Everyone's been there: you're scrolling Instagram or TikTok, and suddenly a gadget appears that solves a problem you didn't know you had. It looks perfect, and the price seems right. But before you enter your credit card info, a thread on r/LifeProTips suggests you pause:

The vast majority of items you see advertised in your social media feeds are cheap junk that is being dropshipped. Look up those same items on sites like AliExpress or Temu and you'll find them there for a fraction of the price. The dropshipper acts as an intermediary, charging a premium that is a significant markup, and the item will be coming from that supplier anyway.

Redditors are discussing why that "perfect" product might be a cheap markup, and how to spot the difference between a deal and a dud.

The dropshipping markup game

The primary concern among savvy internet users is the prevalence of "dropshipping." a business model where a seller lists a product but simply orders it from a third-party manufacturer to ship directly to the customer. Redditors warn that the item advertised as a boutique find is frequently a mass-produced item available elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

Found a really cool lamp on Etsy for $80. Ran a reverse search and found it on AliExpress for $12

Comment in r/LifeProTips

This goes for a lot more than just what's on your feeds. You should always do a reverse image lookup to see if the product is sold on other marketplaces. Etsy, and Amazon are filled w/ various types of dropshippers.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

Drop shipping is inherently evil because it's charging significantly more for the same product (often 5x-10x more), taking advantage of people who don't know any better, without adding any value.

The decline of the handmade marketplace

Redditors expressed frustration with platforms that were once safe havens for artisans. They lament that sites historically dedicated to handmade or vintage items have become flooded with mass-produced inventory masquerading as craftwork.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

I used to love Etsy. Went back recently after a long period and its truly become a cesspool of mass produced crap. Theres probably an opportunity for market disruption by doing what Etsy used to actually do as I think theyre cooked for the most part. Seems like more and more people are catching on that its not what it used to be and legit sellers are leaving.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

You’re right. I’m able to use Etsy and Ebay, they’re my primary way of diverting sales from Amazon. But these seller platforms have an inevitable reality where they get flooded with scams, cheap goods and drop shippers. I’ve had 25 years experience vetting sellers before I buy, and I also work in fraud prevention so I have advantages, but the average consumer shouldn’t have to do this whole dance. In the end it’s about trust and thoughtful curation to a specific target demographic. Like the old brick and mortars used to do!

But that being said I still have a good experience using Etsy and Ebay, it just takes an unfair amount of work.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

Yes, Etsy used to be strictly for stuff you made yourself. Then one day they introduced 'production partners.' That's the factory in China that makes stuff you copied from someone else. They also don't police themselves. I thought about buying a chunk of titanium for a friend who makes knives. You could get a small bar for $25. There was another link for $22, same guy. The description was word-for-word the same, but it said, 'Instant download.' I asked and he said, Yes, it's an image file. That's extremely scammy, but Etsy doesn't care. They used to be good, now they're burning their reputation for money.

Smart shopping and exceptions to the rule

You don't have to swear off online shopping entirely, but you do need new strategies to survive. The community suggests specific tactics to verify if a store is a legitimate small business or just a middleman utilizing a heavy markup.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

Better advice: if you see something you like and the price is weirdly low. Google reverse image search and you'll most likely find the OG shop

Comment in r/LifeProTips

I mean, be smart about it. Dremel got me good with their targeted ad for the Portable Saw Station. Went straight to the top of my Christmas list. But that’s an established company, not something like CGYYPOFYG selling a “handmade luxurious sweater” for $8. Obviously that’s not real.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

Don't buy anything from ads at the top of Google searches either. Recently had one take me to a fake cloned website that stole my credit card information. When I discovered the fraud I saw that the fake ad was still coming up as the top result. I reported it a week ago, but it's still the top sponsored result if you search for the company. Google sponsor ads cannot be trusted.

Comment in r/LifeProTips

I get some sketchy ads, but I’ve also found a few good products- clothing that’s not drop shipped, and most recently a damn good kitchen knife from Dalstrong. Basically, do your homework before hitting “buy now”

The consensus among redditors is clear: while not every ad is a scam, the modern feed is a minefield that requires active skepticism. Navigating it safe requires a "trust but verify" mindset or perhaps just a good ad blocker. The debate continues in the thread.

Want more shopping discussions this? Read the full thread in r/LifeProTips, and find more conversations like this in r/Frugal, r/YouShouldKnow, and r/Scams.

Parenting is mostly about keeping tiny humans alive. But sometimes, it also involves telling small untruths that can get out of hand. One dad recently confessed in r/Parenting a lie regarding his culinary preferences that he's kept going for 16 years, just to keep his daughter from feeling discouraged:

What's something funny that you do for your kids that they will never know about? (Maybe not never tell them but at least wait till they're older)

My oldest made pancakes when she was 5 and burnt the first few... She was pretty upset, so I told her, "No worries, I like the burnt part! So crispy!" I do not, in fact, like the burnt part... but 16 years later I still eat the burnt food mistakes (grilled cheeses, eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc.) But nobody feels bad about burning it anymore, everyone just says "dad will eat it!" and I don't have to throw money in the trash... 🤷‍♂️ I've gotten used to the flavor... I don't know that I will ever tell them about it, lol, my wife doesn't even know.

In the comments, redditors applauded the commitment and shared their own theatrics designed to create magic or avoid meltdowns.

Orchestrating the magic

Sometimes maintaining the whimsy of childhood requires logistical planning that rivals military operations. Redditors detailed the lengths they go to just to ensure the "magic" stays alive a little longer.

Comment in r/Parenting

I used to always stay up to "catch" Santa on Christmas Eve. Every year, Santa would outsmart me. One year my stocking had a mousetrap in it that "snapped" my hand when i reached in side. One year, I stayed up with Nerf guns, and fell asleep so Santa left me a note mocking me for not catching him. One year he left one cookie left on the plate and when I ate it in the morning in front of the kids, Santa magically made it taste like dog food.

It always got so many laughs out of them every year. I am sure they have forgotten about all that now that they are grown, but the absolute joy of "how will Santa get Dad THIS year?" was always part of the Christmas Morning Fun!

Comment in r/Parenting

My husband had our son convinced he had a fully working raisin factory in our house.

As a toddler our son would line grapes up on the window sill to "make raisins" and after bed my husband would eat the grapes and swap them for raisins. They kept that charade up for a long time!

Comment in r/Parenting

I change the head of her electrical toothbrush (different colours) when it’s time and she’s convinced this is the work of a fairy. It all started innocently, I had changed it without thinking much of it and when she went to brush her teeth, she came to me super excited telling me it was magic. I’ve kept the magic going since. 😁

Playing the fool

Nothing boosts a child's self-esteem quite like believing they are smarter or more capable than their parents. These redditors are happy to feign incompetence if it means giving their kids a win.

Comment in r/Parenting

I pretend to be helpless so they feel more confident when they get to help me. For example, there are certain steps in our Christmas LEGO sets that I just can't figure out, no matter how good I am at building LEGO or how many years we've put them together. But it sure makes my son feel great that he can rescue me from those tricky steps. 

Comment in r/Parenting

When someone tells me something I already know — either they’ve told me the story before or it’s a fact I already knew — I let them tell the story anyway and act like it’s new. it’s just nice to have people feel special and let them talk in a conversation.

I’ve done this for years with my kid, and they’ve caught me doing this trick on other people, we’ll be listening in a conversation and I’ll say oh wow that’s neat and my kid has said “dad, you already knew that… you told me about X before”. I’m hoping some day my kid will catch on that it’s just nice to spend time with each other.

Comment in r/Parenting

Oh gosh it's kinda silly, but our 5 year old has autism so he gets a little upset over really specific things, and one of those things is not being first. At everything. We don't indulge in this most of the time, because it's not realistic, but he would get super upset at not being the first one awake in the morning. It was a battle we were willing to let him win cause gotta let them have some victories, so he has an alarm clock and if we wake up before him, we literally dive back into bed before he wakes up and notices. Then we pretend we just woke up. Or we just lay in bed until his alarm goes off. There's been a few times where I straight up hid in the closet while getting dressed so dad could say "mom is still sleeping, let's go downstairs!"

Thankfully the kid has never noticed when the coffee is already brewed in the morning... XD Most of the time we all wake up at the same time but it has created some rather funny moments of pretending we just woke up, oh my gosh, you totally woke up before us!! I'm hoping this will be a funny story when he is an adult.

The unseen safety net

Real life involves heartbreak, wear and tear, and accidental damage. This parent works overtime to smooth those edges before their kids notice.

Comment in r/Parenting

The dog got her favorite stuffy and ripped its nose off - way beyond my sewing abilities. So we sent the stuffy to be fixed at a special stuffy hospital.

In reality, the stuffy hospital was me desperately scouring ebay for a Beanie Boo that they stopped making like 5 years ago(turns out Tiggy the Tiger is actually Pablo the Chihuahua) and inspecting each listing for the one with the most similar markings. After finally getting the replacement, I then spent the day rubbing the new stuffy on all sorts of random surfaces - the basement floor, a pile of dirt in the driveway, a scratchy blanket, etc. - scuffed up the eyes and ears, carefully removed the tag, and then put it through the wash like 5 times.

She has no idea she has an imposter Tiggy and she probably never will!

Comment in r/Parenting

When my daughter was little and we would get into the car in the winter she would ask us to turn on her “butt warmers”. We only had them in the front seats, so I would pretend to switch on her seat warmers in the back. This went on for years. She’s a teen now and sits in the front seat and just recently discovered there are no butt warmers for the back seats and I’ve been pretending all this time. 😬

The invisible makeover

Toddlers often want to mimic their parents' morning routines, but actual cosmetics can be messy. These creative parents invented "ghost makeup" routines that left their little ones feeling glamorous without using a drop of product.

Comment in r/Parenting

For about 2 years when I was getting ready for work in the morning my daughter would ask me to also put on her some ‘eyescara’ (mascara). So I would bring that wand very close to her lashes and pretend to apply it. She always seemed so pleased but never noticed it was even touching her. As she got older I told her about it and we had a good laugh.

Comment in r/Parenting

My 5 year old always asks to put on makeup for special occasions. I have a matte beige eyeshadow that I use as a base so I’ll brush a bit on her eyelids (totally unnoticeable) and say “oooh so fancy!” She’ll smile at herself in the mirror, gracious and happy as a clam :)

Parenting is full of invisible acts of love, small deceptions that bring joy, laughter, and confidence to children. From quietly eating burnt pancakes to creating magic raisin factories, these redditors show that care, patience, and creativity make their children's lives feel a little more magical.

What secret heroic parenting acts have you pulled off? Read the full story in r/Parenting, and find more conversations like this in r/wholesome, r/CasualConversation, and r/MadeMeSmile.

You can spend hours planning itineraries and packing the perfect outfits, but often the most valuable travel tools are the ones you find in a junk drawer. In a popular thread on r/AskReddit, seasoned travelers share the absurdly simple tricks they refuse to leave home without.

1. The mighty binder clip

One of the most persistent complaints about hotel rooms is the gap between the curtains that lets in blinding morning light.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I always seem to find a need now and then for a binder clip, so I always bring a couple small and regular sized with me.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Bring BINDER CLIPS to keep that stupid crack of light between the two shades that won’t overlap when you close them from bothering you when you’re trying to sleep!

2. Wallet tricks

Safety is a priority, especially in areas known for pickpocketing.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I don’t need it in every country but I’ll pack a ‘fake’ wallet. I’ve travelled for 7 years straight, came home for a birthday and a wedding, and only needed it 3 times. But if I didn’t have it, I would have been without my actual wallet so it was an absolute life saver.

I put a few notes, coins and super old debit cards and make it look genuine.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Put a wide rubber band around your wallet so it doesn’t slide out of your pocket as easy since drag coefficient of the wallet is increased. Anyone who tries to pick pocket you will have to contend with the extra drag and you will likely feel it. And it also is a reminder when you see your wallet with the band next to it it tells you that there is something that needs to go back into your wallet (like credit card).

Edit: and don’t keep your wallet inside your back pocket.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Hide your extra cash in a period napkin.

3. Bring a power strip

Finding an accessible outlet in a hotel room or airport is often a competitive sport.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I put a 15 foot flat three wire triple head, AC extension cord in my carry-on. The flat cord packs much better than the round. It is super useful, sometimes in airports, almost always in hotel rooms. It’s amazing how many hotel rooms do not have an outlet within cord reach of my CPAP machine.

This is of course augmented by 2 power strips with multiple USB charging ports built in.

The last two times I flew into Atlanta it happened to be in the middle of a snowstorm, and there were virtually no outlets in the airport. Between the long extension cord and the power strips, I was the belle of the ball.

The carry on also has multiple long USB cords to fit the phones, tablets, etc. Very light weight and very handy.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Pack an extension lead - you only use 1 plug for lots of devices

4. Download offline documents

Data roaming can be expensive and spotty, leaving travelers stranded without navigation or crucial documents.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Download Google Maps offline for the area before you travel

Comment in r/traveladvice

I’ve travelled through 90s Asia. Notepad. Create maps, you’d be surprised how handy they become. Also I love going back to them decades later. Actually this was how lonely planet got started.

Get your bearings, read the stars

Comment in r/traveladvice

Keep copy of passport etc in 'the cloud' for instant downloading.

5. The DIY shoe cover

Packing shoes usually involves worrying about the dirt on the soles touching clean clothes. Instead of buying expensive packing cubes, users suggest repurposing the free amenities often found in the hotel bathroom.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Shower caps to wrap my shoes in. Keeps the dirty shoe bottoms (that trekked all over town) from touching my hair straightener. Also spare door stop. I actually keep twp in a ziploc bag in my luggage at all times.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Doggy poop bags: used as trash bags, gloves, storage bags, shoe covers and yes as a poop bag as well.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Bringing plastic bags to either cover shoes when transporting in my bag, use for wet clothes or dirty clothes, and other handy things when a plastic bag is convenient. Also packing my rolled socks in my shoes for efficient use of space

6. Take boring but useful photos

Travelers recommend taking comprehensive photos of all your property to serve as proof of possession for insurance claims.

Comment in r/traveladvice

If you're staying in a hotel, take a picture of the key card holder with your room number on it and leave the holder in your room. That way, if you lose the key, no one will know what room it goes to anyway.

I keep a charcoal bag (meant for smelly shoes) in my suitcase to help absorb dirty laundry odors. I also bring an inflatable camping pillow when traveling overseas because some countries have a very different idea of what constitutes a pillow.

And I like to have dedicated travel versions of things like toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, etc, so I don't have to worry about remembering to pack them. They stay in the bag.

Comment in r/traveladvice

What also works is to just snap a photo of all your documents at some point so it's in your camera roll. 

Comment in r/traveladvice

You can listen to this person or you can listen to the State Department:  

 Organize your required travel documents

Gather your required travel documents and make multiple copies. These copies will help you replace your originals if they are stolen or lost while traveling. 

Give a set of copies to a trusted friend or family member.

Keep a set of copies with you, separate from your originals.

Take photos of your travel documents using your mobile phone. 

https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/planning/checklist.html#processlist-95341df8a8-item-b032ace2a3

7. The BYO pillow

A simple pillowcase takes up almost no room but offers comfort on questionable hostel pillows and doubles as a laundry bag. It is a multitasking fabric square that people swear by for hygiene and organization.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Take a pillow case for the plane. Stuff jumper or jacket or coat in there. Choose wondow seat. Automatic pillow to rest on.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I travel with a matching pillow case from home. It’s helped to lessen the variance of sheet quality to improve my sleep quality and takes up zero space.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I take a small soft pillow that is compressible and a regular pillowcase from home. The pillow is handy on the plane and for hotel rooms where the pillows are too high or too hard. The pillowcase smells of home, not cigarettes or weird detergent and at the end of the trip I can use it to pack dirty clothes.

Comment in r/traveladvice

There is a neck pillow which has a zipper and does not have stuffing. You stuff it with clothes to your desired comfort level, and voila, free extra bag. I usually walk into the airport wearing it at check-in and the ticket agents usually don't bat an eyelid

Whether it is using office supplies to curate better sleep or carrying a fake wallet to fool thieves, the collective wisdom of frequent flyers proves that you don't need expensive gear to travel well—just a little ingenuity. Which of these hacks would you try first?

Want more like this? Read the full recommendations in r/AskReddit, and find similar conversations in r/travel, r/solotravel and r/onebag.

Usually, seeing the credits roll on a video game means it's time to put the controller down and move on to the next adventure. But for some titles, reaching the "end" is actually just the gateway to the real experience. In a thread on r/gaming, redditors discuss the games that hide their best content, hardest challenges, and true stories behind a false finale.

1. Nier: Automata

This action RPG is famous for its multiple "endings," which often confuse new players. Fans emphasize that reaching the first credit roll only reveals a fraction of the story, and continuing is essential to understand the full narrative scope.

Comment in r/gaming

Both modern Nier games. Replicant is so good. These are the only two games I've ever replayed simply b/c the story wasn't fully over and they're so good that I wanted all of it.

Comment in r/gaming

Nier Automata.

Beating it once feels like the prologue. The real game only starts after that.

Comment in r/gaming

I just wish we’d stop using the words “replay” and “beaten” and “endings” when it comes to describing this game. The endings aren’t endings. The game literally isn’t over. You aren’t even really replaying things. You’re seeing the same event from a different persons perspective. That’s not replaying.

Nier automata is my favorite game ever, and I see so many people put the game down because they’re convinced the game is over after “ending” A, and because we use the terms relay and ending so much, they don’t continue, thinking they’ve seen all the content.

2. Path of Exile

In the action RPG genre, the main story campaign is often viewed merely as a long training montage. Veterans of this gritty dungeon crawler insist the real game involves the complex crafting and mapping systems that unlock only after the narrative concludes.

Comment in r/gaming

Path of Exile. The 10-act campaign is basically a tutorial to help you survive the Atlas.

Comment in r/gaming

What do you mean? IGN said it could be finished in 75 hours. 

Seriously, though, you're so on the money. The campaign being the tutorial has never been more true for a game. The fact that it filters so many players is a feature, not a bug. 

Comment in r/gaming

Indeed. Over a dozen years and I'm still pulled to the beach every 4 months.

3. The Hitman Series

While you can technically race through the levels once to see the story, these games are designed as puzzle sandboxes. Players argue that the true joy comes from mastering the levels and discovering the hundreds of absurd ways to eliminate targets.

Comment in r/gaming

The Hitman series.

Each game has relatively few levels, so the story is pretty short. However, the real meat of the game is in replaying all the levels to figure out the insane amount of ways to finish them all.

Comment in r/gaming

This is maybe one of the few series where they went all-in on replayability.

You can play through it just once and think, ok cool. But with new unlocks and progression and game knowledge comes new options to take out a target and a great reason to try it again but different.

Comment in r/gaming

Not to tell you how to play, but I'd say it's worth it to run through each level you haven't already just once before continuing how you're doing it. Only because you'll unlock a few items that'll give you a ton more options for what you're doing. After how much you've played already, the items you haven't used yet will go crazy with the tech you've learned.

4. Inscryption

This card-battling horror game is notorious for pulling the rug out from under players. Just when you think you have mastered the mechanics and beaten the final boss, the game opens up into something entirely different and pulls you into a sprawling ARG (alternate reality game).

Comment in r/gaming

Inscryption was cool. You start on someone else's save technically, you don't start your own save until you beat him.

Comment in r/gaming

That game took me for a spin. I thought it would just be kinda like slay the spire but it was so much more lmao. Such a good game

Comment in r/gaming

It's a phenomenal game, it's so well made and so much fun, but I don't think enough people know how insane the ARG inside the game was.

It's on youtube and Game Theory does a great cover of it over 3 parts and the level of effort that went into making the ARG absolutely blows my mind. I honestly think half of the dev time was spent on the game, the other half on the ARG. I'm not kidding. Daniel Mullins is a crazy talented person.

5. The Pokémon franchise

For an entire generation of gamers, nothing beat the realization that finishing the main league wasn't the end. These classics famously allowed players to travel back to the entire region from the previous games to challenge old gyms again.

Comment in r/gaming

That blew my mind as a kid. Finally beat the Pokemon League only to discover that I can now go back to Kanto and face the Red/Blue/Yellow gyms again!

Comment in r/gaming

Every pokemon game really. The fact a lot of people just do the gyms, elite 4 and champions in the games then drop it blows my mind. Like you didn’t want to try to finish the dex, or do any of the battle facilities, or catch the postgame legendary pokemon, or shiny hunt, or do the postgame bonus story, or WiFi battles, or explore the remaining parts of the map in each game that you didn’t see? You just wanted to play what is otherwise a barely 10 hour rpg, specifically the part where you’re just mashing the same three attacks 90% of the time.

Comment in r/gaming

Pokemon Conquest!

The initial map/game is like... 5% of the content, but you dont know that until you think you've beaten it.

6. Dragon Quest IX & XI

JRPGs are known for being long, but this title features a full credit roll that feels like a satisfying conclusion. However, players who stop there miss the entire third act, which contextualizes the plot and offers the true ending.

Comment in r/gaming

Dragon Quest 11. I didn't realize most people considered that first roll of the credits the end! It wasn't written like an "end" at all! Actually, even after completing all of the after-the-end stuff, it feels like the game just doesn't end. There's always a new bigger, eviler bad guy showing up, with like this weird caveat that's like "this boss is optional and really difficult and probably not fun to fight for most players, but it is hellbent on destroying the world if you leave the game now!"

Comment in r/gaming

Dragon quest 9 had me hooked. Beating the game and then realizing that you had like 200 new quests was mind blowing.

Comment in r/gaming

Does Dragon Quest XI count? I thought I beat it twice before realizing there was yet another 30 hours to go lol

7. Super Mario Odyssey

Beating Bowser is usually the goal in Mario games, but here it is just the key to unlocking the rest of the world. With hundreds of moons to collect, the main campaign represents only a small fraction of the total content.

Comment in r/gaming

Mario Odyssey is a sleeper pick for this. Campaign is like 6-8 hours and only like 1/7 of the moons are required to beat it

Comment in r/gaming

Before playing Odyssey I hadn't beat a 3D Mario since 64 (I had started but never beat Sunshine, and I hadn't played Galaxy 1/2 or 3D World/Land by that time) so it blew my mind how much game there still was after the credits.

Comment in r/gaming

Mario Odyssey

It’s like 10 hours to roll credits and then I played for about 70 more hours unlocking things and getting all the moons.

8. Blue Prince

In this intricate puzzle game, reaching a specific milestone feels like a victory, but fans warn that quitting early means missing out on the actual complexity the game has to offer.

Comment in r/gaming

I had multiple friends tell me "I reached room 46! I beat the game and uninstalled it"

and I told them "that's like quitting Hades when you escape"

Comment in r/gaming

Came here to say this one. Calling pre-room 46 "the tutorial" seems like it downplays how much work just doing that is, but content and difficulty wise that's absolutely just the tutorial 😅

Comment in r/gaming

For Blue Prince, the story doesn't really start until after you get to room 46, but then it's largely straightforward and not all that complicated.

Instead, until you get to room 46, you're given lots of things that you look at, and just know you're supposed to do something more with. That's really the story for the first act of the game. Why is that door blocked off, what does that room description mean, where does this key go sort of things.

9. World of Warcraft

The quintessential example of the "endgame is the real game" philosophy. For MMO players, leveling is simply the commute you have to endure before you can start raiding and collecting high-level gear.

Comment in r/gaming

This was my first thought, but for different reasons. Your first playthrough you are racing to max level, then when you get there the entire rest of the game opens up.

Comment in r/gaming

Yep. The real fun doesn't start until you get all the way to max level and start raiding with friends.

Also, starting the game again with a completely different race and build and starting zone.

When it was all said and done and I finally quit WoW, I had a max level toon of every single race and class.

And then of course they come out with a new expansion and you have to level all your toons through the new content again.

There was also a period where I didn't play the game at all except for the auction house for almost an entire year. I wanted to master automation of the economy and hit gold cap. Had a lot of fun with that.

Plus, there is the whole pet battles mini-game. Collecting pets from all over and leveling them up.

Or the idea of starting your own guild. I did that for a while and ran the largest guild on the server.

The game is designed to keep you hooked indefinitely.

Whether it's a massive RPG that hides its true ending behind a hundred hours of gameplay or a clever puzzler that tricks you into thinking you've won, these games prove that sometimes the credits are just an intermission. Which game surprised you the most with its post-game content?

Want more video game recommendations? Read the full suggestions in r/gaming, and find more conversations like this in r/patientgamers, r/truegaming, and r/Games.

Gone are the board games and inside jokes; in their place are interest rates and career ladders. At least, that’s how one 28-year-old Redditor feels about his changing social circle. In a thread on r/CasualConversation, he asked the community if "settling down" is a death sentence for fun:

I (M28) have a group of very close friends since high school, most of us quite nerdy. We would play board games and video games, go on hiking trips, hang out randomly for a laugh... The tone was in general quite light-hearted and fun, making puns and laughing at inside jokes. Now most of them are in relationships and "getting settled", we hang out less, and when we do I get the impression that all they talk about is careers, mortgages, investments... I miss the fun days.

He received a flood of responses defending the reality of adulthood: everybody is exhausted, but nobody has lost their spark just because they gained a mortgage.

The definition of fun changes

For many users, the shift from video games to home equity isn't a decline in personality. It's just a pivot in interests. Commenters argued that what looks "boring" from the outside is often just a new, more satisfying type of engagement.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

People find other fun things as they get older... It's a matter of personal opinion.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

Right?

I was a nerdy kid, used to be really into videogames and PCs. Now I've really gotten into watchmaking, investing and cooking.

All the cool kids used to think I was boring, now my nerdy friends think I'm boring.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

Boring is not the term I'd use for it. Maybe I'm biased, but this is just a different type of fun for us. I'd rather stay at home, watch TV and cuddle with my SO than go out clubing and drinking. It's just more fun for us.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

I just saw someone say "Im 55 and realized I wouldn't be friends with 25 year old me"

Evolution and change is inevitable.

The survival mode defense

Others pointed out that being "boring" is often just a symptom of exhaustion rather than a personality flaw. When careers and children enter the picture, the mental bandwidth required for all-nighters or spontaneous trips simply isn't there anymore.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

man i feel this so hard. my college crew used to pull all-nighters playing smash bros and now every conversation is about refinancing or which preschool has the best waitlist.. like when did we all become our parents? i run a small agency now and honestly the only thing keeping me from turning into a complete corporate zombie is that i still get to mess around with creative stuff for clients.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

The right ones don't, but you have to get really lucky to find them early on and then keep them on throughout the years. Work is such a disproportionately large part of people's lives that it's really hard to find creative space outside that, and then add a relationship and especially kids into the mix and I find that a lot of people's brains just kind of shut off under the fatigue.

In my anecdotal experience it's been the single and childfree people who retain their individuality the longest, but tbh any financial or familial obligation that sucks up a lot of time (ie debt, caretaker for aging parents, etc) diverts a lot of focus and the body and brain eventually slide into survival mode.

But yeah. I agree with you. Fun people get hard to find.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

I literally felt myself get less fun and more ‘boring’ after my daughter was born due to the intense sleep deprivation and the stress of dealing with being laid off around the same time. I was always a fun, goofy, hard-partying person who never wanted to be this way and I’m still not really okay with it. I miss being fun and having any sort of zest for life.

Keeping the spark alive

However, plenty of users rejected the premise entirely, arguing that maturity doesn't require trading personality for a beige existence. As one user proved with a very specific competitive spreadsheet, you can be responsible adults and still be delightfully weird.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

Im 10 years older than you and my friends and I have a spreadsheet for testing hot dogs complete with trophy winning, rules, and competitive brackets for 2026. Im an avid gamer as is my husband. My husband's main gaming partner is his brother who has 3 young children (hes a very involved father). Both of us are covered in tattoos, successful and yes we have investments. Not sure the last time we ever discussed money with friends though that's super weird.

Friends are who you choose.

You're at an odd age right now where people find their groove in life and think they "have to be" adult or whatever that means to them. There is no right way to adult outside of taking care of your responsibilities, be it pets, bills, children, property, or all of the above.

Find people who energize you not drain you. Its possible you and your friends are just no longer compatible, or its possible the friends just have a new interest and can't stop talking about it? I do remember i have one friend in his 40s who recently got into investing so hes pretty psyched about it and i let him nerd out about it but after he does that for a bit it is onto other topics. Try steering the conversation elsewhere, or at least try doing activities you like while they talk about things you dont want to really discuss (you mentioned hiking, why not go for a hike and let them nerd about nerd stuff while you take in the outdoors?). Also keep in mind buying a house is pretty big deal for people and common around your age so its like just discussion of mortgage as a current event. Idk if we have ever mentioned a mortgage to friends because all of our friends own homes now? It isnt like it was when some people rent some own and yoyre discussing pros and cons of both options as a debate.

Just some thoughts.

Comment in r/CasualConversation

Regardless of the general trend, you have a lot of agency over this.

I'm 40, and my friends and I play DnD, videogames, all that stuff.

But we're also less performative, no one is trying to be cool. So we choose boring things sometimes for rest and relaxation, sometimes. There's nobody to impress when you're middle-aged.

Friendships inevitably transform as life gets more complicated, but that doesn't mean the laughter has to end. Whether it's finding joy in a quiet Friday night or starting a competitive hot dog bracket, "fun" at any age is what you make of it.

Want more like this? Read the full discussion in r/CasualConversation, and find similar conversations in r/Adulting, r/AskReddit, and r/socialskills.

Building a beloved video game franchise is one of the hardest feats in entertainment, yet maintaining that magic and hype over decades can be even more difficult. In a thread on r/gaming, redditors weighed in with opinions on which major series are currently coasting on past glories or failing to reach their true ceiling. The community discussion highlights a growing gap between what these games are and what players believe they could become.

1. Pokémon

Despite being the highest-grossing media franchise in history, fans argue the mainline games often feel years behind current industry standards.

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I feel like Pokemon needs to be at the absolute top of this list.

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The worst thing about this franchise has to be its fan base defending it to the bitter end.

I feel like nowadays gamers are a lot more prone to being hyper critical of their favorite franchises when in reality a lot of it isn’t warranted. But my god Pokémon fans aren’t when they 1000% have every reason to.

I understand the concept of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” But it’s genuinely insane how much of a chokehold they have on their fan base. I’d honestly say it’s worse than Sports games.

Comment in r/gaming

I love pokemon but I completely agree. They aren't coasting, they are declining. Scarlet and Violet was atrocious, and I'm reserving judgement on legends ZA until I've played more but I can say that it doesn't look like a AAA game.

It's baffling. Cus sure, they've got a dedicated fan base but eventually it will drift away, grow out of it, and they won't attract new players because the games are of such low quality.

2. Halo

Once the undisputed king of console shooters, this series is seen by many as a shadow of its former self. Longtime players miss the feature-complete launches and cohesive storytelling that defined the Halo era.

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343s tenure on Halo has consisted of them releasing 3 consecutive mainline games with less and less content/features each time. Every Bungie game had more and more features outside of ODST.

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Completely agree, I was along for the ride during Halo’s glory years, right from the beginning, system link parties at my house before xbconnect enabled peer to peer system link over your internet connection pre Xbox live. Every game added something new and the story was great, who didn’t want to be the stoic hero in green armour? But the last couple of games took it in a direction I felt was lacking in a lot of ways, story, new enemies, gameplay, they lost that magic that made the original games amazing, those set battles wrapped up in story, the run and gun aspect, the personality of your foes replaced by robots. Infinite was a half hearted attempt to get back to halo classic gameplay, but it felt unfinished, lacking content, and what they did stuff it with seemed to be focused on online multiplayer. A sad end to one of the greatest game series ever made.

3. Star Wars

With an entire galaxy of lore to draw from, gamers feel the output of top-tier titles is surprisingly sparse. Discussions highlighted the baffling absence of new RPGs or diverse genres beyond the occasional action-adventure hit.

Comment in r/gaming

I think Star Wars games have been okay but i still feel like so much more could be done with it

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Republic commando never getting a sequel is crazy to me, easily one of the best star wars games ever. Id love to see a modern take on it with how much movement tech has advanced for fps games over the years. Imagine republic commando but with the smooth movement / gunplay of like destiny.

Comment in r/gaming

Sure, but you could do way more with Star Wars.

A Bethesda type RPG, more Battlefront games, a Helldivers type game set during the Clone Wars, RTS games, etc.

I'd say Star Wars can work better as a videogame than any other media, but Disney doesnt push for anything, they just put a huge price tag on the license that few can afford and wait for anyone to come to them.

4. StarCraft

Despite being an eSports titan, this sci-fi franchise has been dormant for nearly a decade. Users are baffled that such a rich universe isn't being expanded into other genres like shooters or action games.

Comment in r/gaming

Starcraft.

It's been 9 years since the last DLC for Starcraft 2 and there's been absolutely nothing! What happened to one of the biggest IPs in gaming? Microsoft owns Blizzard now and the original devs have left the company so I know we shouldn't really expect anything, but like just make a spin-off game or film or TV adaptation with this great IP that's just sitting on a shelf collecting dust. What's the point in owning IP if you don't do anything with it!

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The fact they kept Starcraft as an RTS only is the biggest failure.

Not even talking about Ghost, either. The Starcraft IP could be made into a bunch of different games. Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2 show people are into them. Hell, they could get away with their own version of a Savage game, for example.

Comment in r/gaming

Came here to say this. Such massive wasted potential in the Starcraft IP. Could have been a myriad of games in all genres since the universe is fairly fleshed out. There are planets, characters, races, lore surrounding them all...

5. Assassin’s Creed

The shift from stealth-focused city traversal to massive open-world RPGs has alienated some core fans. Many redditors feel the series has bloated to the point of losing its original identity.

Comment in r/gaming

Assassin's Creed. Sure they used to live up to their potential, but they've fallen off like a leap of faith into a haystack.

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I greatly enjoyed Origins, missed Odyssey, and played Valhalla. It has some cool stuff, but just like Black Flag, it didn't feel like an actual Assassin's Creed game even though it was set in the universe. Valhalla was the one that felt truly bloated, though I'd say that was mostly being bored with the map. Egypt was a lot more enjoyable to explore.

But yeah, if someone is looking for old school Assassins Creed, AC Unity was the last good title (I'm not sure about Mirage). I just replayed the Ezio games and Unity, and I forgot just got great Unity was. Looks great, still plays great, and has some fun characters. Also the crowd density is still insane compared to any other open world games.

I also started replaying Syndicate, and.... oof. I completely forgot how cartoonishly goofy the combat was. I stopped pretty early on lol

Comment in r/gaming

Assassin’s Creed incredible world design and lore, but it’s stuck in repetitive open world formulas. With fresh gameplay ideas and tighter storytelling, it could easily be top-tier.

6. Dragon Age

It has been a decade since the last mainline entry, leaving fans anxious about the series' direction. The conversation inevitably turned to publisher interference and whether the narrative depth of the first game can ever be replicated.

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Dragon age and it's not even close, 4 games and all of them are vastly different.

CAN WE HAVE JUST ONE THAT IS LIKE THE OG ALREADY, LIKE HELLO?

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Shame they never made one after inquisition. Was super excited to see what the dreadwolf was up to, surely they wouldnt make a crap sequel that just dumpsters all of the story set up in inquisition.

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inquisition is a fine game. Just not a good dragon age game. Dragon age origins modernized a bunch of system from old RPG, then threw it all away to have action combat.

People who like chill rpg with lots of strategy don't really get anything, it's all action game at this point. There is literaly no new game in the style of dragon age origins, except maybe for the pathfinder games, but they aren't anywhere near as good as dragon age origins was.

it's the same argument with zelda. Breath of the wild is fantastic. an amazing game. But a terrible zelda, and has basicely nothing to do with zelda. But now? it's the new flagship, we'll likely not get a whole lot of traditional zelda because of it.

7. Kingdom Hearts

This crossover series is criticized for spreading its crucial lore across too many platforms and spinoffs. Fans love the gameplay loop but find the increasingly convoluted story hard to follow.

Comment in r/gaming

Kingdom Hearts imo. As convoluted as it is, the franchise is already mainstreamed enough to garner more potential. Its mobile games like KH Unchained X and the now discontinued KH Missing Link would have been great on console/pc

If only Square Enix knew how to handle it instead of recycling/milking FF7 again. Now we have to wait another 14 years.

Comment in r/gaming

I felt like I was playing an ad for Disney World while playing Kingdom Hearts 3. 

The special moves are CONSTANT, sometimes they even stack on top of each other. And they are all rides from Disney world, like not even kingdom hearts themed lol. The log flume, carousel, viking ship and buzz lightyear blaster thing were pretty obvious.

Comment in r/gaming

Kingdom hearts had the great formula of getting to mess around and explore some of your favorite IPs yet i feel like they failed to capture that magic the same way as the original.

The frustration shared by these gamers isn't necessarily a sign of dislike but rather a reflection of the high standards they hold for the worlds they love. Whether it's the technical limitations of a handheld titan or the tonal shifts of a gritty urban sandbox, the consensus remains that there is always room to grow. Which series would you revive or reboot first?

Looking for more gaming opinions? Read the full thread in r/gaming, and find more conversations like this in r/games, r/patientgamers, and r/pcgaming.

Flying is already a test of patience, but the person sitting next to you can turn a mundane trip into a psychological thriller. Whether it's aggressive conversationalists or neighbors who treat the cabin like their living room, the lottery of airline seating is high stakes. In a thread on r/traveladvice, travelers share their most harrowing experiences with their seatmates.

The audacity of space invaders

There is a special place on the no-fly list for passengers who treat a shared row like their private property.

Comment in r/traveladvice

On a flight from DC to SFO, a woman asked to switch her middle seat for my window seat so she could sit next to her wife. I politely said no, since I was hoping to sleep and didn’t want the middle. I totally would’ve swapped for a parent/child situation or something, but these were two young, able bodied women. Somehow they convinced the guy in the seat next to me to switch and so I end up in a row with these two women. The one in the middle takes shoes AND socks off. She then brings her feet up onto her seat. When I woke up, her bare toes were totally infringed on my seat and nearly touching me. They also had a bunch of weird hippie snacks that smelled AWFUL.

Comment in r/traveladvice

A huge family on a 16 hour flight that (plane config 3-4-3) took up 2.5 of the middle row seats. I was seated on the aisle and when I got on the plane a woman was seated there and refused to move until the attendant arrived. Every time I got up to use the bathroom I would come back to her in my seat. She had an entire leg in my area the whole flight and her foot resting on my backpack under the seat. She stunk. Juicy audible farts constantly. At one point she opens up the meal very roughly causing the curry to spill out on to me. The other family members would yell constantly and the kid behind me had his foot in my back the entire time.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Was on a long haul flight and woke up to the person standing on top of me balancing in the arm rest so she could go to the bathroom. I’m not a light sleeper she didn’t even try to wake me up to go. Just crawled on top of me.

Parenting on the periphery

Nothing sparks travel anxiety quite like a screaming child, but travelers generally agree that the real problem is often the parent sitting next to them.

Comment in r/traveladvice

An 8 year old who's parent didn't parent at all. Not when he yanked my headphones off, not when he stuck his finger in my food, pulled my hair, screamed in my ear, etc. She just sat with her headphones on watching a movie like satans spawn wasn't terrorizing me. 

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I basically baby sat a kid from Hong Kong to Vancouver including being slept on. His Dad didn’t do anything. The kid was cute but i couldn’t believe that the Dad never even acknowledged what was going on.

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screaming, poopy diaper baby for 4 hours. i blame the parents more

Unexpected connections

Sometimes the horror isn't malice, but simply too much personality confined in a metal tube.

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Flew from Dallas to DC in college on an early morning flight. The older gentleman next to me proceeded to talk my ear off for three straight hours. Even when I put headphones and closed my eyes he would tap my arm and continued to talk.

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Many years ago, when I was around 18-19 years old and in college, I went to visit my dad who was living in Korea at the time. On my trip back home to the US, I was on a non-stop flight from Seoul to Detroit. The guy sitting next to me was a much older Korean man, probably in his 50s, who kept wanting to talk to me and it kind of creeped me out but I was stuck. I pretended to sleep for part of the trip to try and avoid him. But while we were in flight, they were selling duty-free items, and he bought me a bottle of Chanel perfume. It was super weird and creepy because I was traveling alone, but as soon as we landed, I ditched the guy and thankfully didn't have to see him in customs since I was a US citizen and he wasn't so he was in the longer line.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Had a 9.5 hour flight from Tokyo to San Francisco a few years ago. The guy next to me was super trashed and wouldn’t stop talking. He was headed to Dallas to see the OU-UT football game and told me aaaaaallllll about it for hours. Mercifully he passed out about halfway through the flight!!! I even pretended to sleep a few times and he just would not stop talking!!!

The sensory limits of air travel

The enclosed environment of an airplane cabin amplifies sensory disruptions, ranging from pungent foods to significant hygiene failures.

Comment in r/traveladvice

I was on a Delta flight to Texas and sitting next to a very friendly woman from I think Trinidad. She was telling me all kinds of food I should eat if I ever go there and was just overall a pleasant conversation.

She was in the window seat and I the aisle, there were only 2 of us in that row. She mentioned her stomach was upset so she got up to run to the bathroom and I was immediately hit by a fart cloud.

It was like getting punched every time she stood up - I remember stumbling off the plane like I was in a cage fight. She had to have known it was affecting me because I had literal streams of water coming from my eyes. I’m super sensitive to bad smells too so I’m trying to have a respectful conversation while fighting demons.

She was so nice and probably just had an upset stomach but that smell is imprinted into my DNA at this point and it was like 10 years ago.

Comment in r/traveladvice

Boston to Dublin with a woman who insisted on reapplying her hideous perfume every hour. I stank of it for days.

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The person who decided to bring fish tacos from the airport and ate them in the flight. Wtf Oh and eating everything bagels too Like leave the stinky food off the flight. Also had a guy remove his shoes and socks and pick at his toes next to me - gross Then a guy who smelled so bad I had to put a mint chapstick under my nose to try to drown it out. The one that was kind of funny was a guy whose baby he was holding exploded the daiper. His face , the poor guy ! It was oozing out the side and we were in the process of landing. I gave him a bunch of napkins and tissues I had.

The shared opinions in this community suggest that while air travel has become more accessible, the standard for cabin etiquette has become increasingly unpredictable. While some travelers have learned to cope with disinfectant wipes and noise-canceling headphones, others suggest that the only real solution is a bit more empathy — and perhaps a lot more personal space.

Who is the most memorable person you've ever sat next to? Read the full discussion in r/traveladvice, and find similar conversations in r/travel, r/flights, and r/AskReddit.

You watch an amazing movie. It ends on a cliffhanger. You can't wait for the sequel, but you wait... and wait... and wait, and the sequel never arrives. Now you'll never know what happens next.

There is nothing quite as frustrating as watching a film with an ending that promises a sequel that never arrives. In a thread on r/AskReddit, one redditor asks, "Which movie ended with an unresolved cliffhanger because the sequel never happened, and you're STILL mad about it?"

These are the movie plots that redditors are still dying to see concluded:

1. District 9 (2009)

It has been over a decade since Neill Blomkamp’s alien sci-fi hit left audiences staring at a massive spaceship hovering over Johannesburg. Fans are still waiting to see if Christopher Johnson keeps his promise to return in three years.

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District 9 ending with a literal “brb” and then ghosting us forever.

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District 9 for sure. that ending was clearly setting up a sequel, and it’s wild that so much time has passed with nothing happening. still frustrating.

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It's good enough it doesn't need a sequel. But in the same light it ended on a cliffhanger and was good enough that people definitely wanted the sequel.

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I'm glad because it was such an awesome movie so don't ruin it with a crappy sequel.

On the other hand there's so few good sci-fi movies and that was such a brilliant execution of the concept.

I didn't just want a sequel I wanted a D9 universe

2. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Guillermo del Toro’s vision for the demonic superhero was meant to be a trilogy, but studio decisions cut the story short right as the stakes were highest. Both the audience and the cast feel the sting of this unfinished business.

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Sucks so bad. Del Toro and Pearlman both want to finish the story but the studio wants nothing to do with them.

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Hellboy, they owed it to Ron Perlman and us to finish that story and they didn't.

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I've fully boycotted the reboot, I'm sure there are people proud of the work they did on that movie, but after watching the first two movies, I'm surprised they didn't hand Guillermo Del Toro a blank cheque and told him to go make the last one. The first one was interesting, a lot of fun, and looked pretty good, the second one was compelling and gorgeous. Ron Perlmen killed it as Hellboy, I just don't understand why they didn't just keep working with that worked.

Also I don't like being reminded of how old I am. This movie shouldn't be more than 5 years old...

Comment in r/AskReddit

FYI, it's reBOOTS. There have been two. They have tried and failed twice to give us a rebooted Hellboy and yet refuse to give us the third Guillermo del Toro film.

3. Masters of the Universe (1987)

For children of the '80s, the post-credits promise from a certain skull-faced villain remains one of the greatest broken vows in cinematic history. The campy classic set up a return that never materialized.

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Masters of the Universe 1987 when Skeletor popped up at the end and said he would be back. Well....I'm still waiting, Skeletor, you fool!!

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Frank Langella was so good in that role. Not a great film, quite bad really, but Lundgren and Langella really gave it their all. I'd have watched another one. Maybe they could have had a real Orko instead of that creepy technognome.

Comment in r/AskReddit

It wasn't that they used the script. Canon Films had the rights to both MotU and Spider-Man, but they tanked, thanks to a bunch of box office bombs and questionable business practices, and had to cancel the deals they made with Mattel and Marvel. They already spent $2mil on costumes and sets for both movies. The intended director of both movies was supposed to be Albert Pyun, and they asked him to come up with something to make use of some of the assets and he wrote the outline of what would become the movie Cyborg over a weekend. They shot Cyborg for 23 days at a cost of $500,000.

4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

This historical epic is often cited as a perfect film that surprisingly failed to launch a franchise. With a library of books to draw from, the fact that Captain Aubrey never sailed again is a baffling mystery to enthusiasts.

Comment in r/AskReddit

Master and Commander. Did the French captain steal back the Acheron? I MUST KNOW.

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Master and Commander

The cliffhanger was a set up for Captain Aubrey to face the French Captain for a rematch.

The movies was very well done and for fans of the Aubrey/Maturin books and 19th century sailing adventures it was an awesome movie.

But movie goers didn’t like it. Fools.

EDIT: 19th century, not 17th

Comment in r/AskReddit

It's an absolute crime that we got only one Master and Commander film yet seven Pirates of the Caribbean.

I would love a Master and Commander film set twenty years after the last, a final adventure for Jack Aubrey.

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Master and Command: The far side os the world.

Great movie. I mean you could end it like that: as like a discussion piece, a way or showing how hard, endless, frustration life at sea was. But I think they were trying to setup a francise.

5. Jumper (2008)

While critics were mixed on the film itself, the mechanics of the teleportation world fascinated viewers. The lore teased a much larger universe that audiences wanted to explore further, ideally with the more compelling side characters.

Comment in r/AskReddit

So happy to see some love for Jumper. The movie is very mediocre, but I thought they nailed the teleporting powers. I would have really loved to see what they would do with a sequel. I also read the first Book and thought it was phenomenal. One of my favorite books!

Comment in r/AskReddit

Jumper. The movie wasn’t great, but it had some of the coolest teleporting abilities I’ve seen to date and the lore was decently interesting.

I know there was a tv show but I haven’t seen it. If anyone happens across this comment who has…

Are the jumping effects as cool? Is it in the same world as the movie or a different adaptation of the books?

Comment in r/AskReddit

according to Jamie Bell had they not canceled the sequels we would've seen more of him. There was going to be an entire movie about him based on the book in the Jumper series titled "Griffin's Story" 😞

6. The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016)

In the midst of the dystopian YA craze, the final book in the Divergent series was split into two movies — and then the second movie was canceled. Redditors analyze this as a unique case where a big-budget franchise simply vanished overnight, leaving viewers with a significant cliffhanger and no resolution.

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The Divergent series. Didn’t do well enough but they made the last book into a 2 parter and only released part 1! Very annoying.

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I randomly watched them on some streaming service many years after they were released. I liked dystopian sci-fi so these seemed like they'd be pretty good. I didn't know they hadn't made the fourth movie, so after the third one I was surprised I couldn't find the fourth because it was so obviously a cliffhanger. A Google search later and I was pretty miffed. Soured the whole series for me.

Comment in r/AskReddit

That was a striking failure. 

Nowadays, it's one thing for Netflix to cancel a series or film; it's second nature to them. Low budget films have always failed to make it. And multiple studios have failed to mimic the MCU. 

But Divergent failed big and early. Back in the 2010s, the hype of YA dystopia films had carried most big budget franchises to their finish. This was the age of Hunger Games, Twilight, and above all, Harry Potter. Then Divergent came, boomed big in round 1, did well in round 2, but staggered badly in round 3. And all of a sudden what had been a big budget franchise just died. Seemingly overnight. 

It was not the last. Since then, it seems like most YA film series fail to make it. But Divergent helped make history as the first big fail. 

Whether it was a villain who promised to return or a hero who was just getting started, the sting of an unresolved ending never quite goes away for dedicated fans. These abandoned cinematic journeys serve as a reminder that even the most enticing and ambitious storytelling can be cut short by the realities of Hollywood; and while reboots and belated sequels are becoming more common, some of these stories may remain unfinished forever. Which cancellation hurts the most?

Want to dive deeper into movie lore? Check out the full conversation on r/AskReddit, or explore similar discussions in r/movies, r/flicks, and r/FanTheories.

Most people have been there: stuck between the coworker who makes 9-to-5 bearable but struggles with the basics, and the office genius who solves every problem but ruins the vibe. In a thread on r/NoStupidQuestions, users discuss a classic workplace dilemma: would you rather work with someone who is mediocre at their job but pleasant to be around, or someone exceptionally skilled but difficult to deal with?

The peace of mind priority

For the vast majority of employees, mental peace outweighs raw efficiency. Redditors argued that walking on eggshells for eight hours a day isn't worth the trade-off, no matter how talented the colleague might be or how much they contribute to the bottom line.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

Very true for me.

I don't go to work cause I care about the job or the company. I do it to pay my bills. To that end, I don't want to hate my job. And having the wrong work partner/coworkers can make you hate life.

When I was an EMT, I'd see my work partner more hours a week than my wife. If we didn't get along, my entire life was more miserable.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

I'd rather work with someone who I can get along with on a daily basis than one who's a nightmare to deal with. The amount of stress, anxiety and mental effort would be too much.

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I have had the “exceptionally good” managers before, and they made showing up to work very stressful. I much prefer my current manager. So yes, very true!

The hidden cost of competence

Beyond just being annoying, "brilliant jerks" can actually tank a team's productivity. Users pointed out that if a genius hoards knowledge, refuses to mentor juniors, or drives away talent, their individual output doesn't make up for the institutional damage they cause.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

I work in IT. 

We’ve actually formally studied this. A team of “mediocre” engineers infinitely more productive than a guy who knows everything but brings down team morale. 

It’s just how human beings are. You’re not gonna remember a coworkers skill or abilities. You’re gonna remember how they treated you

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

My husband was talking about how his team was interviewing a new candidate who was brilliant, could answer all technical questions, and had an immaculate resumé. He was asked what he'd do in a situation where he didn't know an answer to someone and would need to collaborate, to which he responded "I wouldn't need help, I'd figure it out myself" and thought that was an acceptable answer because he thought it showed that he's able to work and think independently. What it really came off as, was "I don't want to collaborate with anyone because I'm smarter than everyone." He did not get the job

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

Intelligence is not a double-edged sword. That person's lack of emotional intelligence is what's causing people to not like them and try to get them out. If they were actually intelligent, they would manage their relationships with the people around them to create the best outcomes for themselves.

When brilliance matters most

While most leaned toward friendliness, there were notable exceptions regarding life-or-death scenarios. In some fields, people argued they would tolerate a difficult personality if it meant surviving the day—though even then, clear communication remains critical.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

Yeah, I was also thinking of some of my past work experience.

I used to be a 911 dispatcher & on the dispatch side of things (which is more stressful than calltaking FWIW, with a lot more multitasking) there were definitely some people who weren't exactly rays of sunshine to work with that I'd prefer over sweet people who weren't quite as good.

The way it worked was that you had 2 people, in an hour on and hour off rotation, with the "off" person handling support things if it got too crazy. Phone notifications you had to make for example while the other person had the air, or running a license plate while the one with the air took care of something else. That sort of thing.

Anyway, there was a lot of peace of mind in knowing the other person "had it" when they were on the air. I've worked with some other people who were nice who I had to take the air from them when something major went on like a car pursuit or a shooting or whatever, because they just couldn't handle the stress or the multi-tasking. Or didn't have the "ear" to make out a shouted location while a cop was in a struggle. A full shift of that is the definition of burn out.

Also you're responsible for other peoples' safety, so competence > personality.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

Came here to say this! In jobs where peoples’ lives are on the line, I would prefer competence to pleasantries.

Comment in r/NoStupidQuestions

Probably true but I think it probably depends on the job to a certain degree.

But in general the quality of my co-workers never really mattered to ME, it's the employer that it should matter to.

But there are some dangerous jobs that I wouldn't want the nicest person in the world to be doing if he wasn't good at it and could put people in danger.

The consensus makes it clear that being "good" at a job involves more than just technical aptitude; it includes the ability to work well with others. While rare high-stakes situations might demand genius at any price, most daily operations suffer when morale takes a hit.

Want more workplace debates like this? Read the full discussion in r/NoStupidQuestions, and find similar conversations in r/jobs, r/careerguidance, and r/AskReddit.

In the age of streaming services with algorithmic feeds and trending top 10 lists, some of the best storytelling in TV history remains hidden deep within streaming libraries. In a recent viral thread on r/AskReddit, redditors nominate flawless, 10/10 television series that were overshadowed by blockbuster hits, cut short by networks, or simply discovered years after their final episodes aired.

These community-vetted picks offer a curated roadmap for viewers ready to venture beyond the trending tab and into the world of exceptional, overlooked TV.

1. Better Off Ted

This sharp workplace comedy deconstructs the absurdity of life inside an ethically questionable mega-corporation. Redditors celebrate the show's relentless wit and relevance and mourned its short-lived broadcast run.

Comment in r/AskReddit

Better off Ted.

Corporate comedy without laugh tracks that was way ahead of its time and as such only lasted two seasons. Sort of similar vibe to 30 rock or modern family in its presentation and humor. I rewatch it regularly and it still holds up so well.

Comment in r/AskReddit

This was such an underrated series. Alongside everything else, those ads for the company they worked for, Veridian Dynamics, were gold.

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Yeah would have been perfect on fx or fxx but sadly it aired on ABC and didn't make the cut.

At least with two (half) seasons there are a full 26 episodes to enjoy on a rewatch.

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It's honestly crazy how unknown that show is considering how funny & relevant it is.

2. Future Man

This chaotic sci-fi comedy follows a janitor forced into a time-traveling mission to save the world. Redditors love how it reinvents itself every season, constantly pushing the limits of bizarre humor and action-movie parody.

Comment in r/AskReddit

I can't believe Future Man didn't become a phenomenon. The room full of bodies will just make me laugh from time to time out of nowhere.

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I think this was on Hulu too early, when nobody knew Hulu, and they didn't properly market it as a takeoff on Terminator. Once I finally gave the show a chance it became one of my favorite shows of all time.

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So mad this isn't on Hulu in the US anymore. I want to do a rewatch! This show is absolutely nuts and shifts its tone like 2 or 3 times a season and its all great.

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I often cite this as one of the few time travel series that takes time travel seriously.

Every other series, or movie, it's always "Oh, no! We've changed the past! Now we just have to change things again and everything will go back to normal." Not in Future Man. Once it's been changed, you're stuck with whatever changes you've made, for better or worse.

3. Galavant

Part fairy-tale parody and part Broadway-caliber musical, this series skewers fantasy tropes with help from some of the creative minds behind Disney’s modern hits. Its absurdity and self-aware songs make it a one-of-a-kind binge for viewers who like their heroes a bit unconventional.

Comment in r/AskReddit

Galavant. It's a musical, so not everyone's cup of tea, but for what is it is, it's absolutely a 10/10. Monty Python meets Disney with subversive storytelling and great characters.

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The opening number to season 2 and how meta it was is a highlight for me. The show knew what it was and even acknowledged how lucky they got even getting a season 2 order.

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When my husband introduced me to this show, he gave me a rundown of the plot “a hero goes to rescue his maiden from the king who abducted her to marry her and then she ends up deciding to stay and marry the king instead”

I was a little disappointed he spoiled the show for me, only to find out that it all happens in the first episode 😂

Comment in r/AskReddit

I had heard the songwriters/composers for that show had worked on The Little Mermaid and Tangled, so it definitely a Disney type feel to it.

And a Weird Al cameo never hurts

4. How To With John Wilson

This unconventional docuseries captures the awkward beauty of New York City through the lens of a narrator obsessed with life’s smallest details. Fans find profound empathy in its bizarre visual essays, which turn mundane topics like scaffolding or vacuum cleaners into deeply moving human stories.

Comment in r/AskReddit

Absolutely brilliant show that also managed to be pretty deeply moving in parts. There are so many episodes I still remember from that. Only thing that bummed me out is that it’s fairly short with only 18 total episodes. I could have easily watched double that.

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There is truly nothing else like it. It's hard to even describe to people what it is, and pretty much impossible to do so while conveying any of the appeal.

Beneath the humor of the show lies an aching humanity. Wilson often finds such rich empathy for his subjects and can find profundity in the strangest or most banal events. The vacuum cleaner episode made me cry when I first watched it - now that I have a son with autism, I find so much beauty and hope in that episode.

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That COVID episode is one of the greatest pieces of TV I've ever seen.

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For me it's the insanity of how it takes a turn from the original idea of the episode to something unexpected but still some how relevant to the story. It's like a real life playing out of if you give a mouse a cookie.

5. Mr Inbetween

This unflinching portrait of a hitman balances brutal underworld violence with surprisingly tender moments of fatherhood and friendship. Fans describe it as a gritty masterpiece that stays grounded in reality even during its most intense sequences.

Comment in r/AskReddit

Mr in-between, an Australian series. Brilliant.

Comment in r/AskReddit

It's got all these amazing moments that are great clips but also an arc across multiple seasons that have real depth imo. So highly recommend it.

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I've watched it all the way through three times. Its So. Freaking. Good. Every actor does phenomenal. The fact that the guy who plays Bruce does not actually have MND or any disorder, blew me away. He was great along with everyone else.

6. Halt and Catch Fire

This period piece charts the high-stakes birth of the personal computer era through the eyes of its pioneers. Fans admire its transformation from a tech drama into a deeply personal character study, backed by a synth-heavy score that perfectly captured the '80s.

Comment in r/AskReddit

The acting in the show is off the charts. Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Toby Huss, and Kerry Bishé among others. Absolutely stacked cast IMO.

There are very few shows that I think about all the time, but this is one of them (and haven’t watched it since it ended in 2017).

Also, the intro freaking slaps.

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HALT AND CATCH FIRE. I tell everyone I know about this show and no one seems to know what I’m talking about. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

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Great answer. AMC wanted a new Mad Men type show, and created one on the computer industry in the 1980s.

The show always teetered between cancellation, so each season has closure you don't typically see. Then each new season kind of convincingly moves the plot forward.

They do a good job of a "squint and you can see the real companies they're describing" accuracy which is wonderful.

Comment in r/AskReddit

HALT AND CATCH FIRE. I tell everyone I know about this show and no one seems to know what I’m talking about. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

7. Turn: Washington's Spies

This historical drama explores the clandestine world of espionage during the birth of the United States. Fans praised the show's ability to make viewers deeply invested in the outcome, while providing one of TV's all-time underrated antagonists.

Comment in r/AskReddit

TURN

Was on during AMCs golden era of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, so it was definitely overshadowed. Takes places during the American Revolutionary War and focuses on the real life Culper spy ring. The actor who voices the current version of Call of Dutys "Ghost" is one of the main bad guys and is one of my favourite characters ever.

Everybody who I've convinced to watch it absolutely loved it.

Comment in r/AskReddit

I feel bad for the actors who play loathsome characters so well. Simcoe is right up there with Joffrey, Dr. Smith, Kai Winn Adami and Dolores Umbridge. 

Just absolutely contemptible characters played so well that I actually hate characters like they are a real, live person.  Thats impressive.

Comment in r/AskReddit

I lov the serie and forced it on most of my friends. They all liked it a lot.

Oh god I never connected that Ghost is Samuel Roukin!! He was one of the best villain I've ever seen in Turn!

The consensus among redditors is that mainstream success doesn't always reflect a TV show’s true brilliance. While networks often cut these ambitious projects short, shows live on as community-vetted treasures for anyone willing to look past a top 10 list. Whether these series arrived ahead of their time or simply on the wrong platform, they demonstrate how some of the most memorable storytelling can be found off the beaten path. What under-watched masterpiece do you wish more people have watched?

Want more TV discussions like this? Read the full discussion in r/AskReddit, and find similar conversations in r/television, r/NetflixBestOf, and r/televisionsuggestions.