Rudy Wijnberg - Dutch - TBD Marathon shows moments of brilliance, especially in its signature Bungie gunplay, but the current package feels limited. A low amount of maps, heavy monetization push, and reliance on coordinated teammates hold the core experience back. There's potential here, but Bungie still has serious work to do. [Review in Progress] GameOver.gr - Alexandros Papadopoulos - Greek - 7.5/10 Bungie once again nails the shooting, delivering consistently satisfying combat moments in Marathon. Its retro-futuristic aesthetic and lore create a dilapidated sci-fi world that feels both mysterious and captivating. During traversal and tense firefights, as you attempt to extract valuable loot, the game offers a thrilling and engaging experience. However, it’s baffling how convoluted the menus are, creating unnecessary confusion even for simple tasks. Additionally, in its current state, the content feels somewhat lacking,though Bungie has promised to expand it in the near future. Gamereactor UK - Magnus Groth-Andersen - English - 7/10 Marathon’s foundations are solid, strong, and well-functioning, and although the game might lack a hook, or simply maps that build on this solid foundation, I feel confident enough, even without Cryo Archive, to recommend Marathon solely on the basis of this rather fantastic loop. That doesn’t mean Marathon is a fantastic game in itself, but it could very well turn out to be one, and that’s more positive than for a great many other live-service games. Gamer.no - Espen Jansen - Norwegian - 7/10 Marathon delivers a plethora of deep mechanics, engaging gunplay and a truly unique look, but there's simply too much tedium and way too much busywork between fights. GamersRD - Alejandro Paula - Spanish - 8/10 Marathon is an addictive extraction shooter with the unmistakable hallmark of Bungie. Its hostile map Tau Ceti IV offers great tension and survival, standing out for its colorful aesthetic and an accessible learning curve. Although the on-screen interface is overwhelming and gives the feeling that it could have launched more polished, its solid endgame content makes up for the experience. Gamer Social Club - Adam S. D. Stewart - English - 9 /10 Coming from someone who is completely new to extraction shooters, Marathon is a triumph. The excellent visuals, audio design and gameplay creates a game and world that wants you to have “just one more run”. Hell, I’m only writing this during the server maintenance downtime, otherwise I’d struggle to tear myself away! Bungie have succeeded in creating a world that is begging to be explored and experienced even if the lore and storytelling feels slightly secondary. It may feel overwhelming at first, but a little perserverance, and not much at that, will open up a game that is incredibly well made and demonstrates a lot of love and work. GameSpot - Phil Hornshaw - English - 9/10 I've now sunk nearly 90 hours into Marathon, and it has quickly eclipsed many of my other go-to multiplayer games. It's currently all I'm thinking about and all I want to play. I'm excited to see how else the game will change over time, whether that's with new Shells, new contracts, new story, new modes, or new enemies. And so far, Bungie has been highly attuned to player feedback, and that has already resulted in lots of tweaks and improvements to the experience. GamesRadar+ - Andrew Brown - English - 4.5/5 Marathon steals the breath from your lungs. An intense shooter that thrives on PvP encounters and a well-realized setting, Bungie's extraction shooter is off to an exceptional start Gamesurf - Simone Rampazzi - Italian - 7/10 Ultimately, Marathon presents itself as a kind of digital Rorschach test in which each player projects their own tolerance thresholds for frustration and aesthetic fascination: it is a work dedicated to gunplay fetishists who demand a physical response to every mouse input, and to those who, tired of the reassuring linearity of modern blockbusters, seek the thrill of fragmented and brutal storytelling. The shift toward the extraction shooter genre proves to be a bold strategic move to test the limits of competition, attracting anyone curious to see how the DNA of 1994 has mutated under Ziegler’s vision, while simultaneously forcefully repelling those who look for a guided approach or a minimalist UI. It is not a game for those who detest extraction anxiety or the permanent loss of loot, since the absence of waypoints and the informational overload of the HUD require a cognitive investment that many might find exhausting. Those with modern hardware and ultrawide displays will derive the greatest visual pleasure from this chromatic jungle, but they will still have to reckon with a system that gives nothing away and turns every mistake into a definitive erasure. Marathon, ultimately, is a technological shell that admits no compromises: either one accepts living within its distortions, or one is rejected by the system like obsolete code. Gaming Age - Austen Canupp - English - 90 I will not pretend that Marathon is a game for everyone. I don’t even think it’s a game for most people who enjoy FPS games, but… that does not stop it from being a great game in the end. Marathon offers a lot to give people the ability to experience a hardcore looter shooter in a more well-designed and refined environment than has otherwise been available before its existence. Tarkov or Delta Force might look good, but what they are both missing is that casual friendly polish that you can only get from a studio with a long history like Bungie. In my opinion, both of the aforementioned games suffer from being unpolished in the grander view in a way that, while not necessarily making them bad, definitely makes them hard to approach. Marathon’s UI might be a bit wild, but it’s not the crazy patchwork that you’ll find in its competitors. It does what every other extraction shooter before it has done, but more polished and cohesive. There’s always clear goals and expectations, and upgrades are easy to understand and progress. Marathon is, in my opinion, the clearest winner of the genre to date that offers the kind of experience it does. Gaming Boulevard - Toon Borremans - English - 9/10 The gaming landscape rarely sees a PvP first-person extraction shooter like Bungie’s new Marathon. It blends fun, engaging gameplay with fast-paced matches and smartly chosen mission structures. Tao Ceti IV feels like a vision of the future that we haven’t already encountered in sci-fi, boasting a unique visual design and a futuristic soundtrack that shapes the atmosphere like no other. I really hope this game finds a consistent player base, because I want Marathon to stick around and show me more of its world for years to come. GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - English - 8/10 Bungie delivers a compelling extraction shooter in a trippy new setting, though whether that will be enough remains to be seen. GamingTrend - Corvo Rohwer and Joe Morgan - English - 85/100 Marathon is top-tier Bungie gunplay in a beautiful extraction shooter setting, and it makes for an addicting gameplay loop. Exploring the dangerous world of Tau Ceti IV and the looming colony ship with your gear on the line makes for some of the most intense PvP available, though the punishing early game might be too brutal for some. Gfinity - Chris Davison - English - 8/10 Bungie’s Marathon reboot successfully transforms a sci-fi classic into a tense, visually stunning extraction shooter. While a steep learning curve and punishing seasonal resets may alienate some, the satisfying gunplay, unique Runner Shell abilities, and addictive loop of high-stake runs make it a rewarding experience for those who brave the dangers of Tau Ceti IV. GRYOnline.pl - Dariusz Matusiak - Polish - 7.0/10 Despite these shortcomings, Marathon still manages to be deeply intriguing—if only for its distinctive audiovisual style. It truly feels like a small work of art in a museum: the kind that some would instantly want to take home and admire at every spare moment, while others might not fully grasp it—or perhaps wouldn't choose to display it on their own shelves—yet will still find themselves gazing at it with fascination, if only for a moment. I am incredibly curious to see how Marathon evolves over the coming seasons, and I will certainly be keeping a close eye on it. Hobby Consolas - Álvaro Alonso - Spanish - 90/100 Marathon's return as an extraction shooter had everything stacked against it... But Bungie always hits the mark. The studio's three strengths mesh perfectly with the extraction formula, resulting in a game you always want to play again. IGN Adria - Mladen Tapavički - Bosnian - 9/10 Marathon is a challenging FPS multiplayer extraction shooter that will not leave you indifferent as you explore the ruins of the Tau Ceti IV colony. It allows players to experience incredible success and defeat in a game that has a surprisingly good narrative and audio/visual presentation. We hope this will be the basis for a long series that will add new content regularly. IGN Benelux - Tom Van Stam - Dutch - 9/10 Marathon is a game that is truly unmatched, especially in terms of style and gunplay. Beneath its visual presentation and incredibly strong soundtrack lies a game that is remarkably special, though it will not immediately appeal to everyone because it is so hardcore. For me, it is one of the best first-person shooters ever made. In terms of level design, Marathon is even better than Destiny, and the release of its most recent level, Cryo Archive, only reinforced that even further. It takes a little while to get into at first, but once you push through that initial barrier, you are in for an unforgettable experience. IGN Brasil - Bruno Renzi - Portugese - 7.5/10 Marathon offers the best of what Bungie has to offer in terms of pure gameplay and a unique hardcore experience within the extraction shooter genre. However, pacing issues and its appeal to a niche audience make the barrier to entry too high for the vast majority of players. IGN - Travis Northup - English - 9/10 Marathon is a ruthless and unforgiving extraction shooter that’s worth every ounce of hell it puts you through. IGN France - Paul Blanchard - French - 8/10 Memorable for its excellent game feel and striking artistic direction, Marathon is a punitive, extreme and exponentially addictive extraction shooter. IGN Spain - Estrella Gomez - Spanish - 8/10 At first glance, Marathon feels strange and confusing. It's a game that demands a lot of patience from the player, as only then can you truly discover the wonders of its world. This extraction shooter doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it stands out thanks to its fast-paced gameplay, which always feels satisfying, and its distinctive style. Jeuxvideo - Alexis Mariel Zema - French - 17/20(?!) Marathon is a radical proposition (you either love it or hate it), and if you have nothing against its unforgiving PvP and art direction, then I highly recommend it. The art direction, the atmosphere, the demanding nature of the game captivated me. I was completely absorbed on the planet Tau Ceti IV, displaying heightened vigilance against other Runners, fascinated by the universe Bungie has created. The creators of Halo and Destiny have put their FPS expertise to work in service of an excellent extraction shooter. Jeff.zone - Jeff Gerstmann - English - 5/5 I think that’s the thing about Marathon. It all fits, creating a cycle where even failure can be more inspirational than discouraging. Considering most of my time with other extraction shooters ended after a way-too-discouraging defeat, I’d say that’s a huge part of what sets Marathon apart from the pack. They’ve created (well, iterated on) a story and universe where you want to know what’s next, you want to see the next part of this mystery unfold, whether that’s in-game or through some kind of ARG. Bungie’s set the stage for something truly special, and I hope they take this opportunity to really play around in this space and come up with a wide variety of weird activities to match the game’s vibe. Kotaku - Zack Zwiezen - English - Unscored Marathon is a good game. It is a great game. It’s a special game. This is something that I’ll remember for a long time, even if it dies like so many other live-service games. Metro GameCentral - Adam Starkey - English - TBD At the moment, Marathon shows signs of being able to go the distance, especially if its thrills deepen the more you sink into its breadth of upgrades and weapons. But after this early test, it feels like there are a lot of obtuse hurdles, and peculiar design choices, stopping it from being a true contender. [Review in Progress] MMORPG.com - Justin Harmon - English - TBD From what we've played so far, Marathon feels like a modern love letter to the classic games from Bungie’s past, while keeping their sights on the future. While the learning curve is steep, the community the game is building is already growing strong. PC Gamer - Morgan Park- English - 90 Marathon is a brilliant distillation of what makes extraction shooters great, and a glimpse at where they could go next. PCGamesN - Jamie Hore- English - 8/10 Marathon is a feast for the senses - vibrant sci-fi visuals and world building, amazing sound design, and a brilliant combat experience are the main things elevating it above its extraction shooter competitors. Its endgame map, Cryo Archive, also creates the same intimidating yet jaw-dropping atmosphere of some of Bungie’s finest Destiny raids. However, issues such as clunky inventory management and dull faction quests hold it back from true greatness right now. PCMag - Matthew Buzzi and Zackery Cuevas- English - TBD We tag-teamed the server slam to parse the good and the bad of Marathon's public debut, and after 10 hours of play, found it an engaging shooter with a few head-scratching elements. [Review in Progress] Playstation Country - Mike I really did try to find a last name. I did. I listened to five minutes of podcast intros from nine years ago. I can’t find it. I stalked LinkedIn. I can’t find it. I don’t know who this guy is. It’s just Mike. He “gets all the racing games.” - English - 7 Overall Against some odds, Marathon is a compelling extraction shooter that offers some really satisfying combat. I do think having only one contract at a time slows progression down but there's plenty of other meters to work towards. Solo play has a tension to it which I really enjoy, although the game seems to be built more around squads. With just a few maps available at launch, I only hope that the game evolves and grows over time. I love the aesthetic and, generally speaking, it's doing quite a few things right. PlayStation Universe - Tommy Holloway - English - 9/10 Marathon is further proof of Bungie's pedigree and ability to create enthralling, engaging, and addictive shooters. While Marathon is brutally challenging and unforgiving, especially for the solo or casual player, it begs to be experienced. Pocket Tactics - Sam Comrie - English - 9/10 Bungie’s unwavering commitment to its hardcore niche makes Marathon an enthralling experience the FPS genre needs. Best-in-class gunplay, sleek art direction, and masterful sound design deliver white-knuckle tension in spades. Its versatile playstyles let you approach it as a stealth powerhouse or turn it into a squad-based riot. Press Start Australia - Brodie Gibbons - English - Unscored Marathon is a special game that, like Destiny before it, is firmly rooted in the team’s focus on shared communal experiences, immaculate gun feel, and just straight-up vibes. I hope it finds enough of a foothold to exist in the live-service space longer than some of its contemporaries, because if death is the first step in Marathon, I can’t wait to see what the next one is. PSX Brasil - Bruno Henrique Vinhadel - Portugese - 85% Marathon is special within its own universe and shows how Bungie continues to deliver high-quality first-person shooters over decades. It still needs slight refinements and more content over time to remain consistently interesting, but its release is a huge success. Push Square - Aaron Byne - English - 9/10 Marathon doesn’t have that instant fun factor and casual appeal that an extraction shooter like ARC Raiders does. And for a lot of people, that likely means it isn’t the game for them. But Marathon is a game that gives more to you the more you give to it. With impeccable Bungie gunplay, a gorgeous world and artstyle, and a gameplay loop much denser than its competition, we think Marathon is something special. The more we play, the more we love it. Region Free - Joonatan Itkonen - English - 3/5 If you're really into extraction shooters and you've gone through all the other major competitors, chances are you might love Marathon, too. But if you're a solo gamer or with friends available only occasionally, it's best to skip it for now. There are other worlds than this. Restart.run - Jesse Vitelli - English - 4.5/5 [Marathon has] brought a multiplayer shooter back into the rotation for my friend group. A central game for us to rally around, to share memes, tips and tricks, and just discuss theories and where it could go next. The possibilities in Tau Ceti IV feel endless if Bungie is given the runway to continue building out this universe. Screenhub - Michael Murphy - English - 4/5 Longevity is a touchy subject in this day and age, as many live-service titles have struggled to keep up with the gaming landscape. Marathon, for a while, looked to be one of those one-and-done that would be lost to time...Fortunately, Bungie has crafted something that proves that wrong, but looks to get better with each update. While not a single-player haven or easy-to-enter title, what you get is a great multiplayer extraction shooter that many should get in on as soon as possible. Screen Rant - Chris Carter - English - 7/10 With any luck, developer Bungie will spruce up the strong foundation of Marathon to make it a bit more palatable. SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - Slovak - 70 Marathon is an interesting project from Bungie that has some merit, but so far it doesn’t feel like it’s living up to its full potential. It’s held back by limited content, a cluttered layout, poor navigation, and repetitive gameplay. That said, the game has a solid foundation in its shooting mechanics, movement, and the need for tactical decision-making during extractions. Spaziogames - Andrea Maiellano - Italian - 8.5/10 After dozens of hours, Marathon left me with something rare: a deep, renewed respect for a studio that, week after week, always seems on the brink of collapse. It’s not a perfect extraction shooter, nor an accessible one, let alone easy to love. But it is authentic and consistent. It’s a production that doesn’t seek compromise, that rewards dedication, punishes improvisation, and above all refuses to follow any trend. Stevivor - Hamish Lindsay - English - 9/10 I could write a whole other review on just how much I’ve come to adore Marathon. The gentle patter of rain, the falling rocks that sound like footsteps. The designs of the guns and the sounds they make. There’s genuinely so much excellence here that I can’t help but lament the troubled path Bungie took to get here. What I can tell you though is that, without a doubt, Marathon is not only the best extraction shooter available right now by a wide margin, but also one of the premier PvP experiences out there. It’s a must buy for anyone who enjoys thrilling PvP combat. TechRadar Gaming - Dashiell Wood - English - 3/5 Marathon looks great and benefits from some excellent moment-to-moment action, especially if you’re playing with friends. Even so, the clear lack of content, terrible cosmetics, and abundance of repetitive fetch quests give you few compelling reasons to keep coming back for more once the initial burst of excitement wears off. The Games Machine - Alessandro Alosi - Italian - 8/10 Marathon takes the Extraction Game philosophy and molds it into the Bungie style. It's not perfect—the UI is awful, and the missions lose their edge over time—but the gameplay loop is fun, and the shooter foundation is solid. And what a style, guys. VGC - Diego Argüello- English - 4/5 Despite the tumultuous landscape of live-service games around it, Marathon firmly carves its own place in the extraction shooter genre with an unmatched presentation and breakneck rhythm. Voxel - Igor Almenara Carneiro - Portugese - TBD Marathon is a brutal and potentially frustrating extraction shooter. It's not beginner-friendly, but offers significant value for those who persevere. The art direction is bold and extremely striking—capable of attracting or repelling players from the very first moment. [Review in Progress] Wccftech - David Carcasole - English - 9/10 All that said, Cryo Archive is still an incredible endgame reward for the players who make it there, and in the meantime you get to enjoy the rest of Marathon's wonderfully designed zones. Now that I've experienced Cryo Archive, I can definitively say Marathon is the full package for shooter fans, stealth game fans, and anyone who feels like they've been missing some of the magic that made Bungie the iconic studio it is today. Xbox Achievements - Richard Walker - English - 75% As disheartening as failed runs can be in Marathon, it's worth sticking around for the triumphs and the game's cool and frenetic, albeit slightly headache-inducing, 1990s-style neon-hued design. Its Designers Republic-esque iconography and surreal cutscenes are uniquely bizarre (I've never loaded into a game while watching a big moth chewing on some weird worm thing), but it's all part of a unified design and vision. It all hangs together nicely, but Marathon's survival will ultimately hinge on whether Bungie can keep it fresh and whether players will be prepared to stick with it. I hope that they do. Xbox Tavern - Jamie Collyer - English - 80 While there’s no denying Marathon is an aggressive PvPvE extraction shooter, it is also a remarkably moreish one. The core loop of exploration, looting and fighting feels great as we’d hope from FPS veterans Bungie, and while the UI could use some touch ups in both inputs and clarity, that one more game feeling is present and correct enough that I can see myself sticking with this for some time to come. With constant updates and additions promised, I think the future is bright for Marathon indeed. submitted by /u/LycaonMoon to r/Games [link] [comments]

Im looking to get a hifi CD player that plays single CDs for home Audio and have been looking everywhere for the right one. I want one with a remote. Not looking for older than 10 years unless you know of older ones that are worth it in 2026. my setup is all hifi. Thiel speakers and Marantz SR 7005 reciever. Budget-350 USA submitted by /u/West_Inflation_1529 to r/StereoAdvice [link] [comments]

Hi all, as the title says I’m looking for a CD player! I’m moving away from streaming for long term costs so I’m collecting CDs now to digitise them but want to listen to them while at home. I currently have a white audio-technica turntable and black edifier speakers. And I’m looking at a budget of around €200, €250 max for a CD player that would fit in nicely with my set up. Thanks! submitted by /u/BitterestLemon to r/BudgetAudiophile [link] [comments]

Hello, I want to listen to CDs at home, but Hi-Fi CD players are too expensive (400€+). I’m looking at DVD players as a cheaper option. My options so far are: Sony DVP-SR760H Philips TAEP200/12 Which one is better for audio? Or any other budget alternative? submitted by /u/Different-Reveal8921 to r/BudgetAudiophile [link] [comments]

https://lolesports.com/en-US/news/lcs-and-cblol-return TL;DR - The LCS and CBLOL are returning in 2026 as independent leagues, restoring their brands and regional identities. We’re bringing back what fans love while carrying forward the best lessons from 2025. In 2026, the LCS and CBLOL will return as independent leagues, restoring their legacy brands. We want to honor the passion of fans by bringing back the leagues they’ve helped build, celebrating the unique identities of each community, and renewing our focus on regional competition. This will allow fans to once again connect more deeply with their regions, create clearer paths to international tournaments, and support performance development at the pace each league requires. At the same time, we are carrying forward the positive lessons from the LTA around setting a higher bar for competition, innovation, and pathways to pro play. This isn’t just a return—it’s a step forward, built to make both leagues stronger for the future and more connected to the players, teams, and communities that define them. Why Change? In 2025, we introduced the League of the Americas (LTA) with the goal of raising competitiveness across the region, creating more high-stakes matchups, and looking for innovations that weren’t possible under the old structure. This was part of a broader revision of the global business model of LoL Esports, including the launch of the Global Revenue Pool (GRP), designed to give the ecosystem a stronger path to long-term sustainability. The LTA delivered valuable learnings but it also became clear that fans feel the deepest pride and connection to their original leagues, and missed that element in LTA. Regional pride and history are core to the League of Legends esports experience, and our communities consistently told us they wanted their leagues back. Not just the LTA wearing the old brands, but a true restoration of the leagues. What’s Coming Back With the LCS and CBLOL returning as independent leagues, cross-regional playoffs will be removed, allowing each region to run its own season and crown its own champion. While cross-regional play brought excitement and valuable opportunities for teams to face international opponents, we’ll continue to explore ways to deliver those moments without disrupting the regular season or regional progression. With the removal of cross-conference play, each league will also regain more days in its calendar for regional competition. This creates room for longer splits and simpler formats, making schedules easier to follow, giving teams more time on stage to hone their skills, and providing stronger support for competitive play throughout the year. Another key part of the return to independent leagues is the restoration of international qualification, which will return to the 2024 model and include First Stand as well. First Stand: LCS and CBLOL will each qualify one team MSI: LCS will qualify two teams; CBLOL will qualify one team Worlds: LCS will qualify three teams; CBLOL will qualify one team We’ve heard the feedback that the 2025 formats felt too compressed and overly complex. In 2026, the LCS and CBLOL will continue to operate on a three-split calendar, but with updated formats designed to bring clarity, consistency, and more high-stakes rivalries. Importantly, both leagues will also host their own Finals events at the end of the year, giving fans a chance to come together and celebrate the conclusion of their regional seasons. Final format details for all three splits will be shared before the end of the year. What’s Staying The return of the LCS and CBLOL doesn’t mean completely reverting back to the 2024 model. Latin American teams will remain an important part of our competitive ecosystem and will compete within the LCS and CBLOL structures, with the LCS supporting all of North and Central America, and the CBLOL bringing together South America (Brazil and LATAM South). LYON will stay as a Partner Team in the LCS, and Leviatán will stay as a Partner Team in the CBLOL. The LLA itself will not return as a standalone league, but its teams and players will continue to have a home at the highest level of competition in the Americas. Both leagues will continue to feature a Guest Team slot in 2026, with the LCS welcoming a team from the NACL or LRN and the CBLOL welcoming a team from the CD or LRS. We saw real value in testing new partnership models and using the Guest Slot to better connect Tier-1 and Tier-2, and we will continue to strengthen Tier-2 to improve the path to pro for aspiring players. While the 2025 formats felt complex, they helped us solve key pain points from 2024 around calendar scheduling, gap weeks, and keeping most competition days on Saturday and Sunday. In 2026, we’ll maintain this consistency while introducing formats that are simpler and easier to follow. Finally, the behind-the-scenes collaboration between internal teams and regional offices sparked creative ideas, such as the LTA Fantasy experience, that we’ll continue to build on, even as the LCS and CBLOL return to operating independently. Looking Ahead Planning is still underway, and we’ll share more details as we prepare for the 2026 season in the coming months. Your passion and feedback made it clear that change was needed. By bringing back what fans know and love while carrying forward the innovations and lessons we’ve learned, we believe we’re setting the stage for something even stronger. What we can say now is that we’re incredibly excited about the changes ahead and committed to building a future for the Americas where the LCS and CBLOL feel both familiar and fresh. submitted by /u/Yujin-Ha to r/leagueoflegends [link] [comments]

After years of grinding it out, saving, and (most importantly) getting the green light from my wife, I finally brought home my first Porsche 911. I’d been waiting on an allocation for a new base Carrera specced exactly how I wanted, but when the OTD price came to ~$175k I just couldn’t justify it. Nothing against the base Carrera, but the value wasn’t there for me. Instead, I found this 2019 Turbo CPO with 13k miles at a dealer in North Carolina, and I even picked up a third year of CPO coverage for peace of mind. The rest is history. Drove five hours to get it and fell in love instantly. Honestly, I also prefer the real dials, the solid interior feel, and yes… even the CD player. Not really a fan of the new 992.2 screen/buttons setup, especially that ignition button, felt a little too plasticy for my taste. Couldn’t be happier, here she is! submitted by /u/sexynewspaper to r/porsche911 [link] [comments]

Yesterday got home for lunch and checked CL. Went from lolligag to full bore didn’t even finish my food. Looked scammy, but emailed seller and he called within 3 minutes. I shot over there after emptying construction crap and filling tank with my lawnmower gas. Didn’t even want to stop to fuel up. Guy said he’d hold it til 6, but I wasn’t taking any chances! Stuff was sitting in an open carport, covered in sheets. It’s not perfect, there’s some light rust on the amp and speaker parts, tuner glass is cracked, but it’s pretty sweet chit! Seller was awesome, knew he priced low, but needed it gone that day. He had a $4k and $5k offer while I was there! Money went straight to mom/widow and she was happy. Thanks Paul!! I’m super stoked, although haven’t hooked it up yet. I’ve got a chit ton of gear, all really good deals, however this was one of the best, even though it was still a lot of dough… No I am not a full time flipper/picker… no notifications, just luck! Mcintosh C29 preamplifier Mc2205 amplifier Mpi-4 oscilloscope Mr78 tuner 7708 cd player Cabinets 1969? Klipschorns Holey chit!! submitted by /u/tres-huevos to r/vintageaudio [link] [comments]

So as I’m biking toward the destination in my hometown of Ashland, OR, I am like— that’s not a very common name and I know they are playing in the PNW. But there’s no way, right? As I get to the hotel I notice all of the tour busses. But— odds or something— right? I place a call to Mr. Cedric B. to let him know that his Oven Roasted Turkey Sandwich, 3 bags of lays chips and 1 chocolate chip cookie from Subway have arrived. I wait around outside the hotel for a moment. Soon— guess who strolls out in a black Peacoat and blue trucker cap? Immediately I’m like “it IS you-!” I kept it really cool. Like ice cold somehow. Handed him the Subway. He must have been in a good mood and was very warm and approachable. He was stoked I knew who he was. I called him a legend and asked to shake his hand. He was surprised and said that there are lots of haters out there. I sent my regards to Omar, told him how excited I was for the new album and told him I love self-titled. Told him Philo is a great choice, said I heard they killed it in Portland the other night. Specifically told him Equus 3 rips. So then he asks me if I have a CD player. I literally currently don’t currently but told him I would buy one on the way home if I need to. He says “hang on, I got something for you.” Cedric Bixler Zavala, one of my idols since my teenage years goes inside for a few minutes and goes back up to his room to get something for me. I’m just waiting outside the hotel waiting for Cedric to return at this point. Truly a surreal moment. He comes outside again and says, “Here’s my personal copy of the new album. It leaked already, sooo.” 🤯 That’s when my mind was blown. I thanked him again. Shook his hand again, luckily never asked for a picture. That was legitimately the coolest thing that ever happened to me and man, Cedric really is a nice person. Acted like a big teenager in the best possible way. Super informal and approachable, like talking to an old friend. What a crazy connection to make. Needless to say I really have to buy a CD player now. Will probably listen to it once and never again. It’s my most cherished possession. Just had to share this with you guys. I delivered a turkey sandwich to Cedric, recognized him, played it cool, and he gave me his personal CD-R of Lucro on the spot. Boom 💥 Life complete ✅ submitted by /u/LedZeppole10 to r/themarsvolta [link] [comments]

An interesting thread from a major in New Jersey, basically stating he had a plan to undertake an assessment of the drone situation. Also included support from a private firm, free of charge. NJ governor seemingly cleared it, only for it to be blocked at federal level. His position is that the feds are not interested in identifying the cause and are trying cover it up - in the comments he posits a number of reasons. Paraphrased: gov op embarrassed backed themselves into a corner He isn’t specifically implying UFO’s, if you read his responses in the thread he is saying that it doesn’t matter - what’s important is the lack of interest. I have no info on this guy other than this post but his thinking is definitely interesting. Thread here (also for his photos of convo with governor )- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15jjkCdQhY/?mibextid=adzO7l submitted by /u/Spiniferus to r/UFOs [link] [comments]

Yeah, I'm aware of several similar stories involving entitled family members wanting houses they have no claim to. But I guess this shit really happens. And it's no picnic when it does. I suddenly became a homeowner some time ago because friend of mine's grandfather was moving to Florida. And his house was ripe for picking. I knew the old man well. RIP, he passed a few months later from a sudden stroke. Anyway, he offered the house and property to me for 200K. I practically ran to the bank to apply for the loan. The house is a manufactured home from the 80s. But it was remodeled repeatedly by the former owner, and has a separate garage building. The home and property could have gone for more. But he offered the house to me because he knew I'd take care of it. I had 30K saved that made a good down payment. And I was happy to leave my apartment. I'd wanted to eventually move out of there after what my cheating ex did anyway. But that's a story for another time. As for my brother. Well he went bonkers when he found out I bought a house. He had this repeated history of copycatting me for the past decade. But this... There was no way in hell he could copycat buying a house with his terrible credit and inconsistent income. And he got in an argument with me over how I was just trying to make him look bad by doing something he couldn't. No, I just wanted a damn house. And the price was too good to refuse. Then he told me I should have turned it down because...(He had no good reason) I could practically see his screws getting looser with every dumbass excuse he made as to why I shouldn't have done it. But I pointed out all those excuses were just because I did something he currently can't. And when I bought the house, it had nothing to do with him. I just wanted to be a home owner for the security and extra space. I finally don't have to store my camper at my parents' house. And I have a garage that I can store stuff and tinker in. I bought a camping cot, he bought a camping cot, went to the gym, he went to the gym, bought good booze, he bought good booze (Or stole it from me), I bought a new TV, be bought a new TV, I bought a truck, he bought a truck, I bought a camper, he bought a camper, I bought a used portable DVD player, he bought a used portable DVD player, I went camping in a specific place, he went camping in that specific place, I bought a house, he...(404 Error! Insert tea kettle noises and Benny Hill chase). He also acted like a complete child toward me when he built his Mini-Ram thing. He actually confronted me and said it was keweler than my boring Tundra, because it was something original. I swear, he did the dumbest mods to that vehicle. Like putting twist studs in the suspension coils to raise the ride height. Well after weeks of openly fuming about me being a home owner, my brother suddenly acted like he had another brilliant idea. He wanted to move in with me. I laughed at him. Then he ended up demanding I rent one of my rooms to him. And for only $200 a month (Utilities included) because he shouldn't have to pay any more than that since we're family. He flipped his lid when I said fuck no! Then he got our parents involved again. Only this time they actually sided with him at first. Though it was mainly our mother. She and my brother showed up demanding I let my brother move in. And my brother had a shit eating grin on his face that I could tell he was thinking he was getting his way thanks to mommy dearest. I said "FUCK NO!" to both their faces, and my mother cried that I was using foul language to her and being an ass when I had the space now. I called my dad, and he told my mom that he'd warned her I wouldn't do it. And to leave me the hell alone. Mom whined my brother was living out of his camper next to a shabby house he was renting space from. I said that wasn't my problem to fix. And my brother has proven countless times that he cannot be trusted. My brother was fuming to the point of being red with veins popping out. My mom tried one more time to convince me with tears. And that just made me angrier. I went on a rant that was something like this. Bro can't buy a house, so he wanted to invade mine. I refuse to ever live with my brother again. I would sooner live in the woods without electricity than with him. He's intentionally irritating as all hell. And if I had him as a roommate, I just knew he'd steal my booze, take my stuff, and invade my privacy none-stop. Not. Fucking. HAPPENING! No matter how many tears mom tries using on me. My mom broke down and finally conceded she'd never convince me after that rant. And she had to take my brother by the hand and leave with him because he initially refused to go, and kept begging her to turn back and make me let him move in. And then I yelled to him that it was a laugh that he called me a mama's boy before. Because he'd become exactly that. And this was just like the time he tried to get our mother to make me trade vehicles with him because he felt ashamed to be driving a minivan. He yanked away from mom, then told me to go fuck myself and the horse I rode in on. I laughed and pointed out I didn't ride in on anything, because I was already home. But his rattlecan horse was waiting for him in the driveway. He flipped his lid again, and looked like his head was going to explode. But mom got in front of him, and told him to just go. Then he drove off in his rattlecan Silverado without her. He'd driven her there. And then I had to take her home. While taking her home, I made things very clear with my mother over why I could never trust my brother again. And his life was not my burden to bear. And then told her how little my brother was offering for rent anyway. Which he'd conveniently not told her. Then I later rented that same room to one of my best friends for $600 a month, and he pays for utilities. The other two rooms are my bedroom and a home office. There's an extra room in the separate garage too. So my mother tried to make me let my brother live in the garage instead. There's enough room in it's storage room for a bedroom. Again I said fuck no. And that's since been turned into another friend's rented room with a bit of a plywood remodel. Yeah, I kinda rented both the spare bedroom and garage room out to friends out of spite. But I wasn't letting my brother live with me in any capacity! My brother later ended up having a complete meltdown in front of our parents over how he's the older brother. He should be the one who owns a house first. He's supposed to be successful, and I'm supposed to be the big loser in his shadow. Our dad poked him with his cane and told him that's not how life works, and they had a big argument. They told him to get out and not come back until he's cooled off and learned that he's just being a pointlessly jealous asshole. The next part I post, my brother did the dumbest thing of all. Edit: I came home late to over 600 comments, and still more pouring in. Far too many for me to answer. So I'll clear some things up here. Yes, I am no contact with my brother. And he's NC with the rest of the family as well. I do have cameras inside and outside my home. And a dash cam too. My brother knows this, and has stayed the fuck away since he left town. I'm told I'm an asshole too. Not arguing that, because it's true. I'm not exactly the nicest guy. But have someone like my brother in your life, and see how peachy you turn out. Some have mentioned to having siblings just like my brother. Sadly I know very well people like him are increasingly common these days. My dad said a number of times that my brother probably would have ended up dead in an alley if he lived here 50 years ago with the way he behaves. As for our ages. I'm 30, and my brother is 32. I have not given my parents a spare key to my house. One is with a friend, and another is very cleverly hidden. My house is a manufactured home. But it's not in a trailer park, and has been significantly modified with new siding and a new roof, and has a separate garage building. The previous owner was a former general contractor, and he loved to build and repair. And yes, I do have good insurance. I keep seeing comments about a clock radio. Pardon me for not getting the reference. But I do own a digital alarm clock that has a built in CD player. Currently plays Tina Turner's Proud Mary to wake me up. My brother and I were raised pretty evenly. He was always a jerk. But went full asshole after moving out. But our mother didn't favor him. She chewed him out plenty. And she didn't normally side with his stupidity. She just wanted him to live in a better place than in a camper next to a house filled with potheads. Addition: My brother willingly moved into that camper. He was renting half a room in that house of potheads. Then convinced the landlord to let him live in his camper on the property for the same price instead. And he bragged about his camper a lot. Which he has a full gaming center in, complete with Playstation. He only wanted to invade my house to piss me off and make his cost of living even lower. He also doesn't like camping nearly as much as me. He mainly liked just pissing me off by following me. He loved to make me miserable. In fact, he felt entitled to make me miserable. That's the kind of person he is. Do I have a restraining order against my brother? Not really. Just didn't bother. Because even if I did, it'd only be for like a year. And my brother wouldn't let something like that stop him if he was truly determined anyway. submitted by /u/No_Chrysler-4-Me to r/EntitledPeople [link] [comments]

Do you like music? Of course you do! And you like listening to your music on your nice speakers at home. But Apple Music and Spotify are too expensive each month. Or they don't have what you really want. Or the quality is suspect. It's time to return to physical media! Vinyl is everywhere these days. A turntable, a small amp, and a pair of bookshelf speakers, and you're good to go. But, let's face it, records are terrible. They crackle and pop and scratch if you look at the wrong. Plus, they're expensive. Here is Nirvana's Nevermind re-issued for $27. Don't bother trying to find a vintage one - it'll cost you close to $300 at least. How about a CD? They scratch, sure. But they play through those scratches like they're not even there. Unlike vinyl, the silent parts of the music are actually silent. And the music quality (unless you want to spend literally tens of thousands on setups) is better than vinyl. And better than Spotify and Apple Music. And they're dirt cheap! Nirvana's Nevermind can be found online for $3.50 + shipping. But go to a local record store, and you can find it there for probably the same price. Or a Goodwill, and you might find it for $1. NOT TO MENTION - You probably still have all your old favorite music on CD just waiting to be experienced again. Get a CD player component, plug it into those speakers you've had for vinyl (or into your home surround sound), and start listening again. submitted by /u/GoatTnder to r/Xennials [link] [comments]

Game Information Game Title: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Platforms: PC (Sep 26, 2023) PlayStation 5 (Sep 26, 2023) Xbox Series X/S (Sep 26, 2023) Trailers: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — Official Cinematic Trailer Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — New Ways to Play Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty — Official Trailer Developer: CD PROJEKT RED Publisher: CD PROJEKT SA Review Aggregator: OpenCritic - 89 average - 97% recommended - 76 reviews Critic Reviews ACG - Jeremy Penter - Buy Video Review - Quote not available AltChar - Semir Omerovic - 97 / 100 If CD Projekt Red had to make amends for the disappointing launch of Cyberpunk 2077, they certainly have done that with Phantom Liberty. Simply preem. Arabhardware - Ahmed Yousry - Arabic - 9.5 / 10 CD Projekt RED redeems themselves by offering one of the best expansions in gaming history. This is THE Definitive Cyberpunk experience! Atomix - Alberto Desfassiaux - Spanish - 96 / 100 Phantom Liberty and the update 2.0 are simply fantastic. Returning to the world of Cyberpunk 2077 has been a real treat. The is no real reason to not play this expansion. Attack of the Fanboy - Diego Perez - 3.5 / 5 Phantom Liberty has some great moments, but it's ultimately a by-the-numbers spy thriller with an uninteresting cast that can't be saved by celebrity star power. But Why Tho? - Jason Payne - 9 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a captivating spy story that deftly grapples with the tension between loyalty and betrayal that will please fans of spy films and the world that CD Projekt Red has already built in the base game. Cerealkillerz - Steve Brieller - German - 8.6 / 10 Phantom Liberty adds a thrilling story and the new area Dogtown to Cyberpunk 2077. The add-on and the 2.0 update really justify hopping back into night city. Although, there's still potential within CP2077 that can be unraveled, Phantom Liberty is definitely worth a try. Checkpoint Gaming - Tom Quirk - 8 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a strong and very engaging paid expansion that offers many hours of new content. Idris Elba's Solomon Reed is an excellent addition to the setting, and his movie star charisma does a lot to elevate the expansion's tense sci-fi political thriller tale. Accompanied by the long-awaited 2.0 update, substantially overhauling the Cyberpunk 2077 base game for the better and allowing the game to finally reach its full potential, Phantom Liberty might not bring as many new gameplay innovations on its own, but what it does bring feels like a worthwhile addition to the base game and something fans of Cyberpunk 2077 will definitely want to check out. ComicBook.com - Cade Onder - 4 / 5 While some of Cyberpunk 2077's issues still linger, and the new content isn't without its own flaws, CD Projekt Red has done a commendable job at making me like a game I previously had disdain for. Phantom Liberty continues to prove CD Projekt Red has a deft hand for high-quality storytelling and has now shown it can provide strong RPG gameplay to match. Cultured Vultures - Jimmy Donnellan - 9 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the final stop on the game's redemption tour, and what a redemption it is. If you were still cynical about CD Projekt Red as a studio, it's time to start believing again. Destructoid - Eric Van Allen - 8.5 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty is a great expansion, with a conclusion that easily secures it a spot on CD Projekt Red’s track record for great expansions. Dexerto - Rishabh Sabarwal - 5 / 5 CD Projekt RED has repeated its excellence of great DLC for their RPGs with Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Much like with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the developer has crafted a meaningful expansion on the base game. They’ve clearly learned from their mistakes, listened to the community, and expanded the game to provide a larger-than-life experience to its devoted fanbase. Digital Trends - Jesse Lennox - 4 / 5 With a strong spy story and performances to match, Phantom Liberty gives Cyberpunk 2077 the extra chapter it needed. DualShockers - Vlad Mazanko - 9 / 10 With its captivating story, layered characters brought to life by stellar acting, incredible visuals and environments, refined combat, and some of the most varied quests in the Cyberpunk 2077 world, Phantom Liberty continues CDPR's tradition of delivering some of the finest add-ons ever. Everyeye.it - Riccardo Cantù - Italian - 8.5 / 10 A rich expansion Fextralife - Castielle - 8.5 / 10 Phantom Liberty continues to show that CDPR will always support their most ambitious title to date: Cyberpunk 2077, and does so in phenomenal fashion. From interesting characters, intriguing plot lines and new mechanics, Phantom Liberty is sure to win over fans of the franchise, and many who had previously given up on the game. Final Weapon - Saras Rajpal - 4.5 / 5 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty adds several new mechanics and features that fans have been hoping for since the game was released in 2020. Phantom Liberty is one of the best expansions I've played in years, with a brand new story, fantastic characters, and an exciting new area of Night City. It's a shame that this is the only expansion being added to the game and that we have to wait years to see what's next for the franchise. Forbes - Paul Tassi - 10 / 10 Phantom Liberty is a thoroughly excellent swan song for the tumultuous saga of Cyberpunk 2077. And after playing, you will be glad that CDPR has already greenlit a sequel, despite the fact that the initial release could have sunk the entire company. It’s a redemption story on the level of No Man’s Sky or Final Fantasy XIV, and deserves to be experienced for yourself, no matter what you may have thought of Cyberpunk three years back. Game Informer - Wesley LeBlanc - 8.5 / 10 While Phantom Liberty doesn't stand head and shoulders above the rest of the Cyberpunk package, it slots in nicely, like a preem piece of cyberware you’ve been waiting to be in stock. GameGrin - Mike Crewe - 9.5 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is, quite simply, a must-play. With an engaging narrative and fascinating new locale, this thoroughly gripping expansion will be sure to delight anyone looking to dive back into Night City. GamePro - Stephan Zielke - German - 94 / 100 Phantom Liberty delivers the ultimate cyberpunk experience with fascinating characters, a thrilling story and varied gameplay. GameSpot - Michael Higham - 10 / 10 Phantom Liberty embodies the best of Cyberpunk 2077 for a thrilling RPG-shooter with an evocative story, compelling side content, and unforgettable conclusions. Gameblog - KiKiToes - French - 8 / 10 Phantom Liberty is a very solid extension. Gamepur - Zack Palm - 8.5 / 10 Phantom Liberty feels like a fresh start to Cyberpunk 2077, and it’s only unfortunate that many of the more uplifting changes took three years to finally see the light of day. The story Phantom Liberty and the playground of Dogtown makes it a fun way to return to Cyberpunk 2077, especially for someone who hasn’t touched it too much since the fatal launch and didn’t get too far after going back to it a year or two later. Phantom Liberty is an incredibly fun expansion; even the smaller size of Dogtown is a good way to kick things off despite the immense size of the base game. I think the best way to experience this expansion is with a fresh save, starting from the beginning, but those who want to jump into it to check out the new area and see all the changes CD Projekt Red made won’t be disappointed. Gamer Escape - Justin Mercer - 8 / 10 The end result here is a balancing act—a little of column A and a little of column B. Phantom Liberty’s main questline absolutely explores a more espionage-tinted angle than its base game counterpart with, but there was a concerted effort to intertwine them in a way that still feels seamless. Its side quests may not feel like anything new, but the level design and encounters have never been better. In that sense, Phantom Liberty is Cyberpunk 2077 distilled. If you enjoyed the base game, it’s hard to see you being dissatisfied with this expansion. And even if you aren’t enticed by any of the new content on offer, Update 2.0 has brought net improvements to the overall gameplay that make it more than worth taking another trip through Night City. Gamer Guides - Ben Chard - 8 / 10 A great follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077 with a stellar cast that brings a thrilling story to the streets of Dogtown. The gameplay changes bring it up to a better standard, but if you are not a fan of the original, don’t expect Phantom Liberty to change your mind. Gamersky - Chinese - 8.9 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty has done well within its existing framework, improving on the original Cyberpunk 2077 in a number of ways. The main story is seamlessly integrated into Night City, while the side quests offer more variety and choice than the original. The 2.0 update has improved several systems, addressing some of the issues with the original mechanics, improving the gameplay and giving players a more satisfying experience. GamesRadar+ - Sam Loveridge - 4.5 / 5 Between the 2.0 Update and Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077 is a different game now. It not only looks more beautiful than ever, but it's also vast. The Phantom Liberty expansion adds 13 core missions, 17 new side quests and gigs, and a brand new ending for the base game. That's a lot of content without even thinking about what's been added in the three years between now and launch. GamingBolt - Shubhankar Parijat - 9 / 10 Phantom Liberty is what Cyberpunk 2077 should have been three years ago. It's an incredible expansion that boasts a gripping story, compelling characters, engaging moment-to-moment gameplay, and significantly improved progression mechanics. It's so good that it uplifts all of Cyberpunk 2077, finally making good on the lofty promises CD Projekt RED made for the base game all those years ago. GamingTrend - David Flynn - 95 / 100 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty represents the best the game has to offer. The main quest is tense and thrilling, with amazing characters played by fantastic actors and twists around every corner. Every quest gives you something unique and interesting to do, including side quests. Dogtown is gorgeous, deadly, and deep. God is a Geek - Mick Fraser - 10 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a masterclass in how to develop DLC. It slots in and out of the main story seamlessly but still manages to feel utterly essential and compelling. Hardcore Gamer - Chris Shive - 4.5 / 5 Cyberpunk 2077 had an unfortunate launch and as a result there are many who have written off a game that should have been remembered as being one of the top games of 2020. Hey Poor Player - Shane Boyle - 4.5 / 5 Phantom Liberty on its own would be a stellar expansion, but combined with the radical 2.0 update, it’s a game changer for Cyberpunk 2077. The road to redemption has been long, and yes, you could argue that it’s unacceptable that such a long road to redemption was even required, but it’s hard to argue that CD Projekt Red hasn’t paid its dues at this stage. Phantom Liberty almost feels like a celebration – CD Projekt Red bowing out on an amazing high, with fans finally able to play a version of Cyberpunk 2077 that feels closer to those original promises than it ever has. Whatever way you look at it, update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty combined are a fantastic capstone on the Cyberpunk 2077 journey, and one that everyone should experience. Hobby Consolas - Álvaro Alonso - Spanish - 90 / 100 Phantom Liberty is a fantastic expansion, with a great story, memorable characters and quality supporting content, but the real reason you won't want to stop coming back to Night City is Update 2.0. IGN - Matthew Kim - 9 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty completes an immense turnaround for CD Projekt Red's future RPG kickstarted with the anime spinoff, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and its latest 2.0 Update. IGN Italy - Stefano Castagnola - Italian - 8.2 / 10 Phantom Liberty is a good expansion that adds an intriguing storyline filled with memorable characters and that, together with the 2.0 version, manages to also improve the gameplay, adding new features and changing existing ones that help Cyberpunk come closer to what we were promised years ago. IGN Spain - Mario Seijas - Spanish - 8 / 10 Phantom Liberty brings us an intricate police story full of action and great dialogues. You can feel the decadence of Dogtown in every step you take in this new district, and you will love to get lost in its winding streets. And believe me, with or without Phantom Liberty, it is worth coming back to Cyberpunk 2077 with the 2.0. version. INVEN - Kyuman Kim - Korean - 9 / 10 This spy thriller unfolds in the new location called 'Dogtown,' where astonishing twists and truths remain elusive. Additionally, the outcomes that vary based on player choices offer a fresh experience not quite felt in the base game Impulsegamer - Branden Zavaleta - 4.5 / 5 It’s a great DLC, one worth playing the main game for, so long as you can forgive a few bugs. Kotaku - Unscored Phantom Liberty is a succinct summation of the best parts of Cyberpunk 2077 and all the strife it took to reach this point. LevelUp - Pedro Pérez Cesari - Spanish - 8 / 10 Phantom Liberty is a quality experience worth experiencing. It has that dark narrative with complex characters and high quality side content that we've come to expect from CD Projekt RED. That said, it also makes some mistakes that allow us to realize that it's a game as flawed, raw and gripping as life in Night City. Metro GameCentral - Nick Gillett - 8 / 10 A taut, characterful headrush of an expansion that completes Cyberpunk 2077's redemption and re-establishes it as one of the great open world adventures of the generation. Multiplayer First - James Lara - 9.5 / 10 it’s clear after playing through the expansion that CDPR has been listening to its fans. With Phantom Liberty, they have finally delivered the much-demanded experience players have asked for since launch. I’ll gladly say that Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty, alongside the 2.0 update, might be one of the best gaming experiences I’ve played all year, and looking back, there’ve been tons of amazing games this year. PC Gamer - Ted Litchfield - 87 / 100 Phantom Liberty doesn't reinvent Cyberpunk 2077, but it is CD Projekt firing on all cylinders to tell a great RPG story. PC Invasion - Leo Gillick - 4 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty makes some improvements, but it fails to live up to its own lofty promises. PCGamesN - Will Nelson - 9 / 10 Phantom Liberty is a fitting send-off for V, Night City, and Cyberpunk 2077 as a whole. CD Projekt Red has delivered a dense and impactful expansion to one of the medium's best cityscapes, even if its branching narrative structure stumbles. PSX Brasil - Paulo Roberto Montanaro - Portuguese - 90 / 100 Some of its worst problems are solved by adding new narrative layers, improving problematic systems, and ultimately taking the game to the level we expected at launch. Polygon - Toussaint Egan - Unscored Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty almost corrects the past Press Start - Brodie Gibbons - 10 / 10 On the back of Phantom Liberty, along with a really substantial rebuild of all of the game's core systems, Cyberpunk 2077 manages to wash its hands of its past failures and emerges as the genuine article. At last, it's the intoxicating escape I once thought it was and stands out, to me, as the premiere role-playing resort in what might very well be a modern golden age for the genre. Prima Games - Daniel Wenerowicz - 9.5 / 10 Dogtown completes the full Cyberware package that Cyberpunk fans have been waiting for. Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 9 / 10 Phantom Liberty is often Cyberpunk 2077 at its very best. A gripping narrative complete with great characters adds another dimension to the open world RPG, while the main mission and side quest design remains top notch throughout. It's a tremendous expansion that delivers a truly memorable experience. Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Graham Smith - Unscored A brilliantly written and performed spy-thriller set in the middle of Night City and of Cyberpunk 2077's overarching story. SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - Slovak - 9 / 10 The Phantom Liberty expansion is perfect final piece to the Cyberpunk 2077 game. Brings a new city district, a dark spy story with interesting choices and varied missions. Adds Irdis Elba, Keanu Reeves and stunning visuals. Saudi Gamer - Arabic - 9 / 10 A fitting end for a saga that is reaching 3 years. This expansion builds on the strength of the base game and provides thrilling twists and turns, accompanied by the biggest changes to the base game yet. Spaziogames - Domenico Musicò - Italian - Unscored You're not gonna change your idea of Cyberpunk 2077 with this new DLC and with the new features of 2.0 version, but CD Projekt have now delivered the game that should have been published three years ago. Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 9 / 10 If this is the finale of Cyberpunk 2077’s redemption arc, it’s a damn impressive one. I’m excited to see what a sequel built from the ground up with these lessons learned will be like, but until then I’ll keep poking around Night City to see what’s new. TechRaptor - Jason Rodriguez - 9 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty offers an exhilarating romp in the dystopian setting of Night City and Dogtown, and it’s further bolstered by numerous changes from Update 2.0. Those who played the base game years ago would find a satisfying conclusion to V’s story, while newcomers would be treated to a quintessential futuristic RPG experience like no other. Tom's Guide - Tony Polanco - 4.5 / 5 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty features a thrilling new storyline and overhauled gameplay mechanics. Thanks to this robust expansion, Cyberpunk 2077 has finally achieved its potential. TrueAchievements - Ian Stokes - 9 / 10 Is this the big shift that will win over people who bounced off Cyberpunk 2077 at launch? No. Instead what Phantom Liberty represents is a small slice of the best that Cyberpunk 2077 and CD Projekt Red has to offer. TrueGaming - حسين الموسى - Arabic - 9 / 10 Phantom Liberty brings an action packed story, top notch voice-acting, new side missions and a new district location complemented by a major update that overhauls the mechanics of the entire game granting more focused character builds and allowing you to approach combat situations ever so lethally. Try Hard Guides - Erik Hodges - 10 / 10 Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 Update feel like a totally new launch for Cyberpunk 2077. With a new, hostile, and alien district and story for V to explore, along with huge overhauls to the base game, you’d struggle not to find something new and exciting to do in Night City, no matter how many playthroughs you’ve done so far. Phantom Liberty sets an amazing precedent for what an RPG game expansion could be and gives me hope that CD Projekt red will continue pumping time and love into this fantastic game. VideoGamer - Antony Terence - 9 / 10 Back with a vengeance, Phantom Liberty builds on the high notes of Cyberpunk 2077 to deliver a gripping storyline packed with both heartfelt moments and refined RPG systems. Wccftech - Alessio Palumbo - 9.2 / 10 Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty builds upon what was an already great game to deliver more fantastic storytelling (with a spy thriller theme, this time around), exciting combat, and very high-quality side content. The perk tree overhaul is a major improvement to progression, and additions like vehicle combat and the overhauled police system are very welcome, albeit not game-changing. If you've been holding out on Cyberpunk 2077 until now, you'll find a huge game with over 120 hours of quality content and an incredibly immersive game world to literally lose yourself in. WellPlayed - Nathan Hennessy - 10 / 10 CD Projekt Red completes its redemption arc with an essential, meaty, and ultra-fine-tuned DLC expansion that elevates every aspect of Cyberpunk 2077. Windows Central - Samuel Tolbert - 4.5 / 5 CD Projekt RED brings a thrilling race against time where you must save the president and go undercover, all while trusting no one. Combined with the free but accompanying 2.0 update, Phantom Liberty delivers an experience that even disappointed players of the base game should definitely check out. Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 9 / 10 At the end of the day, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC probably won't change your mind if you just disliked the base game. If you even remotely enjoyed the original, then Phantom Liberty is an excellent DLC. It contains some of the best story missions, a host of cool new weapons, and a lot of time with Elba. The fact it carries over into the main story and offers a completely different endgame path is also very cool and means that it's a worthwhile experience - even for those who have seen everything the original has to offer. XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 9.2 / 10 Phantom Liberty caps off a miraculous comeback for Cyberpunk submitted by /u/stfnvs to r/Games [link] [comments]

Not the OOP. Also, kudos to u/Schattenspringer for finding this in the first place. I'm including their final note at the end of their BORU post. Trigger warnings: "Pranks", stalking, obscenities/harassment Mood spoiler: Inconclusive, OOP doesn't seem to ever understand what he did and was planning "one last prank", also probably fake ​ Original Post This past weekend was the big camping trip that my girlfriend would be taking with her and her family. It would consist of her, her parents, her younger sister, her aunt and uncle, and her three cousins and it was a big family trip that was being planned for cooler weather. My girlfriend told me all about where they would be camping and I decided to take advantage of that knowledge. I visited my girlfriend's house to say goodbye to her and wish her a fun trip and when they all took off in their cars, I got in my car and drove to the campsite that they would be staying at. I know the area pretty well and I was able to find a spot to hide my car from view and I was able to navigate the woods and keep an eye on them while remaining hidden from view. When it came to nighttime, I put on a Chewbacca costume and ruffled it up a little to make it like wild and untamed. While the family was gathered around the campfire, I started to rustle the bushes. The family noticed, but they didn't think much of it. Then I started to make growling noises. The family was getting noticeably freaked out and then my girlfriend's uncle started to walk towards where I was hiding. As soon as he got close enough, I jumped out from behind the bushes and started making roaring noises while running around acting like a Bigfoot. I shook their tents, threw lawn chairs around, and chased after some of the cousins. I heard my girlfriend's dad yell "GET THE GUN!" and that's when I knew I had to end the prank. I took off the costume, revealed myself, and the entire family was pissed. Long story short, I got yelled at my almost all of her family, and the noise attracted the campsite manager, who kicked me out after hearing what happened. Today I heard back from my girlfriend for the first time since the prank and she said that she's seriously considering breaking up with me. She just said that she needs some time to think and that she'll let me know when she's made her decision. Now I'm just left wondering what I do. I'm thinking that I need to pull off a major apology and I need some advice on what to say to save this relationship. First Update I'm honestly really embarrassed and humiliated about this update. I almost considered not even posting it, but I feel the need to vent and express my frustrations on some way, so here it is. I really hope you don't think too badly of me and you understand what I'm going through after last night. Last night, my girlfriend's family was holding a barbecue in their backyard and my girlfriend was able to talk her dad into inviting me. He was originally against the idea of me coming, but he was willing to let me come so long as the first thing I do is offer a genuine apology for the prank that I pulled on all of them. I arrived in their backyard and everybody that I pranked at the campsite was sitting at a table and they were all clearly waiting for me to arrive. I sat down next to my girlfriend and I began my apology. I stated that my prank was ill-timed, immature, and thoughtless and I apologized for ruining their camping trip that they had apparently been planning for some time. I tried to make it as genuine and sincere as possible and when I was done, I waited for some type of response. There was a really long awkward silence as the whole family just stared at me. Then the uncle whispered something in the dad's ear and they both burst out laughing, but I couldn't make out what he said. The dad then said that he DIDN'T accept my apology and then he told me to leave. My initial response was a very loud "What the fuck?" and that made things worse. My girlfriend's dad kept telling me to leave and I lost my temper. I swiped an empty plastic cup off of the table and I said to the family "Fine, fuck all of you!" while flipping them off with both middle fingers. As I was leaving the backyard, my girlfriend caught up to me and said that she was breaking up with me. She said that I was too "immature" and "impulsive" and she said that she wants me to leaver her and her family alone. I tried apologizing to her profusely. I kept saying "Babe, I'm sorry! Just give me another chance and I promise I'll be good! I promise!" I kept saying this over and over, but she said that she's given me "millions" of chances and that she "can't fix me". She then walked off and I did something that made things even worse. I yelled at her, calling her a bitch and then I started kicking and punching their wooden fence that separates their front and back yard. I knocked down part of the fence and then I left. All of that happened last night and I feel like shit. Part of me wants to just give up on her and move on, but I also want to prove to her that I'm capable of changing. I want to promise her no more pranks along with trying to control my temper. What do you think I should do? tldr: Apologized to my girlfriend's family over a prank, girlfriend still broke up with me. [Second Update] (https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/9jpqz6/what_kind_of_trouble_can_i_get_in_for_breaking/) Long story short, I got in a fight with my girlfriend and her family last night. She's now my ex-girlfriend and I lashed out and broke down part of their wooden fence that separates the back and front yard. Her father hasn't contacted me about it, but I'm worried that he's going to come after me eventually. What kind of trouble can I get in? Third Update I'd rather not go into detail on this post, but the reason for the break up is on my profile and can be read there on another post. Simply put, I can't stop thinking about my ex-girlfriend. I can barely eat, sleep, or do anything that use to make me happy. Last night I watched my first ever hockey game and I was excited about that a few months ago, but now I don't even care. I spent the whole game thinking about my ex and how she broke up with me. She's all I think about right now and I feel like putting in one last effort in making her see that I'm a better man. What should I say to her? What can I do to get her to come back to Me? tldr: Wanting to get back with my ex-girlfriend. Fourth Update For those who may or may not know, my girlfriend broke up with me because I pranked her and her family by dressing up as Bigfoot and ruining their camping trip, but I think that since some time has passed, my girlfriend might be of a cooler head and I was thinking of trying to win her back in a clever little way that involves the Bigfoot theme. My idea is to dress up as Bigfoot again, but not to scare anyone. I'm going to dress up, go into her backyard with an old stereo/CD player that still works, and play "Sorry" by Buckcherry. I'll play it loud enough for her to hear and I'm hoping she'll accept it and see it as a cute apology. I know it sounds a little cliche, the whole stereo outside the window thing, but I'm hoping that the Bigfoot costume might be a new little twist on it and it'll be my way of apologizing for the Bigfoot prank. What do you think? Fifth Update After reading through some of the responses from yesterday, I decided to just go for it and get it over with. I dressed up in the ruffled up Chewbacca costume, grabbed the stereo, and walked over to my girlfriend's house at nighttime. We live in the same neighborhood and there's a shortcut through a little stretch of woods that I take from my place to hers and that's the route I took last night. I climbed into their backyard and I stood in their grass, holding up the stereo while playing the song that I had intended, "Sorry" by Buckcherry. The problem is that the stereo was an old piece of shit that I dug up from my basement and the volume wasn't loud at all. It sounded muffled and I didn't want to risk moving closer to their house in case I was seen. But I wanted something to come from the night and I set down the stereo and peered into the window that I knew lead to my girlfriend's room. My girlfriend was just playing with her phone on her bed and I just stared into her room for a little while. I guess I was caught up in staring at her since I hadn't seen her in a few weeks and I didn't realize that I had been staring in their for a long time. I turned to leave, but I saw one of her neighbors out on their porch, looking directly at me and they were on their phone. My first thought was that they were probably calling the police and I panicked. I did something really stupid and tried to go in my girlfriend's house by pulling at their back green door, but her mom saw me trying to get in and she screamed. I then ran back towards the woods and I tried to pick up the stereo, but I really hurt my back while bending over, so I just left it in their backyard. The back pain was also shooting down my left leg and I had to limp away from the house and I limped through the woods back to my house while also cussing at myself over how fucked up my plan was. The worst part is that this morning, my girlfriend called me and left a message on my phone. She said that she knows it was me at her house and that she's only giving me one final warning before she talks to the police about harassment charges as well as a restraining order. She says that she's "never" getting back together me and she told me to move on. Now I'm really depressed, which is how I've been feeling in the past few weeks. I'm physically hurting from my back and leg pain, and I'm emotionally hurting from my girlfriend's words. I'm just really upset and pissed off. What should I do? Sixth Update My ex-girlfriend left me a message on my phone threatening me with a restraining order. It's just a threat at this point, but I still want to know what happens to my record if she were to file one against me. Will it give me a criminal record and officially list me as a stalker? Is it something that appears in a background check? I just want to know how this'll affect things like me getting a job or something like that. Would this affect me nationally, or just in my hometown of Denver, Colorado? Seventh Update I won't go into detail, but I left a stereo of mine at my ex-girlfriend's house and this morning I got a text from her dad. It was a picture of the completely destroyed stereo next to a baseball bat and the message read "That's your head if you come near my house again." I want to know if I can actually take action against him for this. He destroyed my stereo and threatened to bash in my head with a baseball bat. What actions can I take? This is all taking place in Denver, Colorado. Eighth Update I've spent the past few weeks thinking about how I can possibly get back together with my ex-girlfriend, I've decided to just move on. She doesn't ever want to get back with me and I've caused enough trouble with her family as a whole. I need to get over her and I don't know how. My older brother has a wedding in a few days and it being a romantic occasion is really going to mess with me emotionally, especially since me and my ex were planning on attending together. (It hurt even more to see that my ex was selling her dress and posting about it on Facebook) I can't get over the memories and all the time we've spent together and it hurts knowing that I lost her because of my immaturity and stupidity. How do I get over her? She's literally the only thing on my mind and it has to end. Help me out please. tldr: How to get over my ex-girlfriend. ​Ninth Update I know that most people have seen my previous posts on here regarding me and the issues with my ex-girlfriend and her father. He's already threatened me violently and as of last night, he's called the cops on me and now I'm awaiting a court date here in Denver, Colorado. Here's a prior post to catch up: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/9px6rr/my_exgirlfriends_dad_just_broke_my_property_and/ Last night was obviously Halloween and while I normally don't trick or treat at my age, I ended up taking my little cousin out around the neighborhood while my parents and hers were at a Halloween party. I also figured that I would wear my Chewbacca costume since I wanted to dress up and I didn't have any other last minute costumes. We walked around our neighborhood for a little while and we ended up on the same block as my ex-girlfriend's house. I knew it was only an inevitability that we would cross her house, but I honestly wasn't worried about it. I figured that her dad may not even be out to see us and all I'm doing is trick or treating. We ended up walking by her house and of course, both of her parents were sitting by their garage with a bowl of candy to hand out. I tried to grab my cousin and make for the opposite direction, but it was too late. I heard my ex's dad yell "I see you!" and he clearly recognized me. I just grabbed my cousin and we made our way back to my house without looking back at my ex's house. We got home, but almost an hour later, the cops arrived and they told me that my ex's dad wants to press charges on me for stalking and harassment. I'm currently awaiting a court date and I think this is all bullshit. I didn't have any premeditated plans to go near their house, nor did I have any intent with their property. I was simply trick or treating with my cousin and we just happened to come across their home. The dad simply acts as if he's king of the block and he can dictate who walks in the area. What can I do to prepare for my court case? What arguments can I make? I wasn't stalking the house last night and I wasn't planning on doing anything. I simply walked by it while trick or treating and the dad threw a fit? What can I do? Tenth Update It's been a little over a month since my girlfriend broke up with me over a prank that was admittedly my fault. It was a dumb, immature move on my part and I've accepted the consequences. That being said, I'm now in serious legal trouble over what happen a couple of nights ago on Halloween. I ended up walking by her house while taking my cousin trick or treating and her dad saw me. He's now pressing charges for harassment and stalking and I'm awaiting my court date. Last night, my ex texted me and she was clearly drunk. A lot of her texts were either gibberish or in poor grammar, but I could make out what she was communicating. Basically, she was "celebrating" me having charges pressed against me and she was texting stuff like "I hope you rot in jail" and "LOCK HIM UP!" I responded with texts of my own. I called her names like cunt and bitch, but she obviously didn't seem phased. But simply sending her some mean texts isn't enough for me. I honestly think that she has some nerve to kick me while I'm down while all she has to do is just stay on the sidelines while daddy does all of the work. I've spent all day thinking about how I can get back at her over this. Part of me thinks that I should just wait until I'm done going to court, but I also want to strike back while the event is still fresh. I'm thinking of one final prank. What should I do? tldr: Ex texted me insults, want revenge. This is when the OP deleted his reddit and we will never know if he showed up to his court date in a bigfoot costume submitted by /u/SquirrelGirlVA to r/BestofRedditorUpdates [link] [comments]

Updated @ 11:28 AM CST 2022/01/29: Sadly Ubisoft have admitted that the low bitrate audio cannot be improved because it is not feasible. It apparently requires an overhaul of their audio system from the ground up, likely induced by engine limitations. It also implies that any future AC game using the same engine will suffer the same consequences. Updated @ 11:55 AM CST 2021/08/06: The official thread has been split into multiple topics, for the benefit of isolating all the individual audio problems people are experiencing. Here is a link to the updated thread covering low quality audio Updated @ 10:00 AM CST 2020/12/01: Thanks to the attention of my support thread on the Ubisoft Forum, Ubisoft have finally acknowledged that there are audio problems. They are urging users to reply with further information Updated @ 11:55 AM CST 2020/11/20: I had no idea this thread would resonate with so many of you, please excuse the pun. You have my sincere thanks for the reactions, comments, recommendations, corrections and affirmations. TL;DR summary The audio quality throughout the AC series has been progressively getting worse. This post analyses Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, exposing the fact that heavily compressed low bitrate 24,000 Hz audio is utilized across all three titles. Origins and Odyssey was less noticeable because it mixed higher quality 44,100 Hz ambient environment sounds with low resolution 24,000 Hz combat, character and UI sounds. Valhalla was recently discovered to be the worst offender since it uses 24,000 Hz audio across the board. The aim here is to provide a technical explanation, cross-comparison and to raise awareness of this bad trend. Audio is a fundamental immersive component of any AAA video game, and should be presented with the same level of quality that you would expect within the film and TV industry. Introduction This started out as a technical analysis of the in-game audio present in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but it has since evolved into a topic of a wider scope; if you haven't played the past three AC games, Pandemic notwithstanding, let me be the first to tell you that we are in a predicament. The idea of this thread is to not only educate, but try and prevent a problem before it becomes more of a problem. Since this is a technical subject, there will be references to sample rate, bit rate and codecs, but I feel like it is more common knowledge these days, especially due to the rise of content creators, or anyone who regularly deals with MP3 and video files. Admittedly, there is much to talk about regarding Assassin's Creed, especially if you're of the opinion that the series died after the 2nd/Brotherhood or 3rd game. Set that conversation aside for a moment, grab a squeezy ball, punch a pillow, and let's talk about how Ubisoft are starting to set a horrible trend for in-game audio. So I caved in like many others, gleeing at the prospect of virtually visiting my homeland as an axe-wielding maniac, and decided to pre-order Assassin's Creed Valhalla after thoroughly enjoying my time eliminating the cultists from Odyssey. On launch day during my first playthrough I noticed something that sounded eerily familiar. I game using a pair of Mackie MR624 studio monitors, or if I feel like giving my neighbours a moment's rest, with my Beyerdynamic DT-770 PRO headphones. The audio I was hearing sounded muffled, or in layman's terms, a bit like listening through a pair of tin cans that were accidentally dropped into a cup of earl grey. Analysis Enough was enough, I put my investigative cap on and started by first extracting the audio files using Wwise-unpacker, and proceeding to analyse the files using Adobe Audition. I discovered that the SFX are saved at a 24,000 Hz sample rate, with a variable bitrate that peaks at around 70 kbps. Yes, mystery unravelled, it really is that bad. Those of you who do not fully appreciate this technical blunder, might better appreciate it if I put it this way. Visually, it is the equivalent of removing 50% of the colours in a painting, and leaving smears where the details are. Here is a screenshot of my analysis. Looking at the Frequency Analysis tab, you can very clearly observe a frequency rolloff at around 11000 Hz. The low bitrate issue is also not just limited to the PC release. It is affecting all platforms. This is an unusually strict choice of compression considering that the English audio and SFX only take up 4.5 GB of hard disk space. Standard CD audio is at 44,100 Hz (DVD standard is 48,000 Hz), and those are the two sample rates that nearly every streaming service, sound device and operating system are designed to work with. Now, you may have heard people say "Oh, but your ears cannot hear above 20 kHz, so the missing detail is irrelevant". Unfortunately, there is complexity surrounding this issue that the statement fails to address. Firstly, when you take a 24,000 Hz sound, the highest audible frequency will be 12,000 Hz. This is already 8000 Hz lower than what the human ear can detect. When frequencies are missing from the original sound, it also negatively impacts the entire representation of that sound. The more you remove, the more hollow and less defined it becomes. Are you curious to hear the difference? Side by side audio comparison This morning I recorded a YouTube video to highlight the differences between 24,000 Hz and 48,000 Hz. Technical analysis of the poor quality audio used on Assassin's Creed If you'd rather hear a lossless version of the presentation, you can download the audio file here. Alternatively, you may also download the individual sound files used for the basis of this comparison: ¹sounds_sfx_3369_high_quality & ²sounds_sfx_3369_low_quality To help provide an even more visual description of the issue at hand, here's a comparitive study of sample rates performed by a reputable audio company. The Nyquist theorem It has been over ten years since I last sat in an audio theory class, so I'm likely over-simplifying the technical details of this theorem. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and in addition, I would highly suggest reading an external official scientific resource. The Nyquist theorem describes this better. Named after a Swedish-born American electronic engineer who worked on the speed of telegraphs in the 1920s, the Nyquist theorem states that a waveform must be sampled twice in order to get a true representation. The sampling frequency must be at least twice the highest signal frequency recorded in order to be effective. Here is a table showing the Sample rate vs. Highest Frequency. Sample rate Highest Frequency 22,050 Hz 11,025 Hz 24,000 Hz 12,000 Hz 30,000 Hz 15,000 Hz 44,100 Hz 22,050 Hz 48,000 Hz 24,000 Hz As a result, if the highest frequency a human can hear is around 20,000 Hz, then 40,000 Hz is the lowest sampling rate you can use to accurately represent any sound that a human can hear. If you are listening to a recording of "bad audio", but to you it sounds acceptable, the issues are probably one of the following: Bad equipment: headphones, speakers or an improper sound configuration. The highest frequency of the sound in question was one half of the sample rate used. Your hearing is damaged or has deteriorated naturally with age. By the time we approach 40 years old, most of us will not able to discern individual tones above 15,000 Hz. If you would like to test your ears, try this Human Hearing Benchmark. As a safety precaution, only perform this test at a medium or low volume. Even though the highest frequency our ears can detect is around 20,000 Hz, the sound frequencies that exists beyond our hearing range (overtones) greatly colour and impact the sound we hear. Therefore when we record digital audio and cut out those frequencies above 22,050 Hz with a high pass filter (we have to use a filter or else they would cause aliasing or noise in the sample), we are actually changing the original sound that we were trying to record. If you raise the sample rate, the recording will be more accurate. The trade-off is that it takes up more storage. Partly sourced from another post. ScienceDirect overview. This theorem is still used today to digitize analog signals, nearly 100 years after Nyquist was an engineer at Bell Laboratories. Oi mate! Don't take me for a mug. This is when I had a revelation, realising that this issue has been slowly getting worse and worse with every new Assassin's Creed title released. The games are getting bigger, and sacrifices are being made as a result. I first noticed it with AC:Origins, but because some sounds are higher quality than others, it masks the issue to an extent. Let me clarify further. Both Origins and Odyssey have high quality stereo ambient background sounds that are bounced to 44,100 Hz with an average variable bitrate of 241 kbps, but then you have all of the mono UI, voice, interaction, footstep and fighting sounds that are bounced to 24,000 Hz, all lacking any convincing spatialization, unceremoniously resulting in a bubbling cauldron that is extremely disconcerting to the trained ear. I say trained, but if you take a minute to search online you will discover that gamers, including some gamers with hearing impairments, picked up on this very quickly and early on. Why? We care about sound. To summarise how Origins and Odyssey attempts to mask the issue: Even though certain frequencies are missing from non-ambient sounds, the detailed ambience and music in the background compensates psychoacoustically for what is missing. Valhalla sounds worse because it sacrificed more, and it does not have any high quality ambient sounds. There are far too many links to post, so here's only a small subset of threads that I hand picked, all complaining about the same thing. First up, Origins. ¹Really poor audio quality for voices ²I can't get into origins because of the bad audio quality ³What's up with Assassins Creed Origins audio? ⁴Audio quality is so bad for AC Origins ⁵Terrible Audio Quality Origins Does it get better with Odyssey? Not exactly. ¹Terrible audio ²Audio quality for Odyssey ³Anyone experience poor audio quality with Odyssey? ⁴Audio quality is so bad ⁵Does the audio sound weird for anyone else? Aaaaannndd Valhalla. ¹Why have no critics mentioned the terrible audio? ²Has anyone notice the weird audio quality in the recent AC games? ³Assassin's Creed Valhalla audio is the worst of any game I've played Audio is terrible in AC valhalla ⁴Bad audio in the game ⁵Assassin's Creed Valhalla audio is still bad and horrid ⁶Terrible sound on PC. It's also worth noting that these games support DTS Digital Surround. This can be confirmed by observing the DTS logo printed on the disc itself. DTS audio bit rate values can be 1.5 Mbps 48/96 kHz, 16/24 bits (or with DTS-HD the bit rate can be 4.5 or 6.144 Mbps for encoded data), but due to the heavily compressed nature of the audio files in-game, it is not fully taking advantage of what this technology has to offer. The Why? My first question was: is the sacrifice of quality an attempt to try and cram as much in to meet a specific distribution criteria? I've spoken to a few people within the gaming industry personally about this, and the general consensus seems to be: Yes. Please pitch in here if you've had any first hand experience dealing with this. Realistically, it should only affect products within the physical realm, such as trying to compress the game in order to fit it onto a 50 GB (dual-layer) Blu-ray disc. Digital media does not suffer from this limitation, can be downloaded at our convenience and is much cheaper to distribute. If they provided the sound at 44,100 Hz (CD Quality) with an average variable bitrate of 128-192 kbps, as an example, similar to the quality you would expect from streaming a song on Spotify, you would see the total size of the in-game audio increase from its heavily compressed 4.5 GB to approximately 9-12 GB. At a minimum it would be 9 GB since we are doubling the sample rate. Still not very large, but it would be a light and day difference for sound quality. If you're curious to experiment with file size estimations, here's a neat audio filesize calculator. Is there a solution? The idealistic solution would be to re-export all sound effects and voice using a sample rate of 44.1 kHz, with the OGG quality parameter set between -q 0.4 and -q 0.6. They could then deliver this as a compulsory patch or a free regional high quality sound pack DLC. Popular games such as Skyrim, Fallout 4, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Call of Duty: Warzone, Monster Hunter: World and even Ubisoft's own Watch Dogs 2 have all received DLC addons that increase the quality of the game experience. Final thoughts Is it acceptable to allow such a fundamental aspect of a game to suffer a significant loss of frequencies in order to meet that distribution criteria? Absolutely not. This sets a neglectful precedent and one that not only severely destroys immersion, but attempts to normalize poor quality sound to the masses. Here's another question for you. If you bought a Blu-ray box set of your favourite show or movie trilogy, would you be satisified knowing that they replaced the lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio with muddy, tinny, anti-climatic explosions worthy of being peer-traded on KaZaA and Limewire? (I was born in the 80's so please excuse the reference). Consumer expectations within the film and gaming industry aren't that different, VR is evolving and the lines are blurring with every new AAA title. We are starting to expect the same kind of treatment: Detailed facial micro expressions, lip syncing, motion capture, in-game characters based on the likeness of real world actors and actresses, quality voice acting, and dare I say it, high quality sound effects, more commonly referred to as Foley within the film industry. I do not game in one room with a sub-par home media center, and watch films in another where my favourite monolith shaped speakers sit in each corner. If they were sentient and had a mouth and a stomach, I would expect vomit on the floor every time I embark on my journey with Odin. Instead, I have to deal with my audio producer brain punching my cochlea from the inside. Final, final thoughts Oddly many of the official reviews of AC:Valhalla I have read so far completely fail to mention the audio issues, and this is concerning. The issues are so obvious that they must have either purposefully omitted the critique, have sub-par sound systems, or couldn't care less. I remember back in the day when video games magazine reviewers took pride in providing a detailed opinion of sound effects and music. Fond memories of reading Zzap!64, Amiga Power and GamesMaster back in the day. How do you guys feel about it? To me, the $60 price tag is a bit of a kick in the teeth, and I feel that Ubisoft should really have audio technicalities down to a T. Is this what we are meant to expect for a title with a AAA budget? Am I crazy for writing or caring this much? Ubisoft could learn a thing or two from the guys and gals responsible for Middle-earth: Shadow of War. They released 4K cinematics for free, along with higher quality in-game assets. We deserve to optionally download HD quality assets for Assassin's Creed, especially since there are many gamers among us that invest a great deal of time and money into our home cinema set-ups. Here is a current thread following this topic on the Ubisoft Player Support Forum: Audio Issues: Bitrate / Dynamics & Balance / Muffled Sounds / Stuttering / Volume etc. | POST HERE If you read this all the way to the end, thank you. Let's hope that the trend of heavily compressed audio dies hard. On a side note, since I've had a few people ask: I'm a music producer and songwriter on the side. Software dev by trade. Gaming, music and audio means everything to me. Recommended listening and current favourite soundtracks. Links provided where appropriate. Katana ZERO Original Soundtrack by LudoWic and Bill Kiley Castlevania Symphony of the Night by Michiru Yamane Arcanum by Ben Houge Halo 2 Volume 1: Original Soundtrack The Floor is Jelly Original Soundtrack by disasterpeace Anything from the Final Fantasy series, especially if it's by Nobuo Uematsu. The FFVIII Remake is great if you prefer orchestrated works. Mark Morgan's work, especially Fallout since it was the first PC game I ever played Michael Hoenig's Baldur's Gate II theme (wish it was longer) The criminally overlooked Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha Original Soundtrack by Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso and Takayuki Aihara. Sakura Mankai is my ringtone. Assassin's Creed Original Soundtrack of course. Favourites are II, III, Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla. Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and Bloodborne Divinity Original Sin 2 by Borislav Slavov as well as Larian's earlier games with Kirill Pokrovsky The incredible jazz music by Jerry Martin from The Sims 1 Westworld Original Soundtrack submitted by /u/captainstarpaw to r/Games [link] [comments]

Addiction took our mother slowly, rocked her through it and sung her to sleep sunk deep into the mattress on her bed. When her back teeth fell out she left them on the side of the bathtub. I was seven, and I kept them in a match box, the missing pieces of her kept safe, so she wouldn't be lost forever. So maybe one day we could put her back together. Our house fell down around us, and we tried our best to raise ourselves. The ceilings had water damage and the bottom stairs had dry rot and in the winters the radiators would bleed rust. But it was still our house, and Annie made it a home. My sister Annie mothered me, with lopsided bandaids on bruised knees and lukewarm microwave meals. She told me ghost stories and didn’t mind when I crawled into her bed later on, too scared to sleep alone. She taught me to dance, barefoot on the living room carpet, music channel on full volume on the TV shaking our hips before they were fully grown. She always let me shower first so the water was hot, never complaining when she had to make do with cold. She brushed my hair everyday before school, even when I screamed and hit her when she caught the tangles. Annie was dark haired like her father, whoever he had been, but I was blonde. Annie was desperate to be blonde too, like Marilyn Monroe. Like mom. I think she thought it would make them closer, remind mom less of her dad. I’d give anything for her to have her hands in my hair one more time, even if it hurt. She moved to New York when I turned eighteen and never came back. I still dream about her sometimes. Keeping up with our mother was impossible and we learnt from a young age we would always be left behind. It didn’t make it any easier. When she was drinking light, she shone, would wake us up at 3am with pancakes, dripping in cherry syrup. Sometimes when the weather was right and she’d had enough being drunk alone, she would call our school up and tell them we had both come down with summer sickness and we’d drive to the beach instead. I remember being nine years old in the backseat of the car coming home after one of our ocean days, sucking the salt from my fingers. Annie had just dyed her hair blonde, her best friend Jane helping her bend over our kitchen sink. From behind, I couldn’t tell who was mother and who was daughter, radio up and windows down blowing the sky inside. When she was drinking heavy, she’d be out all night, hair piled up like a beauty queen, eyes glazed over and ringed with glitter and black. Sometimes she’d be gone a day or two. She would never tell us when, one day we’d just wake up to an empty house and the fridge packed full, post it note on the front with a smear of moms lipstick in the outline of a kiss, telling us she’d be back soon. Sometimes she’d bring guys home, filling the table with beer cans and ash trays, smoke up to the ceiling, mom lost in the haze. We’d sleep with pillows over our heads, trying to drown out the music they would blast until the am, and wake up to strangers at our kitchen table in the morning, asking us where we kept the coffee. When mom drank too little she fell apart. She wouldn’t buy food, refrigerator a gaping hole in the wall. She’d chain smoke, leaving cigarette burns on the wallpaper up by the stairs like the walls were sick and decaying. She barely slept, walking around with blue half moons under her eyes, knuckles raw. She would scream at the slightest thing. I remember once when I spilled a glass of juice on the couch. She looked over at me with dead eyes and dragged me off onto the carpet and then took every single cushion off the couch and into the back yard and set them on fire. Annie went to watch a while from the window and then sat next to me on the floor, backs pressed against the skeleton of the seats, head resting in the crater of my collar bones. When mom drank too much was the worst. She’d laugh too loud and too long at anything and everything, until her mouth started to shake and she started crying, at the breakfast table into her cereal. Annie shut down when mom was like this, went somewhere deep inside herself where nobody could hurt her. She’d stay up until the morning watching old black and white movies on TV, whispering the lines she knew by heart like prayers. When I was five I’d cry when I’d find mom passed out cold on her bed, sure she would never wake up. Annie would wipe my tears, tell me she was only sleeping just like the princesses in my story book. We’d sit on moms bed together and wait for her to wake up. When we were older, I was the one who would pick mom up off the bathroom floor again and again and Annie would put her to bed, smoothing her hair off her face and the vomit from her mouth, changing her clothes if she’d pissed herself. Watching them then, there was no doubt that Annie was the mother now. It was October and I was thirteen, Annie sixteen. It was a Wednesday night and mom had been gone for two days. She’d called us that morning from a pay phone, voice slurring down the line, telling us she was having the best time with all her new friends, hoped we were doing fine. When she asked me if I was having a good birthday I hung up on her. My birthday had been the day before. Annie had given me a pile of presents, strawberry lipglosses and glittery nail polishes. I didn’t ask where she’d got the money for them. I didn’t care. We’d taken the bus to the beach with Jane, eaten the birthday cake she had made for me, sand getting into the frosting. It tasted like sweetness and the sea, and I savoured every bite and scrape of sugar against my teeth. We watched the sun go down, Annie snapping grainy photos on her shitty Nokia as I blew out my candles, wishing over and over that mom wouldn't come home, that she’d just stay gone this time. But that Wednesday night, me and Annie weren't speaking. Anger hung heavy between us, seeping through the floorboards. It began when she tripped at the bottom of the stairs. We’d both laughed, Annie throwing her head back, gap between her front teeth catching the light. When I’d bent to pick her up, I’d caught her breath, warm against the freckles on my cheeks. I let go of her arms and she fell again, hitting the floor and grinning, shaking her hair from her face. Her breath was heavy with whiskey. I couldn't start picking her up too, couldn't watch her fall again and again. Just like mom, I knew she’d never get back up. I’d stared down at her, blonde hair fallen into her eyes and all I could see was our mother, and then I was running, feet slamming the hallway like heartbeats turned loose. I’d run for the kitchen and tipped every bottle we had down the sink, shoving Annie back as she fought to stop me, catching liquor on her fingers as it fell. She grabbed my shoulders and made me drop the very last bottle. It smashed between us on the floor, glass shards shining like we’d dragged the stars out of the sky and broken them, pieces we could never put back. Outside through the open windows, the sky turned pale gold, clouds a mess of pink and cream smeared across the horizon. I cried then, watching Annie on her knees picking up the pieces. That was Annie, always trying to fix things even when it was too late. The smell of food dragged me from my room, stomach turning traitor inside my ribcage. Annie was cooking pasta, real food not made in a microwave. She’d set the table, Tammy Wynette singing softly from the CD player, Annie gently swaying her hips as she stirred the tomato sauce, rich and warm. As we ate in silence, with every bite I forgave her. Mom never cooked dinner, or remembered my favourite was spaghetti ever since I was a kid, or stayed sober long enough to sit up at a table. Annie wasn’t mom. We were washing the dishes when we first heard it. A moth was crawling down the inside of the pane and I cracked the window to let it out into the dark. From the backyard came a faint sound. I tilted my head to listen as it was coming from far off. Crying. I figured it was Mika the two year old next door having a tantrum loud enough for us to catch, or maybe even Lucky Strike the cat that junkies down the street, begging for food like he sometimes did. I always wanted to feed him when he came around, winding over my ankles, but Annie always stopped me, saying once you started giving they never stopped taking. Looking back, I don’t think she was talking about the cat. Annie flipped the christmas lights strung up around the porch and we sat on the plastic beach chairs watching the skies. When we were little, we’d sit outside and Annie would tell me the names of all the constellations and the stories of how they came to be hung up in the night sky. I had to grow up before I realised she made them all up as she went along. It was a game we still liked to play now, making up ridiculous stories for the shapes we could pick out. “Ah, yes, that one there is the Coors Light. It got there when God dropped it out of his convertible window and never picked it up,” she said, nodding sagely and hiding her smile. “Of course,” I said, waving my hands and pointing up past the power lines. “Right next to The Ashtray, left there by angels on a smoke break.” “Yeah, they say if you wish on it, all your dreams will come true,” said Annie grinning. She stopped laughing, voice quieter, face tilted up to all those dead stars. “Let’s wish Emmy. Let’s wish” So we did. The sound of crying interrupted us. It was closer this time, and definitely human. We turned to each other, confused. Annie shrugged and I squinted out into the black. It sounded like a baby, lost and tired and alone. “It must be Mika?” I said, slowly getting to my feet. “Maybe he walked around the back? Shit, do you want to call Connie and tell her we’ll bring him over.” Annie didn't reply, and I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Guess I’ll do everything then.” I stepped off the porch, grass soft against my heels. The air smelled like it might rain, fresh and clean and growing. A promise unfulfilled. “Em.” Annie’s voice was strained. I turned to her, smiling. It died on my face when I saw the look on her own. “Em get inside now.” She was staring out into the dark, past me, opening the door with one hand behind her, fingers fumbling on the catch. I froze, bare foot in the dirt. I’d found what she was looking at. In the bushes by the back fence was a person, crouched with their knees tucked up neat under the chin, arms wrapped around legs. Their mouth hung wide, softly opening and closing as he cried. Like a child, lost in the dark. Not like a child, but a someone pretending. Mimicking the sound, open and closed out in the blackness. Suddenly they straightened, snapping upright face still hidden by the black. They were tall and thin, too thin to be a normal person. Panic made me move, animal instincts leftover from the days we lived up in the trees carrying me forward. I was faster than Annie, dragging her inside and slamming the door behind us, hearing it bounce on its hinges as I locked it. We watched as the person slowly walked towards the house, steps deliberate and long. Annie reached for my hand, holding me tight and turned me to face her, holding my shoulders. “Don’t turn around Emmy. Don’t turn around.” Instinctively I started to look over my shoulder out into the darkness. Annie grabbed my face, hard, and shook her head. I knew then she was serious. “I’m…” her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, gripping my hand tight enough to hurt, nails digging in, grounding herself. I looked down at our fingers interlocked, both of us grown from the same bones. “I’m gonna call the cops and everything is going to be…” her voice faltered, stuttering. Tears spilled over her lashes, dripping like the promise of rain. Annie never cried. “Your phone’s on the porch,” she whispered, and bile crawled its way up my throat. Her phone was upstairs, charging. A soft, tap-tap-tapping filled the silence. Annie turned to the window, eye whites showing her eyes were so wide. It was the sound of someone’s forehead against the glass, slowly, over and over. They started to speed up, faster and harder, skin meeting glass until they was slamming into the window hard enough to shake the panes. The tapping stopped and I was about to ask Annie if I could look now when she screamed, followed by the sound of cracking glass and the loudest slam yet. Whoever was in our yard had just smashed their face hard enough into the window to break it. We ran upstairs, two at a time, skipping the ones caved in with dry rot on instinct. I turned behind me once and Annie yanked my face back before I could see. The sound of broken glass echoed behind us as we made it to the bathroom, locking the door. A thin, wailing cry, like a baby calling for its mother filled the hallway, trapped between the walls and locked doors. Annie threw her back against the door, feet jammed up against the bathtub, clutching the knife she had grabbed from the kitchen. I did the same, shoulder to shoulder. Slow footsteps started on the stairs, deliberate and casual. The crying had become mocking, almost laughter, shrill bursts of sound and then giggles, high pitched and abruptly stopping before starting again. The first door on the upstairs floor was my bedroom and we heard the distinct sound of it slamming open. They were looking for us. “What the fuck is going on,” I asked Annie, not even bothering to brush away the tears that I couldn't stop falling. I watched my sister pick herself up off the floor, and brace her hands on the door as we heard the sound of a second door slamming open. Mom’s room. The next room on the hallway was the bathroom. Annie pulled me to my feet and handed me the knife. I shook my head and pushed it back to her, terrified of what would happen if I had to use it. Annie shoved me and pressed the knife into my hands, thumb pressing hard enough on the blade to bleed. I watched my sisters blood drip down her wrist, a winding red road, still pushing into my hands despite the pain. I took the knife. Something slammed against the wall that mom’s room shared with the bathroom. A high pitched wail followed. I held my breath, could feel my heart beat in the base of my throat, a wild and frantic thing. “I’m gonna get the phone from my room.” I shook my head violently about to argue. Annie clamped a hand over my mouth. I could taste the blood on her hand, salty and sweet. Like birthday cake by the ocean. “Yes. I’m gonna get the phone and I’m gonna call the cops and we’re going to be okay.” I shook my head again. “It’s the only way. When I go I need you to lock the door and you don’t open it for anything or anyone. Not for me not for… anyone. Promise me.” I shook my head and Annie pressed her hand into my mouth, crushing my teeth against my lips so it made my eyes water. “Yes. Promise me Em.” Something smashed in the room next door. Annie brushed the hair off my face, gently tucking it behind my ear. Promise she mouthed and unlocked the door as slowly as possible, bolt scraping gently. I watched the curve of her shoulder disappear into the black hall outside, like the moon in eclipse. And then she was gone. I couldn't move or breathe for a second and then I slammed the bolt shut just as something bounced off the outside of the door. A high pitched scream followed, handle rattling up and down hard enough to pop one of the screws. I watched it roll towards me on the tiles. And then silence. I sat with my back to the door, holding the knife and wishing I was holding Annie’s hand instead. Still silence. Nothing but me and my lungs slowly filling the room with my breath. “Em?” Came a voice through the door. I started, hands gripping the knife. “Honey what’s going on?” “Mom?” my voice cracked. “Momma is that you?” I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking, trying to keep myself still. “Sweetie it’s okay just open the door. It’s okay just let me in.” The handle rattled again, gentler. “Just let me in, it’s all okay.” She banged on the door and I took my handle of the bolt. “Honey I’m sorry. I’m sorry I missed your birthday. I’m sorry I’m such a terrible mother. Please,” her voice broke and she started to cry, “just let me in baby I’m so sorry.” I screwed my eyes shut. She sounded so sad and so lost. I just wanted her to hold me like when I was a kid and I’d come in off the swings with a scraped knee. Maybe this time she meant it. Maybe it would all be okay. My hand found its way to the bolt again. My sisters voice came through the door, warm and gentle. “Yeah Emilie let us in, it’s all okay.” My hand froze on the bolt and I tightened my grip on the knife. Annie never called me by my full name. A hand banged on the door, handle rattling. “Emilie let us IN” Annie’s voice became low and guttural, followed by the same shrill giggles from before. Mom spoke now, pleading and crying, voice getting louder and louder. “Let us in let us in let us in,” over and over again, punctuated by her fists on the door. I thought about demons and monsters, all the bedtime stories we pray don’t crawl out from under the bed. “That’s not my sister and you’re not my mother!” I screamed through the door, hands over my head. I climbed into the bathtub and curled in a ball, cradling myself, knife clutched to my chest. I didn’t know what it was outside that door but I knew it wasn’t Annie. It wasn't the voice that yelled at when I changed TV channel, the one that sang me happy birthday, the one that told me I was smart even when I got bad grades, the one that read me stories about princesses that never wake up. It wasn’t human. Bangs and yells came from downstairs followed by the footsteps of people running. A low guttural howl ripped through the house, filling the room until I felt like I was drowning in the sound and then the door was kicked in. I screamed, covering my eyes, waiting to die. Arms found me and lifted me from the tub carrying me from the room. I looked at the outside of the door as I was carried downstairs. It was covered in long scraping claw marks, dragged down to the floor. Pillows ripped apart covered the hallway in soft down, like it had snowed inside. I watched them drift slowly as men in uniforms checked each of the rooms that looked like they had been torn apart by something feral. Outside in our drive way were police cars and an ambulance. In the middle of it all was Annie. Bathed in blue and red light as it washed over her, lit up in the dark like a neon angel, face aglow. I threw myself from the cops shoulder and ran to her, holding us both together, broken pieces and all, standing under all those constellations we made up. Gentle screaming came from the ambulance which rocked occasionally. Annie gently turned my head away, smiling so sadly it made my chest ache as I understood. Turns out there was no demon. No wild animal or bad men trying to break in. Just mom, out of her mind on booze and drugs and everything in between, coming to the end of a week long binge. Something had finally broken inside her head, and this time we couldn't put her back together no matter how hard we tried. Sometimes you fall one last time and you never get back up. Annie had seen her in the garden, blood dribbling from her mouth, track marks bulging on her forearms like unmapped roads, rail thin and desperate for one more hit, one more fix. She’d searched the kitchen for all the drink I’d thrown away and when she hadn’t found it, had come to hunt for the stash she hid in the bathroom. She hadn’t wanted me, just the drugs on the other side of the door, so high she could mimic Annie’s voice almost perfectly. Turns out the real monsters are the ones that eat you alive slowly, the kind that come in a bottle or a needle or at the end of a long list of reasons why you can’t get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes the monsters are the ones that raise you or love you the most. But it’s up to you if you let them in. submitted by /u/Coney-IslandQueen to r/nosleep [link] [comments]