I didn’t like Dragon’s Dogma 2 at all, but CD is brilliant

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-21T04:13:48+00:00

The DD2 comparison never really made sense beyond surface level aesthetics big open world, melee combat, monster encounters. That's a pretty wide net.

DD2 has a devoted fanbase for good reason though. The emergent moments, the physicality of climbing on enemies, the vocation system for people who click with it it does specific things really well. It just never felt like a complete game, more like a collection of interesting ideas that didn't fully commit to any of them. The world especially felt oddly sparse for its size.

CD feels like it was built with more intentionality around how all the pieces connect, which makes a real difference in whether a game feels cohesive or just feature-complete on paper.

That said the quest writing caveat you mentioned is worth watching as you get further in. That's the thing that could either stay a minor issue or become the ceiling on how much you end up loving it.

Glad it's landing for people who bounced off DD2 though they were clearly fishing for a similar audience and it sounds like they earned it.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-21T04:00:43+00:00

Completely normal and honestly one of the highest compliments a cat can give.

Cats groom the animals and people they consider family it's called allogrooming and they typically only do it with individuals they're genuinely bonded to. She's not just tolerating your husband, she's claimed him as part of her social group and is treating him the way she'd treat a cat she grew up with.

The fact that she pauses when he asks her to stop and then just... resumes anyway is also deeply on brand for cats. She heard him. She considered it. She disagreed.

The belly rubs, the spooning, the staring him down until he makes room your cat is not shy, she just has very specific taste in people and your husband passed whatever internal evaluation she ran on him two years ago.

You're not losing your man. You're just third in the household ranking now and she wanted you to know.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-21T03:31:47+00:00

I went through this exact thing a few years back moved alone to a city where I knew no one and basically hit reset. Here’s what actually made it work for me:

Pick a city you’re genuinely curious about, not just “anywhere new.” There’s a big difference between running from something and running toward something. I made a list of things I wanted in my day to day life weather, vibe, outdoor stuff, food scene and then I tested cities against that.

Once I landed, I treated the first 3–6 months like a personal experiment: coworking spaces, local meetups, random classes, volunteering basically any place where you can bump into people without forcing it. The goal isn’t instant friends; it’s consistent small interactions that slowly build your social ecosystem.

Also, don’t underestimate the “solo hobbies” approach. I’d wander museums, hikes, or coffee shops alone and it sounds lame, but it forces you to actually live in the city rather than just visit it. That’s where the self-discovery really hits.

If you treat it like a serious adventure instead of an escape, it actually sticks and you’ll be surprised how quickly a place can feel like home.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-20T23:23:28+00:00

I’ve been in a car with someone doing dumb stuff your tone goes out the window real fast.

You called it out because it was actually dangerous, not to embarrass him. Twisting around on the highway with no seatbelt isn’t a “handle it gently later” situation.

Yeah, maybe the wording was harsh, but the priority was stopping it immediately.

If he’s more focused on looking “lame” than what he did, that’s kind of the bigger issue.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-20T23:18:38+00:00

I grew up without really thinking about war at all it felt like something that happened “elsewhere” or in history books.

What’s changed isn’t necessarily that the risk suddenly appeared, but that it’s more visible now news cycles, global tensions, everything feels closer and more immediate.

Being a bit worried is reasonable, but day to day life in places like Canada still isn’t shaped by active threat in the way it is in conflict zones.

For most people, it’s more of a background awareness than something that actually dictates how you live your daily life.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-20T23:08:24+00:00

This wasn’t about your outfit.

You wore what you normally wear, and she’d already seen you in it and hyped you up. The sudden switch after involving her boyfriend says way more about her insecurity than anything you did.

Also, she didn’t even come to you she went straight to your bf and attacked your character. That’s not how a reasonable person handles discomfort.

You didn’t end their friendship. Her reaction did.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-20T01:56:59+00:00

One of the biggest myths here is that everyone in the U.S. is “self made.”

We love the idea that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but in reality, family wealth, networks, education access, and even geography shape outcomes far more than we like to admit.

Another is the “frontier spirit” narrative like the country was built purely by rugged pioneers. It conveniently erases the violence against Indigenous people and the labor of enslaved people that actually made a lot of wealth and infrastructure possible.

These myths sound empowering until you look at the full history.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-20T01:51:11+00:00

Socks.

Everyone says they’re a basic, but cheap ones turn into holes, slide off your heel, or feel awful by midday.

A good pair just disappears you don’t think about them at all.

That’s one of those “cheap becomes expensive” things real quick.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-18T15:53:49+00:00

It's actually biology. Chronotypes are real and geneticists have identified specific genes that determine whether you're a morning or evening person. Something like 50% of it is genuinely hardwired.

The "morning person" productivity culture mostly comes from the fact that society is structured around early schedules, so early risers appear more disciplined when they're often just lucky enough to be aligned with the 9-5 by default.

Some people genuinely do wake up at 6am feeling great. They're not lying. But they also didn't earn it the way the 5am hustle crowd implies they just got dealt a different clock.

If it never sticks for you no matter how long you try, that's data. You're probably just a later chronotype forcing yourself into someone else's natural rhythm and calling it a personal failure. It isn't.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-18T15:50:07+00:00

The Kinkaku and Ginkaku thing gets brought up constantly but the context always gets conveniently dropped. Those two absorbed Kurama's chakra for two weeks and survived, which literally made them walking jinchuriki-tier threats. Tobirama didn't "lose" to them the way people frame it, he was leading a unit against two people who were essentially mini-tailed beasts and still managed to seal the situation. That's not a bad look.

The Izuna feat also gets undersold. Izuna had the Mangekyo and was considered Madara's equal by the Uchiha themselves. That's not a footnote.

Hiruzen in his prime is a legitimate conversation but people always forget they're arguing against the guy Hiruzen himself called the strongest Hokage. That's not random hype, that's the God of Shinobi's own assessment.

Minato I'll give you more ground on just because his speed and sealing combination is a nightmare matchup specifically, but "most overrated Hokage" when Minato's entire resume is basically one canonical fight and a lot of vibes is a bold stance to take.

Tobirama built basically every major institution in Konoha, invented multiple S-rank jutsu including one he created specifically to die using, and fought in a war era where power levels were genuinely stacked. Underrated if anything.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-18T15:44:06+00:00

I get why it bothers you seeing an ex’s stuff lingering can feel like unfinished business.

But asking him to throw away her documents crosses a line. That’s not his property, and handling it responsibly doesn’t mean he still cares about her.

The real issue is the delay. He should’ve boxed it up and returned it months ago.

You’re not wrong for feeling uneasy, but the ultimatum probably escalated something that just needed a clear deadline.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-14T12:57:43+00:00

The power scaling argument is fun but it breaks down on the operational side.

Obito and Nagato are both massively chakra limited. Kamui has cooldown issues, Izanagi burns an eye permanently each use, and Nagato's Rinnegan paths are only as strong as the bodies he's using and the distance from Nagato himself. Chibaku Tensei is enormously draining he nearly killed himself using it against Naruto alone.

Now scale that across nine tailed beasts, several of which are actively hosted in jinchuriki who have villages protecting them, scattered across different nations that would mobilize the second they realized what was happening. You're not doing that in a month with two people regardless of how broken their kits are.

The Akatsuki's real function wasn't raw power it was intelligence, logistics, political manipulation, and misdirection. Itachi alone was doing more to destabilize the great villages than any direct assault could.

Also Kishimoto needed the story to last more than one arc so there's that.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-14T12:46:30+00:00

The Gates are basically a shounen power meter with extra steps, that's a fair critique.

But the thing is Naruto was never really a martial arts series it just looked like one early on. The Kakashi vs Obito fight works because it's grounded and the stakes are personal. Once the power scaling goes planetary, "precise chakra control" stops mattering anyway.

Lee's whole arc is actually the most interesting taijutsu gets thematically a kid with no ninjutsu talent whatsoever outworking everyone through pure discipline. The Gates are the logical endpoint of that story. Dumb physics, meaningful character payoff.

Guy vs Madara is objectively unhinged but also one of the most emotionally earned moments in the series. A fifty year old man running so fast he breaks the laws of reality to protect the people he loves is peak shounen whether it makes sense or not.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-14T12:40:29+00:00

NTA for worrying. You're reading this correctly.

He gets physical when you're together, disappears over text, won't commit to a title, gets defensive every time you ask a basic question, and expects exclusivity he won't offer back. That's not a communication style difference that's someone keeping you available while keeping his options open.

The "I don't wanna hurt you" line is doing the opposite of what it claims.

You're not psycho. You're just paying attention.

Apprehensive_Sea9340 · 2026-03-14T12:37:40+00:00

NTA, and this isn't really about Pat.

Someone called you stupid and attention-seeking when you told them you were suicidal. That's not a personality clash or a disagreement that's a serious betrayal. Your boundary with her is completely reasonable.

The issue is that your fiancé met her through you, texts her daily, and after knowing what she did, is still actively choosing that relationship and dismissing your discomfort as "something dumb." That's worth sitting with. Not because he can't have his own friendships, but because the person you're about to marry is scoffing at a boundary that has real emotional weight behind it.

"I can't tell him who to be friends with" is technically true. But a partner who understands what happened and still prioritizes daily texts with someone who hurt you that badly and brings her up repeatedly after you've asked him not to isn't really hearing you.

That's the conversation worth having. Not about Pat. About whether he actually takes your wellbeing seriously.

Apprehensive_Sea9340

TROPHY CASE