Hey dads
I'm looking for some travel advice for about a 3 week long trip to Portugal. Not our first time on the mainland but the first on one one of the islands and the first with our son, who will be 8 months old. We travel there with the grandparents, which will be a really big help but we fly home alone.
The dilemma is about what to bring and space. We're renting a place for a week and staying with family, both places have a crib, so a pack n go is not required. I have a very small stroller for some areas that are stroller friendly and a carrier for the rest of the time. Obviously clothes, some toys, wipes, diapers and food are a must for him, plus a sound machine and things like that. Diapers and stuff are available there, so I'm not worried about bringing enough for the whole trip. Laundry is also able to be done while there.
It's that we want to bring a carseat instead of renting one. I am worried that our carseat will get damaged, however a clek weelee bag would almost pay for itself and offer some free space for essentials. We also know that we will fly 2 to 6 times a year, domestic mostly. I do know about the issue with seatbelts in Europe and it's already sorted out. We just know our carseat and are very comfortable with it. Cars are small, so I don't want to overdo it.
Any tips on packing light would be greatly appreciated

I need advice on how to deal with my situation appropriately and it’s been going on for awhile now. It seems to be getting worse each time.
I’m almost 22 and have been married since 2021. My Husband and I have a beautiful 2 year old Daughter. Back when I first met my husband I was 18 and had gotten kicked out of my house (my mom and I had a bad relationship at the time) Having nowhere to go my now husband asked his parents if I could stay with them. He was 19 at the time and had just came back from Army Basic Training. His Dad didn’t have a problem with it but his Mom didn’t want me there and I didn’t know it at that time but I never resented her for that especially now as a Mom myself. I wasn’t talking to my Mom or any of my family at the time. I really appreciated them taking me in. I was very shy and didn’t talk much. It was a new environment for me. He told his parents everything. They seemed to have a really close bond. We sat at the dinner table every night with them. It was all new for me and naturally I felt like a burden.
My Mom called out of the blue and my Husband convinced me to answer and talk things out. My mom apologized for everything and she seen that I went to the doctor from an email she had gotten and she knew I was pregnant. When my Husband and I found out we decided we wanted to move to Florida so he could start a career and become a cop eventually so he applied for correctional officer jobs in Fl. My mom knew and she had to take me to my appointments while we still lived in Nc because my husband worked and I didn’t have a car. My husband’s sister knew because he couldn’t keep it from her. His sister told their Grandpa and even told their Mom “I won’t say yes, but I won’t say no” when asked if I was pregnant. We didn’t tell his parents because almost everyday was a lecture about how we better not get pregnant and she would constantly ask if I was taking birth control. She said a few times that she’d “kick our ass” if she found out we were. I didn’t know them well enough to feel comfortable telling them and my Husband just didn’t want a lecture about something we wanted. We were 18 and 19. Yes, that’s super young but we talked about starting a family and moving away and starting a life together. He wanted to be a cop and I wanted to Stay home and raise babies.
So my family got together to throw us a going away party/gender reveal party and also that’s the day my husband proposed to me. His parents knew about the engagement (which btw I later found out his mom didn’t approve when he first told them he wanted to marry me) but they still didn’t know we were pregnant. At this point I felt like his parents liked me and I really liked them. We moved to Fl and his parents even volunteered to put a down payment on a house if we pay the mortgage and eventually buy it from them. We were incredibly grateful. I was actually shocked they offered. I wasn’t there when they talked it over but my Husband and I were planning to rent somewhere before they came up with this idea. His Mom did make comments to people that it was going to be their vacation home and also telling us that the spare room in the house would be their room when they come down Meanwhile, we knew the spare room would be our future child’s room and It did make me a little uncomfortable about it all but I was still trying to show respect and gratitude.
We were staying in an airbnb until the house closed and we got married at a courthouse shortly after and that’s when he called his parents and told them we were pregnant. Naturally they were upset and felt left out and I felt bad but they put some much pressure on us. After that we made the announcement publicly to all friends and family that we were expecting a baby and everything seemed fine. His Mom and Dad were happy, My parents were happy. My mom did later on. tell me that my Husband’s Mom called her telling her that she was going to be in charge of the baby shower since we left her out and that she was owed the right to be there for the first ultrasound for the next baby and she was making my mom feel like she couldn’t be involved in the baby shower, but it didn’t work out the way she wanted because I was the one that planned my own baby shower and my Mom stayed there all night making desserts and that I am sure made her mad when she could’ve went there and helped my mom that night and since then it felt like my Husband’s Mom didn’t like mine.
Slowly I started to realize that they didn’t respect us. For a few examples, lecturing us over and over about something, calling telling us to do things that didn’t concern them something as simple as sending an important paper in the mail, or fixing our car. if we didn’t agree with them, we just said OK to them we never talked back or argued. I told them that I didn’t want anyone at the house when we had our daughter and they came down to stay for a week and she was trying so hard to stay for me to go into labor when my own mom couldn’t make it down to be there. I just wanted it to be me and my Husband because by that point we found out that he was going to deploy two months after we were going to have our baby for a whole year and I wanted that time with just him. luckily, I went into labor the day after they got back home.
He deployed when our daughter was only a month and a half old and I went to live with his parents for a year because I couldn’t be by myself. I didn’t know anyone I had no family or friends down in Florida, so I just wanted some emotional support during that time two months postpartum with a newborn, and I had a fear of driving. sorry, I started regretting that decision because I felt judged and uncomfortable and unwelcome. They would say little out-of-the-way things to me and make me feel like what I was going through, wasn’t a reason to feel the way I did. I had no motivation I was depressed and I was homesick but I still got up every day and took care of my baby. I never needed their help taking care of her. I just wanted people to talk to when I was having anxiety or when my husband and I were going through problems. she never wanted to be comforting during our fights. She would always tell me or my husband that we weren’t gonna make it and we were gonna end up getting a divorce and she even told me one time that she would not let our daughter grow up around that meaning us arguing when we were going through a long-distance relationship and having a hard time. while living with her, she told me that I needed to get off my phone and pay more attention to our daughter even though it wasn’t like I was neglecting her, I would just do things to keep my mind busy when my daughter was content and didn’t need me. my husband was overseas so we had different time zone so I had to adjust to that while taking care of a baby. I constantly felt judged by them. I didn’t like driving so I would always DoorDash things I needed. I bought everything that my daughter needed. I bought breakfast and lunch for us. The only thing that they provided was dinner.
my mother-in-law’s aunt lived right next-door and she would asked me to go out and run errands with her all the time and it helped me get out of the house. We would go grocery shopping together and she took me anywhere i needed to go. we had good conversations and it was a way to bring us closer. she was really there for me when no one else was emotionally . multiple times while living with them. They would ignore me when I would ask for my daughter back tell me “no it’s okay” they got her or when she was screaming they thought that they could comfort her more than I could and they would not hand her back to me.
I’m sorry this is super freaking long but fast forward to May of last year.
my sister-in-law, and I have the same birthday and she lives in North Carolina and at this time his parents live in Tennessee they took off work to go down to North Carolina to spend time with their daughter on her birthday but she decided to go to the beach so they took the opportunity to come down to Florida for my birthday and I was already upset that my family couldn’t be there but I decided to try and enjoy it. we had been arguing with his parents a week before, and I didn’t want them to come down and continue to argue with us and ruin my birthday and that’s exactly what happened the day after my birthday they were outside washing our house because they said it was really dirty and we went next-door to swim for 20 minutes.
We came back and they were so mad and said that we needed to get rid of our dog, because it chewed the table they gave us, and before we had time to even react, she told us the table was destroyed, and we need to figure something out about the dog so we went in and saw that the leg of the table was chewed, and our dog was in a cage shaking with P all over the house. We were upset because they were demanding that we get rid of our dog before even trying to talk it out like adults and for us to actually feel sorry about what had happened we let it go for a little bit and I was in my room on the phone with my mom and that’s when I heard my husband and his dad getting into an argument. His dad was cussing him and my husband walked through our room to go outside because we were grilling out and his dad followed so I told my mom that I would have to call her back at that same moment my husbands mom open the door and demanded that I get outside and listen to what they had to say. I didn’t say anything I just walked outside and they bashed for everything, our financial struggles, the fact that I didn’t take Mother’s Day to go get cookies to my husband’s grandma in a nursing home
I was shaking so bad I was so upset that they were just yelling and screaming and bashing us, and I was just sitting there quiet not saying anything back. I finally had enough and I started standing up for myself, saying that I didn’t appreciate how they didn’t care about my feelings so they asked me to give them examples. I told them whenever I had my wedding, I also had a miscarriage and I didn’t feel comfortable with one of my sister-in-law‘s friends coming, and I was made out to be the bad guy, and they only thought about her and how I ended up giving in and letting her come because I didn’t want her sitting at a hotel by herself so I was still thinking about someone else’s feelings, but no one was thinking about mine and how I was going through a hard time and they of course shut that down and gave excuses.
I gave them another example about how Christmas of 2022 was going to be mine and my husband and daughter‘s first Christmas ever together because he was deployed for our daughter’s first Christmas my dad had also died December 5 of 2022 and I was also supposed to be pregnant by that time but I lost the baby. I didn’t even get to get anything out and explain my side. The only thing I could get out was “like Christmas-“ and she started waving her hands and screaming and sayin “my son was deployed for a year and I lost my dad”(he died in 2019) I was taken back, but I calmly said” my dad died too” and she fires back and yells. “Yeah, but mine was my life “ I shut down after that how dare she say that and try to one up me ? because my dad had just died a few weeks before that Christmas that we were talking about but she made it about her, which honestly proves my point when I told him they didn’t care about my feelings. She turns around and attacks me and makes it about her but I didn’t even have time to explain that I just wanted Christmas morning to be a tradition with my family. My daughter and my husband and I was going through a hard time anyways, so I was trying to say that it upset me that they made it out to people like we didn’t even want them there when they spent a week with us before Christmas. They live 7 hours away so we can’t have the normal grandparents come over Christmas afternoon like everyone else in my family can’t come over for Christmas morning so they shouldn’t be able to either and the point at the end of the day is that we were that’s what we wanted as a family of three to have Christmas mornings with our daughter.
she didn’t talk to me for the rest of that day and the next day they had left early to go see my husband’s grandma at the nursing home that they moved her to and my mother-in-law texted my husband and asked if we wanted to meet them for lunch so we did I said right across from her in a booth and she didn’t even look at me once or speak to me at all when my daughter‘s food came out it was hot so I put it closer to me to try to break up her food and let it cool down each time she would pull it away from me because my daughter was sitting next to her. I would pull it back and take out the bag of chips and then she would pull it back I would pull it back and dump out her green beans and she would take it back. She did it 3 times all while not looking at me and I still was the bigger person and didn’t say anything and continue to act like nothing happened
when we got back to our house, I went to my screen porch for the rest of the time that they were there. My husband and his parents were in our kitchen and when they were ready to leave my husband came and got me and told me that I should come say goodbye, so I stood in the driveway while my husband, my daughter and his parents all laughed, hugged and kissed and said goodbyes, and then she walks up to me and speaks like a robot in a way of not even wanting to come up to me, like it was bothering her that she even had to speak to me and she just said “bye. Love you” in a really rude way over something that she said to me and it’s funny too because in her hand was a homemade Mother’s Day gift that I made her but she’s going to talk to me like that, and ignore me and treat me like that over her yelling at me and putting me down about my pain with my dad. After they pulled out of the driveway , I went back to the screen porch and cried because that’s the first time I fully felt like I wasn’t part of their family and she showed her true colors once I tried to stand up for myself about her being disrespectful to me when for the three years that I’ve been with my husband at this point, I’ve never spoken back to her or disrespected her
for days they ignored us, and I just cried over my dad because he’s gone and it was like throwing my grief in my face and my husband finally told his mom that she needed to apologize to me. She called him and asked to speak to him alone, and I later found out that she was saying that I took everything the wrong way and she didn’t mean it like that. Finally she text me and basically tells me the same thing that she wasn’t saying anything about my relationship with my dad. She was simply saying why she needed Christmas morning with her family. I didn’t accept her apology because it was basically making excuses, but I decided not to hold her accountable and I just simply explain to her that Christmas has never been the same for me since my grandparents died and then I just wanted that special moment with my daughter especially now that my dad it was gone and I moved on from it I for gave her a few months after this happened she came down for my daughters birthday, and it was still awkward and I was still a little hurt by the way she treated me, but I was trying to MoveOn for it for my husband and daughter sake, and even my own.
After May 2023 it seemed like things were going good they would call and the conversations were nice they weren’t lecturing. We finally thought they learned their lesson after the big blowup in May but then fast forward to April 2024.
they came down suddenly in April after coming down a few weeks before just to visit because my husband’s grandma wasn’t doing too good she was in the hospital and they were preparing for her to pass away. I was taking ovulation medication because we were trying to have another baby. I felt very hung over sound out am I anxiety was the worst it has ever been I would cry almost every night because I would almost go into panic attacks so while they were here, I stopped taking the medicine and was still suffering side effects so I try to stay out of the way because I know they were grieving and everything was happening so suddenly for them and I wanted to be there to support my husband, his work schedule was so messed up that he only had a few hours after waking up to be able to go to the hospital before having to leave for work until 1 AM in the morning so I was never able to go with him to see his grandma, but he asked me if he thought she was about to die if I would go with her and I said of course. Well she passed away before we can make it to the hospital and I know everyone was devastated. This was a day after Easter. My husband had to work on Easter so before we even knew the condition of his grandma’s health, we plan to have our own Easter and egg hunt the day after Easter because my husband would be off work, and that is the day that she passed away so I told my husband that we could cancel our egg hunt and he said no because he wanted to be there with our daughter and enjoy that time. I also invited his parents because I thought it would be good for them to get their mind off of things, and I made a bunch of desserts, including homemade cookies that his mother had asked me to make weeks before this for the next time they came down we grilled out and there was gonna be plenty of food for them and I wanted that time with them as well, but I respected that they needed time to themselves after his dad had just lost his mother.
they had been staying in a hotel, the whole time they were here but the day after she passed away, they came over that morning, and our house was a mess because we had a cookout the night before, and my husband was grieving and upset and we were just too tired to clean and we were planning to get it the next morning They wanted to take our daughter to the park and Dairy Queen and we were going to stay back because we both weren’t feeling too well and we were going to clean the house but before they left my husband’s Dad told us “I wish I would come with us.” so my husband told him that we would get ready and meet him there and that’s exactly what we did. We had lunch with them and the little things like forcing her to eat a hamburger when I told him that she like chicken nuggets or taking her drink away and telling her she’s not feeling up on a drink that she’s going to eat always bothered me and there’s always done it but I knew that at this time it wasn’t my opportunity to stand up because he just lost his mom and I didn’t want to start anything not that I would’ve been rude about it but they never take it for what it is. It’s disrespect if we stand up or tell them we don’t like what they’re doing but I told my husband that what happened in May would never happen again.
we were driving my mom’s truck because my husband‘s truck was in the shop and we went to a thrift store while his parents took our daughter to the park at the thrift store. I found an angel that I wanted to gift his dad to show sympathy. I got a few little toys for my daughter to so when we left we were on our way to meet them at the park and that’s when the mechanic called my husband and said his truck was ready. He called his mom to ask if his dad would follow him and get the truck and if his mom will drive my mom’s truck back home because I was under the influence with the side effects of the medication. She then asked if I couldn’t just make it to the park and the mechanics is right behind the park so of course I could have, but I didn’t see the difference of them going to getting it when we were ready to leave the park together or us going and getting it so we went to the park instead so I could give my daughter her toys.
while I was in the truck getting the gifts out for my husband’s dad, my husband went over to explain that I would just feel more comfortable if they went and got the truck because I was under the influence and later on I found out that his mom said “no she’s not, and saying that I was lying” but when I got out of the truck, she was talking all nice to me and explaining that my husband and my father-in-law we’re going to go get his truck and she even told me to watch my daughter for a second while she went and grabbed her drink out of the car and hit my head. I thought that was crazy that she told me to watch my own daughter, but she those are the little things that I let go and let her say because there’s no point of talking back. It always will start something.
if you’re with me so far, this is the end in our current situation. We all got back home and they walked in and saw that our puppy Peed on the floor and they got mad. We tried to let it go because my father-in-law‘s mom just died and there’s no sense of getting into an argument. We went to our neighbors to give them desserts that I had made for a cookout because I didn’t want them to go to waste while we were there. His mom texted him asking if our daughter could spend the night with them in a hotel when we thought they were staying with us first I didn’t say no I just said where is she going to sleep and they said in the bed with us I didn’t like that. I wanted her to be in a crib so we said no but we even called the hotel to ask if they had cribs to rent because somebody in the hotel said no so we were trying to compromise. We got back to our house and they were so mad. They were ready to leave without saying bye his dad was already in the car and his mom was walking out the door and didn’t really wanna speak to us. We asked her what the issue was and they went off. He went to the car to talk to his dad. his dad screamed at him and drove off. I was so upset because there was no reason to treat us like that when we have boundaries with our daughter and they were supposed to stay with us, but they decided that they were too upset about the dog peeing, and that our house was a little messy from the night before that they wanted to stay in a hotel, and they wanted to take our daughter too.
The next day I had an eye doctors appointment that I scheduled months in advance, and my husband had a job interview and they did not communicate when they were coming over so my husband was already gone and I was about to walk out the door. My husband’s grandpa lives right next-door because we moved him down here a few months ago and they were out there talking to him so I let my daughter go say bye to them and they didn’t speak to me at all. again the same treatment like back in May how she didn’t even want to look in my direction or speak to me so I left and they then texted my husband how I just took off with my own daughter, so there was no reason to stick around blaming me, of course.
I understand that his dad was going through a hard time but my husband also just lost his grandma and that just so happen to be my dad‘s birthday. I wasn’t going to make it about me of course not but I still didn’t wanna get yelled at on my dad‘s birthday I wanted to remember him and have a good day. I texted his mom three days after the incident. Nothing about the text was rude. I just told her that I was blown way by the disrespect and I didn’t like how they treated us. I brought back up me and how it was unfair that she thinks she can continue to yell and scream at us and ignore us. she read it and instantly called my husband and tried to bash me and I tried to speak up and she shut me up telling me that she was talking to her son not me my husband told her not to speak to his wife that way and she tries to bash me and say that I didn’t even want to say sorry to my father-in-law for his loss when I tried to do little things like buy him that angel and make cookies for them and I made a grocery order the night they came down and I clean the house and I was expecting to cook dinner for them and host them but they stayed in a hotel the whole time
she bashed us saying that we didn’t even offer them a shower, or anything to drink or anything to eat when they came home but right when we walked in the door is when they started yelling and lecturing us about dog pee, and it went downhill from there so we didn’t even have time to offer anything that they wanted or needed but every time they come over they make themselves at home because their name is on the deed even though we pay for the home, they act like it’s their home and they do whatever they please, so there was no reason we felt like we needed to assist them to the shower or ask if they needed anything even though that morning they got there She asked if I had any Dr Pepper and I said no that I had Sprite and she didn’t want that so at this point she’s just trying to make us look bad like it was our fault and they didn’t feel welcome here so that’s why they went to a hotel that night.
she was so rude and making excuses and disrespecting me not wanting me to talk to her. She kept saying she wanted to talk to her son and not me and she even called me a little girl at that point I had enough I was finally standing up for myself after four years of my mother-in-law saying out-of-the-way things to me and putting me down and lecturing me, I finally had enough I never cussed once at her I never cussed on her because I respect her enough, but I finally had enough of shutting my mouth and letting her talk to me anyway she want it. I told her she was not gonna call me a little girl and that she was going to hear from me because she’s bashing me to my husband, I tried to explain my side, but she kept on and on accusing us and saying that we were the reason for all of this and that they did nothing wrong and keep in mind, we have never raised our voice to them. We have never cussed at them we have never told them. Hey you’re wrong we don’t agree we just let them have their way and we were done May 2023 was our breaking point even though then we still were respectful, this time we weren’t gonna let them have their way and feel like they were right
The next week my husband went to go pick up his grandma’s ashes because before the fight that was the arrangements because they had to go back home to Tennessee he called the funeral home and they said that the day before his mom called and told them that they were coming down for the weekend to get them but they said nothing about that to us and at this point he hasn’t spoken to his dad in a week. he told his mom that he didn’t even feel welcome at the funeral, and that it really upset him. His mom told him that I had nothing to do with the fight, and that his dad simply just wanted his mothers ashes and she made excuses of course later that day she calls and I heard everything she said even though she thought I wasn’t around and she continue to bash me over and over about how everything was my fault, and I never wanted them around our daughter or to have a relationship with her.
it was extremely hard for me to keep my mouth shut for an entire hour when someone’s making things up and bashing you she think those want to say that she’s sick and tired of me calling her a liar, which I’m never said hey you’re a liar I just said that her apology wasn’t sincere and she continued to say that I took it the wrong way when she was bashing me about my dad and tell her that’s calling her a liar because she continues to say she didn’t mean it like that but the reason I brought back up made her was to say she thinks she can continue to talk to me that way and get away with it and that I was tired of it. my husband try to stand up for me and tell her how it made me feel like she was comparing my pain to hers about my dad and then she makes the snarky remark” I actually had a relationship with Mine”. she was talking about her relationship with her dad and comparing it to mine so again she’s throwing up my pain and trying to one up me and again argue on why she should’ve been there Christmas morning and she even said” I was explaining what I needed Christmas morning with my son and his daughter” His daughter???!
after that phone call, everything seem to be fine with his parents and my husband but she was still ignoring me. She wouldn’t call or message me and apologize or even explain herself. She just wanted to bash me to my husband and now everything was cool with them and they came down for a weekend to get my husband’s grandma‘s ashes and they went to the park with my husband and daughter and I decided to stay home because I didn’t want anything to go down and I be blamed for ruining that hard time for his family. My husband said they didn’t even ask about me and I know that they were happy that I wasn’t around because she made a post about how she just needed that time with her son and granddaughter, and everything was worded perfectly but I know that that was a dig at me and every time I would post something about the way I was feeling just little quotes that I see she would always post something as if she was speaking to me. it didn’t matter if it was something to do with disrespect or my daughter, or supporting my husband she would always find a post to relate it about what I’m posting. stuff like “no one could love her children the way she does” when I would post about how I love my husband and that I am there to support him
ever since then she has been calling my husband to bash me and come up with a new reasons on why I am the bad guy and I’m sick of it so if you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading my story because I don’t even know what to do at this point my husband wants to cut her off maybe not forever but he wants her to understand that she can’t keep treating me like this and even treating him like this because the last phone call was two days ago when we thought everything was at least cool with my husband and his parents even though I knew she still had a problem with me over things she said to me she calls him and bashes me and tells my husband that he’s not standing up for his parents and that that’s wrong and that that is his blood family and that he should be the hero and fix everything or she’s not gonna want to be around me
i’ve read a bunch of other stories about toxic in-laws, and there’s a lot that are way worse than my situation but I’ve had enough of her talking to me anyway she wants, putting me down, lecturing me, throwing my dad’s death in my face as if her relationship was greater and her pain is worse and I’m just sick of it because I can’t even look at pictures of my dad without crying and regretting and it’s really hard to stand up for myself when someone bashes me and makes themself the victim when I know for a fact, the last four years I’ve been nothing but kind to her. Yes, she has done things for me, but when she treats me bad, she uses that as a way to say “look at everything I’ve done for her and she wants to treat me like this?” just because I stand up for myself when she yells at me and I don’t know what to do so if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading and I need help

(Having Discord gets you first in line)
A small cloud of cigarette smoke left the man's mouth as he simply leaned against a building and watched the other sinners walk down the sidewalk. His fire-red eyes examined everyone who passed by, almost like a predator trying to find prey. Some people caught the man's gaze but simply chose to ignore him. To most of the sinners in the Pride Ring, the pale-skinned man wearing a leather jacket, a white undershirt, blue jeans, and boots simply looked like another damned soul. Though a few older sinners would immediately recognize and either fear or respect the man. Even though his name might've become obscure and died on the lips of several sinners over recent years as new Overlords rose and time went on, his name existed in writing and in the minds of those who knew about the supposed holy book. His name is short and simple, but his story certainty isn't. The man who currently watched others pass by while smoking a cigarette was indeed Cain Eden, the first son of Adam and Eve and the very first murderer.
Cain had been down in Hell longer than any other sinner except for Lilith. When the man was younger, his name used to be on everyone's lips; he used to be feared and respected; he used to be someone. Sadly, nothing in Hell stays the same forever, and the dynamic of power is always shifting. After the arrival of a demon wearing a red coat who overthrew all the Overlords, Cain found himself falling once again. His name, which used to be on everyone's lips, soon started to die and become forgotten. Only the older sinners and Hellborns knew about Cain, but in a few years, his name may be lost to history in Hell. The man who was the reason evil spread across the surface of Earth would possibly be forgotten in all seven rings of Hell.

Hello there, my friends! I'm here today with a prompt. I hope you will enjoy it, and hopefully it will catch your interest! With the first official season of Hazbin Hotel finally out and the second season of Helluva Boss in full swing, I decided to make a prompt that will bring us down to the seven rings of Hell, where we will meet a rather interesting person! This person is Cain Eden himself, who is the first son of Adam and Eve and the very first murderer. As you may guess, I'll be playing him in this roleplay! He'll be your garden variety asshole with a bit of a softer side once you finally get to know him! Also, be prepared for a few heartbreaking moments with him, but I'm getting ahead of myself! The next thing we need to talk about is your character!
In this roleplay, male and female characters are allowed, so go wild and have some fun! One thing to note is that when you choose a character who's already in a relationship, you'll need to think of a possible solution to help explain why they are going for Cain. You're also allowed to play multiple characters if you want to. Maybe you decide to play Angel Dust, who gets confused as a girl by a rather drunk Cain? Possibly you play as Stella, who decides to find a new toy and settles on a particular sinner? Maybe you play one of the current Overlord's who Cain tries to dethrone? Or possibly you have another idea in mind? It's all up to you! Just know I have a small preference towards Carmilla at the moment!
PSA- A ref of your character or a description would be appreciated in the case of OC's.

I (15M) live with my mum (46F) dad (45M) and sister (13F). My sister has ADD and has medication for it but never takes it for some reason, and my mum has bipolar disorder which she takes medication for and some sort of disorder where her hormones are through the roof during her periods much more than the average person, I don’t know what the disorder is called specifically.
Every single day, my sister drives me crazy. She does things that are so malicious, but so sneaky, it drives me insane. Everything she does, it’s so little by itself but it builds up so much that you can’t help but go insane, and she uses to say in arguments that ‘its just a little thing why are you so worked up?’ and she knows what to do and say to get on my nerves every single time. She does things that are so horrible, that she made my dad, who is the strongest, happiest and cheerful man I know, cry in the living room because of her actions. She routinely drives me, my mum and my dad fucking insane.
My mum is usually a great mother, the perfect mother even. But once every month, she turns into a crazy woman no one can control. Her actions are random and us as a family, especially my dad, have gotten so used to her actions that we have routines to avoid her rage. I know she can’t control her bipolarness, but her days of just being the worst person in my life drive me insane. Everytime she has these psychotic episodes, afterwards she overcompensates by giving showers of affection and love, buying me whatever I want and much more. After that, she starts guilt tripping, acting like nothing happened and guilt tripping again until I forgive her. It’s so emotionally and physically draining, I don’t know what to do.
Today, her and my sister went out for shopping, but even before then, tensions boiled. She wantes to buy me new school clothes since I had lost significant weight and my old clothes were too big for me now. She insisted on going to a place around 8 kilometers away from where we lived, when there’s a shop 10 minutes away by bus that sold school clothes because “she needed to buy my sister some things too.” I had just come back from the gym, so I said I would go to the shop close to us tomorrow, and she could go with my sister without me. I could tell she was mad at me, but didn’t say much about it then. My sister was doing her usual thing like spending 40 minutes in the toilet doing God knows what and taking hours to get out of the house, so my mum got angrier by the second. When she returned a few hours later, she instantly shouted at my sister for “closing the door too loudly” and told me to try out the school clothes she got me, even though I told her I would by them myself tomorrow, and that she shouldn’t buy them yet. I was in the middle of something I was doing, so I said not now, I will try them on in 10 mins, but just like usual, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried the clothes on, and like I expected, she got them the completely wrong size. The trousers were way too tight, barely fit and looked like skinny jeans. I told her that I should have just bought them tomorrow and that I told her she shouldn’t have bought them and that I’ll return them tomorrow too. After I said those things, she went completely ballistic on me, calling me all sorts and basically dehumanising me. This wasn’t the first time I had heard this, but when my dad started calling and asking what happened, something snapped in me. My dad is on business in my home country Turkey, which he goes to for his job around once every 2 months, and every time my mum has a fight with one of me and my sister, she always calls him to solve the situation. When I realise she warped the story to make herself look better, I went on a massive hour long rant on the call to my dad about how much I have been enduring about the little things my mum and sister does that gets on my nerves ever second of every day and how they both never listen to anything I say, and how I had to bottle in all of what I’ve been feeling for so long, and how my dad is the only one who actually understands me and what I’m going through and how my mum never takes no for an answer no matter how many times I tell her and many more things that I won’t say because of the length of this post already. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a shouting anger filled rage like this, which shocked my parents, especially my dad because I had always stayed calm during arguments because I bottled in what I was actualy thinking all the time. He just told me I needed to be calm and that thats what he does when things are as bad as this. Honestly I admire that man so much, I don’t know how he dealt with my mum and continues to deal with her for nearly 30 years now.
A few hours after the phone call, my mum came into my room and basically said that she’s my mother and that I had to talk with her, since I hadn’t talked with her since the fight and she had continued like nothing happened. I understand she has mental conditions, and thats why I’ve bared with her for so long, but I can’t deal with her anymore. My dad doesn’t come back for another week or so, so I don’t know what to do. My sister of course sided with my mum just to piss me off, and the only person on my side, that actually understands me, is thousands of miles away. I usually just play games like FM or EAFC, or listen to music or go to the gym to ease my mind but none of those are working right now.
I’ve been holding in my anger for so long and I don’t know what to do with my sister and mum’s bullshit anymore. What do I do?

I (15M) live with my mum (46F) dad (45M) and sister (13F). My sister has ADD and has medication for it but never takes it for some reason, and my mum has bipolar disorder which she takes medication for and some sort of disorder where her hormones are through the roof during her periods much more than the average person, I don’t know what the disorder is called specifically.
Every single day, my sister drives me crazy. She does things that are so malicious, but so sneaky, it drives me insane. Everything she does, it’s so little by itself but it builds up so much that you can’t help but go insane, and she uses to say in arguments that ‘its just a little thing why are you so worked up?’ and she knows what to do and say to get on my nerves every single time. She does things that are so horrible, that she made my dad, who is the strongest, happiest and cheerful man I know, cry in the living room because of her actions. She routinely drives me, my mum and my dad fucking insane.
My mum is usually a great mother, the perfect mother even. But once every month, she turns into a crazy woman no one can control. Her actions are random and us as a family, especially my dad, have gotten so used to her actions that we have routines to avoid her rage. I know she can’t control her bipolarness, but her days of just being the worst person in my life drive me insane. Everytime she has these psychotic episodes, afterwards she overcompensates by giving showers of affection and love, buying me whatever I want and much more. After that, she starts guilt tripping, acting like nothing happened and guilt tripping again until I forgive her. It’s so emotionally and physically draining, I don’t know what to do.
Today, her and my sister went out for shopping, but even before then, tensions boiled. She wantes to buy me new school clothes since I had lost significant weight and my old clothes were too big for me now. She insisted on going to a place around 8 kilometers away from where we lived, when there’s a shop 10 minutes away by bus that sold school clothes because “she needed to buy my sister some things too.” I had just come back from the gym, so I said I would go to the shop close to us tomorrow, and she could go with my sister without me. I could tell she was mad at me, but didn’t say much about it then. My sister was doing her usual thing like spending 40 minutes in the toilet doing God knows what and taking hours to get out of the house, so my mum got angrier by the second. When she returned a few hours later, she instantly shouted at my sister for “closing the door too loudly” and told me to try out the school clothes she got me, even though I told her I would by them myself tomorrow, and that she shouldn’t buy them yet. I was in the middle of something I was doing, so I said not now, I will try them on in 10 mins, but just like usual, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried the clothes on, and like I expected, she got them the completely wrong size. The trousers were way too tight, barely fit and looked like skinny jeans. I told her that I should have just bought them tomorrow and that I told her she shouldn’t have bought them and that I’ll return them tomorrow too. After I said those things, she went completely ballistic on me, calling me all sorts and basically dehumanising me. This wasn’t the first time I had heard this, but when my dad started calling and asking what happened, something snapped in me. My dad is on business in my home country Turkey, which he goes to for his job around once every 2 months, and every time my mum has a fight with one of me and my sister, she always calls him to solve the situation. When I realise she warped the story to make herself look better, I went on a massive hour long rant on the call to my dad about how much I have been enduring about the little things my mum and sister does that gets on my nerves ever second of every day and how they both never listen to anything I say, and how I had to bottle in all of what I’ve been feeling for so long, and how my dad is the only one who actually understands me and what I’m going through and how my mum never takes no for an answer no matter how many times I tell her and many more things that I won’t say because of the length of this post already. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a shouting anger filled rage like this, which shocked my parents, especially my dad because I had always stayed calm during arguments because I bottled in what I was actualy thinking all the time. He just told me I needed to be calm and that thats what he does when things are as bad as this. Honestly I admire that man so much, I don’t know how he dealt with my mum and continues to deal with her for nearly 30 years now.
A few hours after the phone call, my mum came into my room and basically said that she’s my mother and that I had to talk with her, since I hadn’t talked with her since the fight and she had continued like nothing happened. I understand she has mental conditions, and thats why I’ve bared with her for so long, but I can’t deal with her anymore. My dad doesn’t come back for another week or so, so I don’t know what to do. My sister of course sided with my mum just to piss me off, and the only person on my side, that actually understands me, is thousands of miles away. I usually just play games like FM or EAFC, or listen to music or go to the gym to ease my mind but none of those are working right now.
I’ve been holding in my anger for so long and I don’t know what to do with my sister and mum’s bullshit anymore. What do I do?

I (15M) live with my mum (46F) dad (45M) and sister (13F). My sister has ADD and has medication for it but never takes it for some reason, and my mum has bipolar disorder which she takes medication for and some sort of disorder where her hormones are through the roof during her periods much more than the average person, I don’t know what the disorder is called specifically.
Every single day, my sister drives me crazy. She does things that are so malicious, but so sneaky, it drives me insane. Everything she does, it’s so little by itself but it builds up so much that you can’t help but go insane, and she uses to say in arguments that ‘its just a little thing why are you so worked up?’ and she knows what to do and say to get on my nerves every single time. She does things that are so horrible, that she made my dad, who is the strongest, happiest and cheerful man I know, cry in the living room because of her actions. She routinely drives me, my mum and my dad fucking insane.
My mum is usually a great mother, the perfect mother even. But once every month, she turns into a crazy woman no one can control. Her actions are random and us as a family, especially my dad, have gotten so used to her actions that we have routines to avoid her rage. I know she can’t control her bipolarness, but her days of just being the worst person in my life drive me insane. Everytime she has these psychotic episodes, afterwards she overcompensates by giving showers of affection and love, buying me whatever I want and much more. After that, she starts guilt tripping, acting like nothing happened and guilt tripping again until I forgive her. It’s so emotionally and physically draining, I don’t know what to do.
Today, her and my sister went out for shopping, but even before then, tensions boiled. She wantes to buy me new school clothes since I had lost significant weight and my old clothes were too big for me now. She insisted on going to a place around 8 kilometers away from where we lived, when there’s a shop 10 minutes away by bus that sold school clothes because “she needed to buy my sister some things too.” I had just come back from the gym, so I said I would go to the shop close to us tomorrow, and she could go with my sister without me. I could tell she was mad at me, but didn’t say much about it then. My sister was doing her usual thing like spending 40 minutes in the toilet doing God knows what and taking hours to get out of the house, so my mum got angrier by the second. When she returned a few hours later, she instantly shouted at my sister for “closing the door too loudly” and told me to try out the school clothes she got me, even though I told her I would by them myself tomorrow, and that she shouldn’t buy them yet. I was in the middle of something I was doing, so I said not now, I will try them on in 10 mins, but just like usual, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried the clothes on, and like I expected, she got them the completely wrong size. The trousers were way too tight, barely fit and looked like skinny jeans. I told her that I should have just bought them tomorrow and that I told her she shouldn’t have bought them and that I’ll return them tomorrow too. After I said those things, she went completely ballistic on me, calling me all sorts and basically dehumanising me. This wasn’t the first time I had heard this, but when my dad started calling and asking what happened, something snapped in me. My dad is on business in my home country Turkey, which he goes to for his job around once every 2 months, and every time my mum has a fight with one of me and my sister, she always calls him to solve the situation. When I realise she warped the story to make herself look better, I went on a massive hour long rant on the call to my dad about how much I have been enduring about the little things my mum and sister does that gets on my nerves ever second of every day and how they both never listen to anything I say, and how I had to bottle in all of what I’ve been feeling for so long, and how my dad is the only one who actually understands me and what I’m going through and how my mum never takes no for an answer no matter how many times I tell her and many more things that I won’t say because of the length of this post already. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a shouting anger filled rage like this, which shocked my parents, especially my dad because I had always stayed calm during arguments because I bottled in what I was actualy thinking all the time. He just told me I needed to be calm and that thats what he does when things are as bad as this. Honestly I admire that man so much, I don’t know how he dealt with my mum and continues to deal with her for nearly 30 years now.
A few hours after the phone call, my mum came into my room and basically said that she’s my mother and that I had to talk with her, since I hadn’t talked with her since the fight and she had continued like nothing happened. I understand she has mental conditions, and thats why I’ve bared with her for so long, but I can’t deal with her anymore. My dad doesn’t come back for another week or so, so I don’t know what to do. My sister of course sided with my mum just to piss me off, and the only person on my side, that actually understands me, is thousands of miles away. I usually just play games like FM or EAFC, or listen to music or go to the gym to ease my mind but none of those are working right now.
I’ve been holding in my anger for so long and I don’t know what to do with my sister and mum’s bullshit anymore. What do I do?

I saw my story on TikTok and discovered it's been shared across reddit and many people commented. I read all the comments and they got me thinking about our marriage and how it's starting to mirror the one of my parents.
My mother has always been very controlling with my father, she's what people would call a one-tone nag, always moaning and complaining about something, and this is the main reason I keep my distance from her. My father is a quiet man who avoids all conflict and my husband is kinda like him.
Now I am realizing I am becoming exactly like my mother. I admit I didn't outright throw away my husband' stuff because a part of me knew that if I did, it would have done damage that couldn't be repaired. But I still do many little things that my mother would do, like swapping the clothes he picks in the morning with ones I think look better, or suggest him what to post on social media or put as profile picture on WhatsApp.
I had a long conversation with my husband and asked him how he really feels about my behaviors. He said he's mostly fine with them but sometimes I can be "too intense". I asked him to elaborate and he admitted that sometimes I can be suffocating. He said sometimes I do this even when we are sleeping, such as when I spread my leg on him and weigh down on him to not make him move.
I admit I teared up listening to all this, and although he assured me he's not even thinking about leaving me, I don't want to make him miserable like my father is. I asked if I should go to therapy to try and mitigate my behavior, he said he would support me if I did so now I am shopping for therapists. He also said he would be open for marriage counseling if I wanted to, and I am considering it.
Hopefully our relationship is not too damaged and I can try to be a more patient and understanding partner like he is with me.

I have recently made some progress with my OC, who you can read about here:
https://www.reddit.com/TeenTitansGo/comments/ynx64w/my_idea_for_a_new_teen_titans_go_characte
I've come up with a name and power set for her. Her name is Decibelle, and she has the ability to manipulate sound. I still haven't figured out her name before she got her powers, her origin story, or her costume yet.

TLDR: we've been dating since I was 15 and he was 16. I feel like we grew into different people, we're just not on the same level, some things that wouldn't bother be as a teen bother me as an adult.
Like I said we've been dating for a really long time, which plays as a pro and contra argument for breaking up. There are certain things that he does and certain beliefs that he has that would 100% be a deal breaker if it was someone else, if it was someone new. I'm scared to break up. To be blunt, I tried last year to suggest breaking up and he was really shocked by it and really hurt, so we worked it out (we made some changes into our relationship that lasted a few weeks at best). I also have body dysmorphia and anxiety and I fear that I'd either never meet anyone else that would like me or that I will realise that I'd miss him and regret this decision for the rest of my life. It's hard to see a real long future with him, because I can't see myself in the future as it is. His family is also very different from mine and really annoying. His mom is super religious, while me and my family are all atheists. While I respect her beliefs, I can hardly tolerate the way she always tries to shove it off my throat. When we go on vacations she always wants to go to churches (which okay, sure it's your vacation too, we should all do something we enjoy), and she FORCES me to go in as well and pray. She doesn't accept that I simply can't and don't believe. I tell her I'll go for the aesthetic and the art and I'll look around but I can't and won't pretend to pray. Part of the different family dynamics is also vacationing with his family. It's really draining, his parents are exhausting (especially for me since I was raised with everyone just minding their own business), I can't even talk with my boyfriend alone, if one of his parents are there they will also butt in, even if I try to whisper something to him (sometimes something I want to tell only him idk). They won't do anything separately from us and his mom would throw a tantrum if we're not doing her thing (which usually involves religion one way or another). Another important thing for me is that he is really messy - now hear me out. When we argue about it somehow he feels like he does everything in the house (I throw the trash, I clean the bathroom, I do the whole laundry even his, so I'm not sure how he's under this impression), it's really hard for me to tidy up after myself if he doesn't do it after himself and the end result is still messy. I really don't like his friends. Half of his close friend group and homophobes and slightly racists, and really at the other spectrum compared to me. Now you could say, birds of the feather flock together. But the friends also weren't like this when we met 10 years ago. I don't think we match sexually either, our libidos are just different and I rarely have an orgasm, which would not be a deal breaker to me if everything else would be okay. The superficial part is his clothing style. He dresses really business-casual, while I dress more "street style". I think his clothes don't flatter him and make him look way older + his hair style as well. This alone wouldn't be a deal breaker to me. There are some hygiene problems that I won't really go into as well.
Sometimes I'm afraid that if I draw the line the thing I like most about him is the time we have together. I fear that all the qualities I think he has come from being a boyfriend and not him as a person, but I'm also afraid of what life would be like without him. Sometimes I wish he would just break up with me so I won't have to live with the regret/ consequences of breaking up with him, but I really think that no matter what he won't do it. I was really unhappy when I brought up breaking up last year and the fact that he was shocked and it never crossed his mind was mind blowing and also heart breaking and made me feel like a traitor.
Anyway, if you got this far, do you have any advice? Do you think I'm being too picky? Were you in a similar situation? Would discussing things seriously help anything in your opinion?

Hey Guys!
So long story short. Myself and friends around the world remember this film and have been looking for this movie for many years. Some of us have been in the hunt for over 20 years! Including myself. We have done podcasts explaining it and multiple posts about it. It most likely was made and set in anywhere between the 1970s to 1990s. Not exactly 100% sure of the time frame though. Judging from my memory, I would say more 1970s to late 1980s maybe. Before I start describing the film. I want to make a point that this film is 100% not American Samurai, The Best Of The Best 2, Shoot Fighter 1 & 2, The Quest, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Bloodfist 2 or Gladiator Cop. (More on what films we have confirmed it is not later) But we want everyone to know before proceeding reading the description of the film that we have confirmed all the details below to be mostly accurate and true. The movie I am searching for with all of the others in the hunt to is 100% a different story to the films listed above and I have actually gained new and confirmed details by others along the way over the months and years.
Now to the movie: The story we all seem to remember was about a white protagonist we believe, that is portrayed as a hero. He is potentially special forces or some really good fighter. He is in search of something or after something. Others in the search have confirmed he is in search of his missing brother. (No its not American Samurai as the brother is a villain in that film). The hero/main protagonist I think is captured by this crime syndicate or bad people while looking for the brother. I will now explain what we truly remember about the film. There is some sort of illegal barefist fight to the death tournament that starts in the film. There are no weapons involved apart from one fighter which I will get to shortly. This tournament occurs at some point through the movie. The main thing here is that all the fights are to the death or there is a 50/50 chance of survival. You are at the mercy of your opponent. There are no KOs or submissions from memory. Most fights are to the death with no rules. The fights take place in some sort of old abondoned building or like a huge secluded indoor area. It feels like it's set in some Oriental area and the fighters are there with no escape from the area. The actual fights themselves take place in a big sandpit (actual sand like beach sand) in a torch lit or low light environment in a building of some sort. I am sure there was a big black cage surrounding the pit. There was a small audience from memory that was watching (mostly all the fighters). Before a fight, I think from memory a gong is sounded, (almost like Shootfighter, American Samurai or The Quest). When fighters are defeated, there was a scene or two of bodies being taken to this chute or hole like drain near the sandpit and they are then dumped down there and disposed of. It's almost like a modern day martial arts gladiator tournament. We feel the fighters there are all there against their will. Like they must fight to win their escape. There are scenes to that we remember in which fighters are being held behind these cell doors or steel bars watching over the sandpit or ring. It feels almost like the fights are taking place in an old abandoned prison cell block with a mortar.
There are a few fighters in the film with different styles. The main character we all remember is the fighter with the blades or blade attached at the end of his hair in his very long braid or long hair. When I say long I mean it was very long and thick! From memory he is not white. Definitely that of potentially Asian, Dark Asian or maybe Brazilian race. He has a very long braid for hair and at the end there are steel tips or a big blade that he uses to kill or slice other fighters up during the fight sequences. We think he might have worn either long red pants with black shoes, or long black pants with black shoes and is very well built. This fighter is also the only fighter we think that cheats by using the weapon in his hair. He fights shirtless and gets the momentum for the blades in his hair by using a capoeira or wushu type of fighting style so he can swing the hair around and stab his opponents with his hair. A few fighting scenes with this fighter I remember are:
One fight he was just dancing around and just toying with his opponent. Eventually he beat his opponent to death.
Another fight was when he started slicing a guy with his hair and then either strangled the guy or caught him in the throat with the hair blades which killed him.
Then the final fight with this guy I remember was when he was against the hero (main protagonist). The hero faces him and the blade fighter's ponytail gets caught and he is then stabbed to death with his own hair blades im pretty sure by the main protagonist and hero.
There's another fighter I remember to. He was a very well built, big and muscular Asian man. He had a shaved head with a moustache or a fu man chu/goatee style of facial hair. Pretty sure he had a shaved head but also he had a chonmage style haircut with a long ponytail on the back of his head. (No it's not Tong Po from kickboxer lol) He would wear long black pants and a sleeveless black top or gi from memory with black wrist gaunlets almost leather like. He looked Chinese or Japanese. When he would fight I think the top was removed. This guy was like one of the main villains the main character was after. He is the final fighter of the tournament and the last fighter the hero faces from memory. The scene I distinctly remember from him was a scene where he enters the building or fighting area through a cell door of some sort. Very menacing and intimidating. He closes the door behind him and he then walks along I believe maybe a walkway, balcony or upper floor and proceeds to go and sit down and watch a death match between fighters. It's either this man or the fighter with the blade in his hair that the hero/main protagonist is after. Now we are not too sure if possibly this fighter here is the one who has the blade in his hair. However there is definitely a fighter in long red pants and black shoes that is shirtless or this Big Asian man that is described here that are both villains and bad guys in the film and fighting tournament.
I think from memory, the main reason the hero is there, is to find his brother and take down this crime syndicate or stop this from happening to someone else. Others have also said the movie had a 80s bombshell or good looking love interest female during that time that is involved with the main character and there was a training montage. (This last detail could be wrong) but a couple of people have mentioned this).
The fights in the film are extremely brutal, confronting and violent. Quite realistic and particularly when I saw this 15 to 20 years ago now it's always stayed in my mind with just how riveting it was. The whole movie was very dark (as in, it had a very eerie and gritty tone to it). Even the music was very eerie and had a dark tone to it to.
More backstory on the film as well as confirmed films it's not in the comments. I saw this film on late night Australian TV in the early 2000s. I have confirmed that a lot of other people have also seen this film to at some point years ago. But they cannot place the name themselves. Some have also claimed to have owned the film on VHS at some point and some have also rented it from a video store in the 90s. But no one can remember the name!
Thank you in advance guys.

A long story but if you read it thanks.
I feel lost. I had a childhood filled with nice moments but due to disfunctional family it was filled with anxiety and depression from an early age.
Throughout the years, various things happened. Now it's the most beautiful time because family's issues are mostly gone. I don't feel everyday anxiety since august 2023. I'm doing okay, I'm actually a cheerful person (whose personality couldn't shine due to constant anxiety and depressive episodes because of my family creating problems where there aren't any).
I'm a female, 25. First room that was my own was when I moved out to a city because of uni. I changed a couple of apartments and many roomates (10+) of which only one was a decent human being. Others were mean young women who were always terrorising me without any reason. Their upbringing was nonexistent as well as their common sense. I'm still struggling with the current two roommates. Everyone has their room so it's not a complete hell. That's my first problem.
Second, I prolonged studies due to family issues. Long story short I acted as a parent to my parents and my younger brother, they were fighting over money and weird problems I never understood. Lost all energy on them instead of my life. I will be getting my degree in July finally. I just need some time to study without interruptions. But there's more problems.
I need to work. I can't save anything and I don't have a very good job now because I need time to study, I can't have a full time job at the moment. I had one till January. I pay the rent and all my bills by myself, I pay for my studies, my food etc. Clothes when I buy something new which isn't often. I'd like to have a full time job after July. But till then I still need money.
I have to take better care of my health (dentist for exampe) and have some appointments in mind but I can't go because of money. I still have to pay the bills and studies. I can't have a better job because I need time to study and if I don't finish studies in July I can do that in September and I don't want to wait any longer.
Since big family issues are gone I feel as if I MUST deal with my "small" issues alone, and with each of them as soon as possible and at the same time. I just want peace and quiet. To live my life although I've missed half of it.
I have a boyfriend and would like to move in with him. He's so happy about it just like I am. I can, but I feel as if I have many unnecessary stuff. I still live in the city where I study. Unfortunately, my family hasn't got a big house in my hometown to put some of my things which I don't use so much. When moving out I brought almost everything that's mine to this city to have my own room for the first time. Now all the stuff is making me very uncomfortable. I want minimalism as I crave a peace of mind and a peaceful, airy, clean space. I tried selling and donating. I'd honestly rather sell because I need money. But it's not going well.
I'm starting with a small art business which I wanted for so long. But - I don't have the time if I need to study and work. I just can't do everything. There are days when I can but those aren't the majority. I work for 8 hours, transportation takes up to 2 hours. I need 8 hours of sleep because I need it to function properly. That's not much hours left for both studying, art business, and everything else: preparing food, exercising, seeing mt boyfriend, resting.
I also have a cat. I've had him since October 2022. I can't do this anymore and I feel selfish but I know I'm not. I've wanted to give him a home, found him on the street, then brought him to my current room where I'm with my roommates. I couldn't sleep well for months. I needed to clean my room every day. Then all the costs. I'm a student with a rough childhood, without much money. I need time for my life and for myself. Now the real problems started when he was in heat and pissing everywhere, I must've clean all day everyday. Also the fleas, and him putting all my stuff under the bed or destroying them. Takes much time finding something when I need it. There are so many unnecessary things in this apartment and I must clean them (not mine but my landlord's). Now my cat is fixed. But after some time, he started pissing on my bed every day I'm not there for the whole day. I have a life and I have life plans. I want to start a family, have a good job, maybe work even outside of the country. I can't do any of that with this cat. I'd LOVE him to live with me if I had my own place, the house with the garden preferably. My family doesn't have a house. My brother has a cat already and my parents a dog. No one can take care of this cat except for me. I want to find him a better home.
I feel overwhelmed because I know what the solutions to each of my problem are. I'm just scared or not ready to take action because I need to make sure they're right. I just want peace and some rest so I can live to the fullest for once.

Well, me 18f and my bf 19m have been together for one year now.
In the beggining, our relationship was perfect, that until his girl bsf appeared and wanted to take over my place (this sounds so childish, but Istg it was like that). He defended her for 4 months, while she was talking shit on me to him and to all of their friends. That was until at some point I told him to choose between one of us and he chose losing all contact with her. One month later, he unblocked her and they talked for some days until I found out. Since then, they never talked again.
While that, he was also maintaining contact with his ex. It was anything much really, but I felt extremely uncomfortable with it.
2 months after, I was watching some reels on his Phone with him when a female friend of him dm'ed him. He quickly turned the notification down and I found the behaviour weird, so I asked to see what it was. He debied a little but he ended up showing me. He had replied to basically all of her stories, telling her she was pretty. HE NEVER DID THIS TO ME. I go down on his dms, all I find is him telling Girls how majestic they are. I crushed down at that moment and he just stayed there looking at me. I ended up for giving him and telling him to never do it again because It was totally disrespectful, even tho he didnt see anything wrong with it.
Some weeks after I found out he snaps this one girl 24/7, I ask him to stop, but cant do anything because Its snapchat, I cant know what was on the conversation.
So, one month ago, 2 days before my birthday and some weeks after our 1 year aniversary, I found out he was flirting with this one girl. She has a thick body and is kinda pretty (in my opinion), me, meanwhile, am a Model for a big agency so you can imagine I Am not really the thickest girl and tbh thats a real big problem to my confidence. Anyways, he was complimenting her body, her eyes, her clothes. And the worst: she wasnt even replying. I broke up but he begged for one more chance and I gave it with the condition of having his Instagram on my Phone, and that was it.
Some weeks ago, I found posts of half naked woman on his saved posts. I confronte him and he admited that it was disgusting and was sorry about it, and that was all.
Right now, I just found out that his snaps is full of Girls and he had 50 days streak with multiple Girls, while he wouldnt reply to mines. What made me really mad.
I want to add that yes, I have been toxic lately. I Am overly jealous and toxic, but I wasnt like this. I feel like he manipulates me and he made me go from a really liberal gf to a gf thats always overthinking on what he is doing. I also want to add that he went cold and dry on me for MONTHS and only came back to normal after I found out abt the Last girl he was flirting with. Before that, he would just love bomb me whenever he did something wrong, and that was all.
With this all said, what would you guys advice me on doing?

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Big update at the end of Part.2, make sure you check it out. It is important.
---
My initial surprise waned as a burning hatred boiled up within me. There was no hesitation in my choice. I dipped my mind into my Spatial Ring and pulled out two syringes; the thick red substance within wobbled with the movement.
I eyed my father and mother, who were faring better against their paladin. We were too close to each other to use a wide area of effect magic, and the stragglers were beginning to gather themselves as a new group of rugged-looking paladins showed up.
Their armor was different, some haphazardly maintained, dented in the shoulders and helmets. Overall, they looked like a band of brigands. The purple articles of clothing and cloaks were thrashed, but the marked-out and desecrated symbols of Amon-Ra were present. They were all members of the Chapter of Despair.
I met my father’s eyes and threw the syringe with all my might. We had talked about using the drugs if things got out of hand. A shadowy hand whipped out from my father and snatched the syringe out of the air. He quickly injected himself in the thigh, and I followed suit.
The effects were almost immediate. I felt my skin get taunt. My veins bulged and pulsed against my skin as my heart thumped in my chest. Sylas’s version of my stimulant was made with purer and higher quality ingredients, as well as being appropriately mixed, which made it all the more potent.
And with it, my emotions exploded out of me.
“Wow, what did you just stab yourself with? I don’t even want to imagine the—”
Alnwar’s words were cut short as he fell to the floor and reached for his own throat, choking on the air around him. The paladins were forced to their knees as well, and all the fighting in the pit had ceased for a moment as the full force of my bloodlust suffocated those around me.
“Alnwar Strongfold. Today is your last day on this planet.”
Power coursed through my muscles and veins as I shot forward like a cannon, aiming straight for the man’s throat. My body became wreathed in golden lightning as white flames danced along my spear’s tip. Alnwar managed to get back to his feet, but he blocked my thrust with shaky hands.
He dodged and blocked my repeated strike, the fear in his eyes and the hesitation in his movements clear. I didn’t give him a moment of respite as I pushed the assault. I swept my spear along his body for a slash and knocked his long sword up into the air.
I repositioned the tip for a thrust to the heart, but the second short sword came up to deflect it. I sent a blast of close-range white fire at him, but he dodged to the side with his tremendous speed. We locked back into a fury of blows, and I continued to push him into a corner. As the fight progressed, the fear of his features lessened as he regained control of himself.
One thing is certain. Alnwar is not a pushover, and judging by his soul, he is at the level of a War God but not nearly at the top like King Maxwell or even a Grandmaster mage like Bowen. This means the stories of him slaying an Exarch must be fabricated lies.
With my heightened senses, I heard the swing and ducked to the side, avoiding the massive war hammer that aimed to crush me into dust. The impact made a crater on the ground, and I went to thrust my sword into the paladin but was forced to react to Alnwar’s attack instead.
I used gravity to force me the opposite way and to the side. My body jerked violently as my equilibrium shattered from the change. It made me want to vomit, but with that unnatural movement, I dodged the attack entirely and went for a counter-attack on Alnwar.
Thankfully, Cerila was right behind to deal with the paladin, and for the first time, her sword came into contact with flesh. The paladin whipped around his hammer with great force that moved the air as blood splattered from a sizable gap in his back. At the time, I also caught a glimpse of my parents.
My mother had left to kill the new Chapter of Despair paladins and allow my father free reign during his battle. A storm of shadows swelled and exploded out toward the paladin, who countered with golden spells of light magic. The intensity of their battle had increased tenfold as it destroyed the land around them, and any unlucky to get caught up in it had their lives snuffed out by tendrils of shadows or bolts of light.
Regardless, my focus remained on the fight at hand as I trusted that Cerila would handle that paladin from here on out. Alnwar had mostly regained his composure and dropped into a low stance. He kept both his short and long sword pointed at me and struck out like a viper.
I had to pay close attention to his body to see which blade would come at me, but I was able to read it with my enhanced body, the increased focus from the combat drug, and years of experience. I went for a leg sweep using my spear as a staff, but Alnwar dodged back out of range.
He shot forward immediately after, and I sent him retreating with another thrust, or so I thought. Alnwar crossed his blades into an x and blocked my spear in the center. He used the momentum to get under and knock my spear up, and instead of retreating like he usually did, he pushed into me.
He shoulder-checked and staggered me, and I watched as the short sword went low and aimed directly at my side. The blade would pierce my side and right into my internal organs.
If it could, that was.
I trusted in Squeak’s and Padraic’s abilities, and instead of backing away, I brought the shaft of my spear down on his head. Alwarn’s grin was disgusting as the blade impacted me, but it was wiped away in a flash as the sound of metal on metal rang out. My spear crashed into his head, and I sent a knee into his gut, knocking him into the air slightly.
With my spear in hand and my body enhanced to its maximum, I pushed Alnwar away and sent him flying into a pile of rubble. I flipped my spear around and pointed the golden horn at Alnwar as I primed a White Fire Lance to end him. It was far easier and faster to cast than a plasma-based spell, and I had already prepared it as he was flying off.
The white fire warped the air as the intense heat boiled off my spear. But within a matter of moments, the spell launched a jagged lance of white flames at Alnwar. However, I sensed an incoming spell core and watched with surprise as a golden hammer sniped the Flame Lance out of the air. The paladin fighting Cerila had taken a brief moment to launch a spell to protect Alnwar.
Honestly, these two paladins are more of a problem than Alnwar at this point.
Cerila was struggling against her opponent. Her movements were sluggish as time went on. She hadn’t slept in a full day, and the long battle was draining her even more. She may actually collapse at any moment.
Alnwar burst out from the rubble and raced toward me, completely unharmed. It seemed even he could use light magic to heal himself. I prepared myself to meet his attack head-on when suddenly Alnwar stopped, skidding to a halt and throwing himself back.
A clump of purple rock collided with the ground making a crater and kicking up a large cloud of debris. There was a thunderous crash to the side as something else impacted the earth by Cerila and the paladin. A massive purple blur moved through the smoke with terrifying agility and speed, and I watched as the paladin swung his war hammer at it.
An armored hand covered in a thick layer of purple crystal impacted the hammer mid-swing and crushed it into dust. The paladin was blown back from the blow, and an armored figure that stood taller than even the massive paladin brought both his hands down and smashed the soldier on his shoulders, forcing him to his knees.
A gust of wind appeared as the crystal figure extended his hands out and back and, with explosive force, went to clap. The paladin’s head and helmet were crushed into a blood mist, his ears touching in the center. The crystal man dragged the body up and hoisted it into the air after.
“Have no fear, for your king has arrived! Let none survive our fury!” King Maxwell shouted into the air, accompanied by his menacing bloodlust.
On cue, there were caws from the air, followed by many blurs in the distance. Spells began raining down from the air on the white robbed assistants and paladins of the Chapter of Despair as Gryphon Riders decimated their ranks.
King Maxwell, covered in his crystal magic, rushed over to me, his face mostly obscured, but I could see the grin on his lips. “Come Kaladin! Let us finish this bastard!”
There was no hesitation as I sprinted to catch up to him. Alnwar scowled and ran full tilt into a group of his allies, but the two of us gave chase. We crashed into the lines of white robes and paladins and began slaughtering them.
With spear and magic, I killed dozens, burning their bodies to a crisp, impaling their chests, and crushing their bones with every swipe of my weapon. King Maxwell made mincemeat of anyone who dared to stand before him. Every punch claimed a life and sent a corpse lying in a sea of their own blood.
The ground was an ocean of crimson as we waded through the corpses of the fallen to Alnwar, who was being healed by a group of priests. His light magic must not have been enough to heal him completely. I sent a Fireball into the group, and Alnwar grabbed and tossed the priest into my spell. The priest exploded as he impacted my spell, his limbs flying off in random directions.
We were just about to attack Alnwar when something changed. My gut twisted into a knot as I sensed an overwhelming power from our side. There was a flash of light from a broken sewer pipe, and something shot out from it. It moved far faster than anything I had yet to see, and I couldn’t make it out at all.
The gust of wind blew past me as it moved straight toward Cerila. My heart leaped in my chest as I sent magic toward it in an attempt to halt its advance; even King Maxwell tossed a disk of purple crystal at it, but our attacks missed entirely.
Cerila was killing off a squad of paladins. Her chest was heaving up and down. Her eyes sunk into her skull, and the signs of intense fatigue all over her. She was late to react to the new attacker.
She brought Hubris up to defend herself, but in the blink of an eye, her entire arm was separated from her body. Her hand, still holding Hubris, spiraled in the air, trailing blood. Time seemed to come to a halt as I watched a knight wearing pristine silver armor jump into the air.
The man was tall but more lanky than muscular. The armor he wore was ornate and shimmered in the afternoon sun. A greenish-white sword that looked like it was made of crystal was clutched in one hand, and strapped to his other arm was an equally ornate shield. It was beautifully crafted, with the symbol of a bright golden sun at its center and white wings coming out from it. I had never seen it in person, but I instantly recognized it, and so did King Maxwell.
An Exarch. The Shield Exarch of the North.
The crystalline sword disappeared into thin air, leaving his hand free. He snatched Hubris out of the air, but the moment he gripped the sword, he was tossed into the ground as if the sword had dragged him. He impacted the ground like a meteor, as King Maxwell and I arrived on top of him.
The Exarch laid on his back, Hubris in one hand, and his shield sprawled out to the side. I thrust my spear down at the fallen man, and King Maxwell went to stomp his head.
“That was unexpected,” the Exarch grumbled in a relaxed tone.
I swore I didn’t even blink, but his shield was suddenly positioned in front of him. I hit the shield with my spear, but it bounced straight off. King Maxwell’s kick was stopped dead in its tracks. A burst of white light flashed from the sun on the shield, and I felt the intense heat and powerful mana, so I dodged back out of instinct.
The magic barely grazed my arm, but I felt my flesh burn, then nothing. I had lost a chunk of my forearm along with my jacket.
An instantly cast spell? From the shield itself?
“Kaladin, stay back. Grab Cerila and take her to Sylvia. I’ll handle this guy,” King Maxwell said in a low voice.
I rushed over to Cerila, who was gripping her missing arm, trying to staunch the bleeding. The Exarach was already back on his feet, trying to pull Hubris off the ground but to no avail. Eventually, he just shrugged and summoned his sword back from his Spatial Ring.
I picked Cerila up and rushed her over to Sylvia. Alnwar might get away, but Cerila’s life was more important. My worry for her overran my seething hatred for him.
I saw that my father had defeated the other paladin. Shadows crawled around him as his purple and black spear embedded into the head of the slumped-over paladin. In the meantime, Sylvia had encased the other three in a sphere of blood and was attacking and killing anyone who approached her.
She cut the head off a white robbed man and looked at me with worried eyes. I handed the moaning Cerila off to her and took over the defense position as spells from the Gryphon Knights rained down.
Cerila let out one final scream before she passed out as her arm began to regrow. I stepped back, let the spells of the knights finish off the last few remaining assailants in this area, and turned my attention to Sylvia.
She pulled away from Cerila’s neck with a frown. “She passed out, but she isn’t in danger anymore.”
“Good, put her in the sphere with the others for the time being,” I requested.
Sylvia nodded, and a tendril of blood snaked out from one of the nearby bodies and wrapped Cerila up, only to crawl itself into a crimson sphere. It was… unnerving a bit, but I had gotten used to it, so there was no reason to be surprised anymore.
Off in the distance, King Maxwell and the Exarch were exchanging blows. Each strike rocked the ground and sent shockwaves across the entire place. Entire sections of the crater were being torn to pieces as the two fought at inhuman speeds.
“So that’s an Exarch…” Sylvia muttered from my side.
“Yes.”
“Can the king win?” Sylvia asked, looking at me from the side.
If Grandpa’s words are to be believed…
“If we threw everything at him, maybe,” I answered.
I was beginning to see what Grandpa meant. King Maxwell, the strongest man on the continent, was not able to land even a single hit on the Exarch. His massive tower shield seemed to move immediately to block and strike, and although his sword was not a Holy Artifact, whenever he swung the blade, it would slice into the King’s crystal armor, taking a massive chunk out of it. Thankfully, it was quickly regrown, but how long could King Maxwell keep up?
My father and mother made their way over to us. The two of them were drenched head to toe in the blood of their enemies and their own as well. Without even needing to be asked, Sylvia immediately healed the two of them.
The three of us watched the two fight, and it was clear that we could not intervene recklessly. King Maxwell was giving it his all, and so was the Exarch. Any slip up would be the end for us.
Eventually, the two men broke apart from each other. Neither of them was winded or wounded. The Exarch stood tall and planted his shield into the ground with a thud.
“It’s an honor to meet the Berserker King face to face. The stories don’t do your strength justice,” the Exarch said humbly.
“Gerimia Foster, the Shield Exarch. Tell me, why have you invaded my kingdom?” King Maxwell demanded.
“All land is equally ours under our god. I have every right to be here. And besides, I think it’s rather obvious as to why I’ve come. But there seems to be an issue…so I’ll be taking my leave now,” Gerimia said.
What? He’s just going to leave?
“What?! We can’t leave now you just—”
Alnwar’s yapping was silenced with a single glance from the Exarch. “I won’t be hearing any complaints from you.”
Gerimia looked up into the sky as Gryphon Knights circled above. “Besides, we are outnumbered, and I don’t intend to wait things out only to starve to death. I’m a defensive specialist; I can’t defeat an army with this many elites alone. We are leaving.”
“As if I’d let you. This hole will be your grave,” King Maxwell snarled.
“No, it really won’t be. But if you want it to be yours, that’s fine with me, Your Majesty,” Gerimia said with a shrug.
King Maxwell shot forward, but he stopped in his tracks. We all felt it. The feeling of dread increased, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. And my body screamed at me to run. It was a familiar sensation, and Sylvia was the first to shout.
“Stop him! He is starting a ritua—”
Sylvia’s warning was stopped just with the Exarch’s voice, “I do not permit you to preach to me. You shall all know silence.”
The sun on the shield lit up, and a burst of light flashed. No magic or sudden pain hit us, but there was a definite change. All the sound in the entire crater had ceased as if the world had gone deaf.
King Maxwell rushed forward, but an enormous golden barrier flashed to life. It reminded me of the barrier that Mason erected in Gilcour Thicket all those years ago, but this one was three times as big and covered their entire side in holy light.
“Here all me faithful, I hereby command you, be strong and courageous. Have no fear or dread of them, for your god is with you today.”
Once again, the Exarch’s shield flickered to life. With golden rays, the sun shined, and the wings shimmered, and rays of light streamed out from it. They arced off and danced in the air, and we all watched as they shot down and into the invaders. The white robes and paladins all glowed with a holy light as they began to stand up, examining themselves as if surprised by something.
Even the people who were at death’s door and nothing but limbless corpses began to regrow limbs and stand back up, full of vigor, as they picked up weapons. The only bright side was that the dead stayed dead and did not rise. Even so, we were once again surrounded.
The refreshed mob let out war cries as they rushed us with renewed fervor. Spells from the knights crashed into their ranks just as before, but it appeared as if they were less effective. People were losing body parts from Fire Balls or falling rocks, but they healed almost immediately and got right back up.
The first wave crashed into us, and with Sylvia’s help, the four of us began to fight back. We killed dozens more, and there was a stark difference now. Before, the white-robed people seemed nothing more than civilians, blindly rushing to their deaths. But now, even the weakest amongst them was slightly more robust, which wasn’t much, all things considered, as they still died all the same.
It was also unnerving that we were the only ones that couldn’t speak. Our swords clashing, the cutting of flesh, none of it made any noise. It was only the shouts of zealots and the low hum of a chorus of voices mumbling in sync off in the distance.
Sylvia yelled into the air, like she was breaking free of the silence, and shouted, “Hold them back! They are doing a ritual! I have to try to stop them! Throw the bodies toward me!”
Sylvia jumped back, and blood began to spiral out from the corpses and shoot out into the crowd. The blood pooled on the ground and, like a rushing river, began to flow toward us. The crimson liquid gathered above Sylvia into a massive ball as she quickly mumbled to herself with her eyes closed.
I had no idea what she was doing, but we did as she asked. I thrust my spear into the heart of a woman and tossed her body over my head and into a pile. My mother cut through the hoard with her twin lightning-clad blades as my father used his shadows to launch the bodies backward.
And their souls…they have golden chains around them now…what is happening?

Part.2 https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1cfm0im/deathworld_commando_reborn_vol7_ch206_in_ou

This is a long story so I'll try to keep to the facts, but it's a lot.
I (37F) have a childhood friend I'll call Alex (35M) that I love like a brother. We would be in and out of contact for years at a time but it was always the same when we were together. Alex has always been troubled and has carried some heavy traumas which I didn't learn about until we were in our late teens - but I always made an effort to be there for him whenever he needed me.
Our most recent connection after years apart, Alex was suffering deeply, drinking the "spicy juice", and his mental health was spiralling. We spent a few weekends sharing how our lives had been over recent years and drinking together. I listened about his (not-so) recent heartbreak, and again about his childhood trauma (he had forgotten I already knew), offered what support I could and did all the things I knew were comforts to him.
One day Alex called me saying he had been evicted and asked if he could come to stay with me. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my child (7f) but I told him if he didn't mind sharing with me, then we could make it work until he was back on his feet. He lived with me for a few months, and I made arrangements with my friend Sarah, who was planning to move out of town on a trial basis, that when she moved Alex would take the apartment and act as a sitter of sorts. I felt it would give Sarah a chance to come back to town if things went wrong, while giving Alex a chance to get on his feet and testing out having his own space and independence again.
While Alex was staying with me, my child would spend weekends and some random week nights with family and friends so her contact with him was minimal. I love and trust Alex but I knew he wasn't himself and wanted to protect her from his mental state as much as possible. As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression myself I know how it can be when I'm not on medication and I didn't want my daughter to be exposed to anything that could result in traumas of her own. When Alex was working in the evening, she would be home and in bed before he arrived back and any limited contact they had was always fully supervised. This was the first sign for me that Alex needed more help than I could give him. The fact that I knew he needed to be kept from my daughter as much as possible is an obvious red flag.
Over those weeks with me there were triggers that made Alex worse. He kept encountering the person who broke his heart and he was a mixture of devastation and rage. He began going to their old home together and passing by, stalking his ex and trying to figure out how their life was even though they had been separated for almost 2 years by this time. He ended up speaking to his ex a few times, and would come home to me bragging about these encounters and how he'd come across, then he'd switch and start talking about how wonderful his ex was and their life together could have been, then go to rage about how he'd been betrayed and he would never forgive them and could never believe in love. This went on pretty much every day and he would indulge in dangerous behaviours including driving after vast quantities of "spicy juice"
When Alex moved into Sarah's apartment I was a little less in the loop, but only marginally. He would call me every day, come visit me almost every day, text me throughout the day. Sometimes it would just be about how he was getting on, how work was making him angry, or to show me things he was proud of like progress cleaning or his physical appearance. I praised every progress, telling Alex how well he did on his own and told him I was proud of him. I encouraged him to keep working hard and not let work his job difficulties outweigh the things he liked about it. When he called me or visited me in his worst moments I would comfort him and talk it through with him, holding him and letting him stay over often so he wasn't alone.
However, things deteriorated fast and he found out his ex had moved on. Over the next few weeks Alex broke into his old home with his ex, continued the stalking with plans to "scare" them out of town, and was barely sleeping. Eventually his dark thoughts turned to causing physical harm and even deleting people and he admitted he was struggling to tell the difference between being asleep or awake. I decided to discuss this with my mother and told her that it was at a stage where I didn't feel he was safe anymore. She told his parents and it was agreed that I should try to reach out and see if we could get him some mental help.
I admit I knew this would not go well as Alex behaved aggressively and spoke disgustingly when I had previously suggested any kind of therapy. I also admit that I was no longer mentally or physically capable of taking care of him and keep him from harming himself or others, and so I made a call to ask advice on who I should contact to get him help.
During this call the operator asked me for reasons that I thought he needed help, so I explained some of the behaviours he was displaying and things he'd say that had me concerned. At this point the operator told me they would be contacting the police as they have a duty of care and they felt that Alex was too much of a concern to leave unchecked. I asked if they had any ideas who I could call to get help for him and they told me it would most likely be handled by police, so I thanked them and ended the call. At this point I called him and told him he needed to get himself straight because the police were going to be looking for him. Of course, he was furious and soon cut me off. I warned his parents of the same thing, then had to attend to my daughter as she had finished school. I got a phone call soon after from police asking if Alex was with me and if I would give them his number but I panicked and hung up. I took my daughter to my mothers and turned my phone off - and there my own mental health finally crumbled.
Police caught up with Alex and he was arrested and his parents were contacted. They said they'd take responsibility for him and moved him out of town to live with them. Right after he moved he lost his license and his job, due to a DUI that took place a couple of weeks before all this happened.
In the months that have followed I have had strings of texts from Alex saying he can never trust me again as I reported him. He told me he is hurt that I would believe he was capable of hurting anyone and that he was now alone in the world. He said his mental health has not improved, that he still feels the same, and yet he hasn't acted on it. He told me that he would still, even now, protect my daughter and myself with his life if it came to it, but he could never forgive me for my betrayal.
I don't feel I did the wrong thing, as I could no longer be responsible for his mental health and holding him accountable for his bad choices. I was struggling myself and I was close to drowning in it. I have told him I won't apologise for what happened as I don't regret the choice I made. So am I the A-hole for reporting my childhood friend and letting it get passed on to the police?
P.S. Sorry it's so long, that's as condensed as I'm capable of. If there's errors, I apologise - I'm tired. I'll answer any questions if necessary. Obviously names have been changed for anonymity. We live in the UK.

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• Big Hero 6, 4k MA (ports to MA in 4k) $4.50
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4.50
• Captain America: Civil War, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4
• The Good Dinosaur, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4
• Plane (2023), 4k iTunes or 4k vudu $4.50
• Ralph Breaks the Internet, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4
• Shrek, 4k MA (ports to MA in 4k) (Comes with 500 Universal Rewards Points) $5
• Toy Story 4, 4k iTunes (ports to MA in 4k) $4
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 4k vudu $4

$14.00 5 Film Master of Comedy Collection (1 Code, Redeemable via Movies Anywhere)

• Analyze This, HD
• Analyze That, HD
• Caddyshack, HD
• Club Paradise, HD
• National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), 4k

$14.00 8 Film High On Your Watch List Collection (1 Code for all 8 Movies, Redeemable via Movies Anywhere)

• Due Date, HD
• Friday, HD
• ⁠Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, HD
• House Party, HD
• ⁠Inherent Vice, HD
• ⁠Project X, HD
• ⁠Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, HD
• ⁠We're the Millers, HD

$3.00 to $5.00 Disney/Marvel/Star Wars HD MA, vudu, or iTunes Movie Codes (All Port to Movies Anywhere)

• Atlantis: The Lost Empire, HD MA (ports to MA) $5
• Atlantis: Milo's Return, HD MA (ports to MA) $5
• Brother Bear, HD MA (ports to MA) $5
• Brother Bear 2, HD MA (ports to MA) $5
• The Fox and the Hound 2, HD MA (ports to MA) $4.50
• The Little Mermaid (1989), HD MA (ports to MA) $4
• The Lone Ranger, HD iTunes (ports to MA) $4
• Mary Poppins (1964), HD iTunes (ports to MA) $4
• Mulan (1998), HD MA (ports to MA) $4.50
• Oz the Great and Powerful, HD MA (ports to MA) $3.50
• The Pirate Fairy, HD iTunes (ports to MA) $4
• Queen of Katwe, HD MA (ports to MA) $3.50
• Sleeping Beauty (1959), HD iTunes (ports to MA) $4.50
• Turning Red, HD MA (ports to MA) $3.50

$1.50 to $4.00 Disney/Marvel/Star Wars HD Google Play Movie Codes (All Port to Movies Anywhere, Except for Tomorrowland)

• Aladdin (animated), HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Aladdin (2019), HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Avengers: Infinity War, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Avengers: Endgame, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Beauty and the Beast (2017), HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Big Hero 6, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Black Panther, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• The Call of the Wild, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Captain America: The First Avenger, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Captain America: Civil War, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Celebrating Mickey, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Cinderella (2015), HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Coco, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Disneynature Born in China, HD gp (ports to MA) $4
• Doctor Strange, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.25
• Finding Dory, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Frozen, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Frozen (Sing-Along Edition), HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• The Good Dinosaur, HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Guardians of the Galaxy, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.50
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.50
• Incredibles 2, HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Inside Out, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.50
• The Lion King (2019), HD gp (ports to MA) $2.50
• Little Mermaid (animated), HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Maleficent, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Mary Poppins (1964), HD gp (ports to MA) $3
• Moana, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Monsters University, HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Raya and the Last Dragon, HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Robin Hood (animated), HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Thor: The Dark World, HD gp (ports to MA) $3.50
• Thor: Ragnarok, HD gp (ports to MA) $2.50
• Tomorrowland, HD gp (DOES NOT PORT to MA) $1.50
• Toy Story 4, HD gp (ports to MA) $2
• Zootopia, HD gp (ports to MA) $2

$3.00 March Universal Rewards Code

Good for one of the following movies, redeemable via Movies Anywhere.

• Doom (Theatrical), 4k $3
• Doom (Unrated), 4k $3
• Fast Five (Theatrical), 4k $3
• Fast Five (Extended Version), 4k $3
• Lone Survivor, 4k $3
• R.I.P.D., 4k $3
• Straight Outta Compton, 4k $3
• Straight Outta Compton (Unrated Director's Cut), 4k $3
• Baby Mama, HD $3
• The Best Man Holiday, HD $3
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Theatrical), HD $3
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Unrated), HD $3
• Liar Liar, HD $3
• The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, HD $3
• Tower Heist, HD $3
• The Wiz, HD $3

$2.00 to $3.00 HD MA, vudu, or iTunes Movie Codes

• Assassination Nation, HD MA (ports to MA) $3
• The Bourne Legacy, HD MA (ports to MA) $2
• Boyhood, HD vudu $2
• Boyhood, HD iTunes $2
• Chicago (Diamond Edition), HD iTunes or HD vudu $2
• Danny Collins, HD iTunes (ports to MA) (Comes with 500 Universal Rewards Points) $2
• Fences, HD vudu $2
• The Guilt Trip, HD iTunes $3
• The Gunman, HD iTunes (ports to MA) (Comes with 500 Universal Rewards Points) $3
• Home Again, HD MA (ports to MA) $3
• I Feel Pretty, HD iTunes $3
• Ice Age, HD MA (ports to MA) $3
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, HD MA (ports to MA) $3
• Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, HD MA (ports to MA) $3
• La La Land, HD vudu $3
• Megan Leavey, HD iTunes (ports to MA) (Comes with 500 Universal Rewards Points) $2
• Norm of the North, HD vudu $2
• The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, HD iTunes (ports to MA) (Comes with 500 Universal Rewards Points) $2
• Paranormal Activity 3, HD vudu $2
• Paranormal Activity 4, HD iTunes $2
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, HD iTunes $2
• Philomena, HD vudu $2
• The Purge, HD MA (ports to MA) $2
• Rear Window, HD MA (ports to MA) $2
• Same Kind of Different As Me, HD iTunes $2
• Selma, HD vudu $2
• Selma, HD iTunes $2
• Sinister, HD iTunes $2

$0.75 to $1.25 HD MA, vudu, or iTunes Movie Codes (Total must be at least $1)

• The Expendables 2, HD vudu $0.75
• Florence Foster Jenkins, HD iTunes $0.75
• Indivisible, HD MA (Canada only) $0.75
• Paranormal Activity 3, HD iTunes $1.25
• Star Trek Into Darkness, HD vudu $1.25
• Transformers: Age of Extinction, HD vudu $0.75
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, HD vudu $0.75
• Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, HD vudu $1.25
• Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, HD iTunes $1.25

$0.50 SD Movie Codes (Total must be at least $1)

• American Hustle, SD MA (ports to MA)
• The Big Wedding, SD iTunes $0.50
• Fury, SD MA (ports to MA) $0.50
• Hugo, SD vudu $0.50
• Star Trek Into Darkness, SD vudu $0.50

Venmo and CashApp Accepted

You sit shoulder to shoulder in the auditorium. Your scratchy black suit rubs against two arms wrapped in finer material. You shift in your seat, moving uncomfortably in the plush chair beneath you. Your leg is shaking; you are anxious for the show to begin. The massive room rumbles with murmurs of conversation—inquisitions about how the show will be, complaints of hunger, protests of too-tight clothing, and ties choking necks. You are silent.
September 6, 1981
Louise trudged up the dusty gravel path towards her home, a rotted trailer perched atop a steep hill. The bus driver never ventured up the path, leaving Louise to trek the quarter mile herself. She stopped momentarily and watched as the yellow bus sped away; the shadow of a lone hand waved her goodbye. She waved back, too late for anyone to see it, “Bye, Miles.”
Her house stank of cigarette smoke. The soft shag carpet collected to odor, spitting it out with every step. The windows and walls were yellowed with nicotine. The trailer was quiet; the constant droning of the radiator was the only thing to be heard. Louise set her backpack down and walked into the kitchen to make herself dinner. Her mother wouldn’t be home for several hours, and school lunch was never enough.
After Louise ate a measly bowl of microwaved leftover Kraft, she sat down to do her homework. She pulled out the math sheet they had gotten that day. Numbers shifted and combined; they peeled off the page and swam around her. Louise needed help. She dialed a number she knew by heart. The line rang.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered, her voice slightly distorted through the phone.
“Hi, Mrs. Wilson,” Louise said in a timid voice.
“Hi, Louise,” Mrs. Wilson’s voice softened, “I’ll get him for you.”
Louise heard her muffled yell, “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Hey Louise! What’s up?” a boy's voice asked.
“Hi, Miles. Have you done your math homework?”
“I’m doing it right now.”
Louise stretched the cord to where she sat at the table, “Great.”
The lights dim, and silence washes over the crowd. The curtains part. Fifty people in tuxedos sit on stage, various instruments in hand. The conductor stands tall. He introduces the orchestra, lifts his gloved hands, and the music begins.
March 9, 1983
“You’re still coming, right?” Miles questioned nervously.
“Yes, Miles, I’m still coming,” Louise rolled her eyes before smiling at him.
Miles relaxed a little bit, “Okay, good.”
Miles had mousy brown hair that was cut short. His dad had served in the military, so he thought this boy should have a ‘man’s haircut.’ He was tan even in the wintertime. He had bright hazel eyes that glowed electric green in the sunlight. Louise was about an inch taller than Miles, a fact she was immensely proud of.
The pair walked down the school hallway. It was Friday. Wonderful, glorious Friday. Louise rejoiced in the days that she didn’t have to come into school and pretend she liked people— pretend she liked anything, really. She hated the teachers, her peers, the hospital grey of the walls. She liked Miles. He ignored the cigarette stink of her clothes and the rudeness of her tone.
Today was Miles’ birthday. He’ll be ten. Miles had invited everyone to the party; there would be a bounce house. He’s ‘going all out for the big one o’ as he kept telling Louise. She was nervous about the party; her gift was okay at best, and she dreaded the disappointed but polite smile she knew Miles would pull.
“My mom will be here right after school to pick us up. You know what my mom’s car looks like, right?” Miles asked.
“Yeah, I remember.”
Lousie walked out to Mrs. Wilson’s car, a sleek, silver Porsche; Louise felt like a celebrity when she rode in it—rich and important.
“Hi, Louise,” Mrs. Wilson smiled, “How was school?”
“Hi, Mrs. Wilson. It was good.”
Louise settled into the plush leather seats and set her backpack in front of her. They sat in silence for a moment, the soft drum of the radio filling the air. Miles ripped open the door, excitement lighting up his face. He sat down, his position mirroring Louise’s.
“Hey, buddy. How was your day?” Mrs. Wilson asked.
“It was great, Mom,” he smiled.
She smiled back warmly, “Well, that’s good.”
Mrs. Wilson pulled out of the parking lot, Louise and Miles chatted idly about school and the party. After a short while, they pulled up to Miles’ house—a two-story white house with columns in front. Louise loved it. Sometimes, during sleepovers, late at night, she pretended it was hers. She quietly walked down hallways, running her fingertips across the smooth wallpaper. She felt the soft carpet on her bare toes and imagined it knew the shape and weight of her foot. She opened the fridge and pretended not to be surprised at the selection of food that awaited her. Then, she would return to Miles’ room and lie down next to him in the sleeping bag he lent her, stare up at the tiny glowing stars stuck on his ceiling, and pretend it was her and her mom that put them up— that it was her mom that held the step stool for her so she wouldn't fall.
Louise and Miles hopped out of the car, ran up to his room, and plopped their bags down. They still had a few hours before their other classmates would arrive. They sat on the ground and leaned against the bed. Louise pulled out Miles’ gift from her bag and handed the small gift bag to him, “Happy Birthday.”
“It’s not time for the party,” Miles said, confusion evident in his voice.
Louise shrugged, “I wanted to give it to you now.”
Miles smiled at her before gently taking the tissue paper out of the bag and reaching in. He pulled out a light blue paper swan. Lousie had spent hours getting the folds just right so the paper was sharp instead of rumpled. It was beautiful.
“Louise,” Miles started, his face curved into a slight frown, like he was about to cry, “Thank you.”
“Do you really like it?” Louise asked nervously; she fidgeted with her fingernails.
Miles set the swan down gently and dove towards her, wrapping her in a hug, “I love it.”
The party was a hit. Louise nearly made herself sick from the combination of an ungodly amount of candy and jumping in the bounce house. Almost everyone from their class was there, shoving presents in Miles’ hands before running to the snacks and entertainment. Night fell, and Louise climbed in the Porsche again, though it was just her and Mrs. Wilson this time.
“Did you have a good time, Louise?” she asked, making eye contact through the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, it was awesome. Thank you for having me,” Louise responded, polite as ever.
“Oh, you are always welcome, sweetie,” Mrs. Wilson smiled.
Louise looked out the window for the rest of the drive, the stars blurring against the black night sky. They pulled up to Louise’s house; her driveway was empty.
“Are you sure you are okay until your mom gets here?” Mrs. Wilson asked.
Louise smiled fakely, “Yeah I’ll be alright. She should be home soon.”
“Okay, sweetheart.”
Louise climbed out of the car and walked to her door. She looked back before stepping inside—Mrs. Wilson’s face was a mirage of pity and sympathy. Louise waved and stepped inside, choking down guilt as she did.
The sweet sound of a violin fills your ears—a lone instrument bellowing a quiet tune. It starts slow—soft, like a warm hand caressing your face, a mother wiping away your tears.
You forget yourself for a moment; you are back in your childhood home, where your bed is indented with your shape. You smell your favorite meal being cooked downstairs. You hear your mother humming her favorite song from the kitchen. Your father isn’t home yet. You are excited to see him.
You wish it were real.
It is not.
June 11, 1984
Louise was having a terrible day. Her mother was off work and slumming around the house— she was like a ghost in her own home, and she had nothing to do. They didn’t have cable this month, so Louise’s options were to sit in her bed and do nothing or visit Miles. She chose the latter. Louise bid her mom a short goodbye, telling her where she was going and not much else, and peddled off on her bike. She was drenched by the time she arrived at Miles’ house. So she ditched her bike in the grass and ran to ring the doorbell. Mrs. Wilson answered.
“Oh. Hello, Louise,” she smiled.
Mrs. Wilson was a nice woman, and Louise absolutely loved her. She was as thin as a twig but had a motherly warmth about her that Louise itched for. Miles was the spitting image of her, matching her tanned skin and bright eyes.
“I’m afraid Miles isn’t here,” she continued.
“Oh,” Louise said, disappointment swirling around her tongue.
“I’m sorry, hun,” Mrs. Wilson gave her a sympathetic look, “He’s out with his dad fishing for the day.”
“That’s okay,” Louise lied and started to walk back to where she abandoned her bike.
“Wait a second, sweetheart,” she called, “Do you want some lemonade? I’d hate to just send you home after you rode all this way.”
“Sure, Mrs. Wilson. Thank you.”
Louise followed her into the kitchen and sat down at one of the barstools to wait. It wasn’t long before she had a nice tall glass of lemonade in front of her and a bag of chips in her hand.
“You can go watch TV if you want,” Mrs. Wilson smiled at her, “I’ll be out in the garden if you ever need anything.”
“Okay, thank you,” Louise said.
She wandered into the living room, and the plush carpet under her feet felt amazing. She flicked on the television and turned it to her favorite cartoon station. She did feel strange behaving like she lived there, especially when the house was empty, but her desire to relax in the air conditioning trumped the feeling. She mindlessly watched Jerry outsmart Tom in the comfort of a home that wasn’t her’s.
Louise finished her snack but didn’t feel like returning home; she knew her mother would be there, heating the house with cigarettes and sex. Mary had moved on from Steve quickly. So, she laid down and continued watching television. At some point, she fell asleep. Louise woke up to the soft voices of Miles’ parents talking in the kitchen. Someone had turned the TV off and taken her dishes. She could hear the shower running upstairs. Louise had no idea what time it was; the sun was now visible in the living room windows, the sky was orange. She was about to get up and ask Mrs. Wilson when she heard her name. Miles’ parents were talking about her. She got up as quietly as she could and snuck closer to the swinging kitchen door.
“Is there something we can do?” Mrs. Wilson asked her husband in a concerned tone.
“I don’t think so, Jenny,” Mr. Wilson responded, “She just has a hard life, that’s all.”
“I feel like we should do more for her.”
Mr. Wilson sighed, “We can only help her when she’s here. You know what Mary thinks about handouts.”
“Oh, poor Mary,” Mrs. Wilson said, her tone sympathetic, “I should call her and tell her Louise is gonna stay the night.”
Louise heard footsteps sound in her direction. She ran as softly as she could back to her position on the couch, feigning sleep. Mrs. Wilson swung open the door and picked up the phone that hung on the wall next to it. Louise heard the click-clack of buttons being pressed, the muffled ringing, and then her mother’s voice on the other line.
“Hey, Mary,” Mrs. Wilson said, “Is it alright if Louise stays here tonight? She passed out on the couch and I don’t think it’d be smart to have her ride home now.”
Lousie couldn’t hear her mother's exact words, but she must have said it was fine because the next thing Louise knew, she was being picked up and carried up the stairs. Mrs. Wilson set her down in a room she was unfamiliar with. She figured it was the guest room. Mrs. Wilson kissed Louise gently on her forehead and told her goodnight in a whispered tone. Louise missed her mother.
The room was bird-themed. The walls were painted a dark navy, and a thin metal peacock stared at her from where it hung. A copy of the NATO phonetic alphabet was hanging, too. It must have been Miles’ old room. Louise remembered when he came to school in second grade and told her he was moving into the attic. There was an opening to the roof up there, and Miles was in love with the idea of sitting up there and watching the sun set and rise.
Miles was in love with a lot when he was little— the sun and sky, the warmth of his mother’s hugs, iced tea on a hot day. Louise didn’t think she was in love with anything. She didn’t think she ever would be. Louise was almost asleep, the plush, silky sheets lulling her into another bout of slumber. Her door squeaked open. Miles’ small frame was a shadow in the doorway. He looked so small. He didn’t walk into the room, choosing to loom in the entrance.
“Goodnight, Louise,” he said in a small voice.
“Goodnight, Miles.”
When you were little, you thought everything was perfect. The world was alive with hope and magic. Everyone got along, and there was nothing wrong.
Of course, now you know that is not true. But a part of you, a little tiny part, wants to go back to when you didn’t know. When life was good, and you didn’t know better.
That’s how the music sounds. Like you are an innocent kid sitting on the front porch eating a red cherry popsicle. The juice runs down your face. It looks like blood.
July 15, 1984
Louise was once again sitting in the back seat of the Wilsons’ Porsche, but this time, she was without a backpack-- sans her school clothes. She wore the itchy Easter dress her grandmother had gotten her two years prior. Louise wore it to her funeral. She stuck out like a sore thumb, a pastel beacon amongst the waves of black. It was Sunday—the Lord’s Day, as Mrs. Wilson had told her. Louise hadn’t been inside a church for a good reason—she’d never been to a regular Sunday mass. But last night, she had stayed the night at Miles’, so she was on her way to church. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
They pulled into the parking lot, the ancient steeple looming over the car. Louise could recognize that it was a beautiful church, but the body of Christ hanging in the stained glass window did nothing to settle her nervous stomach. The pop of car doors sounded; there was no going back.
The wooden pew was uncomfortable, the kneelers even more so. She listened to Miles’ soft whispers of direction and did as he said. She fell and rose when she should; she crossed her arms instead of taking communion, she shook hands with strangers, and mumbled, ‘Peace be with you.’ And then it was over, and Louise was waking back to the car, her white flats cutting into her feet.
“What did you think, Louise?” Mrs. Wilson asked in a kind voice.
She shrugged her shoulders, “It was okay. I didn’t really know what to do.”
“You’ll learn,” Mrs. Wilson responded, a promise on the tip of her tongue.
Louise was silent on the ride back; she leaned against the window and watched as trees blurred together in a mirage of green. Louise didn’t know what it was like to believe in God. She thought she felt it there for a moment-- a quiet tingling in the back of her mind. But then she remembered that she wasn’t with her family; the Wilsons were not her parents. She remembered her mom was working a double today so they could have electricity. And what God would think that was fair? Not one Louise wanted to believe in.
The music sounds like the church hymns your mother made you sing. She meant well; she thought she was giving you the gift of her religion. You couldn’t tell her you didn’t want it. It was all she had ever known.
What child betrays their mother?
May 21, 1985
It was the summer after sixth grade. Lousie and Miles had biked to the pool in town, a desperate attempt to escape the heat. The air was thick and humid, and sweat sprouted from Louise's skin, dampening her shirt and shorts. The sun beamed down on her back; there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The pair parked their bikes out front and ran into the small building. A bored-looking teenager accepted their fifty cents each and let them in. The air reeked of chlorine, and the painted concrete was slick with warm water. Miles and Louise threw their towels down and began to shed their swimsuits. Louise’s hands were shaking with anticipation; she hadn't been to the pool in so long.
“Race you,” Miles said, darting towards the water's edge.
“No fair,” Louise groaned as she kicked off her flip-flops and ran after him.
Louise heard a distant whistle ringing and a call that running wasn’t allowed before she splashed into the blue depths. The cool water encapsulated her, and goosebumps formed on her skin. She bobbed to the surface and saw Miles climbing out and heading towards the diving board.
They stayed until the sun was beginning to set; Miles’ mom didn’t like him being out that late on his own yet, so they peddled back home soggy clothes and pruny skin.
When Louise returned to her house, it was dark. She could see the kitchen light shining out onto the brown lawn. Steve was home. Louise’s mom, Mary, had picked him up a few months back. He was a short, fat man. His breath always smelled like beer, yeasty and vile. He had dark hair and a beard to match. Her mother claimed she really liked him, but Louise knew she just needed someone to help pay the bills.
One of the few good things about having kids as young as Louise’s mom had her is that she never had a hard time finding a sleazy older guy to keep around. Being pretty also helped, and Mary sure was pretty. Mary was tall and slender, with long, curly auburn hair. She was covered in freckles and had eyes that glowed emerald green. When Louise was young, Mary would smile often, but as her eyebags grew, her smile faded. She could fake it when needed, but it was never like Louise remembered.
Mary and Louise could have been twins— minus the smile lines she didn’t think she’d ever have the chance to earn. Maybe that was why, when Louise walked into her kitchen in nothing more than a bathing suit, Steve forced himself on her.
You clutch the armrest on your chair, digging your nails into the fabric. The music is screeching, a distorted version of what it once was. You want to cry. You think your ears are bleeding. You bite the inside of your cheek, hoping to distract yourself from the perverted disgust mess of noise assaulting you. Your mouth tastes like metal. The urge to stand and walk, no, run, out of the theater is so strong you can hardly bear it.
You do not get up.
May 22, 1985
Miles called and asked if she wanted to go swimming again. Louise didn’t have the heart to tell him she never wanted to go swimming again, so she lied and said she was sick. Miles was at her door an hour later with a container of homemade cookies and Guess Who.
The two sit on the floor of Louise’s bedroom, the soft blanket she put down covering the scratchy carpet. Louise’s room was small and dingy. The walls were cracked and stained; she lived out of one small bureau that had been unceremoniously shoved into a corner of the room. Last Christmas, she begged her mother to help her hang lights on the ceiling. They were still up, casting a rainbow glow over the room. It was the only source of light she used. She had a small nightstand piled with pencils and markers; she had long since stained her light pink sheets while drawing. Cookie crumbles littered the floor. Louise was losing the game; most of her people were still up, while Miles only had about five people left to choose from. He chewed his lip in concentration. Louise usually laughed at him for it; he always seemed to take the board games they played too seriously. This time, she didn’t notice he was doing it.
“Does your person have brown hair?” Miles questioned.
Louise didn’t respond. “Louise? Are you alrigh—”
“Do your parents ever touch you?” Louise said, eyes trained on the floor.
Miles’ face scrunched up in confusion, “You mean like hugs?”
“No.”
“What do you mean then?” Miles questioned.
Louise’s eyes fogged up with tears, “Never mind. Let’s just play the game.”
Miles eyed her with sympathetic confusion before realizing what she meant, “Louise…”
He moved to hug her, but she flinched away from him. Miles sat back; he wasn’t touching her but was close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off of him. Louise sniffled, trying desperately to contain her emotion.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” Miles whispered.
Louise turned to look at him, her face pale and puffy, “Please don’t.”
Louise and Miles sat like that for a long time. When the sun set, he got up and called his mom, begging her to let him stay the night. Louise didn’t hear the conversation, but Mrs. Wilson must have agreed because the next thing she knew, she was being guided to bed, and Miles was settled on the floor next to her, leaning against the bed and holding her hand.
The music turned sweet. It drifted through your ears pleasantly, passing over the cracked, dry blood. A chorus of flutes is playing, light and soft.
It feels like the pillow in your dorm room, childhood mixed with freedom.
You know this feeling won’t last. But right now, in this moment, you lay your head down and pretend the world is new.
May 17, 1986
Miles and Louise had biked miles to the movie theater. Miles had begged Louise to see the new movie coming out, one that Louise was less than excited about. He had been to the movies some months before with his mom and had seen the trailer. The next day, he begged her to see it with him when it came out, and she agreed, not knowing anything about it.
Miles was practically giddy with excitement. His eyes glowed with it. The theater was packed; they stood in the line shoulder to shoulder with what must have been every other kid in town. Louise clung to the red crushed velvet rope that segmented the line for dear life. The feeling of so many people pressed up against her was nauseating. She screwed her eyes shut, pushing down a wave of oncoming dizziness. Before she knew it she was being pulled along to the ticket stand. Miles produced them with a broad smile on his face, “Two for Top Gun.”
He then bought a giant thing of buttery popcorn and two glass Cokes. They made their way to their seats and waited for the movie to begin. Miles shoved popcorn in his mouth, salty yellow kernels going everywhere. Trailers for various movies played on the big screen— Miles leaned over nearly every time and asked Louise if she would go with him. She said yes every time.
The movie was beautiful. It was nothing like Louise had ever seen before; it made her yearn for the sky, the feeling of freedom unlike anything she would ever know. And then it was tragic, and she was crying in her seat, wailing over someone she didn’t know. Begging him to wake up.
They left in silence, walking to the bike rack to a chorus of shoes against pavement. They stalled for a moment before getting onto their bikes and parting their ways.
“What would you do if I died?” Miles said, his eyes trained on Louise’s.
“I don’t know,” her eyes were red and puffy, “I don’t think I could go on.”
“Me neither,” Miles agreed.
Miles stared at her for a beat before getting on his bike and peddling home. Louise imagined her life without Miles on the way home. Sharp metal against skin, blood seeping into water. She didn’t think it would be much of a life.
When you were in 6th grade, you played the clarinet. You always had a fondness for them.
They were the only ones playing, the dulcet tones of a wooden reed against black plastic. The song was picking up pace, like a heartbeat.
In 6th grade band, you sat next to a girl you liked. She was better at the instrument than you. You didn’t care. You remember taking her to the winter formal and carrying her shoes when her feet got sore. You remember your dad giving you the talk before you went.
You haven’t seen her in years. You wonder how she’s doing.
The clarinets are done with their solo. You forget about her again.
August 21, 1987
This year, Louise’s birthday fell on the first day of school. She dressed nicer than usual, an attempt at vanity that made her hate herself. Miles had given her a music box that played You Are My Sunshine. Louise had told him that she missed it when her mom sang it to her before bed. She cried in the bathroom.
At lunch, she stood in line with a group of girls in her PE class. Miles was a few feet ahead of her, and the kids in her school took cutting in line more seriously than she thought was necessary, so she stayed put. She stood silently while the girls talked about a teacher they didn’t like, choosing instead to eavesdrop on the conversations around her rather than contribute to the one she was in.
Brian Miller’s voice sounded broken and raspy, like a kid with money for cigarettes and not much else. He was a stereotypical bully, big and tall, with an ugly look plastered everywhere he went. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone not being in pain. He was talking to Miles, his voice loud enough for Louise to hear from where she was: “Why do you hang out with that poor girl all the time? Does she give it up easily?”
His lips were curled in a cruel sneer, showing off his yellow teeth. Miles looked at him, barely visible to Louise over the people between them. Then, suddenly, he wound up and punched Brian square in the face. Louise heard the crunch of his nose being broken— blood spurted on the floor and onto the onlooking students. Brian grunted in pain, bringing his hand to touch his bloodied face slowly before launching into a vicious returning attack. He only got a few punches on Miles before the nearest teacher pulled him away. Louise pushed through the crowd that had formed, leaning down at Miles’ side. His face was nearly unrecognizable; bruises were starting to form already.
“Why did you do that? Oh my god, Miles, why did you do that?” Louise choked out, tears fogging her vision.
“I love you,” Miles tried to smile, blood staining his teeth.
A teacher pushed Louise out of the way, assessing the damage. What felt like seconds later, an ambulance appeared, along with Mrs. Wilson. She was frantic; her hands were shaking with fear. Everything was silent. At some point, everyone had cleared out except Louise. She was standing here like an idiot, staring at Miles’ bloodied face.
Louise felt a strong hand grab her arm, a mother’s hand, “Come on, Louise. You can ride along.” Mrs. Wilson stood in front of Louise. Her eyes were red, but she had composed herself. Louise’s voice came out as nothing more than a whisper: “Okay.”
She let herself be pulled into the ambulance; the siren was the only thing she could hear. She watched as the EMTs worked, their skilled, gloved hands dancing over his body.
“Louise, he’s gonna be okay,” Mrs. Wilson whispered in her ear, “Come here.”
She pulled Louise into a hug, hiding her view of Miles. Louise closed her eyes against Mrs. Wilson, willing her breath to slow. They stopped abruptly at the hospital. Louise and Mrs. Wilson climbed out and watched as nurses and interns swarmed Miles’ gurney. They were ushered to the waiting room and sat down on hard, terribly patterned chairs. At some point, Mrs. Wilson called Louise’s mother to tell her where she was. A doctor brought them to Miles’ room after over an hour. His face had been cleaned and bandaged, and his nose was clearly broken.
“Louise,” Miles said, his eyes lighting up.
“Miles,” Louise responded, “Are you okay?”
“I’m right as rain,” he tried to smile but winced.
“Don’t lie to me, Miles.”
“I’ll be okay,” he reassured her, reaching up to squeeze her hand.
They stood like that until Louise’s mom came to get her. Louise crawled into Mary’s beat-up Sedan and slumped in the seat.
“Are you okay, baby?” Mary asked her.
“Mom, what if he died?” Louise ignored the question.
Mary sighed, “Sweetheart he’s fine. He’s just got a concussion and a broken nose.”
“I know,” Louise said, “I know he’s fine.”
The bags under Mary’s eyes seemed heavier today, and her face seemed more wrinkled. Louise looked more like her every day.
The music takes on a somber tone. Long, drawn-out notes fill the air. You think of your mother again, the way she looked sunken in her hospital bed— decaying before your eyes. You remember the feel of her bony, pale hands wiping away your tears in her final moments.
It was the first time you saw your dad cry.
The wail of violin chokes you.
December 17, 1988
Louise was lying on her back in Miles’ bed. He’s had the same one since they were kids; the box springs creak under their weight. Miles was above her, his eyes boring holes in hers. His parents were not home, the house was eerily quiet— the ambient creaking distracting Louise. His record player sang sweet music from his desk. His room was cluttered with dirty clothes and various knick-knacks. A blue paper swan sat on his bookshelf next to his worn copy of The Hobbit. His closet was open, casting weird shadows along the walls. The lights were off.
The soft touch of Miles’ lips trailed down her chest to her stomach. She tried to push down the nausea— make her body stop squirming. Her hand clutched his shoulder tightly. He had asked if this was okay. She had said yes.
Louise felt another article of clothing being slid off her body. She was cold. Her eyes shot to the ceiling. One glowing star was still stuck on the popcorn texture. Miles had taken them off the year before. He had missed one. Louise felt the heat of salty water run down her face into the soft pillow. She hated herself.
‘Dear God,’ she thought, ‘if you can hear me please, please just let me be okay. Let me want this.’
She didn’t receive a response. God wasn’t listening. It was just her and Miles in a house too big, in a world too small.
“Louise?” Miles said, his voice laced with concern, “Hey. Are you okay?”
All she could muster was an ‘I’m sorry’ before getting up, running into the bathroom, and emptying her stomach into the toilet.
The air stunk of sour yeast.
The music bounced up and down, building up to its crescendo. Excitement filled your chest, the entire orchestra almost all playing now.
A chorus of brass filled the air—French horns and trumpets battle for dominance on stage. Your eyes are wide in anticipation; you have waited the entire night for this.
You are sixteen, and you and your friends sit around a fire, passing a bottle of Jack around. It is the Friday before school starts. You wanted one last night of summer fun before your life filled with books and assignments.
The whiskey burns a path down your throat. It makes you nauseous. You get so drunk you can’t stand up. Your vision blurs as you stumble into the surrounding woods. You are alone. You vomit more than you thought was possible. You think you are going to die. You miss your mom.
You haven't drank since.
You don’t think you ever will.
August 4, 1989
The granite bar was cool under Louise’s fingertips. She sat in Miles’ kitchen, spinning nervously on the metal bar stool. She was chewing her lip; her mouth tasted like blood. Miles sat next to her, his demeanor the exact opposite of Louise’s.
“I mean, come on, Louise. What are you gonna do with your life?” Mrs. Wilson lectured her.
“I don’t know,” Louise mumbled.
Mrs. Wilson sighed, “Miles has wanted to be a pilot since he was eight. What do you want?”
Louise took a deep breath, “I don’t know. I’m sorry I can’t be like Miles. But I’m not your fucking kid so leave me alone.”
Louise stood up and stomped up the stairs. She heard Mrs. Wilson yelling her name, but she didn’t turn around. She buried herself in Miles’ bed, wrapping herself in his soft comforter. Louis heard the stairs creak with weight and then a knock on the door.
“Louise, I’m sorry,” Miles said, walking into the room.
Louise sat up, her face dry, “Why are you sorry? You didn’t yell at me.”
“I still feel sorry,” he said as he sat down next to her.
Louise took a deep breath and leaned on his shoulder. Miles rested his head against hers, “She loves you, you know.”
“I know.”
“She just wants you to do well,” Miles said.
“She wants me to be better than my mother,” Louise corrected.
“Is that so bad?”
The music doesn’t matter right now. You are fifteen, and your father is yelling at you about your future. You don’t know what you want to do. You want to be better than him.
He backhands you.
The arm of the person next to you brushes against yours. You jump. The conductor's hands are blurry with movement. The theater is alive with sound.
You miss your dad.
February 14, 1990
Louise and Miles sat across from each other in a restaurant that was too nice for the amount of money they brought. Louise ran her fingers across the laminated menu, fidgeting nervously with the edge of the paper. The restaurant was packed, Miles had made the reservations months in advance.
“Do you know what you want?” Miles asked.
Louise pursed her lips, “I think I’m gonna get the chicken piccata.”
Miles eyed the menu, “That looks good.”
“What are you gonna get?” she returned the question.
Miles smiled, almost boyishly, “The steak.”
Louise hummed in response. She set her menu down and reached for her water glass, running her finger across the rim. Condensation dripped down outside the glass, her fingerprints marking the surface.
“Are you excited about prom?” Miles asked.
Louise laughed a little, “Do we really have nothing else to talk about other than a dance in two months?”
Miles rolled his eyes playfully, “I guess not. What did we talk about when we were kids?”
“I have honestly no idea,” Louise smiled, “I don’t think we talked a lot. We mostly played.”
“We did play an ungodly amount of Donkey Kong.”
Louise chuckled, “God, was that game even good? Or were we just kids?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Miles smiled.
The waiter came by and took their order, collecting their menus and refreshing their drinks. It wasn’t long before their food arrived; the plates were decedent and beautiful. They left the restaurant with doggy bags in hand and significantly poorer than when they walked in. Louise clambered into Miles’ truck and waited for Miles to start it. But he didn’t. He was staring at her instead.
“What?” she asked incredulously.
He smiled at her, “I have something for you.”
Her face fell in surprise, “Miles, you told me the dinner was a gift.”
“Well,” Miles shrugged. He reached into his pocket and produced a small velvet box. She took it gingerly into her hands, excitement boiling in her chest. She opened the box softly and found two silver rings. One was engraved with ‘Miles,’ and the other said ‘Louise.’ Miles picked up the one that said his name and handed it to her.
“This one is for you,” he looked at her with huge puppy-dog eyes, “And the other one is for me.”
“Miles…”
“Do you like it?” he asked nervously.
She melted, “I love it. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said, leaning in and kissing her sweetly.
“Are your parents home?” she asked against his lips.
“No, they won’t be home in hours.”
This time was different than the first. No bile rose up into Louise’s throat; she didn’t have to repress her squirming body. The air smelled like clean linen— fresh and new.
You are crying, and you don’t know why. The music sounds more like singing now, wrapping you in lyrics and hugs. You feel warm and fuzzy. Like you are a little kid who just got home after swimming all day. You are tired in the perfect way. You sink into your blankets and fall asleep.
A humming noise wakes you up. You are in the theater. There is music playing. You aren’t a kid anymore.
You had a drink at dinner before the concert.
You swallowed it with ease.
March 20, 1990
The hum of the radio filled the sweet night air. Louise and Miles lounged in the bed of his beat-up pickup. It was his father's old farm truck, a janky, rusty thing that only ran when it felt like it, but Miles loved it. It was his pride and joy. Any weekend he wasn’t with Louise, he was fixing it up; he would spend hours under the body of that thing, coming into the house reeking of oil and exhaust. Mrs. Wilson hated it; she feared for the safety of her nice beige carpet and the cleanliness of his jeans.
It was freshly spring; it was dry and warm for the first time this year. They were laying on his mother’s old picnic blanket, something she probably wouldn’t care for if she knew. It was pitch black, the only thing that illuminated them were the stars and the faint light of Louise’s kitchen light. They had returned from cruising around town, and neither wanted to go inside yet. They had been lulled into a comfortable silence, their hands knotted together perfectly. And then, suddenly, Louise had a question.
“Do you hate me?”
“Louise…” Miles sighed.
Nervousness leaked into her tone, “I was just making sure.”
“That I don’t hate you? Even though we’re dating?” Miles scoffed, “Why would I be with you if I hated you? What would I gain from that?”
“What if you were using me?” Louise said, her voice small.
“Oh my god,” Miles sat up and put his head in his hands, “‘What if’ Louise, when have I ever, in our entire lives, used you?”
“I don—” she started.
“If you are basing your fear of our relationship on ‘what ifs,’ maybe we shouldn’t be together. You are so absorbed in your past that it's like you aren’t even seeing me, not now, not in the present,” Miles shot at her.
“That’s not fair,” Louise said, her voice breaking with emotion.
Miles took a deep breath, “I’m sorry for what happened, and I get that healing is a hard and long process. But, Louise, I’m tired, too. ”
Hot, stinging tears rolled down Louise’s face, wetting the blanket, “I know you love me. Sometimes I’m just scared.”
“Why are you scared?” Miles whispered.
“I don’t know,” she sniffled, “I am what I am.”
“You are what you are,” Miles repeated, “And I’m tired of pretendning I can change that.”
“Then stop.”
Louise wiped the tears off her face and climbed out of the truck. Her receding footsteps echoed in Miles' head, a pounding that sounded eerily like his heartbeat— fast and hard. Miles sat there for a long while. The radio was still on, blasting The Smiths.
Trumpets blast loud, then louder. You think your eardrum might burst. Then, the music lulls to a stop. The lights do not come on. It is like the entire world has stopped to take a breath. One big inhale. You fill your lungs. The air smells like honeysuckle.
You are a child running in the yard with your dog. You are barefoot. You step on a bee. You limp into the house and cry to your mother. She puts your foot on ice.
You will never feel the grass on your bare foot again. You do not need to learn the lesson twice.

Well, me 18f and my bf 19m have been together for one year now.
In the beggining, our relationship was perfect, that until his girl bsf appeared and wanted to take over my place (this sounds so childish, but Istg it was like that). He defended her for 4 months, while she was talking shit on me to him and to all of their friends. That was until at some point I told him to choose between one of us and he chose losing all contact with her. One month later, he unblocked her and they talked for some days until I found out. Since then, they never talked again.
While that, he was also maintaining contact with his ex. It was anything much really, but I felt extremely uncomfortable with it.
2 months after, I was watching some reels on his Phone with him when a female friend of him dm'ed him. He quickly turned the notification down and I found the behaviour weird, so I asked to see what it was. He debied a little but he ended up showing me. He had replied to basically all of her stories, telling her she was pretty. HE NEVER DID THIS TO ME. I go down on his dms, all I find is him telling Girls how majestic they are. I crushed down at that moment and he just stayed there looking at me. I ended up for giving him and telling him to never do it again because It was totally disrespectful, even tho he didnt see anything wrong with it.
Some weeks after I found out he snaps this one girl 24/7, I ask him to stop, but cant do anything because Its snapchat, I cant know what was on the conversation.
So, one month ago, 2 days before my birthday and some weeks after our 1 year aniversary, I found out he was flirting with this one girl. She has a thick body and is kinda pretty (in my opinion), me, meanwhile, am a Model for a big agency so you can imagine I Am not really the thickest girl and tbh thats a real big problem to my confidence. Anyways, he was complimenting her body, her eyes, her clothes. And the worst: she wasnt even replying. I broke up but he begged for one more chance and I gave it with the condition of having his Instagram on my Phone.
Some weeks ago, I found posts of half naked woman on his saved posts. I confronte him and he admited that it was disgusting and was sorry about it.
Right now, I just found out that his snaps is full of Girls and he had 50 days streak with multiple Girls, while he wouldnt reply to mines.
I want to add that yes, I have been toxic lately. I Am overly jealous and toxic, but I wasnt like this. I feel like he manipulates me and he made me go from a really liberal gf to a gf thats always overthinking on what he is doing. I also want to add that he went cold and dry on me for MONTHS and only came back to normal after I found out abt the Last girl he was flirting with. Before that, he would just love bomb me whenever he did something wrong.
With this, what do you guys think I should do about this situation? I really love him and I dont want to let him go, but I feel really unsure.
Tl;Dr; : basically, my bf has microcheated multiple times, love bombs me, manipulates me with sorries and always begs me to stay. He is always doing me wrong but I love him, now idk if I should break up with him.

Yup, just as the title reads, I've been reading the endless infidelity stories on these subs for years. My turn finally came. Yet somehow, I still fell for all the classic cheater lies, and made all the wrong moves. Here's my story.
I 30 M met my now ex-GF 27 F on Hinge in early August of 2022. After our third date, we decided to date exclusively. She told me that if we crossed the intimacy line, that I could no longer see other people. While I didn't like the idea at first, I decided to go ahead with it because I really liked her and wanted to see where things could go. I had no interest in other people at the time. We became official after about 6 weeks of dating.
Truthfully, the beginning was rocky. She insisted on seeing me once a week. Eventually we could progress to twice a week according to her. This also resulted in sex once a week, which I found strange for a new relationship. But I kept an open mind. People are different. We also didn't text much. Hours and hours between our messages. Slowly though, with much resistance, the communication and time together did increase, and we began a normal relationship. Meeting friends, going on adventures, and dreaming of our future together.
D-Day came on November 6th, 2022. She had stepped out to a thrift store for about an hour for a clothing exchange. I waited for her to come back at her apartment. As I was texting her, her iPad kept ringing in her bedroom. I went to silence her iPad so I could work on my laptop in peace. As I picked up the iPad, I saw my messages, amongst other notifications. Then I saw a notification from Google Voice. It read: "It's been great. Just made it to Rio. I get home Thursday. Xo" The alarms went off immediately at the "XO." I thought it was very strange. The number wasn't saved. She had never mentioned Google Voice. At the time, I didn't know what Google voice even was. I began to dread that this message could be what I thought it was. As a long time lurker on these subs, I remembered not to ever reveal what you know to catch a cheater, until you have undeniable proof. So I googled the number. It belonged to a charity with 2 owners. One lived in California (other side of the country); a bank CEO. The other was a 62 year old professor at a university 10 minutes away.
I sat on this information and kept silent. Acted totally normal when she came home. The next day, we went to go pick up her new dining table she ordered. It was a 30 minute drive. I decided to confront her just as we left for home, so that she would be forced to face me. Me: "So since we've started dating, have any other guys been hitting on you?" Her: "Not really, why?"Me: "You're so attractive. I find that hard to believe." Her: "Guys don't really talk to me that often." Me: "So you're sure that you're not talking to anyone else right now? No conversations that you wouldn't want me to know about?" "Not at all." As I looked at her, she was so calm. So sure that I had no idea what was going on. It scared me. It was the first time I saw a glimpse of who she really was, and how cold she could really be. Me: "So who the fuck is Kirk then?" Immediately, she looked at me with panic. Her faced turned white. Her voice was shaking so hard that she couldn't get her words out properly. She began to apologize immediately. She knew she was caught. She gave me her phone and showed me all the messages. I was sick to my stomach as I read the messages. She was prostituting herself to this man for money.
As I scoured thorugh her messages, she dropped another bomb. There was a second guy. Her most recent doctor ex she had told me about. Turns out they were still in contact. She said she was helping him with errands but they had stopped sleeping together by the time she and I started dating. She didn't want to tell me that she was still in contact with him because she knew I would suspect something. She showed me those messages too. As I looked through the messages, I didn't have 100% proof of something going while we were together. While he was out of town, she was watering his plants, every week and taking care of his airbnb. They went to dinner once (but she came to see me right after). It seemed like he was using her for free labor. A little too many favors from someone who is just a friend. But my main red flag was that she was trying to get him to go on a trip with her in the next 3 months, while dating me. That was all the proof I needed.
I crossed-checked the dates. I had finally figured out where she had been while taking forever to text me back. While seeing me once a week. It was my biggest fear. Another man. In this case, more than one. I was hit by a Tsunami of emotions and endlesss questions. How could she do this to me? After all the love I gave her? After I told her about being cheated on by my other 2 ex girlfriends and how badly it hurt me? After I turned down a job in DC for her? After I told her my friends we're concerned and think she's a cheater, she'd still cheat? After I told her about this sub and how I believed in exposing cheaters to everyone? Did she not care about risking giving me STDs? Did she care about me at all? Is she just pure evil and playing me for a fool? Why throw our relationship away to sell your body to an old man? Am I not worth more than $500? More than dinner, shoes, makeup, and a vacuum? Did he know about me? Did you guys laugh at me and how stupid I was? Did you laugh with your ex too? Are you in love with your ex still? Are there others? Have you always been a prostitute? How did I get myself into this situation again? Why can't I make better decisions? Why can't I find a good partner? What's wrong with me?
Out of all those questions, all I could ask her was "Why do this? Her answer: "I don't know."
Anyone who has been in this situation knows how big of a slap in the face this is. It's a classic line for the backstabbing cheater. Of course she knew. She carefully crafted lies for months to get away with it. She was greedy. Wanted the best of both worlds. To eat her cake and have it. She didn't care how much she damaged me in the process. She didn't care how many lies and backstabbing it took to get what she wanted.
I broke up with her immediately. But I gave her a chance to prove that she was sorry. And she did. She was what exactly what you'd want someone to be if they were truly sorry. She did everything I asked from her. For the next 2 months, with nothing promised in return. She got to me. I decided to give it another go.
D-Day #2 was May 30th, 2022. I found an old phone of hers in some stuff hidden in her room while I was helping her clean. I waited till she went to bed. I powered up the phone, and snooped through her messages. Nothing too crazy, but her most recent ex was on there. I wanted to see what their relationship was really like, because I didn't trust her to tell me everything. I uncovered 2 more lies she'd been telling me. First, they didn't break things off in February, 6 months before meeting me. They last had sex (from what I could tell) about 1 week before our first date. Also means that she lied about being celibate for 6 months before meeting me. I was furious, and decided to really dig through her phone to see what else i could find.
I found another name in her phone that I had never heard of. I read their messages, and he was a clearly a former lover. But not just any lover. A 67 year old partner at a law firm. My heart sank. Another sugar daddy. This was clearly a pattern, and not something she's never done as she insisted for the past year.
Now this was before she had met me, but rolled into while we were initially dating. but she told him she had decided to stop seeing him because she had met a guy she really liked at the time. This was right around our 5th date, so it could have been me. She also started sleeping with the professor right around this time, so this could have been her switch to a new sugar daddy. I became furious. She had told me about a guy before, but I realized she was just changing small details about this guy. Instead of being 40, he was 67. He wasn't white, he was Arab. It's true that he was a lawyer though. It's true that she went to Miami with him too. It's not true that she had never dated an older guy before the professor like she told me. It was not true that she had never had a sugar daddy before. (Small side note, she had been denying that the other gentleman was her sugar daddy. She insisted that she just preferred older men and didn't want to tell me). We were in therapy at this point, so I didn't attack her. I decided to take a peaceful and non-judgmental route. I asked her if she had any other men that she was talking to while dating me that she didn't mention. She denied it. I told her his name. She kicked me out and dumped me. i didn't explode. I explained my side to her, and gave her the space to explain hers to me. We went to therapy and talked it out. She said she hid it out of shame. More lies and no remorse from this woman.
So what did I do? Give her another go after a month of therapy. 6 months later, she dumped me out of the blue for good.
This final part is my opinion of infidelity. I want my story to be an example for people to read and learn from. Don't take them back. If you even have the chance to. It's never worth it. The relationship will never be the same. The "trickle truth" is very real. I got nothing but trickling for the rest of our relationship. She was going to lie until she died, unless I caught her red-handed. I spent the rest of the relationship in a state of permanent distrust. My mind was consumed with so many unanswered questions, daily. I could not enjoy anything we did together because I would always question if she was playing an angle. I hated myself for not being strong enough to stand up to her and leave her. I was embarrassed to tell friends and family that I was still with her. I was embarrassed to tell my therapist that I was still with her, after finding out she lied to both of us during therapy. I lost a lot of money that I could have saved for myself, that I spent on countless dates. I felt defrauded, violated, heartbroken, and ashamed after our break up. Literal physical pains in my chest for days. I was in a deep depression for two weeks after we split. I'm better now, but still recovering. I'm trying not to be jaded, but it's hard not to become cynical after a year and a half of my life being spent like this. Don't do it!

One of my players is a member of the Fated, who travelled around the Gatetowns collecting taxes. They travelled with two other Fated. Long story short, they died in Tyrant’s Spiral and the three of them are glitching. The two NPCs joined Shemeshka, and so retain their memories, whereas the party don’t. I want them to be cocky, and to just toy with the party with the intention of slowing them down long enough for Shemeshka’s plan to take place. They don’t care if they die, because they’ll glitch back with full memories. I plan on having them appear before the party leave Sigil, either by tailing the players and jumping them, or turning up at their room in the Ubiquitous Wayfarer. By killing one or two of them, maybe stealing some money from them, they’ve slowed them down somewhat, but if the NPCs die, it showcases that they too are glitching. How else could I use these characters? What parts of the adventure could they show up in to stop the party? I do plan to have them grow in ability to match the party so they’re consistent threats.
At the moment, I was thinking they could sabotage the walking castle, maybe destroy the portal or steal their portal key so they can’t return to Sigil easily, and towards the later parts of the campaign once the party have found R04M, they could try to kill him. Anything else?

So I've been dating a girl for 4 months who has a 6 year old son. Started out seeing her in work for over a year when she was a customer, then got more flirty as the months went by. Suddenly decided to get her number finally and us being in a relationship happened really quick. First month was honestly rocky, she was rendered homeless for a while with her child as her friends practically wouldn't leave her house (another long-winded story) so I opted to let her and her kid move in for about 1-2 months in a very small communal flat before she got her house back. It wasn't that bad, even though we were very cramped. I still kind of felt comfortable and I was in work all the time so it wasn't a big deal.
She has financial problems stemming way before I met her and I kind of helped her and her child financially because she hasn't been paid with her old job. I don't really care about that but it must be around $1000+, I kind of lost count. She eventually got her house back and I got my flat back. We kind of toyed with the idea of me moving into her house but I still have 4 months left of lease on my flat so I kind of agreed to stay every now and then.
Life was good, I kinda had my own space. I genuinely love her and I surprising love her kid too. So come to 2 weeks before now, my job was falling apart and I was in the process of starting another. I should have been happy to start another job but I was genuinely terrified and sad about leaving my job of 3+ years. I had a week off so I semi-moved into girlfriends house. I couldn't get and still can't get used to the place at all and she's been expecting more and more from me to do for her and her kid. I was kinda fine with it because I was off work but I started work last week.
So roll on last week and I'm starting my new job, I'm feeling really nervous getting up at 6am weekdays, driving for an hour, finishing work at 6pm and getting home around half 6 to 7. Out of nowhere she announces she's getting a ful time nightshift job and I'll be looking after the kid overnight starting next week 5 days a week. I didn't think anything from it but the same week she's been really clingy and I've had to ask my mom and dad to mind the kid whilst she goes for training in work because theres no one else.
I've felt like I can't move or do anything I want because a) I've got to look after a kid a lot more b) she's expecting more and more from me and c) the kid, her and my job are exhausting me completely. Presently, I want space and I've tried hinting without hurting her feelings but its going nowhere. She's in work tonight, I'm stuck minding the kid and all that's running through my head is that I want my own space back in the flat.
What do you guys think I should do? Friends and family have noticed me being unhappy when I see them in passing and I really feel stressed and tired. I've pretty much accidentally cut contact with really close friends because it's taken so much of my life. I genuinely do love them but I've never felt so claustrophobic and trapped in my entire life. I can feel myself either running away or lashing out in the future but I don't want to do that.
She's talked about getting a new house with us being co-signers, having other children, etc but I don't feel ready for that.
I really liked us and even me and the child having a relationship when I had my own space but like I said i feel trapped now and it's genuinely both terrifying and making me miserable. I don't think I'm ready but anytime I touch upon the subject she gets upset. Really need some advice please. Thank you.