I was called to my son's school on a Friday to meet with the principle, and was informed that another students parents had reported to the school that the day prior, my son had kissed a girl in class, and then exposed himself. I was informed that they are extremely upset and their daughter did not want to return to school. At that time I was informed that the school had questioned the teacher who was in the class, and that the teacher did not report seeing any incidents like this happen. They informed me that when they questioned my son, he denied ever kissing the girl or doing anything with his pants, and that in fact he was claiming this other student had kissed him and he told her to stop. Sounded like a he said/she said, without anyone else seeing any of these events happen. They informed me that because students were kissing, that he we be suspended for violating the schools personal conduct policy. I was under the impression that both students were going to be suspended as they were both saying the other kissed them.
I was not provided any sort of paperwork until 4 days later, after having to inquire with the principle about why I hadn't received any paperwork yet, and asked if the other girl has been suspended as well. She replied late that night via email and said that the report was completed and she would send it first thing in the morning. She sent another email even later stating that she would not disclose information on other students, and that my son had admitted to the school counselor that he kissed her, which completely contradicted what I was told 4 days prior when she explicitly stated that both kids had denied any wrong doing. I happened to receive a call from the counselor this morning and asked her if she had questionedy son, which she stated she was only present when the principle had talked to my son. She never indicated that any confession was made.
I did not receive the report until 11am, not first thing in the morning like the email had stated the night before, and 2 hours after the counselor had called. For context, the call was to talk about the new class they were moving my son too, as they are separating the 2 students. It was not about what had happened at all. Now I have received the report and it is back to stating that he has denied these allegations repeatedly, but they are still holding him responsible for not only kissing the girl, but also exposing himself to her in a classroom environment with a teacher present.
The story has changed so many times, and after talking to his mother we are both getting completely different stories from the school. I believe my son when he says he didn't do this, and he has never had any sort of disciplinaey actions and was actually held in high regard during a recent parent teacher conference, with his teacher saying she wished her class was 15 copies of my son. They had nothing but praise on all aspects for him.
I am afraid that the school is telling all parties different stories to try and appease as many people as possible, while my son is left with all the blame as well as a school record for exposing himself. I feel as though the other parents have expressed such anger that the school felt they had to do this to my son to keep them happy, but how can this be if witnesses in the class have said they didn't see this, and even after questioning by the school counselor before I arrived, he has denied this.
I am unsure if I need to contact the school anymore, or if I need to hire an attorney and cut communication with them. These are serious allegations that could have long term consequences that I fully believe are false.
I was told that none of this was reported on the day it happened, and that the other parents felt something was wrong with their daughter that night, and that's when she told her parents about what happened and was so upset that she couldn't go to school the next day. This entire situation does not make sense to me, and I feel it is possible that my son is being used as a scapegoat for other possible issues occuring with the other student.
My son has stated now that he does not want to return to school, because he's afraid that he will keep getting blamed and in trouble for things he didn't do. I can't say I blame him because if I'm getting wrongly accused, I wouldn't want to be in that environment either.

My grandmother died in February. I hadn't seen her - or many members of that side of the family - since 2018, the year I got married. After my divorce in 2020, I moved to NYC. I've had a rough past few years, emotionally and financially. My Nana and those relatives spent their time in Florida, Texas, and Alabama (where I am from originally). Whenever I visited my immediate family, the extended family wouldn't be there.
I deeply regret not making the time to see my grandmother before she passed. I grieved her immediately, breaking into tears and weeping for weeks. I contemplated and researched the afterlife. When I texted my dad to ask, "When will the funeral be? Nothing could keep me away", he replied, "5.18.2024."
May 18 is my birthday.
I typed a message asking why my birthday was chosen, but quickly deleted it. I tried to calmly ask my mother privately and she became irritable, yelling at me, "Do not bring this up to your father. He's going through a lot."
I found out over time that because the ground was frozen in Vermont (where my grandmother raised her family before retiring in Florida), and Vermont is where she wanted her ashes to be buried, they had to postpone the funeral. She had seven children who had to pick a date that worked for all of them. But still...my birthday? My dad didn't care to speak up about it being his only daughter's birthday?
Here's the thing: my whole life, I have felt like the least favorite grandchild, niece, cousin, etc. I knew deep down that my grandmother loved me, but it was clear she loved others more. One time she chose to take my cousin to Disney World the same day my family had driven in to visit her. She told my father to come the next day, but he didn't listen, and decided to surprise her instead. She grew irate and rushed to beat us home so we wouldn't find out, but my Grandpa spilled the beans. She could have waited a day to take me and my brother, but didn't. We never went to Disney World with her.
She was a devout Catholic her entire life, but rolled her eyes when my eleven-year-old-self - a Southern Baptist at the time - suggested we all pray before we eat dinner. When she and my mother found me sitting alone one day (as a thirteen-year-old), I told them I was contemplating my future, and whether I could get into Harvard or travel to Europe. She burst out laughing as if that was the most hilarious joke ever told. (She never got a degree or worked.)
I've been writing creatively since childhood, but she always told me I needed a "real career" and I couldn't dream about becoming a writer. I have been tall and thin my whole life. When I began modeling, she said, "Modeling is not for you." She showered my cousins in praise and validation and gifts. She sent me gifts and cards, don't get me wrong, but the difference in quality was obvious. She scolded me over things my cousins got away with easily.
I loved my grandmother. I love my parents. I didn't want to hurt my dad so I kept my feelings inside and told myself my birthday was not important. But then my fiance and I went to dinner a week early to celebrate, and my parents didn't even wish me a happy birthday. They didn't send a card. I asked why. My mother replied, "Isn't your birthday next Saturday? We'll celebrate you on May 20 when we are all together in your city."
After she said this, it sunk in for me that they never intended to even acknowledge me at all on my birthday. So I changed my return flight from the 19th to the 18th. I asked my dad if he could drive me to the airport on my birthday after the funeral, and he said no because he had to "spend time with family." So I secured a rental car. I would now fly from Vermont to Detroit and finally return home to NYC at midnight on my birthday.
I have lived in NYC for four years, and for four years, my parents have made excuse after excuse not to visit me. I had to beg my dad to agree to visit me in NYC on their drive back from Vermont to Alabama, which he didn't want to do. He didn't want to drive into NYC to pick me up either. Originally my parents were supposed to pick me up from the train station in New Jersey this Thursday, and I would fly back home on the 19th, and they would FINALLY visit me in Manhattan on the 20th. It was all set. I was looking forward to exploring my dad's home town with him and spending some quality time together a few days before the funeral. Then out of the blue, my mom insisted I fly in on Friday instead, under the guise of saving my PTO. But really they just wanted to get to Vermont sooner. I told my dad this hurt my feelings, that I had been looking forward to spending private time with my parents in his hometown.
Today I called them and asked for help covering my Ubers to and from the airports. I'm living paycheck to paycheck, and they know this. Nana's will insisted that her estate would cover everyone's accommodations at her funeral, and I was originally told that I would get my own hotel room. Then I found out that I would be sharing a house with my parents and multiple relatives who were part of the original discussion to plan the funeral on my birthday. That didn't sit right with me. I wanted to go for my Nana and my dad. I didn't want to have to stay in the same house as people who don't care about me.
I finally told my dad today how I feel, on speaker phone while he and my mom were driving across the country towards Vermont. I said I couldn't believe they planned Nana's funeral on my birthday, when they had months to plan for any other date. I told him how my mother wouldn't let me express my feelings to him everytime I tried to calmly ask why, why MY birthday, of all the birthdays in the family? Why did it have to be on anyone's birthday? I said this has been a recurring theme all my life, that nobody in this family cares about me. He replied, "Don't come. If that's how you feel, don't come."
So now I am crying and wondering if I should cancel my flights and rental car, and miss out on my Nana's funeral, or just go, despite the fact that nobody wants me there...and based on their choice of date, maybe they never did.
TL;DR: My relatives planned my grandmother's funeral months in advance on my birthday. I told my parents this made me feel unloved and my dad told me to not come to the funeral if that's how I feel.

I’m an only child. In my thirties. My mom is in her late 60’s. Youthful and healthy. We don’t have a super close relationship but we get along fine for the most part. A few years ago I noticed that my mom and my dad still keep in communication, even though my dad is married. He has always been married actually, I was a “love child”, a bastard if you will. My mom never had another partner after my dad, which wasn’t really a partner but a relationship in the dark.
Fast forward to my thirties, I’m single have a child and live with my mom so we can help each other with bills since her apartment is huge and I only have one child. About 2 years ago my mom asked me to petition my dad from outside the states, so he could move here with his wife’s family. They have a lot of health issues and we’re struggling with money. Since my mother helps with my daughter, I agreed. My dad was never in my life and never helped or provided for me. I did not wish to do the paperwork but my mom literally forced me. I said yes hoping it would end there. This year he was due to move to the states and his wife is not yet allowed so he could not go to her family’s house. My mom again, forced me to accept him to move in with us. I begged her not to. She did not care. She said he’s coming and you gonna have to deal with it.
He’s been in our house for over 3 months, and I’m sick of it. So I told him and his other child (my sister) that they need to find somewhere else for him to stay. My mom is exhausted because he’s a bum who doesn’t do anything and wants him to leave as well but does not want to tell him since she “invited him”.
I can go along with her and let him stay here or ask him to please go somewhere else fast because we can’t keep him anymore. I’m very confused on what to do.

So, happy late Mother's Day to all who celebrate it (I don't due to personal reasons (all you need to know is my mom is very abusive and ruined every holiday for me)). So, despite the fact I am making this post for MD, I want to know if any of your characters are parents, whether if their child is still alive or not in their lore. I'll start
Samantha Riden - Human Priest - Samantha is the mother of a 6 year old girl named Annamarie Riden. Annamarie is shy and avoids interaction with strangers. Annamarie wants to be a priestess like her mother. As for the father, the father is a human named Jordan Branson, who is a stay-at-home father while his wife goes out and do "champion-of-azeroth" things.
Tesmara Farwhisper - Night Elf Druid - Tesmara is the mother of one of my characters, Hardle Hawson. Tesmara met Hardle's father, Stonit Hawson, in Gilneas City when the night elves first came to help with their worgen problem. Stonit was infected with the curse and Tesmara used the power of Elune to help him overcome his feral urges (think of it the same way Belyssra helped Genn). What started as a simple "rescue human from worgen curse" quickly turned into a romantic relationship between the two that they kept secret. Until eventually, they both had some wine together, got drunk and created a baby! After Tesmara delivered that child, she noticed that it seemed to have inherited his father's curse (yes I know that's inaccurate (no I will not shut up about me acknowledging the inaccuracy)), so she left early into Hardle's childhood to try to find a reason for this. To this day, she still regrets that choice
Managai Battlesworn - Orc Warrior - After the second war, Managai found a lover and had children with an orc she met in the interment camps, Trarl Battlesworn. After the Third War, they got married, with Managai taking up his surname (her orginial surname is Tuskseeker) and had children, Ahlga, Shada and Irta. Managai was almost never home due to the call of duty of her status as one of the Horde's finest tropes, but she makes it up by spending every second she can with her family. But at the start of the Fourth, an unknown loyalist to Sylvannas hired mercenaries to kill off her family but Irta, who was a infant at the time, managed to survive after Trarl hid her in a hidden location in their farm. The attack was disguised as one being because of the Alliance, while Managai questioned the claim (and looking back, she believes she should have probed further into the claim), nothing was more important in her eyes other than vengeance, but at the same time, she wanted to take care of her remaining child. Unfortunately, she had to give up Irta to the orphanage while she fights in the Fourth War. To this day, she still had not found the courage to re-adopt Irta, feeling like she failed as a mother for choosing revenge over her...
Daerren Young - Worgen Warrior - Daerren has two child: Jason and Emily Young. Jason was 6 years old when the worgen attacked Gilneas City. Emily was brought into the world a few weeks after. Daerren missed the birth of his daughter as he was busy fighting in the Gilneas Liberation War, something he willingly signed up for after his man and beast self was brought to balance. Despite Daerren's job as a representative of Gilneas' strength and having to be a captain of the Gilneas Brigade and the Gilnean Military.
Netherlord Berden - Worgen Warlock- Berden is known for bringing in people with no homes to go to (mostly warlocks) and giving them a father figure to come to when they need one. This act earned him the name of "The Father of Those the Light Abandoned." The first one he adopted was Endox and Kedox Gearhopper (former is a warlock, latter is a shaman), who lost their parents in the Legion War and unforuntely felt alone in goblin society as they do not feel any major greed compared to others. At first, Berden looked down at Endox, but realized the errors of his way. Berden allowed Endox to walk the dark path with him with the condition of leaving it for good after the Legion War (something Endox found a loophole out of by creating a few items that does the fel magic job for her. Berden loves his adopted children equally, even if they're grown. Recently I got an idea where he fell in love with a paladin named Kaiya Thrope and wishes to marry her, but is hesitant due to his status as Netherlord and her status as a paladin of the Sliver Hand
Here are my submissions. Hope you enjoy them!^^

Wife comes from an abusive home. Her mom died when she was 11, her dad got remarried and her stepmom is kinda abusive. Her dad was always nice but Stepmom created a toxic environment and her dad slowly turned against even resorting to beating her and she couldn't take it anymore and started resenting her dad as well. We are both together since we were 15 or 16. Her dad never liked me because he wanted her to marry someone like his wife's sisters son. We are Middle Eastern and this is more or less accepted. Anyway she ran away from home at 21 when they refused our marriage and started living with me.
Now we recently moved to London and I'm currently employed here on a work visa.I plan on settling here. My wife is 8 months pregnant God Bless. I have a stable job. We are happy. But right about after a week we found out about her being pregnant my mom called me saying my wife's dad and stepmom, came to her house begging her to let him see his daughter. Now I have no idea where he got my mom's address from but my mom had to call the police to and get him restrained. After that there was no contact for 3 or 4 months or so. But then one day out of the blue I get a call from a foreign number and it's her stepmom. Now I had no intention of talking to her at all but she told me she regrets if she wronged my wife in any way, and told me her dad is extremely sick, and had a stroke a few days ago. He is currently bedridden and his last wish is to see his daughter for the last time. When he found out my wife was pregnant, I have no idea how he found out , he felt extreme guilt and he actually knew my parents address all this time but never contacted them. I guess he must have thought good riddance but now he feels guilt? But the way he said it was so sincere and I felt extremely bad. I tried to settle the thing by sending him pictures of us and more or less trying to end this matter. Now he told me that if I didn't let him talk to my wife it would be a bad omen or a curse on him. He wants to apologise and make it up to his daughter before he dies.
My wife has very strictly told me to never even mention her father's name again. Even mentioning the idea of reconciliation makes her cry and the memories and flashbacks send her into a conversation that ends with her crying and having a mental breakdown. What's even more worse is she's in her third trimester and her stepmom called me 11 times last night but I didn't pick up. I really don't want to tell my wife about her dad because I fear shes going to have another mental breakdown. This pregnancy has already been pretty rough and I don't have any idea how she's gonna react to knowing her dad is sick. I want to tell her because I don't want to be responsible when if he passes away and I'll live with the guilt for the rest of my life that I maybe could have given him some peace. But on the other hand my wife's attitude towards her dad and stepmom is that they don't exist and they never existed. She has told me stories when her stepmom used to turn off the ceiling fan in her room even when it was hot to save electricity, or when she would force her to eat nothing but rice with water. And when she complained to her dad he never listened, but when her stepmom told him lies about his daughter, he believed them and even went as far as to beat her up with a stick.
There's a part of me that just wants to say fuck you I don't care what you say. And there's a part of me that feels bad for an old father who regrets treating his daughter like that. There's also a part of me that thinks why now did he have to contact us when he could have probably done it in the last 4 years or so.
I'm currently contemplating what I should do. Should I tell my wife or should I at least wait until the baby's here and then slowly break down the news? Thing is I'm not entirely sure if her dad is gonna actually gonna be there when I eventually tell her, if I do at all. My wife can tell something has been bothering me and she thinks it's work but I'm just completely trying to ignore my thoughts but she's already asked me whats wrong and honestly I haven't told her anything but as I'm typing this my heart is racing and the stress of the situation is killing me.
My biggest fear is if I tell her I'm gonna affect the pregnancy. Like my baby's gonna be harmed. But still I'm feeling like a terrible person keeping this from her.

TODAY'S RECAP

Wow. So little to summarize today. It was all very anticlimactic stuff. If you're inclined to ff through filler and boring scenes, today might be a day you lean on the ff button.
Luna and RJ reunited in one of the most boring reunions of a soap couple (no disrespect to the young actors, just a snoooooze of a story). Both Carter and Brooke yelled at Zende. News got around about Sheila.

Eric, Donna, Ridge, and Brooke at Eric's

(Everyone views newspaper headlines about Sheila being alive. Their reactions are underwhelming).
Everyone: Surprise surprise. 🫤 Ppffrrtt..Can you believe it? 😕 Can't believe it. 😟 I can believe it. 😐 Yeah, kinda not totally surprising. 🫤 Sheila back from the dead 💀 again. Yeah. 😑 Phewy. 😣 Wah. 😧 Sucky. 😒 Blechy! 🤢 Not happy. 🙁 Pouty. ☹️ This again. 😞 It's getting old. 🙄 Ikr? 😦 Witch 👹 is back. Now we have to look over our shoulder again. Dang it.
Eric: (picks up a call). Yeah. Alive. Again. 🫤 Sorry Lauren. I know. It sucks. Bye.
Exit Brooke, who received a message from Charlie that Zende is at FC.
Ridge: BE CAREFUL of SHEILA! 😦 Grrr. Huff.
Brooke: Yeah yeah. Byeeee.
Ridge: Snarl. 😦 So, here's the SugaJanet WebbeSheila story. Blah blah blah...
Donna: So look-a-like 👩👩 psycho 🫨 Sugar attacked Steffy.
Ridge: You got it. 😕
Eric: And Deacon and Finn rescued Sheila and Finn wants her in their lives? MY GOD! 😮
Donna: And Finn's connection to Sheila has deepened because--
Ridge: IDGAF about Finn's pathetic MOMMY issues! Snort! 😤 Grrr. Finn is a fuck face! Everyone knows Sheila is tricking his dumb ass.
Donna: Yah. 😃 He picked Steffy over Sheila.
Ridge: Grrr! Snarl! He should have NEVER EVER ASKED STEFFY to be BFFs with that psycho Sheila! Huff! Puff! 😤
Eric and Donna: But it's Finn. We like Finn. He's a decent guy. Yah. Yeah. It's Finn!
Eric: (💭 Finn did just save my life about a second ago. So, I'm pretty fond of that boy. 👨‍⚕️)
Donna: (💭 Finn just saved my honey 🍯 bear 🐻, so Finn will always be special to me. Maybe you could lay off of berating Finn.)
Ridge: Finn is PISSING ME OFF! I'm pissed off on the regular, but he's putting me in a PERMA-PISSED state of continuous SNARLING and SPUTTERING! GAH! Harumph. Sheila! Growl! Roar! 😦😤😡
Eric and Donna: 🙄🙄 (💭 He's so mean about dear, lifesaver Finn. Gah.)
Finn: How does Sheila keep getting away with her CRIMES?! 😮😤😡 (Why? Reddit would like to remind you, Ridge, that your daughter refused to testify -- bc YOU went along with the genius plan to get charges against Sheila dropped so that Bill could entrap her. Yeah and that backfired in your faces.) And Finn! Snarl! Grrr!
Eric: Finn is vulnerable to Sheila. But he's a good man, his heart is in the right place and did the right thing.
Ridge: 🤨

Zende and Carter at FC

Zende: 🙄😞😒😟
Carter: I see 👀 you not working, man.
Zende: Yah. Can't concentrate. 🫤
Carter: You need to concentrate! HFTF is depending on YOU! Stop 🛑 thinking about Luna! She's not available! You were WRONG! 😦 You FUCKED UP! 🤨 You can't have HER! 😐 You shoulda KNOWN better! 😦 WTF were you thinking? 😕
Zende: My bad. But it's more complicated than--
Carter: Nah! Just STOP! 😤 Look, I totally understand. I'm your friend. I fucked up zooming on Quinn and almost lost everything. Don't do what I did.
Zende: Okay. 😞
Enter Brooke.
Brooke: 🤨 I need to talk to Zende ALONE.
Zende: Carter knows. 😒
Brooke: So what?! I said ALONE! 😠 (💭 So I can bitch more freely at you! )
Exit Carter.
Brooke: How could you?! 😤 How dare you?! 😦 How scummy can you be?! 😣 You BETRAAAAAAAYED MY SON! 😡 YOUR COUSIN! YOUR FAMILY! WTF?! You KNEW she was with RJ! 👦 You KNEW she was on his arm! You KNEW they were TOGETHER! 👩‍❤️‍👨 You KNEW they LOVED each other! 💘 You knew they were COMMITTED! (💭 I'm running out of ways to repeat the same thing. 🫤) You should have questioned her! How could you do this to LUNA? You KNEW she was loopy!
Zende: Oh. Wait.☝️Hold on right there. I didn't know she was high 🥴 af. She was in my bed. I thought she wanted me. 🙄
Brooke: YOU BETRAYED RJ! ROOOOOAR! 😤😮 Growl! Snarl! (💭 Ridge has rubbed off on me). My SON is good! 👼 He doesn't want me to tell Ridge so Luna is not even more hurt. He's THAT guy! Sweet, wonderful, caring RJ! I thought YOU were that kind of guy too! But NO! How would your mother feel about you, now?!
Zende: 🥺😣😕😞😖😟☹️ (no quivering chin emoji, sorry Reddit). I'm so sorry.
Brooke: (💭 I'ma totally ignore his apology. 😑). So, get OUT! Skedaddle! Vamoosh! 💨 Be gone! 🪄Before someone drops a house on you! Go to Forrester International (💭 Where your ex wife, Nicole, has been languishing off canvas)! Or Forrester Siberia! 😡
Zende: Oh. Wait.☝️Hold on right there. I earned my place here. 😐 So.
Brooke: So? So! Go!
(💭 My hypocrisy is totally irrelevant. Shut up, Reddit. Everyone gets to judge tf out of everyone else, as if we never did the same or worse. That's OUR thing! Steffy just did it to MY daughter. Ridge does it every day. Stephanie made it a life style! Taylor wagged her finger at me and she slept with all the same people! That's how we roll! So Reddit, you can just leave Bridget and Katie out of this! I'm fussing at Zende until I'm blue in the face because he hurt my precious son! Only I get to hurt my family! Gah! Plus, I've matured, so I can be judgey! Shhh!)

RJ and Luna at FC

Luna: I heard about Sheila 👿. That's SOOOOOOO awful!! 😧 I'm SOOOOOO SORRRRRRRY!
RJ: Sheila terrorized my family for soooo long. 😒 Now she's back. 😞
Luna: I wish I could have been there for you, but we have this big 🫲___________🫱 gulf between us. Wah! 😥 I hate it! 😟 I miss you! But you need time. I understand. 😞
RJ: 😕
Luna: You used to look SOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY! 🤩 😃 Now you look SOOOOOOOOOO not happy! ☹️ I'm SOOOOOOOO SORRRRRRRY! I should have told you SOOOOOOO much sooner. It's ALL MY FAULT 😩 -- and the MINTS -- that you look jaded af now and that you broke up with your cousin! I miss you SOOOOOOO MUCH! 😫
RJ: It's not YOUR fault! 😦 It's stupid, fuck face ZENDE'S fault! He shouldn't have, but he DID and IDGAF about that dude! Fuck that guy! 😤 Blech! 🤢
Luna: I used to be SOOOOOO afraid 😱 until your love made me feel SOOOOOO not afraid. 🥰☺️
RJ: Yah? 😦
Luna: Yah. 😔
RJ: Well alrighty then. Let's fix everything! I miss YOU SOOOOOO MUCH TOO! 😟 Let's just forget this hiccup and be together 👩‍❤️‍👨 again, angel 😇 face!
Luna: What about the time you needed? 😟
RJ: All I need is YOUUUU! I love you SOOOOOO MUCH! 🥰😍😘
Luna: I love YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! 😍🥰😘😃
Luna and RJ embrace. It's all better now. ♥️👩‍❤️‍👨💕
RJ: Gotta get to exits a meeting. We'll pick up this happy moment later. 😍
Luna: Yah! ☺️
RJ exits.
Luna: 🤢🤮😳😧 (💭 OMG! Pregnant?🤰 Who's the daddy? 🙄)
The end.

Wife comes from an abusive home. Her mom died when she was 11, her dad got remarried and her stepmom is kinda abusive. Her dad was always nice but Stepmom created a toxic environment and her dad slowly turned against even resorting to beating her and she couldn't take it anymore and started resenting her dad as well. We are both together since we were 15 or 16. Her dad never liked me because he wanted her to marry someone like his wife's sisters son. We are Middle Eastern and this is more or less accepted. Anyway she ran away from home at 21 when they refused our marriage and started living with me.
Now we recently moved to London and I'm currently employed here on a work visa.I plan on settling here. My wife is 8 months pregnant God Bless. I have a stable job. We are happy. But right about after a week we found out about her being pregnant my mom called me saying my wife's dad and stepmom, came to her house begging her to let him see his daughter. Now I have no idea where he got my mom's address from but my mom had to call the police to and get him restrained. After that there was no contact for 3 or 4 months or so. But then one day out of the blue I get a call from a foreign number and it's her stepmom. Now I had no intention of talking to her at all but she told me she regrets if she wronged my wife in any way, and told me her dad is extremely sick, and had a stroke a few days ago. He is currently bedridden and his last wish is to see his daughter for the last time. When he found out my wife was pregnant, I have no idea how he found out , he felt extreme guilt and he actually knew my parents address all this time but never contacted them. I guess he must have thought good riddance but now he feels guilt? But the way he said it was so sincere and I felt extremely bad. I tried to settle the thing by sending him pictures of us and more or less trying to end this matter. Now he told me that if I didn't let him talk to my wife it would be a bad omen or a curse on him. He wants to apologise and make it up to his daughter before he dies.
My wife has very strictly told me to never even mention her father's name again. Even mentioning the idea of reconciliation makes her cry and the memories and flashbacks send her into a conversation that ends with her crying and having a mental breakdown. What's even more worse is she's in her third trimester and her stepmom called me 11 times last night but I didn't pick up. I really don't want to tell my wife about her dad because I fear shes going to have another mental breakdown. This pregnancy has already been pretty rough and I don't have any idea how she's gonna react to knowing her dad is sick. I want to tell her because I don't want to be responsible when if he passes away and I'll live with the guilt for the rest of my life that I maybe could have given him some peace. But on the other hand my wife's attitude towards her dad and stepmom is that they don't exist and they never existed. She has told me stories when her stepmom used to turn off the ceiling fan in her room even when it was hot to save electricity, or when she would force her to eat nothing but rice with water. And when she complained to her dad he never listened, but when her stepmom told him lies about his daughter, he believed them and even went as far as to beat her up with a stick.
There's a part of me that just wants to say fuck you I don't care what you say. And there's a part of me that feels bad for an old father who regrets treating his daughter like that. There's also a part of me that thinks why now did he have to contact us when he could have probably done it in the last 4 years or so.
I'm currently contemplating what I should do. Should I tell my wife or should I at least wait until the baby's here and then slowly break down the news? Thing is I'm not entirely sure if her dad is gonna actually gonna be there when I eventually tell her, if I do at all. My wife can tell something has been bothering me and she thinks it's work but I'm just completely trying to ignore my thoughts but she's already asked me whats wrong and honestly I haven't told her anything but as I'm typing this my heart is racing and the stress of the situation is killing me.
My biggest fear is if I tell her I'm gonna affect the pregnancy. Like my baby's gonna be harmed. But still I'm feeling like a terrible person keeping this from her.

I just don't see the point in continuing anymore. I recently lost my job due to an injury, unemployment is tak8ng so long I'm loosing everything I've worked for. My wife has decided due to my depression she's done. I've raised her 5 kids (1 of which is biological of mine) and I helped raised the others for the last 6 plus years. I can't go on like this anymore and wish it was just over. I'm exhausted but haven't slept in days. I don't see any other options. At least my daughter will get my life insurance.

How It Ended
by Ethan O’Driscoll
A thrilling Post apocalypse story
Intro
HRV-1
22 July 2024
Dr Olivia Warren Head of Biotech NARU
This is my latest report on the HRV-1 Virus we were instructed to design by the Russian Government.
The HRV-1 is an incredibly viral and infectious Retrovirus similar to HIV. Changes have been make on a genetic level to provide the request modes of transmission and symptoms.
Those symptoms are:

• Profuse bleeding from the mouth, eyes, lips, gums and pores of the skin
• Confusion
• Coma
• Total organ failure leading to death
• Reanimation after death and post-mortem hypo-aggression

This all included in a highly infectious package
The infection vectors are:

• bodily fluids
• contaminated area
• ANYTHING that has come in contact with infected bodily fluids
• airborne droplets

This is by far the most dangerous diseases we’ve ever designed. I pray to god the Russians only want it as a means of deterrent because if they use it I have no doubt it will end the world. The first sample should be ready to ship next week.
Chapter 1
The Outbreak
1 January 2025
Dr Olivia Warren Head of Biotech NARU
I can’t believe the bastards used it. The first cases came in from Kiev in December from there it spread like a wild fire through Europe the death toll now sits at 65 millions. The hordes rampage through city after city by the millions. There is no way to stop this. What have I done.
NATO forces have established a quarantine of Europe but I can’t help but feel like its too little too late. My estimate is that all infected nations in Europe will be consumed within the next month or two. The Corporation has started the construction of a company safe haven for us higher ups. All we can do is hope the construction is complete before this thing breaks quarantine.
15 February 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
The world is ending. Europe is gone. The quarantine is broken. We’ve got cases in Asia, South America, Here at home in the US, Australia and Africa nowhere is safe. I did this.
Infection number right now:

• Africa 100 Million
• Europe 890 Million
• Asia 250 Million
• North America 250 Thousand
• South America 120 Million
• Australia 24 Million

There is no hope
The safe zone is complete at least we are planning on moving all operations and personal within the week. I don’t know how I’m going to live with myself. Dixie is my only saving grace and at least she’ll be safe. I pray for the soul of all those my creation has killed.
20 March 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
Dixie is at the Safe zone.
I can’t live with myself any more. 4 billion people dead
Chapter 2
A New World
My name is Dixie Warren. Daughter of Dr Olivia Warren. Not that I’ve seen her in 15 years. I remember like it was yesterday. She told me to get on that NARU helicopter that she’d meet me at the safe zone. Those were the last words she ever said to me. I was 8 when the world ended.
Its been 15 years since the Outbreak. There isn’t really anything left of the old world. NARU still exists and turns out they created the virus and my mom was the head of the department that did it. They sold it to the Russians hoping they wouldn’t use it but they did.
It was specifically designed to spread and destroy as fast as possible and it did. I left the safe zone 2 years ago after I learned this information. Now I just spend my time wandering from town to town. My training on the NARU security team helps. At least I know all the best places to shoot a Freaker. That's what we call the infected and for good reason. Most of the time you’ll find them wondering around in groups of 5 to 10 if the group gets too big they turn on each other and form a pile of bodies devouring each other. They moan and scream to communicate and once they see you they will hunt you till you kill every last on of them or you get far enough away. They can run and are abnormally strong if there bodies aren’t damaged they’re a bitch to kill but I’m pretty good at it.
Right now I’m outside Richmond I’ve been stuck here for a week waiting for a large horde to move through. I’m hoping to hunt some of the stragglers and re-up on some supplies. A big horde like this usually leave a few hundred behind. My new AR has been waiting for some fun, I’ve got a new red dot and laser so I should be able to pop headshot after headshot but for now I should go find something to eat.
I’ve made it to a small department store outside the town. It looks like the horde is almost gone. Tons of freaks roaming around though. I can hear a few in the store. I’m going to try getting in through the back and take them out.
Made it back home and wow that store was a gold mine. I got food, water, bullets and even some whiskey. I’m going to enjoy the night then its time to hunt some stragglers. Then I’m thinking of going further south maybe New Orleans heard there might be a small settlement out there from another traveller, might be able to get another courier job or at least I’ll be able to stock up on supplies properly after all these years there isn’t much left in the cities to scavenge.
I better get some rest got a long day of freak killing and walking tomorrow.
Chapter 3
The Road to Home
I left Richmond yesterday. It’s a long road to New Orleans I wished I lived in the days when cars worked. NARU are the only people with working vehicles left and they aren’t exactly the sharing type. Its so lonely out here its been weeks since I last saw another living person the only things you see out here in the ruins are freaks by the hundreds. Its hard to believe the whole world was reduced to nothing by something my mom created. I remember her being the kindest most caring person in the world to think that she could create something so destructive is unbelievable. I’ve still got a long way to go the first city I should have to go through is Raleigh.
I’ve been walking for about a day and I can see the ruins from here. Its always so surreal to see the cities now, so desolate so empty. I remember growing up in Seattle, the city lights, the noise it was always so alive and busy. Now they’re all empty husks or mostly empty at least can’t forget about the freaks. Must’ve killed a thousand of them on my way here almost got bitten when one jumped me under an overpass about 10 miles back. Luckily my machete seems to be as good as ever at cutting up freaks. I should make it to Raleigh within the day.
Made it to Raleigh and its a mess, thousands of freaks I could hear the moaning and screaming from a mile away. I’m going to try finding my way around the city no point in trying to fight my way through a wall of freaks.
Heard crying coming from a house I walked past I decided to check it out and I found a young boy name Richie hiding in a bathroom with what looked like his infected parents trying to break the door down. I took both of them down with a clean headshot. The look on his face when he saw them dead breaks my heart. He says they’ve been hiding out in this house for a month or two after there homestead was overrun by freaks. Its a sad story but it gives me hope that people are at least trying to survive and rebuilt. He’s only 16 yet he’s seen so much and has nowhere else to go so I asked him if he wanted to stick with me and he was elated so I guess I’ve got a sidekick now. I’m not complaining should make the long lonely road more interesting. He’s got no combat experience but he can shoot a pistol so I gave him one of my backups at least I always carry extra. We’ve decided to hunker down for the night and do some scavenging before we leave for Charlotte tomorrow. I’ll be nice to have company for once I’ve been alone for so long.
I woke up to a gunshot and Richie screaming in the other room. When I got there I found Richie pale as snow and a little girl that was clearly infected shot lying on the floor. When I asked Richie who it was he replied in a cold distant voice “My little sister”. It was a heart breaking moment in less than 24 hours Richie had lost everyone. That was a feeling I knew too well my mom was all I had my dad died when I was really young and all I knew after the Outbreak before I left the safe haven was NARU but that wasn’t the best place to build personal connections just a bunch of science types that destroyed the world. Not exactly the most social lot and the security forces were just a bunch of military types that didn’t like the fact that as a teenager I was doing better than them in every metric except raw physical strength but even in that I was better than a lot of them. It’s almost time for us to get going I should pack up and make sure Richie’s okay.
We decided to stop by the old gun store on our way out of Raleigh. Richie mentioned seeing it when him and his dad went out to scavenge one time. He says it looked all locked up meaning there’s a good chance that there might still be something left to take. When we arrived there Richie was right it was locked tight it looked like there might be a way in from the roof so we decided to climb up when I got up there I was jumped by a freak that was just waiting but this one was different smarter in a way it heard me climbing up but instead of screaming and jumping off to get me it decided to hide and wait. In my years of freak killing I’ve never seen one that waits and ambushes. I hope this isn’t a sign that the infected are getting smarter. Anyway Richie popped it in the head and we got in to the gun store and what a find it was. I managed to get a brand new Glock 9 with a torch attachment and extended mag to replace the pistol I gave Richie. Speaking of Richie he decided on a 12 gauge pump with a tube extension and a AR-15 with a suppressor, extended mag and front grip. We also found enough ammo to keep us stocked even if we have to shoot our way to Charlotte now that we’re locked and loaded its time to leave this shit hole and start walking to the next shit hole at least for once I won’t be alone.
Chapter 4
The Road to Charlotte
We’d been walking for 60 miles before we were jumped by a gang of thugs. I caught a round to the leg before I knew what was happening Richie was more awake than me and managed to put a round through the bastards chest before his friends jumped out from behind two cars in front of us we managed to take cover behind a ruined car and we returned fire. I could see the thugs had no skill they just fired randomly in our direction while we were in cover I waited till they had to reload and tossed a molotov at one of them burning the bastard to a crisp. Richie rushed the other and unloaded some buckshot into his head. My leg hurts like a bitch. Richie bandaged it up for me he’s really starting to get used to life on the road. Looking at our map it looks like there is a gas station about 10 miles away so I guess I’ll limp my way there so we can hunker down while me leg heals. I still can’t believe I let the bastard catch me lacking but it won’t happen again
We made it too the gas station. The place looks almost perfectly preserved except the group of freaks that were shuffling around outside nothing that we couldn’t deal with. There is a lot of food and water here and we should be safe here while my leg heals. I hope we don’t run into any more problems till then. I trust Richie but he’s still learning and I’m not sure he’d be able to deal with any major problem on his own.
Its been 4 weeks since I took that shot to my leg and I’m feeling a lot better. Richie managed to find some painkiller so he was able to get the round out and everything healed nicely. He really is an amazing guy young and naive but he really is a good person. I don’t know how I did it without him for so long. It nice not being alone any more. I think I’m ready to get moving again we have about another 100 miles left to go before we get to Charlotte so we better get moving.
We’re about 20 miles from Charlotte, the roads been peaceful we ran into a group of survivors living on a pretty well fortified farm about 25 miles back. They were having issues with some freaks hanging around their water pumping station so we dealt with them for them in exchange for some antibiotics to help with an infection Richie got in his leg where he cut himself jumping a fence while a freak chased him before I could dome it. Only god knows how I didn’t get an infection in my leg after getting shot but he did from cutting himself on a rusty fence guess I’m just lucky. After helping them back we continued on our way. Nothing else interesting happened and Richie is looking a lot better and his cut is basically healed. We should get to Charlotte within the day but I want to stop on a hill on the Outskirts to set up base and get a look at the situation in the city because the farmers mentioned that a horde had passed through recently and they usually get held up in cities they should have moved on by now but better safe than sorry
Chapter 5
Charlotte
We made it to the hill outside Charlotte and the place is infested millions of freaks. I’ve never seen so many of them in one place and I think I know why. In the middle of the city is an old NARU emergency treatment centre. A place where all of the cities first infected were sent. A good plan till there were to many of them and quarantine was broken then all it was was a collection of infected right in the middle of the city which lead to the whole thing being infected much faster. I’m guessing this caused most of the freaks to pile and the smell was attracting more. Oh I forgot to mention the smell imagine a pile of thousands of rotting corpses that’s the smell I’m talking about. There’s no chance we’ll be able to get through the city but I need to get to that NARU site. There might be some old documents or something about my mom I need to find out what happened to her. I’ve spoken to Richie and we both agree that we should try and divert the horde away so we can have time to get to the NARU centre.
Richie has volunteered to draw the hordes attention away while I get to the NARU building. The plan is he triggers an explosion at an old gas station on the other side of town while I get to the building and look for information about the virus and what happened to my mom. All I know is that my mom created the virus while working for NARU. I need to find out what happened to her. I hate putting Richie at risk but it needs to be done.
I just heard the explosion and it works thousands of freaks started moving like a tidal wave of flesh towards the sound I hope Richie is on his way to the meeting place at the abandoned NARU checkpoint on the south side of town but I don’t have time to think about it now I’m almost at the NARU centre I need to be as fast as possible
I made it to the NARU centre and it’s covered in bodies there’s no way I can get in it looks more like a pile of living human corpses than a building I’m guessing the freaks all turned on and consumed each other till they were all stuck and fused together. I’m making my way to the NARU checkpoint I hope Richie is already there and safe.
I made it to the NARU checkpoint and reunited with Richie. He was covered in blood and gore. He had to kill hundreds of freaks to make it here. He says he was almost bitten a few times. I can’t believe I risked his life for nothing. I’ll never do it again. While exploring the place I found this.
20 March 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
Dixie is at the Safe zone.
I can’t live with myself any more. 4 billion people dead
The final communication between my mom and NARU it turns out she couldn’t live with the guilt and decided to kill herself. I can’t blame her I would probably do the same if I was the reason the world ended and killed billions of people but it still breaks my heart. I am happy to know she’s dead and not infected lumbering around somewhere.
Richie is exhausted and so am I were going to take a brake here and continue on to Atlanta tomorrow.
Everything is packed up and we’re ready to go. Last night was rough I kept watch while Richie slept I hate to admit it but I think I’m falling in love with him. I never really had a first love I live for 13 years at NARU but I was the oldest kid there by far by the time any of the boys were close to my age I was already jaded and thinking about leaving so I didn’t pay any attention to them but Richie is different when I found him he was so helpless and lost now he’s strong, confident and he’s so loyal to me. I don’t want to speak to soon by I think he might feel the same way I guess time will tell we still have a long road to walk together. Speaking of walking Atlanta here we come.
Chapter 6
Road to Atlanta
We ran into a group of survivors hiding in a shed on the outskirts of Charlotte on our way home two parents and a little girl they were all bitten and waiting to turn they begged us to put them down before they turned so I did but I think it took a toll on Richie. He’s been almost silent since it must’ve reminded him of his parents and little sister I hope the day never comes that one of us get bitten and the other one has to decide whether or not to do it but if it does I hope Richie has what it takes to put me down if not I hope I get to do it myself before I turn but I shouldn’t be thinking about things like that. Thinking about your own death is a pretty sure-fire way to make it happen.
We ran into a pretty large group of infected must’ve been about 20 of them but all of them behaved the same as the one that jumped me on the roof of the gun store back in Raleigh. I guess that confirms that it wasn’t a once off thing but I still wonder what causes it maybe I’ll find out one day. We took them all down and continued on I hate to admit it but I really enjoy killing freaks call it therapy I guess. Richie is running low on ammo for his 12 gauge. There should be a gun store in about 30 miles so we should be able to restock there. My ammo supplies are also running a bit low only got about a hundred rounds per gun left. I know that sounds like a lot but with all the freaks on the roads it barely enough after Raleigh I had about a 500 per gun. Lets hope we don’t run into any large hordes till we get to the gun store.
We made it to the gun store just to find it controlled by 2 less than friendly guys. They opened fire as soon as they same us. We returned fire and we’re about to enter the store. Richie kicked the door down and I rushed in I let of two shots taking down the one guy the other was a second away from filling me with bullets from his Uzi but luckily Richie put a round through his chest and another through his right eye before he could. Thank god. I don’t know what I would do without him. We’ve decided to rest tonight and continue tomorrow morning.
Dixie: “Hey Richie”
Richie: “Hey Dixie”
Dixie: ”How you feeling buddy”
Richie: ”Oh you know always OK”
Dixie: ”That’s good buddy”
Richie: “Hey Dixie thank you for everything you really are the best thing that ever happened to me”
Dixie: ”Don’t mention it buddy I love you”
We’re almost 20 miles away from Atlanta and I’m not hopeful judging by smell. I’m guessing its going to be a lot worse than Charlotte but we’ll have to wait and see.
We’ve made it to the outskirts of Atlanta and its as bad as I thought there are hundreds of body piles almost the size of buildings. The living freaks move around the city streets like blood through the veins of the body. Some of them are engaged in massive fights with other groups ripping each other apart.
We’re going in tomorrow but for now Richie’s hunting while I scope out the area. I hope he brings some venison anything but rabbit. I’m sick of rabbit meat. When he comes back I want to try and cuddle up to him and see what happens
Richie and I have eaten and we’re getting ready to sleep. I asked Richie if I could sleep in his sleeping bag with him. He looked at me like I was crazy but once I insisted I was serious I could see the joy on his face so we cuddled up for the night and went to sleep
Wow it felt so amazing sleeping in Richie’s arms and today everything feels different but in a good way everything just feels more intimate we had an amazing conversation about life this morning and it feels like our bond is on a whole new level. Its time to go explore Atlanta there should be an old NARU field hospital on the North-side of town but we’ve got a whole city to get through before that.
Chapter 7
Atlanta
Atlanta is a nightmare right now we’re stuck in a pharmacy bunch of freaks trying to get to us. I’m busy wiring up a pipe bomb while Richie holds the door then when I’m done BOOM
Richie Move....
BOOM....
Well that’s one way to deal with freaks. Always hate being covered in gore though. We’re near the city centre now and its as bad as we thought the place is infested with freaks every building, street and alley we’ve been fighting for every mile we’ve been moving basically carving our way through the city leaving streets flooded in blood but its worth it I can see the NARU hospital and it looks like I might be able to get in this time.
We’re Exploring the NARU hospital and its a goldmine I found a bunch of old documentation on the virus and even some reports of small towns keeping quarantine for years after the Fall. There’s also apparently an old supply and weapons depot nearby so were going there next.
Richie has been opening up a lot his little sister was out playing when a freak got her. Her parents couldn’t put her down so she turned and bit them he hid in the bathroom for 2 days before I got there and put then out of the misery. I wish I could understand how he feels because I never had anyone except my mom and I lost her so young so it never really affected me. I love him so much. This would be so difficult without him.
We made it to the NARU supply depot and it basically empty I mean it make sense Atlanta was one of the first city to fall due to vast number of infected that moved in from the nearby NARU detention camp. That was a bright idea locking up a bunch infected in one place and expecting the place to last. So the city fell to chaos pretty quickly and NARU withdrew most likely taking everything with them that or it was looted after the city fell doesn’t matter now its almost night and we should get some rest we’re going to camp on a nearby rooftop.
Sitting on the roof with Richie and a fire I can’t help but feel like life isn’t that bad yeah its not what it used to be but I mean I have food and freedom and someone I love what more could someone want from life. Looking out at the desolate streets full of freaks well except the streets we pushed through I see the death of the old world and the birth of a new one.
I should get to sleep we got a long road to Birmingham tomorrow. Its so warm and cosy pressed up against Richie.
Chapter 8
The Road To Birmingham
On our way out of Atlanta we ran into a huge freak and I mean a huge motherfucker must’ve been at least 10 feet tall and covered in muscle it looked like it was made of at least 5 other freaks. He tossed Richie against a car and knocked him out I managed to chop one of its arms off before it threw me 10 feat in the air and I crashed down on my back and passed out when I woke up Richie was putting round after round in the things chest and it still wouldn’t go down to I ran jumped on its back and used my machete to chop the freaks head off and burnt the body with a molotov just to be sure the thing was dead
Richie was pretty beat up and I’m not going to lie so was I my back hurts like a bitch but we keep on going no matter what because we still have each other. Still I wonder how those freaks got combined into that thing. Maybe that’s why they pile the way they do so they can combine into something bigger I remember something in one of the NARU document mentioning the virus being able to cause “cellular recombination” so I wonder if that’s not maybe what happened and if it is it means things are about to get a lot worse and a lot more dangerous.
We’re about 50 miles always from Birmingham now. The road has been pretty quite only the occasional group of freaks and the group of raiders we ran into outside a gas station awhile back but this time we got the drop on them and not the other way round gave all three of them a new hole in the head Richie was worried that they might be survivors till we found Sandra tied up in the gas station bathroom turns out the bastards grabbed her from her family farm during the night a few days ago and have been taking turns on her over and over since then. We agreed to take her home its the least we could do after everything that happened to her. When we got her home we found the place burnt down and her family butchered outside. I’m guessing after they grabbed her the bastards came back to finish the job. She’s decided to stick with us she’s a lot older than me and Richie. She used to be a nurse before the Outbreak she dealt with some of the first infected until NARU took over the hospitals. When things really started to go bad she moved back to Alabama to her old family farm to live with her parents they managed to set everything up before the Fall and have been living there since well till recently. She’s pretty shook about the whole situation but she should be okay in a day or two. We’ve all lost something in this new world.
We’ve made it to the outskirts of Birmingham and the place is a fortress looks like remnants of the US military and NARU have fortified the place they have watch towers, auto-turrents and armed patrols. Also looks like they have a lot of military hardware. I know better than to approach the main gate NARU has a shoot on site order for all there quarantine zones no reason to assume this place would be any different. Still I have to get a look inside. Tonight while Richie and Sandra set up camp I’m going to look around and see if I can find a way in. I have to know what’s going on here.
I’ve taken a look around and I’ve found a way in through an old sewer pipe running into an old factory from there I should be able to sneak into the city and have a look around maybe they have some new information on the virus or at least I should be able to find some weapons for Sandra
Chapter 9
Birmingham
Richie and Sandra are waiting for me back at camp while I go explore the city. I left most of my kit behind except my Glock and combat knife. I’m not planning on getting into any fights and if I do I want the finished as quickly as possible. I’ve made it to the sewer pipe it should lead me to the sewer grate I saw on the other side of the fence from there I should have free reign over the city as long as I avoid the NARU patrols and don’t draw to much attention to myself.
I’ve made it into the city and it looks like something out of a George Orwell novel. Security cameras on every street, I’ve seen security forces beat a man to death and another group drag a young women kicking and screaming into an abandoned building. I hate to say it but I think life is better outside with the freaks than in here. Can’t say I’m surprised there’s a reason I left the NARU security forces and the safe zone. Lets just say civilian life and happiness has never been on their priority list. I can see a NARU supply depot I should be able to get a uniform and standard load out last I remember NARU doesn’t have a way of removing employees from the database so my security id number should still work.
I was right NARU never changes I just used my id to get a brand new NARU-P-2a NARU's home grown assault rifle basically its everything the AR-15 is but better its literally a gun made for killing freaks and you can feel it. I always wished I stole one when I left but I guess better late than never I also scanned through a few of the latest security reports and it seems like big guys like we fought back in Atlanta are becoming more common as well as a new faster infected with razor sharp claws that hunt and ambush their victims. We haven’t ran into one of those yet and I hope we don’t any time soon. I hope Richie and Sandra are okay, they should be we have no shortage of fire-power but I still worry. I’m going to keep taking a look around and maybe find out how they’ve maintained quarantine for so long
Well I got my answer and its not a good one. The NARU higher ups here basically outlawed being sick. Anyone with any symptoms that might be HRV-1 are immediately executed and burnt without exception I guess that’s one way to maintain quarantine but I can’t help but wonder how many thousands of innocent people have died to maintain it.
I think its about time I get out of here and back to Richie and Sandra.
I made it back to camp. I’m so happy to be back with Richie. He went out hunting and brought back a nice fat wild pig for dinner. Sandra is looking a lot better as well she still has that distant look in her eye but that should go away soon
Next stop Montgomery Alabama.
Chapter 10
The Road to Montgomery
I still can’t get it out of my head. The freaks are changing getting more dangerous, if I understand correctly the longer they are infected the more unstable the virus gets leading to mutations. I hope this doesn’t mean that the longer we survive the harder its going to get but there’s no point in worrying about whether or not the freaks are going to be stronger in the future as long as we make sure we get stronger too it should work out just fine. Richie and I are doing really well our love kinda makes everything a lot easier. Gives us a reason if that makes sense Sandra on the other hand is kinda dead weight if I’m being honest but its not her fault. She’s been through a lot Richie and I do our best to look out for her and take care of her. I just wish she’d start to adjust to life out here she still winches every time we take out a group of freaks or thugs and she’s a bleeding heart. Yesterday as we were going past a little abandoned convenience store we heard a little girl crying when we asked what was wrong she said they were trapped and needed help. It was obviously a trap we could see the store was fortified and the little girl looked too happy for a kid whose parents were stuck and dying but Sandra insisted we go in and help and what do you know the kids parents are perfectly healthy and holding us at gun point luckily I’m pretty quick on the draw and managed to put two rounds through the fathers chest and Richie tackled the mom. I walked up to the big dude and put one through the head to make sure the mom learns her lesson. We agreed to let her and her daughter live as long as the promised to stop robbing travellers. Sandra couldn’t handle the fact that I finished the dad off even though I think that was better than leaving his family to watch him bleed out because there was no way he would have survive I shot him through both of his lungs they would have filled up with blood and he would have chocked to death I did him a favour by putting him down but she didn’t see it that way even threatened to go it on her own until Richie and I told her to go ahead if she really thought it was the best thing for her. She then decided to stick with us
We’re nearly at the outskirts of Montgomery, we just passed the old civil rights monument. The roads been a bit too still I have a bad feeling about what we’re going to find when we get there

How do I tell my SD (22) that I am disengaging from her? I feel like there is just no saving our relationship, that once was extremely close, and I don't have the energy to continue to try anymore. It's affecting my mental health and my ability to be a mom to my two younger daughters.
I've talked to my husband about it and have explained my thoughts and feelings about it. He fully supports me and wants me to do what's best for me.
Obviously she's still welcome to our home and to have a relationship with her sisters. I don't wish her ill, I actually wish her well and hope she gets what she wants in life.
How do I let all this be known?

Hi All,
I just wrote a very lengthy post on my life as a parent of a "troubled" daughter. She is 16 and has been diagnosed with autism, anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. She has been in three different programs. Currently, she is at Red Hawk Academy in Littlefield, Arizona. She has been at the school for the past six months.
On my own, without any request by Red Hawk Academy , I have decided to address and dispel any accusations and/or allegations directed at Red Hawk Academy ("RHA").
RHA is located in Littlefield, Arizona and is the owners of the school are Valerie and Sonny. Valerie, Sonny, and all of the staff at RHA are honest, caring, and true to their words.
Before I address the outrageous and false accusations regarding RHA, I would like to point out that these posts/conversations are usually written by individuals who: (1) never had a daughter who attended RHA or (2) disgruntled, upset, and emotionally charged kids who may or may not have attended RHA.
That being said, when reading any negative post (including accusations and allegations) about RHA, or any therapeutic program, you should always think about who is writing the post. I have noticed that parents who have actually sent their kids to therapeutic boarding schools have long posts where they take the time to explain how they ended up sending their kids to one of these programs.
I have nothing to gain in writing this post. I am writing this post because I have a daughter with many psychological and behavioral problems. I am writing this post because sending her to RHA was the best decision I could have made for her and our family.
The following are accusations/allegations about RHA are without merit and completely ridiculous:
1) There is no information on individual staff members: FALSE - you can go to the RHA website (https://www.redhawkrtc.com/) and you will find information on each staff member. If you click on a staff member's name, you can read a bio on that person.
2) " My brother told me my niece can't get calls or mail": FALSE - we speak to our daughter every week. She also writes us letters that are scanned and sent via email. The family can send letters via email or regular mail. I know she receives the letters because she sends a written response or we discuss the letter on a video call. Every Wednesday, the girls receive all correspondence from their family members. In regards to the calls - the calls are all video calls. We get to talk to our daughter every week. There are two types of calls which occur every other week: (i) hour-long zoom family session with our daughter and Valerie (who has a master's in social work); (ii) 15-minute video call with our daughter on Google Meet. On the weeks where we do not have a family session with our daughter, we still meet for an hour with Valerie. As a parent, you may worry that every other week, you are only able to talk to your daughter for 15-minutes. I believe there are many reasons for the call schedule: (1) an hour-long family session every week is tough on our daughter (and I believe most kids); (2) it is nice to have a therapy session without our daughter, so we can work on our family and learn how to best support our daughter; and (3) parents are a distraction - when we have the family sessions, at times, we witness an angry, defiant, and resentful daughter. Both our family and our daughter need time apart to heal and self-reflect on the process.
3) "The owner (Sonny) gets his feet rubbed by the girls": FALSE - our daughter has never reported any inappropriate conduct by Sonny or any staff member. While you may think that my daughter (and the others) can't truthfully report what is going on at the facility, what you may not know, is that I visit my daughter every three months. I went to visit her in April and she stayed in a hotel room with us for three nights. If there was something going on at the school she would have told us.
4) " They (therapeutic boarding schools) are all unregulated and abusive": FALSE - all facilities are regulated at the state level or county level. As for the "abusive" comment, I can only speak as to the programs my daughter has attended. All three of the programs were not abusive. In our family, we have agreed to a safe word, which is a word our kids will use if ever in danger. My daughter has done everything in her power to get expelled from these programs and she has not once used the safe word. She knows the seriousness of using the safe word and knows that it should be used only if she truly is in danger (or being abused). Also, if you think about it logically, RHA would not allow families to take their kids away from the facility for days at a time if there was any abuse occurring at the school. In addition, some people may believe that consequences equates to abuse. My daughter's behavior is driven by her borderline personality disorder, and consequences are needed to curb that behavior. I have spoken with psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists and all have agreed that consistent consequences are the way to handle borderline personality disorders. The consequences are RHA are: (i) NOT abusive, (ii) reasonable, and (iii) sufficiently address the bad behavior.
5) " Sonny had them doing chores outside of the facility": FALSE - The girls can work outside of the building (located on school property) once they reach a certain goal. My daughter looks forward to working outside with Sonny and she gets to make some money in the process. I can't imagine any parent getting upset because his/her daughter is working. My daughter (and many other daughters) need to learn how to work, follow instructions, and follow-through with a project. My daughter had a great time painting a structure and it helped her understand the value of hard work. One of the staff members sent me a photo of my daughter after she finished the painting and she had a great big smile and paint all over her. Bottom-line, I want my daughter to be proud of her accomplishments, whether it be weed picking, painting, or other outdoor tasks.
6) It is dangerous to give guardianship to RHA: FALSE - I admit that I was scared when I was asked to sign a document giving temporary guardianship to RHA. But then, once again, I thought about it logically. My daughter lives in another state and I need to someone to have the legal right to make choices/decisions on daughter's behalf. I will not risk the health and well-being of my daughter due to my own ungrounded fear in allowing temporary guardianship. More importantly, I truly trust RHA staff and know that they have the well-being of my daughter in mind when making decisions.
7) "It’s usually the parents that are the problem and that’s the reality of it. So maybe check urself too or try family therapy or try to understand ur kid better": FALSE - If there is anything you take from this post is that not all families are the problem. Yes, some parents may be the problem, but not in my case. My daughter grew up in a loving environment where she was well taken care of. The family dynamic was healthy and we, as parents, offered emotional support, encouragement, love, kindness, and respect. My husband and I wanted to provide my daughter with the best life possible. My daughter, with no choice in the matter, has a chemical imbalance in her brain. I do not fault my daughter for this imbalance, but I do hold her accountable for her actions. She is consciously making decision that have put her life at risk.
I have not covered all negative posts, but addressed some of the posts that stood out to me.
Her is my message to you - I love my daughter unconditionally. Above all else, I want her to be happy and healthy. It was a difficult decision to send her away, and there are many days that I am sad she is not living with us. Sometimes I wish she could come home. But, then I remind myself why she is at RHA. She is there because she needs help, help that we could not provide her. She was breaking the family and in the process destroying herself. My greatest act of love was to send her to a program where she can get the help she needs.
The only program that has been successful for our family is RHA. RHA offers a safe and caring environment. The staff listen to us and guide us to making the best decisions for our family and our daughter. RHA offers encouragement and support to our daughter. It is hard to think about where my daughter would be if we did not seek help for her last year.
Words of wisdom, when you call a program or visit a program, pay attention to your gut instinct. Ask for the telephone numbers of parents who have had a daughter in the program. Not all therapeutic boarding schools are bad and abusive. Talk to the head of the school/program and make sure you feel heard and understood by that person. The first time I called Valerie, I had a really good feeling. She had a positive attitude and answered each and every question I asked. She was not evasive and she was forthright with her responses. Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith, and that leap led me to RHA.
For parents of daughters who struggle, remember that you are not alone and there are options for you and your daughter. Every so often, I see glimpses of my sweet daughter, and I hope that for you!
Wish you all the best!

Hi all I am 20F and my work colleague is 23M.
We work at a small company that is owned by his uncle. Given the fact he is the closest colleague to my age, we naturally have gravitated towards each other and become quite close.
Ever since our earliest conversations, I noticed from the things he said that he clearly has a turbulent personal life. Early on, he revealed to me that he has a wife and a daughter (married to his wife for less than one year, his daughter is a few months old). It slowly became apparent to me that this marriage was the result of an unexpected pregnancy. He told me that his now wife was actually his ex-girlfriend at the time she found out she was pregnant.
He told me their 1 year relationship was very toxic, breaking up and getting back together multiple times. He said when he finally broke up with her for the “last time”, he had fully reconciled within himself that he was done with her. He started seeing other women and grew very close with one named “Sarah”.
About 3 weeks after their breakup, he got a call from his ex, and she told him she was pregnant, and that she would be keeping the baby. She then went behind his back and told his religious parents, who immediately told my colleague that he needed to propose to his ex and take on the role of father and husband- otherwise he would be bringing shame to their family.
They end up getting married a few weeks after the pregnancy announcement and she gives birth to their daughter.
Obviously, I feel so much compassion hearing to my colleague tell this story. It seems he felt his hands were tied and that this was the only option.
The problem is that he’s told me he never loved his now wife, and that he wishes she never even got pregnant. He’s told me he wishes he left the country before the marriage so he wouldn’t have to be tied to this woman he doesn’t love forever.
He always comes to work complaining about his wife, whinging about his crying baby and changing nappies, how his wife doesn’t contribute around the house etc etc.
As he is religious and his family is extremely involved in his life and marriage, I never assumed he would be unfaithful, even despite the circumstances.
That changed when he told me yesterday he has made a secret Snapchat account so that he can text Sarah again. He said the entire past year she is all he can think about, and he needs to reach out before it’s too late.
The problem is, I think it’s already too late. He is a married 23 year old father now, and as much as I empathise with his situation, I can’t help but feel angry on behalf of his unknowing wife.
He is trying to stay under the radar, which I assume will be a challenge as his wife and daughter live in his huge home (owned by the uncle) which has around 15 of his extended family living there too.
Am I wrong for wanting him to be caught? I know that no outcome in this situation is going to be “good”, and I just keep thinking about his poor daughter and unsuspecting wife.
I’m worried the situation could get extremely messy as his wife is apparently very hot-headed and can get violent with him.
I feel like a bit of a bystander too, and I’m trying my absolute best to keep myself as far away from the mess of his relationship.
I don’t know what to make of this situation, and I’m worried for everyone involved. Any alternative perspectives will be super appreciated!!&

I AM NOT THE OOP
OOP is u/Alternative_Bat5026 posting in EntitledPeople
1 update - Medium
Original - May 10, 2024
Update - May 11, 2024
[Posting note: Slight grammar editing for readability]
Pill Poacher. What do I do now???
I've commented on a few posts, but this is my 1st actual post. Canadian 53F
Hold on for a long ride.
I've had arthritis since I was a teenager. I tried not to take painkillers early on, as I know it can be a vicious cycle of having to increase the dosage all the time. However, I've gotten to the point of no choice anymore. The pain makes me cry when I wake up and that's with the ever-increasing dosages. I've had 3 joint replacement surgeries (L Hip, R Knee & R Shoulder) and require the other 3 surgeries, not to mention, my spine is full of arthritis and degenerating discs. So my pain meds are very necessary.
A little more background (Sorry).
So I live in a basement apartment (I have a chairlift). Last year, I had new neighbours move in. They seemed like a nice couple and offered to help me out when I needed it. I was paying them to help clean and such, but I stopped when I found I was paying for them and not much was getting done. Not to mention that they owe me money they borrowed (I know, I'm stupid) and their half of cable (for the last year!!!). Oh and I'm letting them drive my car right now, because I can't yet and I didn't want it sitting. I know, I know.
So in February, I noticed that I was missing pain meds, a lot of pain meds. I was lucky my Dr was understanding, but I still got shorted about 10 days out of 60 days, as I had a 2-month supply. I couldn't accuse anyone, because I couldn't prove it and maybe I did make a mistake (but I was sure I was right). Anywho, that made me have to go through a total reverse shoulder replacement surgery without my proper meds (not a happy camper).
On to the other day. I was supposed to have an appointment with my physiotherapist and I guess I messed up the date and asked if my neighbours would pick me up. I got home and I noticed my pill bottle wasn't how I left it and there was a pill on the floor. I lost it. I called them and said I want them back. They didn't even deny it, just put the little bag they filled and said, "Sorry, I hurt my back". I said, "First if you did hurt yourself changing my sheets --I have a really hard time and they are using my car-- you could have at least asked". Then I looked around and realized they still had a lot more of my pills. So I said "The rest or my keys back". They gave me another handful, but I know they have more.
I'm sorry, but where do you get off, stealing someone's medication? I'm sooooo beyond pissed, but worse I'm hurt at this entitlement. I've done so much for them, to be treated like this.
What do I do now???
Edit: I think I fixed the formatting. Sorry about the mix-up.
[Relevant Comments]
CantBelieveThisIsTru:
Get your keys back, or better yet change the locks because pill thieves don’t stop….they just keep on. And I would get some type of cabinet that locks!
Did you ask them: “Why didn’t you go see your doctor and get your own pain meds?”
The answer is probably that they don’t really need them, but are taking them because they are pill heads. Some people will take anything, which is why there are people who OD after buying a pill off someone, and they don’t even know what’s really in it. They may also be selling your meds, and that could get you in trouble for not keeping them out of their ability to access them.
Also, you really need to file a police report, just in case someone gets sick taking your meds. They can just as easily say: “OP GAVE ME THESE MEDS! And since you never reported the theft, you could go to jail.
Charybdes:
I'm guessing they're all this person feels she has. If she is truly in the state she describes and has no one to help, she's kinda stuck...Getting old can be pretty scary.

OP: Thank you. Yes, I am stuck. I moved to take care of my Mother. Unfortunately, my health declined rapidly after she died. I now rent the basement of her old house from the new owner. By the time everything was settled from her estate, I was left here alone and the only person I have is my sick daughter 3 hours away.

OP:
Ok, well I know I got a lot of flack. Yes, I did report it to the Dr and the pharmacy, but without proof, I didn't want to involve the police. Plus I want my money back! If they're in jail, they can't work. I've already told them, that they start paying their 1/2 of cable or I'm cancelling it. They have access because this was a house, divided into 2 apartments. So if I want cable, they get it too. I'll have to figure something else out. Also, I have a door with a latch, but it's remained unlocked because I did say they were helping me. It's very hard and very expensive to get someone in to just change my sheets. I'm trapped because if I cut them off, I'm stuck.
No, I can't afford to move, even though I'd like to move closer to my daughter, who was just diagnosed with MDS which is a form of blood cancer and needs a transplant sometime later this year or early next year.
I have some hard decisions to make. It's just fueled my depression more.
I find I always attract these kinds of people. I'm too caring and too trusting.
Yes. I have hidden my meds a keep them with me when I go out.
Update:
***Update: Pill Poacher**\*
Well if you've been following the adventure, I had my confrontation a few minutes ago.
I'm a heartless old bitch for asking for my cable boxes back as well as my car keys.
Ok, so here's what happened: I got a phone call from my neighbour, stating they were at Subway and did I want a sub on them. At first, I said yes, but then what I wanted wasn't available, and between the call of: "Would you like a sub", and the second call: "They don't have that, do you want something else?"...it clicked, that they were driving my car, which they were only going to use to take their kid to school. I said, "No, nothing thanks". My daughter was on the other line and said, "Get your keys back now".
I waited until they got home and then I texted, "I assume you're in my car, I want my door latched and my keys back". Well the door wouldn't latch, but the landlord's coming tomorrow. I got my keys back. I had asked the husband to latch the door and he said "Oh, now you want help from me". I said "Yes, because I don't want you to be able to come down." Of course, it wouldn't latch, but the snarky comment pissed me off.
So this is where I got nasty and said "I want my cable boxes and wifi and phone back". I got, "But we were splitting it". I said, "Splitting it means both parties pay". Now I'm the monster that took wifi away from his kid.
Now the guilt trip..."All the things we've done for you for free". I said "Free??? With the $2700 I'm going to have to eat and everything you stole, plus what, car rental...how is this FREE???
Anyway, the landlord is coming tomorrow to sort things out and fix my door. And he's selling at the end of the month. He's recommending me to the new owners. Hopefully, I won't have to move, because I can't afford it.
Thank you everyone for all your comments and advice. I'm shaking right now and the future looks scary. I'm broke and was counting on him finally paying me back. With my daughter being so sick, it really sucks right now. I'd love to move back home to be there for her now. Does anybody know where to post a GoFundMe campaign for a cancer patient in need?
Stressed to the core now, been up since 3 am after a 2-hour sleep. I wish this would just go away.
Thanks and take care. Will update if necessary.
[Relevant Comments]
Murky_Tale_1603:
...Also, if your door isn't locking properly, it might be a good idea to block it with a chair, or something that you can move easily in case of emergency, but still maintain your safety until the landlord is able to fix.

OP: It opens into their apartment, so all they have to do is pull. I have my cane if needed. My landlord is a cop, so I'm going to let that play out.

REMINDER: I AM NOT THE ORIGINAL POSTER. DO NOT HARASS THE ORIGINAL POSTER OR COMMENT ON THE ORIGINAL POST.

So this is a long one. Like, I'm going back over it and damn. This is longer than I thought it would be. Throwaway account, I've only made one other post to this relating to what's going on. Instead of updating the other post, I figured I'd make a separate one about the whole shit show I experienced, and the shit circus I uncovered and avoided. I'll try to keep this in as chronological an order as I can.
As the title says, my abusive/narc mom and pos/delusional/golden child brother started trying to reach out to me a few months ago wanting to make amends and build bridges with me again. There were a few people that commented on my previous post in another subreddit that may be a little disappointed in me for how I handled this, and a few that might enjoy that I handled it the way I did. Someone commented to not let them use my good nature. My nature is dependent on who I'm dealing with, and when it comes to that side of my family, I'm more stick than carrot. So their attempts did not go ignored, and did not go unpunished.
Growing up, I was always closer with my Dad than my mom. My brother was the epitome of "pampered mamma's boy". He started having seizures as a child and was diagnosed with epilepsy, which I thought was why my mom babied the absolute fuck out of him long into adulthood. He would go a year or 2 without any seizures, and then there would be a few months where he'd be having them every other day. At Anytime he got in trouble at home or school, my mom would find a way to blame me, for not making sure he knew whatever he was doing would get him in trouble, or she would blame my dad for not being "involved enough in their baby's life." My dad was in the Navy and I remember any time he'd deploy, I'd dread every day until he came back. My brother would taunt me that he knew whatever he did, I'd be the one to get in trouble for it. My dad would always make things up for me when he got back from his deployments though. We'd often have weekend trips just the 2 of us. And then around my 12th birthday, my mom insisted on sitting us all down and explain to that she and my dad were getting a divorce. We got the whole talk about how they still love us and they just can't be together anymore, etc. my dad told us both that he still loved us and he would be there for us whenever we needed him. He explained that he would be moving out, but he would be by to pick us up to spend the weekends with us. I was nervous and honestly scared of what it would be like without him. But I was looking forward to the weekend when I got to see him again. That never happened though, and that was the last time I ever got to see him.
Right before his weekend with us, my mom explained to us that my dad didn't want anything to do with us anymore. There was some news story about a father that killed his kids when he had custody of them and she used that to terrify my brother and convince him that our dad wanted to kill us to start his life over. We left damn near everything behind and moved in with my mom's brother in Florida (from Virginia) a couple days before my dad was supposed to come get us. After that, she went to great lengths to make sure we had no contact from him.
Years went on, my mom seemed more indifferent towards me than ever. She never seemed interested in anything I did unless my brother also seemed interested in it. She didn't show any interest in my wanting to learn guitar until my brother also showed interest in it. Then we got one guitar that we had to share, I'd take lessons on the condition that I taught my brother whatever I learned in them. My brother eventually wound up breaking the guitar and I was blamed for not storing it in the case it came with. I had to share my N64 with him whenever he wanted to play it. I was playing perfect dark one day and having a hard time killing the skedar leader at the end of the game. My brother burst into the room saying he wanted to play his MegaMan game, to which I just replied "give me a minute, this boss fight is hard, once I'm done you can have your turn" He didn't like that. He left the room and came back with a hammer and smashed the console while I was still playing. My fault for not letting him play it. The only thing I had that he could not use was a pair of roller blades my aunt got me for my 14th birthday. I specifically asked for roller blades to get around instead of a bike because my brother and I had different shoe sizes, so he couldn't wear them Because of constant shit like that, I never really put much value in having things growing up. I didnt want to buy something or get something as a gift just to have it fucked up in a few weeks or months. At some point, my "little" brother became the larger one, so my clothes all became "hand-me-ups" as he outgrew everything. So, because I didn't really have any distractions at home, I turned into a high achieving student, rarely got in trouble. made the honor roll all throughout school. But that wasn't something to celebrate as it was expected of me. I had long since decided that I was moving out as soon as I could once I turn 18. I got a job working at a Walgreens as soon as I could and started saving up for a car. My mom however took issue with this and would never agree to take me looking for one and absolutely refused to ever have it put on her insurance. This is where my Aunt comes in. She and her son are the only 2 on my mom's side that aren't some sort of degenerate. She had her son young, but put herself through college while raising him alone and eventually got her MBA and a cushy upper corporate job. She told me to tell my mom I had to go in to work on one of my days off, that she would pick me up and she would take me car shopping. So that's what we did. I couldn't quite afford a cash car, but she helped me with the financing. I put down what I had as the down payment, the arrangement she made with me was that 1- as long as I was in school, she would cover the insurance and payments for me, however, if I got into an accident, I was responsible for paying the deductable. And 2- as long as i was living with my mom, the car remained in her (Aunt's) name. And if anything happened to it, to let her know so she could get the appropriate authorities involved. My mom was PISSED when she found out I now had a car. Her reasoning (that she said in front of my aunt) was that she didn't think it was fair for one of us-either me or my brother- to have something the other couldn't use. Due to him being 13 and having epilepsy, he couldn't drive, so why should i have a car if my brother doesn't? That turned into a long shouting match between my mom and Aunt that basically ended with my aunt explaining that since it was her car, and all paperwork on her name, I was just on the insurance for it so I could drive it. But if anything at all happened to it while I was living at my Mom's, that the police and insurance companies would get involved. My mom still kept track of all the miles on the car to "make sure I was only going to work and school and wherever she told me I could go". Most of the time, when I hung out with friends, I wasn't the one driving. From that that point though, my mindset was very much "keep my head down and nose clean until I can leave." I graduated a month before my 18th birthday. After graduation, my mom and i got into an argument about me contributing to her bills. I eventually dropped the ball that I planned on getting back in touch with my Dad and leaving. She started laughing. Something about that laugh made me really uncomfortable. She then said "well, you can certainly meet up with him whenever you want! I'll supply the gun if you buy the bullet!" And told me my dad had died when I was 15. That. Fucking. Broke. Me. Later that night, i called my best friend and vented everything to him. He was in the DEP program for the Navy and would be shipping out in a few months, he told me to come by first thing in the morning and talk with him and his parents about the whole situation. I basically packed up all of my clothes and left the day after my 18th birthday. I just left my house key and a note that said "I'm not your problem anymore." I couch surfed for a little while until after my best friend left for boot camp, then I was able to move in and live with his parents (chosen parents basically). My only real rules were keep the house and my space clean and make sure I had a job and/or going to school. I spent a few months mourning my dad and kind of in a haze. Since he was in the Navy though, that meant I was reliable for financial aid for school. My second dad helped me get everything put together to start receiving that so I could start college.
Well, after a couple years of this, my brother, who had spent his time at school more as "forced socializing" instead of learning, was expelled from public schools for allegedly setting off a fire extinguisher in a classroom. He had to enroll at an alternative school called "the drop back-in academy" that was specifically for dropouts or anyone that got the boot from the public school system. My mom reached out to me and asked me if I would drive him to this school in the mornings, she'd pick him up in the afternoons, and she'd pay me $20 a week.I agreed to it thinking this was out of character for her, but she surprisingly held up to that agreement. I drove him for a couple years until I was ready to start my bachelor program. My second parents were getting ready to move back to their hometown and I was going to start school on the other side of the city. So, I was moving to that side of town and couldn't really drive out of my way to pick up and drop off my brother anymore. He continued his enrollment at this place for another 3 years (5 years total) and it turned out, he was never attending. I would drop his ass off there every day and he'd just walk home immediately after I pulled out of the parking lot. He'd just tell my mom that he finished his work early and decided to walk home instead of wait around for her. One afternoon, I'm coming home early from work and my brother is just sitting on the steps to my studio apartment. He tells me that he and our mom got into a really big argument and he needs a place to stay. I (reluctantly) let him in. I'm stuck thinking he must be really desperate if he's coming to me for help. But I start thinking at this point, he's 24, jobless, and probably needs to learn some self discipline and responsibility, and our mom just never did that for him. So I try to help. I ask him what their fight was about and he tells me that he started dating this girl at his alternative school. She was 21 and got the boot from the school system for being too old to attend (we actually have several relatives that were kicked out of the school system for the same reason) and that he accidentally got her pregnant and our mom did not take kindly to that. I called my landlord and explained the situation to him. He was okay with it, so I let him crash on my couch for a little bit (until the end of my lease, then I'd be moving) and just told him to clean up after himself, take care of himself, etc until we could all work this out. He crashed there for a few months and did Jack shit. He would complain that I didn't have a computer for him to use (I only had a laptop I bought for school) and I didn't have any video game consoles for him to entertain himself with. So he was stuck there bored all day. I got tired of the complaining and lack of effort and told him he had to go back to our mom's if he wasn't going to be an adult. We started shouting at each other until he dropped this little bombshell. He yelled "I can't go back to Mom's!" And when I asked why, he just blurted out "because it's to close to that elementary school!" That stopped the whole thing. "And why is that a big deal now?" I asked him. I already knew why that would be the problem, but 1% of me was holding onto the hope that he was got jumped by a gang of 5th graders and the trauma was too much for him to bear. I told him he could either tell me what's going on, or I could make a phone call and get every last detail I needed. He confessed that he had been leaving that school and going over to his "girlfriend's" house and waiting for her to get home. And that one day, her mom ended up catching them in the act. I explained to him that he was leaving out important details if that was the reason he couldn't be near a school.
He told me she was 14, not 21. I. Lost. My. Shit. Everything after that is kinda fuzzy, but he was arrested, mom posted bail, and since she lived right around the corner from an elementary school, he couldn't stay there. So they told his parole officer that he'd be staying at my address until his court date.. his PO had swung by a couple times, but I was always either at work or school or out somewhere. At this point, I told him the lease was up in 6 weeks, I couldn't stand to be around him. I packed my stuff early, moved out into a storage unit, and I stayed at an extended stay hotel until it was time for me to move. Called my landlord and told him what was going on, and if my brother was still there the last week of the lease, nail him for trespassing. My landlord was a good guy. I never had any problems with him. I paid up the last 6 weeks and threw him since extra cash for his troubles as I knew I wouldn't be getting my deposit back. That was the last time I saw my brother. After I moved out of state, I cut all contact with everyone in that family except my Aunt who was the only one that ever helped me out or even had my back. But even then, it was just through email. We'd mainly email birthday and holiday wishes to each other. Updates from my side on how life and career are going.
I never had a myspace or a Facebook growing up. I either never had a computer to check it on, or I was just so accustomed to not having any online distractions that I just never got around to making one. I did finally make a Facebook and I did get in touch with my dad's side of the family and reconnected with them. I hadn't seem most of them since I was 4 or 5. Some of them had been in contact with my brother (he fucking knew our dad died) and was spinning some sort of web about how he graduated high school early, had gone to college for pre-med and then got some sort of full ride scholarship to some prestigious medical school in Florida. He told them I wasn't on social media because I had been arrested for selling drugs and that he was taking me in after I got released. He was also using my senior portrait as a profile pic. They were surprised when they saw me and how I "looked just like my brother!" I had set the record straight. They looked dumbfounded when I told them that he couldn't get himself out of the 9th grade in 10 years, and now would likely never complete his high school journey due to the fact he can't be within 100 yards of a school.
So, fast forward to last week. I checked my email for the first time since late January (for my aunt's birthday) and noticed a few from her saying my mom wanted to reach out, then several emails from a new address. It was my mom's first initial and last name. Subject lines usually read "please respond" and "let me know you're okay" and stuff like that. I'd copy some of them over, but holy shit this is already a novella. Basically she got my email address from sneaking my aunt's phone (aunt did not sell me out). She's trying to apologize for how she treated me growing up and trying to excuse it by saying I reminded her of my dad and then she was going through menopause and just any excuse to dishes full accountability it seems. She acknowledges that it was wrong to hold me accountable for my brother's fuck-ups but dismisses that by saying he didn't know any better and she needed me to be a good role model for him. Things have been hard for her since I left, since she "had" to take my brother back in (I would've left him on the street or in jail), she had to sell her house (she was only 10 years into her mortgage) and buy another smaller one further from a school for him. He never did get a hs diploma or GED because how can he? And she's been going through breast cancer treatment for the last several months and just doesn't have the energy to take care of her 33yo baby anymore. She asked me if I lived close enough to them to take him in for a little bit while she focuses on her health. I left Florida 8 years ago and haven't even lived in the same time zone in 6 years. She can only check her email at work since she no longer has Internet at home. She had to cancel her home Internet service because of him. So, I decided to just put my brother's name into a search bar and the first thing that pops up is a FDLE sex offender's page. And holy shit has he gone downhill. He had a second arrest when he was 27 for the same thing, and then was caught in communications with another girl (like Chris Hansen sting) and was released from prison at the beginning of the year. And the mugshot.... You know the pale lady from the scary stories to tell in the dark movie? Think that, but with a patchy beard. Beady eyes, bad skin and all. According to the sheriff's office inmate search, he's been arrested 5 times in the last 10 years. Twice for lewd and lascivious battery of a minor (aged 12-15), once for solicitation of a minor, and twice for probation violations.
The TL/DR: abusive mom took all her frustrations out on me, blamed me for everything my brother did, hid my father's death from me until I was almost 18, and reaches out after 8 years of no contact and wants me to take care of her pedophile son while she's in poor health.
I'm attaching my response to her below.
Hi. I'm alive. I'm well. I'm also not okay with you contacting me, especially under the circumstances that you violated the privacy of your own sister to get my contact information. I have read your apologies and excuses and I do not accept either. You say I reminded you of Dad? He spent more time with me and showed more interest in my well-being than you ever did, and that's including the 6 years he was absent from my life by your own selfish design. Menopause? I find that hard to believe as this went on for the better part of half a decade and not once in that time did your attitude towards brother change. You always treated him with the same coddling infantile obsession and patience that one would show a toddler. It was and is clear that you have a preferred child as that adult-sized pile of shit is still living comfortably with dear old mama. I'm guessing no one else is willing to take him in? Are Uncle and Cousins afraid of him doing something to their daughters or grandchildren? I do believe you when you say you want to rebuild the bridge that you nuked from orbit years ago, but I can't believe it's not for your own selfish desires. And I can't find any reason or way my quality of life could be improved with your presence. The reality is, my life has been far better without you than it could be with you. I've never said this to anyone, but if there is a sense of karma and balance in the universe, your current situation is proof of that. The next time I see your name on my computer screen, had better be for your obituary. But since you and the monster you raised both decided to keep Dad's death a secret from me, and remove any choice I had to mourn or pay my respects, I'll return that kindness to you.
Please die away from me.

"Good evening, tributes, and welcome back to the stories of Panem. Before we begin, I would like to thank Christian Blanco, the original writer of "Tales of the Hunger Games," and Lauren from "Panem Reborn." Now, since I don't have too much else to say, let's go!
Game 114 (150):
District 1: Jacqueline and Facet
District 2: Malona and Crane
District 3: Darlene and Colt
District 4: Brook and Harbor
District 5: Unknown girl and Darian
District 6: Fifi and Atlas
District 7: Bloom and Amarylio
District 8: Scarlet and Carter
District 9: Zest and Mazin
District 10: Zulu and Mateo
District 11: Unknown girl and Lee
District 12: Dorothy and Hargree
District 14: Both unknown
A plethora of excitement crossed the capital over the past year, especially their beloved commentator Camilia Ravenstil's pregnancy, which resulted in her giving birth to twins named Amelia and Cyrus, to honor the past two Game Makers. Even Winnow's victory was still in high popularity.
As the reapings rolled around on July 4th, many of the capital citizens flew to their TVs and viewing parties. Winnow made her journey from district to district with her mother and entourage from the capital. When she landed in District 4 on the late morning of the third day of the reapings, she was greeted by Mayor Chigwell. After a rather long tour of the district's harbors and jewelry stores, they stopped at a nearby seaside diner for a brief lunch. Viewers in Snow Square laughed at Winnow's face of pure boredom as Mayor Chigwell ranted about the latest trends in the district's fashion. Winnow's face soon turned to relief as the mayor brought her back to the district's reaping square.
After a little bit of time, the light blue-catered youths were walked into the square by rather impatient Peacekeepers. Mayor Chigwell finished up his speech before welcoming Winnow to the stage. She gave out a rather tired smile at the district's population before talking about the joys of being a victor. She then asked if any of the girls wanted to volunteer. After hearing no response, she then took out the name of 17-year-old Brook Branachok.
Brook was found in the back of the 17-year-old section. Her platinum blonde hair made her quite noticeable to viewers in Snow Square. She sighed dramatically before flipping her blonde hair back in a dramatic manner as her piercing blue eyes even made some of her nearby peers shudder in fear as Brook arrived at the stage and shook Winnow's hand. "She was later described as a 'rich high school bully' by commentators. The girls in a mood," Winnow laughed before shaking Brook’s hand before walking to the male reaping bowl. After a brief silence, she thrusted her hand elbow-deep before taking out the name of 17-year-old Harbor Zanders. A brief pause soon followed by a discussion as a boy with dark brown curly hair with a smattering of light brown freckles on his face gave a guilt-ridden smile before walking up to the stage. However, as a group of teens his age giggled, Harbor turned back and glared at the giggling boys as they suddenly grew quiet. Harbor soon took out a flask of wine. Capital citizens laughed as Harbor found one of his friends and tossed it to him before walking back up to the stage. Back in the capital, both Camilia and Silca and even most of the audience had been surprised at the pair's striking attitudes.
Harbor then shook Brook and Winnow’s hand before they were announced as this year's tributes for District 4 before moderate applause followed. Winnow soon brought the two tributes to the drawing room before she made her journey to District 3 with her entourage.
Brook was visited by her mother, father, and four younger sisters clinging dearly onto their sister. After successfully removing her sobbing siblings, Brook’s mother calmed her daughter down as her father, Coral, gave the best advice he could offer. Peacekeepers soon came in to bring Brook to the waiting dock. She waved and said she’d "At least try to win."
As for Harbor, he was visited by his mother, father, and his younger and older brothers. As his siblings were saddened as well as his parents, Harbor embraced them all in a tight hug. Before he was needed at the dock, his girlfriend Melanie even joined in this hug causing Harbor to show some emotion.
After a few more minutes, peacekeepers soon brought Harbor out of the room to join Brook at the dock as the pair boarded the jet boat to the capital.
"Man, you've been through the ringer, haven't you?"
"Same goes to you, girl. Haven't seen you in a year."
The pair soon chatted with each other about their experiences at the academy and gossiping about old friends. Brook, in particular, laughed hysterically when Harbor mentioned how his ex-girlfriend got karma returned to her when she crashed a birthday party at Harbor’s dad's bar, resulting in the peacekeepers putting her in the district's jail for a month.
However, as the pair tried to dine upon the food provided, the boat hit a bump resulting in Brook, Harbor, four avoxes, the dining table, and nine peacekeepers to go flying up into the sky. Thankfully, no harm came between the fifteen as the peacekeepers then helped the two back up as a new lunch buffet was arrived. And so did their mentor, Sienna Shoreville, victor of the 105th Hunger Games, arrived in.
"I don't want you two to ally with the 2s, maybe the 1s, depends on how they are."
Brook looked curiously at Sienna before saying, "Didn't Anamaria get her neck snapped by the girl a year prior?"
Sienna groaned in annoyance at remembering this cringeworthy death before walking to the bar carriage before inviting the two to join. As Sienna asked the pair about their lives, she laughed while listening to Harbor telling some stories of working at his dad's bar and the customers who would frequent the place. However, when Sienna asked Brook about her life and possible skills, Brook sighed before saying, "I guess looking pretty’s a skill."
Sienna laughed before replying, "For getting sponsors, yes, but not when you're in a fight to the death."
As this reality check wiped the smile from Brook’s face, she and Harbor finished up their meals before listening more to Sienna’s lecture about the games. And as an act to see if her tributes were actually paying attention, she quizzed them on the dos and don'ts in the capital. As Harbor passed this quiz, Sienna laughed before allowing him some "Capital Goodies." However, as Brook blatantly failed the quiz, she laughed and called Harbor a "suck-up" before walking to her room.
Sienna looked at Harbor for a second before saying, "I guess she’s either related to the mayor or is a spoiled rotten brat."
"She usually brags about her rich family members, always thinks she's better than everyone."
"And trust me, the girl ain't pretty."
Sienna and Snow Square laughed as she then patted him on the back before""telling him to get a 'nap' in before they were to arrive in the capital."
He nodded before Brook returned. It is unknown what the two girls talked about for the remainder of the trip, but our historians have noted that Brook’s scowl from before had dissolved for the time being. As evening rolled around, the pair from District 4's boat landed at Mcaine dock as an excited crowd of capital citizens swarmed the pair from 4 and their very popular mentor, who had been giving out her new jewelry to some of her lucky fans.
Brook and Harbor performed rather well, with the capital citizens enjoying their "feisty sailor attitudes." Even some reporters from Golden 24 put up a most popular tribute poll with Harbor and Brook being in the top 3, narrowly beating Fifi from District 6.
Sienna then thanked the capital for their time before taking her tributes to the limousine. Once it arrived at the accommodation tower, they arrived at the 4th floor. After arriving, Sienna called their stylist, Orivile Cartwright.
Orivile embraced Sienna before showing his tributes his pre-made outfits, which were Sailor themed, which made Brook and Harbor smile. Due to them having a fair amount of time left, Sienna displayed the post-reaping commentaries before turning on the commentary for District 1 as Orivile worked away at the pairs' outfits.
Mayor Cassino greeted a very exhausted Winnow Fraiser. Also accompanying the mayor was Realm Jones, victor of the 101st Hunger Games, and Quintin Mahoney, victor of the 108th Hunger Games, joined Winnow on the initial tour. Winnow appeared to be star-struck sitting between both iconic victors. She even turned around to Quintin saying, "I can't believe I get to meet a legend like you."
Quintin laughed before giving Winnow some comic relief during the tour, telling her about his games and even asking a few questions about her own games. At the conclusion of the tour, Realm's eyes lit up in delight as he saw his own capital mentor, Narcissa Valentions, warmly embracing her mentee.
"So what're you doing here?"
"I had some time off. I figured I'd come by and see how you've been doing. Business at my shop has been bustling as ever, so I figured I’d take a break to see my first victor."
As Realm and Narcissa soon walked over to the talent demonstrations together, Quintin laughed as Mayor Cassino welcomed the scarlet youths. Winnow was then brought up to the stage. She asked if any of the youths wanted to volunteer, becoming surprised when 10 ladies and 8 gentlemen volunteered for the role of tribute for District 1. Silca joked with Camilia, saying, "It's normal for them, isn't it?"
With the ladies' many remarkable weapon displays and archery displays, 18-year-old Jacqueline Faywether had been announced as the final volunteer to try her luck. She smiled at many nearby cameras as even one enthralled boy in the audience fainted seeing the rather extractive career girl.
She shot 10 arrows blindfolded and threw 8 knives in the letter J form, causing even more ripples of laughter sounded in the square. The mayor announced the two passing tributes. As for the two tributes, Jacqueline’s only remaining opponent, Jewel, had almost won the title of female tribute but had a stroke leading to Jacqueline to win the title of female tributes.
As for the guys, 18-year-old Facet Elixithorn had made himself a crowd and capital favorite by his spear-throwing display and to ending in a handstand with wild applause following. Three guys made it to the debate round with Realm this time asking the questions. With poise and dignity, Lance’s strong mind and less nerves had won him the title of male tribute for District 1.
After the pair were bathed and stylized, they were then brought out to the square as they then shook Winnow’s hand before she announced Jacqueline and Facet were announced as the tributes for District 1.
And after a brief meeting with their families and friends with not too much emotion, Jacqueline and Facet were then brought to the train as the train began their journey to the capital.
Narcissa, Realm, and Quintin then greeted their tributes with Jacqueline and Facet being surprised seeing their district's first victor’s mentor. Quintin soon brought the four to the table having a brief dinner with Narcissa asking the two if they had any skills besides their ‘weapons of choice.’ Quintin was pleased to hear of Jacqueline's diverse skills of weaponry before bragging to her district partner about her achievements at the Kobayashi self-defense center. However, instead of being jealous, Facet asked his district partner about her accomplishments.
Realm and Quintin were pleased with their tributes getting along with each other before showing the past reapings in the districts. Facet and Jacqueline laughed hysterically at the District 2 reaping games even Narcissa let out a smile. Quintin then asked the pair if there had been “Other commendable allies besides the non-dazzling loonies from 2 besides Jade and Hermina, they are dazzling.” Realm also chimed in adding that they should “Look for others.”
However, as Jacqueline was going to ask why Realm shushed her and said, “The career pack has their on and off years.” Jacqueline nodded before Quintin continued talking to the pair about the past reapings. Facet and Jacqueline even suggested the girl from 3 and the pair from 4 as potential allies. Realm appeared to consider this before Quintin added in that “He would see what he could do.”
As the pair nodded, the pair from 1’s train arrived in the outskirts of the capital. Narcissa soon styled the pair up, quietly complaining to Realm of how Jacqueline's red hair and Facet's long blonde curls were impossible to tame. The train then arrived in the capital with the usual excited capital crowd marveling scarlet couture. Jacqueline and Facet were both outstanding hits with the capital citizens maintaining proper etiquette. However, two capital lights had to be removed from the audience after heckling Facet about his district partner. Narcissa then wished Jacqueline and Facet luck before kissing Realm and Quintin on the cheek. Realm and Quintin then thanked the capital citizens for their time before bringing the pair from 1 to the limousine as it brought them to their accommodation tower.
Once they arrived at their accommodation tower apartment, they were greeted by their stylist, Aurelia Heavensbee. She smiled at the four of them before whisking them to the dining table showing them her designs for the parade. Jacqueline in particular was marveling at her long ruby dress as Facet jokingly told Jacqueline that they looked like a “walking jewel.” However, Aurelia frowned as Realm glared at Facet as the smile was wiped from his face. The pair then groaned in annoyance at their stylist's bland outfits.
Before the pair were then brought to the parade moments later, Facet and Jacqueline were immediately approached by Malona and Crane, both from 2 introducing themselves. However, Facet cut the pair off from further words, saying, “the career pack is gonna be different this year.” As Malona protested, Jacqueline said, ‘thanks but no thanks.” Both Jade Heath and Herminia Gold looked at the District 1 mentors in bewilderment as they also reciprocated. However, the pair from 1 then came over to the pair from 4 chatting with their mentor.
“Darling, you look stunning.”
“Oh, thank you, you dazzling ruby.”
Brook and Jacqueline seemed to obtain an instant connection. As Facet complemented Harbor’s outfit. Harbor smiled good-naturedly back before chatting away with him about lives in their districts. Facet soon asked the pair if they would be interested in an alliance in the arena; however, Sienna leaned in this conversation asking “Where are the 2s?”
Jacqueline then replied that they were “trying something new this year” before pointing at the pair making fun of Mateo from 10’s cow-themed parade outfit. Sienna shrugged as Brook and Harbor warmly accepted the offer as Facet and Jacqueline smiled saying “splendid see you soon.” When the pair from 1 got back, Realm popped up asking “You with the 4s this year.” As the pair nodded, Realm smiled and nodded with Quintin and Aurelia doing their touch-ups to their tributes' outfits. Sienna commended the pair for “making friends already,” she still urged caution before re-adding in “The 2 mentors there are my ride or dies but still keep your eyes on them if needed.”
The pair then nodded as the parade then began. Regal applause and cheers sounded for the pair from 1, but Nico Anderson lead editor of Anderson Fashion applauded for their strong impression but said the dress was “So Basic.” The pair from 4 were given a large amount of applause as Harbor and Brook waved at the audience even performing an old dance known as a “Jig”. The pair were also given a boatload of flowers and chocolate resulting in both Brook and Harbor sneezing uncontrollably at the end of the parade during President Mcaine's speech. Best dressed was ultimately awarded to the pair from 4 with their sailor-themed couture.
When the pair from 1 arrived back in their district apartment, they were glaring daggers from afar at Aurelia,
“How did it go.”
“How did it feel getting harshly criticized on live TV.”
Quintin shot Jacqueline a disapproving look as Realm asked if there other worthy allies. Both mentors were pleased hearing their success with the pair from 4 before Realm reassured them that they still looked “dazzling” before sending his tributes to bed. However, with the pair from 4, Sienna warmly embraced the two of her tributes on a best-dressed win. As Orville also joined in the group hug has the 4 of them partied till around 11:30 pm until Sienna sent her tributes to bed as she and Orville stayed up a while longer.
Bright and early the following morning, the mentors ushered their tributes to the training center with a very frustrated Apollo Price. Unfortunately, during his speech about the rules of the training center, he tasered Mateo from 10 after he tried to make a break for the door after Price’s speech concluded. Mateo’s mentor Bianca Jr Ramon rolled her eyes before dropping her mentee at the knife station.
The newly made career alliance between the District 1 and 4 tributes conquered most of the training stations with Facet and Harbor bonding over dropping and throwing large weights causing Fifi from 6 to wet herself earning a smirk from the boys. When Mateo awoke from his unconscious slumber, he immediately ran to Mateo asking him to spare. Since Mateo was no older than 14 and he was the youngest tribute the careers laughed before Facet told him to “Buzz off”. However, as Mateo continued to pester the career boys, Harbor gave Facet a knowing look before accepting Mateo’s sparing request.
A short crowd of tributes went to the jousting stations as Mateo and Harbor were briefed on the rules before being allowed to go at it. It was no surprise that Harbor won all 4 rounds.
“Easy”.
Harbor smiled warmly before being tackled to the ground by the 14-year-old boy from 10.
“You think you're better than me HA you rotten career boy.”
As Price Facet Brook and even Sienna tried to step in Harbor held his hand up to stay back. Harbor then threw the boy off him before pinching the nerve on Mateo’s neck knocking him clean out. As training master Price and Sienna looked at him in bewilderment before Price smiled saying
“Good job kid”.
Harbor smiled before Facet and he returned to the weight station and survival, knife and axe stations even giving advice to Amarylio from 7 with starting fires.
As for the girls they mainly gossiped to themselves and having “Girl talk” at the aquatic station sword station and archery stations. When any tribute tried to use the archery station both Jacqueline and Brook would melodicaly but fiercely slam there weapons into the targtes.
At the end of the traing head master price brought the tributes to the asscors room. Due to the request of the new head game maker the tributes assesment scores were kept strictly confidential. However tabloid reporters manage to scoop out that Jacqueline Facet Harbor and Malona from to managed to score at the top of the pack with a 11. Brook and Amarylio scored a 9 and at the bottom of the pack was Mateo and Hargree from 12 scoring a 3 each.
Both Sienna Quintin and Realm were beyond impressed with there tributes scores before they’re stylist sketched up potential outfits with there mentors soon quizing the pairs on interview educate.
Camilia Ravenstil welcomed the excited capital audience modeling a rather gothic dress that made her look like a ghost tree by the audience. The audience even laughed good naturedly as Camilia shook for a second as leaves fell of her costume as if wind had hit her. She then exictedly welcomed Jacqueline from 1. She was adorned in a stunning pink and red dress with her hair put up in braids. The two had some gossip before reavling to the audience that she was a decdent of Emarld Rivelta victor of the 34th hunher games. Camilia slapped her knee and laughed saying “Thats who you resmbl I guessed right I knew it!”
As the girls chatted the audience loved her regal responses to Camilas questions as even mentoning the carrer alliance brought the crowd into rapsous cheers,even when she talked about her allies from 4 openly. She then kissed Camilia on the hand before bowing which caused even more cheers before she was dismissed back stage. Facet was welcomed in next marveling a sleeveless pink suit with ruby jeans making many of the capital audience to swoon over his physeigue. Even Camilia was taken aback by his charm and confidence as he spoke about his training experience and the strength of his alliance with Jacqueline. His witty remarks and easygoing demeanor captivated the audience, earning him loud applause and admiration.
Later on into the night brook was welcomed in next with wild cheers and wolf whistles sounding. With her hair being dyed a pure yellow with a light brown dress resembling sand following her. She proceeded to have the same amount of banter with Camilia as Jacqueline did however Camilia cut her off as she was finshing up talking about her dads money saying “Honey this is the hunger games.”
“Yeah and Ill live how I like before the games.”
As a few jeers sounded the rest of her interview was rather dull the only light being Camilia shooing the “Regina George” of the stage. As Camila then called Harbor loud cheers sounded again as Harbor walked on to the stage with his curly black hair and brown eyes making him quite attrauctive to many even his pirate themed coustume became an over night sensation with many fashion designers stating that they wanted this fashionable suit.
As Camilia asked Harbor about the games becoming pleased with his short but sweet responses. Even cracking some good jokes about the other competitors mainly about Bloom from 7 and Mateo from 10 . To conclude Harbor’s inteviwed he tossed his waist coat to teh crowd as an excited gagle of captial ladies clammered for this waist coat. As his interview ended on a high. Finaly after the interview of the boy from 14 the new head game maker Natellia Swan was welcomed to the stage. Head game maker swan was adorned in a regal black gown also sporting garish make up making her resmble more of ghost then human. After introducing herself to the excited capital audience Camila smiled before shaking her hand saying that “Game maker swan has alot to accept from.” She laughed before giving hint out to teh audience by pointing to both of the laides dresses. Curious osund sof inteirgue soon followed as game maker swan smiled and bowed as she then left the stage as Camilia then ended the interviews there. The next morning tributes were given a breif breakefst before being brought to the arena’s holding room.
This years outfits consisted of black coats with black jeans and snakers with there distristicts nymbers stickered on the back of there coats. Realm visited Facet before reminding him to stick with Jacqueline and Harbor and Brook. However before Realm finished Facet replied “That girl Brook might be problem.” Realm nodded and agreed before reminding him to keep an eye on her before shaking his hand as he went into his tube. Jacqueline was visited by Quintin the pair had a similar conversation as Realm did with Facet before Jacqueline embraced Quintin and thanked him joking “District 1 needs more ladys.” Quintin laughed before hugging her back before walking Jacqueline to her tube. As for Brook she was not visited by Sienna nor Orvilve a fact that suprised her the most but shrugged before patiently puting her hair up in a bun and waiting for the tribute call to sound. As for Harbor Sienna visted him. She embacred Harbor before reminding him to “ Keep an eye on all of them.”
Harbor smiled before thanking Sienna for her mentor ship before Sienna walked Harbor to his tube his tube and at mid day the podiums then arose into the arena.
Arena Ghosty lake Game 114

Picture this:
It's a Saturday morning in January. You were out drinking with friends last night on the cusp of a snowstorm. Around midnight when the bar started to close, you welcomed the group to pop by your home to wish your 23-year-old son a happy birthday.
Your son, a few of his friends, and your nephew were there when you got home. Friends from the bar arrived shortly: Brian Higgins in his jeep, The McCabes in their whatever-mobile.
The snowfall continued to accumulate. By around 1:45am, the last "guest" (your adult daughter) departed, picked up by her boyfriend to make the 20ish-minute drive home.
Despite the howling wind, the snow insulates the outdoors and blankets everything with that surreal quietness, as if you've forgotten that you have cotton balls in your ears. The only sound throughout the night is the slow, comforting rumble of the plows making their hourly passes.
Around 6am, a woman is screaming 30 feet from your bedroom window. Wildly. Urgently. Inconsolably. Emergency vehicles begin arriving to your yard. Six, seven, maybe eight motors running. Heavy doors open and slam closed. Beeps and boops from various walkie talkies and communication devices. There are multiple police cruisers, firetrucks, and ambulances. Their red and blue lights reflect off the snow like a dozen flashing suns, casting criss-crossing light beams against your house like a scene from the Waco docuseries. Anywhere from 11 to 15 first responders are in front of your house, one of whom seems to be using a leaf blower.
Only one of your five kids is home. You don't know if your daughter and her boyfriend made it home safely. You don't know if your sister, her husband, and your son's friends made it home safely. You don't know if your nephew made it home safely. You don't know what happened after you closed the door behind them last night.
What are your first thoughts?
What are your first actions?

Major Spoilers for the first 3 EPs of Blood of Zeus. Read at the risk of being spoiled.

So I'm on EP 3 of Blood of Zeus and...
The writing is LITERALLY what I wanted LO to be like, but with its own twists. It didn't demonize Demeter but made her flawed but caring. It also didn't paint Hades as a saint, he admits he had his own selfish draw to Persephone, but it was not a nearly as bad as LO. It was definitely more reasonable, and I feel like Hades actually respected and treated Persephone like and actual person with her own desires.
Plus, BoZ Hades is 100% self-aware of what his attraction to her could mean for both of them and what taking Persephone down below would mean for her.
He even is aware how going could hurt her (He never forces her to go either). She goes of her own fruition because. She's adult and makes it clear she's ok being with him (after knowing him for a long-time mind you and is not a fresh minoadult like LO Kore).
He even tried to dissuade her from going unlike LO Hades.
Who just goes with it and doesn't consider the consequences until he has a mental breakdown and half-baked crying fit about what he's done (It's too late by the time he realizes or has any self-doubt). Bro always spoilers Kore and entices her to stay with fancy gifts and buying sprees as well as special treatment.
We're supposed to feel sorry for LO Hades and excuse him because of his trauma with Kronos.
While I'm not that far into BoZ Hades definitely has trauma, he doesn't use it as a sob story, though it does tie into the plot, which IMO is a good thing. Yea, in LO the trauma does tie into the plot, but the characters don't react in a consistent way showing that it affects them. RS could have done better job writing reactions and trauma tbh.
The problem is we don't really see LO Hades suffer at all because of the Underworld, sure he's an overworked CEO, but that's really it. He bosses people around, he owns everything, He's pimped out and rich with an expensive house, the only real consequences we see him having is a 2-week time like for leaving the Underworld which mind you is plenty of time to explore and do whatever do it's not that constraining.
BoZ Hades is seen physically "deteriorate" and change not just physically and mentally due to the anguish it causes it him and his time away from the Underworld is like 1 or 2 days at most. Which is more punishing than 2 weeks.
Plus, because in BoZ their both mature adults unlike LO.
One NOT being naive and an UWU baby and the other NOT a megalomaniac groomer. Makes their love feel more real and thought out.
As for Demeter, they went the route of her lying about the kidnapping and making winter due to pettiness and depression of losing Persephone for half the year. While there is some slight gaslighting on her part towards Persephone it not as dramatic as LO Demeter's antics but is in a similar vein. Demeter in Boz interestingly does want Persephone to marry and move on with her life. However, only with the suitors she deems worthy. Hades as always is not on that list.
A MAJOR improvement from LO is that Demeter's worries have a point, and the narrative treats them as valid. Hades doesn't even try to argue with Demeter when she says this place isn't right for Persephone. In Boz, The Underworld isn't a Pimped out Modern city where the dead are compartmentalized and stashed away because "Oh yea where the Underworld but modern and hip :p".
This is the traditional Underworld described in the Greek mythos where the screams of the damned can he heard everywhere. Its implied and show to grate on Boz's Hades nerves and drive him to want to escape the literal hell.
Of course, Demeter wouldn't want her daughter there, she was right in a way, but Persephone has the right do as she wishes and refuses to be treated like her wishes don't matter.
TLDR; BoZ Hades is Peak, LO Hades is Woobie Wannabe Trash.

I've been staying with him for about a week and I don't know how to read him. He always seems irritated with me and annoyed so I try to stay in the bedroom and stay away from him and not talk to him. I understand that he doesn't want me here. I went to my friends today and came home with some chocolate. My dad was in the bathroom and I guess he didn't know I came back. So then he came out and was standing by the window. I guess I snuck up on him because when I went to tell him I got him a chocolate bar, he got spooked because I didn't tell him I'm back and I scared him. So he started swearing at me and all I could say was I'm sorry. But sorry is all I ever say and yet I still keep fucking everyone's life up. I keep fucking his life up. And i fucking hate myself. I feel like I dont know how to be a good daughter or person. Nobody wants me around them. Whenever I try to do something nice for someone, it makes them annoyed or mad at me. I know it's only because I scared him, but I hate that I'm so fucking stupid and every single day there's something to prove to me that my family and the world is better off without me. This is just another small thing to add to that list. I'm only ever in the way and I wish I could just be brave enough to finally take my life so that my family wouldn't have to suffer anymore because of me. Every little thing I do is wrong and makes people stressed out and angry. The only thing there is that I'm able to do is remove myself completely. Staying in my room, being as small and quiet as possible clearly is not enough. I'm sorry to everyone who has the burden of having me in their lives. I wish I didn't exist as well.

Wanna to spill some tea and figured other parents would be the best people to share it with. It also gives some context to the issues I post here A LOT so buckle up.
I only have one brother. He is younger by 2 years and married with one son and twins due this fall. I love my brother very much. He married into a very big and close family. His wife is one of 4 sisters with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and distant relatives galore all nearby and ready to help. It's great and I'm happy for them.
My parents live 5 minutes from them and ALSO want to help and see the kids and visit but with her big family and my brother doing EMT classes after his full time job my family gets kinda pushed off.
Now I live an hour away and understand that he is busy and can't visit me. I also have a baby with another on the way but my husband's family is broken and small and my family is just my mom dad and brother. So I don't have a busy schedule. We spend weekends at home doing projects on our house or cleaning ECT.
My parents feel very hurt by the fact my brother doesn't make time for them. I actually invited my mother over for a weekend to watch my baby so I could clean. I got her coffee out and we ate at a restaurant she hadn't tried and she tried sushi for the first time. We made chocolate candy and I even helped her with some self care she couldn't do herself!
After this my mom was talking to my dad more and more about moving to our town because I needed the help and appreciated it. My parents haven't always been the best but recently they have gotten better and I've been showing how much I appreciate them. My brother didn't even CALL my mom on mother's day. My mom worked that day so I texted her at work saying how I couldn't do much today but hoped that the last weekend she was over showed her how much I loved and appreciated her as a mom. I then asked what time she was off so I could face talk her with my daughter and I did that.
Anyway, I love my brother but I feel he is being unfair to my parents and I definitely think if they move down here my brother is going to be offended as if they don't want them but, well it really seems like my brother is the one pushing them away. I definitely want and need the help and my parents have stepped up for us a lot.
In the past I've been disappointed by my parents lack of effort but after some deep talks I realized they just didn't know how to help or they felt like no one wanted their help.
Anyway there's my family drama. I'm definitely glad I have family but I really wish that everybody could stop being petty and just offer the help and support that we all need. I'm really hoping they all learn to communicate with each other so we can stop the pettiness and not risk breaking up our small family.

I was diagnosed with PMDD by my doctor, she thinks it may have been trigged by the birth of my daughter and the surge in hormones although I think I was suffering with it long before but just hadn’t put two and two together.
I was prescribed lo loestrin fe and honestly it’s been a literal life saver for me. My symptoms 100% improved, mentally. But it has tanked my sex drive and now my marriage i suffering as a result which in turn is trigging a lot of anxiety and the cycle continues.
I just wish I wasn’t like this, it doesn’t feel fair

I just realized my previous post was 3 years old. Yikes. I had just discovered my husband, who had promised me before we got married that he was done, was back at it again. After the post, we had a discussion in which he admitted he was probably a PA and he asked for my help putting software on his phone, computer, wifi, etc. Looking back, this hurt me way more than it helped him. He constantly found ways to circumvent everything, making me feel crazy because I could tell he was watching but couldn’t figure out how. I was checking his devices almost compulsively. This led to probably my lowest point, where I snuck up on him because I had previously asked if he had been using my phone and he lied to my face. Eventually I removed all the software and tried to ignore it, but sadly he didn’t even care enough about me to properly remove the evidence… Lately we’ve been having other problems as well, and he’s been accusing me of being abusive for “convincing him he was a PA when in fact it’s normal”, and sneaking up on him. He told me it’s none of my business and to “get over it big girl”. What’s sad is, I was more than happy to believe his lies and convince myself he would stop, but now that he’s made it perfectly clear that he does not care how much this hurts me, I can no longer hide from the truth. Would I want my daughter or my sister to take that disrespect?
I finally told him I’m leaving him, and he had the audacity to act hurt and betrayed, even texting my mom that he guesses he “wasn’t good enough for me”. He told me “Good luck finding a guy that doesn’t watch porn”. I felt sad and bad for him at first, but now I’m just angry. I dealt with this for 3 years?? I just hope I don’t take these trust issues to a next relationship, I don’t want to ever feel the need to check someone’s phone again.
For all the PA partners here that keep giving more and more chances - they will not change, they will just find better ways to rationalize it to themselves and can even end up painting you as the bad guy in the end! Leave if you can, stop letting them get away with the disrespect. I wish I had done this years ago.

Just curious as we close in on the finale, what was everyone’s season highlights? What moments were the most memorable and why did you love them? Let’s keep it positive please.
For me: “My All” & “All I Wanted” by Jayna Elise -We were really robbed not hearing more from Jayna. She was always great, but these 2 in particular being done back to back really blew me away.
“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” or really anything by Roman Collins -Wow! What a voice, but he really sang the hell out of this. Another one I wish we’d seen go much further.
“Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Emmy Russell -Oh I know I’m gonna get some flack for this one, but I thought she had a lovely moment with this. It was a lovely tribute and the way she sang this, I heard the lyrics and the gravity they hold in a bit of a more profound way.
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Abi Carter -Abi had a lot of highlights this season, but I think this was the moment we all knew she was going all the way.
Anything by Jack Blocker -I think Jack was the best overall performer this season in the sense that he was able to bridge together these cover tunes in a way that didn’t sound like a karaoke contest. He seems like he’s turned on and is taking risks and I love how he continued to grow throughout the season. I had a hard time choosing just one, so wanted to shout out Jack for being consistently great.