Cute friendship poems

Looking to find some good friends and good company either short term or long term to while away the time with. Work from home and a chronic night owl - lots of time to kill, so would love to have some informal chats and maybe even a cheeky little flirt with the right person. But mainly just looking for someone to talk to regularly who has good conversation. Maybe even meet up sometime?
In my spare time I enjoy all the cliche stuff like traveling, live music, pubs, clubs, countryside walks, dining out, photography, ps5 and whatever else. Some of the more niche things I enjoy is learning cocktails, watching mma/combat sport, dabbling with DJing, darts, motorsport, architecture and many many more things that we can talk about as we get to know each other.
Would love someone to share memes and silly little thoughts. Talk about the world, conspiracies, growing up and whatever else pops to mind. Can also share my cute dog too haha
So come have a chat, let’s talk about anything and everything and forge a great friendship. If you’re a little weird, then we will probably get on just fine haha
Open to speak to anyone but please no one under 18 and please bring good energy, put a little effort into your first message please :)

Looking to find some good friends and good company either short term or long term to while away the time with. Work from home and a chronic night owl - lots of time to kill, so would love to have some informal chats and maybe even a cheeky little flirt with the right person. But mainly just looking for someone to talk to regularly who has good conversation. Maybe even meet up sometime?
In my spare time I enjoy all the cliche stuff like traveling, live music, pubs, clubs, countryside walks, dining out, photography, ps5 and whatever else. Some of the more niche things I enjoy is learning cocktails, watching mma/combat sport, dabbling with DJing, darts, motorsport, architecture and many many more things that we can talk about as we get to know each other.
Would love someone to share memes and silly little thoughts. Talk about the world, conspiracies, growing up and whatever else pops to mind. Can also share my cute dog too haha
So come have a chat, let’s talk about anything and everything and forge a great friendship. If you’re a little weird, then we will probably get on just fine haha
Open to speak to anyone but please no one under 18 and please bring good energy, put a little effort into your first message please :)

Looking to find some good friends and good company either short term or long term to while away the time with. Work from home and a chronic night owl - lots of time to kill, so would love to have some informal chats and maybe even a cheeky little flirt with the right person. But mainly just looking for someone to talk to regularly who has good conversation. Maybe even meet up sometime?
In my spare time I enjoy all the cliche stuff like traveling, live music, pubs, clubs, countryside walks, dining out, photography, ps5 and whatever else. Some of the more niche things I enjoy is learning cocktails, watching mma/combat sport, dabbling with DJing, darts, motorsport, architecture and many many more things that we can talk about as we get to know each other.
Would love someone to share memes and silly little thoughts. Talk about the world, conspiracies, growing up and whatever else pops to mind. Can also share my cute dog too haha
So come have a chat, let’s talk about anything and everything and forge a great friendship. If you’re a little weird, then we will probably get on just fine haha
Open to speak to anyone but please no one under 18 and please bring good energy, put a little effort into your first message please :)

Looking to find some good friends and good company either short term or long term to while away the time with. Work from home and a chronic night owl - lots of time to kill, so would love to have some informal chats and maybe even a cheeky little flirt with the right person. But mainly just looking for someone to talk to regularly who has good conversation. Maybe even meet up sometime?
In my spare time I enjoy all the cliche stuff like traveling, live music, pubs, clubs, countryside walks, dining out, photography, ps5 and whatever else. Some of the more niche things I enjoy is learning cocktails, watching mma/combat sport, dabbling with DJing, darts, motorsport, architecture and many many more things that we can talk about as we get to know each other.
Would love someone to share memes and silly little thoughts. Talk about the world, conspiracies, growing up and whatever else pops to mind. Can also share my cute dog too haha
So come have a chat, let’s talk about anything and everything and forge a great friendship. If you’re a little weird, then we will probably get on just fine haha
Open to speak to anyone but please no one under 18 and please bring good energy, put a little effort into your first message please :)

Looking to find some good friends and good company either short term or long term to while away the time with. Work from home and a chronic night owl - lots of time to kill, so would love to have some informal chats and maybe even a cheeky little flirt with the right person. But mainly just looking for someone to talk to regularly who has good conversation. Maybe even meet up sometime?
In my spare time I enjoy all the cliche stuff like traveling, live music, pubs, clubs, countryside walks, dining out, photography, ps5 and whatever else. Some of the more niche things I enjoy is learning cocktails, watching mma/combat sport, dabbling with DJing, darts, motorsport, architecture and many many more things that we can talk about as we get to know each other.
Would love someone to share memes and silly little thoughts. Talk about the world, conspiracies, growing up and whatever else pops to mind. Can also share my cute dog too haha
So come have a chat, let’s talk about anything and everything and forge a great friendship. If you’re a little weird, then we will probably get on just fine haha
Open to speak to anyone but please bring good energy and put a little effort into your first message please :)

Help! Throwaway account because i don't want to be recognized😅
I 35F am in love with my bff 47M....
Not just in love. Really in love.
We had a friendship that goes more than 20 years back. We had a connection back then but i never did anything with those feelings because i was under aged and never even would have considered he would feel something for me. I always thought he saw me as his younger siste niece kind of girl. I looked up to him and even thought that my feelings were because of my puberty and him just beeing awesome in my eyes.
We lost contact for almost 10 years because our shared contact went in to another fase of his life and social media and contact wasnt the same as now. Somebody wasnt easy to find once lost.
But 5,5 years ago i went to a party and... there he was! We were over the moon seeing eachother again! He proudly presented me to his wife, we had a blast that evening and promised we would now keep in touch.
I was single at that time and on that same evening I hooked up with a very cute guy for a one night stand ( first time in my life after a 14 year relationship). That didn’t turn out to be a one night stand... we had a relationship for 4 years.
Only a month in, it turns out he is really good friends with my friend who i lost contact with.
Well... that went really well! We spend a lot of time with the four of us. Went to parties, had nice evenings at home, stayed over at their place or ours, and sometimes it was just us 2 reconnecting and going away together. Sometimes just the 2 males away together, all combo's were possible.
The relationship between me and my male bff grew. We were really grateful for the second chance of spending time together. But... i did already caught myself thinking.... why didn’t i run in to him earlier? Why did we never find eachother? I hope i find a man like him. But i would never!!! Hook up with a married man or even suggest or let him notice! And time went on. Everything was nice.
Then he drops a bomb. His wife cheated. Big time. With a shitshow coming with that you can't even imagine. He told us everything. We were in shock! After about a month of frustration, thinking, seeking help... they decide they want to save their marriage. I supported that choice. I could get that you don't want to throw away if you stil think you can save it. My boyfriend did not. He couldnt forgive her.
Later on my bff warned me..... because he saw that my relationship with my boyfriend was not ok due to his anger management problems and addictions. Combine that with my childhood trauma where i was neglected and hit and scolded way too many times... i let this guy treat me like shit again. I also did things wrong within the relationship but was always honest about working on myself. It finally exploded with him beeing violent.
A lot of people around us were incredibly angry with him. I was shattered in pieces. I was thankful for the support. Also from this couple. Because i trusted them. After a few months of grief i was starting to get back on my feet. Finally.
And then... he calls and tells me they gave up on their marriage. He was gonna call it quits. Totally tired of trying to feel it again. Devistated it didnt work. Thinking he would grow old with her. And my heart broke too! I wanted it to work. For him.
And that's the moment i realised again. For him. For him. I don't care for her if he doesnt.
We spend so much time together. We had evenings full of sorrow and drinks and movies to get over the pain, helped him in his new house, so many nice laughs, parties and joy and my feelings expand and expand. Finally i blurred out that i always thought of him of a really perfect guy but that i would have never acted on it while he was married. He was in shock. He did notice the behaviour of the last period but it was there all the time? He honestly said to me... i need time. I need to heal from this. I don't want anything to happen between us and i may become a mistake. And i totally agreed. I'll wait.
It's one year since the divorce.. We had so many amazing times together. Totally comfortabel and beeing just us. And yes, some moments you can feel it in the air.
I can't wait anymore. I need to do something. Kiss him. Tell him again. Something. Or not? I'm so afraid of losing this one of a kind friendship. But i also don't want to miss out any longer on what could be our happy ever after?
I wanna give him the world. I would never betray him like that. I would give everything for a life together.

1. Around 8 years old, I dressed up in a ballet outfit with my sister and her next-door neighbour girlfriend. Pictures included (thanks, mom).
   
2. Around 10 years old, I prayed every single night for God (sad tears included) to make me a woman. I was developing "breasts," even though the rest of my body was slim. I started to see myself as "different " than the rest of my friends. I grew up in a predominantly female-led household and saw the world through a sensitive, soft lense. I was becoming the caregiver, maternal role in my friendship circle.
   
3. Around the age of 12, I used to play "bum doctor" with best friend (involved pulling down pants and bending over, while the other pretended to give a needle). I found myself initiating this game a good deal more than him. At this age, there was still a young naivete to this, and I wasn't aware it was "strange."
   
4. Around age 14, "on a dare," I dressed up with (a different) best friends mother's clothing. His mother was away at work, we hand-picked items, right down to the underwear, and got changed together in the bathroom. I changed behind the shower curtain as I was too shy and very embarrassed how my breasts completely filled out the (lactating) bra.
   
5. Around this time, I started to experiment with dressing up in my mother's nighties, as well as both of my sisters clothes. There were little pockets of free time to do this, and everything just felt "right"; like all the dots connected.
   
6. Around age 16, I started getting into porn. I was a late developer, as far as sex drive goes. Started off as regular guy/girl porn, then I quickly became interested in the "anal" category. I found myself very turned on by the cock scenes, but not the rest of the male body. I was attracted to the female body, but in a way that I wanted to "be" the female. The idea of making love to a man put my stomach into knots.
   
7. This "kink" grew and grew, unbeknownst to my family and friends. I was a very late developer, and all my friends had girlfriend's around this time.
   
8. I discovered my sisters had toys, and became rather infatuated with them (insert shameful secrets). The idea of being in a submissive role, the idea of a "male" becoming the one who receives - rather than gives, ignited a very deep switch in my brain. It just felt right, natural.
   
9. I started to become brave enough to buy porn DVD's from the local convenience store - but was very embarrassed, as the same owner basically watched me grow up from a kid to this point. I started to buy exclusively DVD's that featured anal. Finally, it took everything in me to one day buy a trans DVD, and I made a pathetically awkward excuse to the owner of how I was buying it as a joke birthday present for my friend. Oh, the shame.
   
10. I started watching the DVD's, imagining myself as the trans women, and essentially worshipping cock, worshipping men. I had little "sexual" desire at this point to be a male role with any future girlfriends. Still, the idea of men's abs, lips, thighs, arms, butt, etc still turned my stomach into knots. Although, in the very very back of my mind, I think I was starting to consider it.
    
11. I discovered Marijuana and beer around the age of 18, and would cut loose at my friends house (the same friend that I tried his mother's clothes on). He would occasionally put on porn (on mute) later into the evening, and meanwhile we were listening to music / playing guitar, etc. I started to sexually become interested in him. It was slways kind of there, but now with the porn playing, and being able to feel those feelings at the same time, I became sort of turned on by him. More so the idea of getting high and then becoming his submissive plaything. There were moments where iI could tell he was imagining the same, but - spoler alert - I never did (as i was way too shy to pursue it) but that only made the infatuation to be a submissive plaything for men even stronger.
    
12. I started talking to a girl online, and after almost four years of talking and developing a friendship, we decided to meet. I was 23 years old at this point. Fast forward, I became her boyfriend and when we were camping, she had just started showing signs of spotting (on her period), so we were just playing around - I was very nervous, especially because i was expected to be the dominant one. Next thing I knew, I had lost my virginity to her. But here's the kicker - it was from anal.
    
13. Curiosity got the best of me, and I started to seek out the validation and attention from men online. I accidentally left my browser open one night, and she saw everything. There was a big blow up, and she was calling me gay. We were both living at my parents' house at the time, and I'm pretty sure they must have overheard it. We made amends, and I confessed to her that I think I was bi and just needed to understand better. We played around with a strap-on quite often, and I also discovered chastity. Chastity became something of an excuse to not have to be the dominant one. I honestly felt more natural being the one receiving anal vs. penetrating a woman. We ended up mutually breaking up when I was 28. We are still best friends to this day.
    
14. I started to think of the man's body, beyond just his penis. I don't know if it was just due to exposure in films, but the right kind of stomach (slightly hairy, soft, but strong "dad" abs) as well as strong hands and forearms started to turn me on. When I would see older men in real life with any of these attributes, a switch went off in my head and I realized that I was turned on by them, and would start to imagine more than just sucking his cock, or receiving anal. I would imagine first kissing his stomach as a show of affection or adoration before taking him into my mouth. I was starting to imagine holding onto his strong arms and pulling his body closer, deeper into me. Maybe softly kissing his fingers, even playfully biting them.
    
15. I use reddit now, as a means to try and find Mr. Right. It is sort of an unwritten understanding with my partner now that I "explore" myself on reddit, but I don't share any of the details. Perhaps there will come a stage where I'm more open about it.
    
16. Sometimes, I can imagine myself in a gay relationship, but there would be very specific parameters - I would be the submissive one. I would be expected to present as femme as often as possible. I would be the stereotypical "housewife" (cooking, baking, cleaning, being sexually ready at all times, nurturing the husband). Ideally, I would be in chastity 24/7, or have complete disregard toward my penis until it just learns to remain soft on its own (maybe still getting nocturnal emmisions at night). The idea of worshipping and submitting to his body gives me butterflies. And this is a BIG one --- if he knows how to treat me and our chemistry is right, I would maybe even allow him to kiss me.
    
17. As far as porn goes, I now watch different genres for different purposes. Lesbian porn: Imagining myself as one of the "girls" and the other girl is just like me. Genetically born a male, but identifies strongly as a "girl". I imagine that we are playing while Daddy is away or that we're just playing for his amusement. He never let's us orgasm unless he tells us to, and he makes sure that there is a strong, imprinting, humiliating aspect to our orgasms - so that each time, we go deeper into our roles and can no longer deny who we are. Trans porn: obviously imagining myself as the trans pornstar, being taken forcefully by a real man. Having no Fouts about my sexuality. Hypno porn: This pushes me past any of my self-doubt and encourages me to not only drop my defenses but also to accept my fate. Everything I fear, I learn to entertain and even embrace when I'm watching the right kind of hypno porn. Finally gay porn: if I have refrained from cumming for over two months, then my mind really goes to that "desperate" place. Ideally, one man is the Dom, and is masculine, but cute. Not the kind of man who "acts" manly, but just naturally is - confident, smart, strong, manipulative. The other male is the more femme type, but not overly. Still a male (not trans) - soft, gentle, body made to receive, ass is more like a pussy, no hesitation to kiss, to play with his own soft cock, to suck his own fingers while looking at his Daddy in the eyes, gripping onto his Daddys hips, pulling him closer, moaning his name, fully accepting his place.
    

Going forward: I would love to have both a female and male partner. Essentially, to be a cuck to my wife, and only allowed to please her with my mouth - never with my penis (unless after an instructed orgasm, knowing that I'd be too soft to be able to penetrate her). I would only be able to make love to him, and my wife would enjoy watching, and would taunt me, encouraging me to go deeper each time. I would sleep with her each night, wearing something soft and silky, and we may kiss or fondle, or she may get me to eat her out (even if Daddy's cum is inside her still). Some nights she would either sneak off into Daddy's bedroom to sleep with him, or just openly sleep there, leaving me in bed alone some nights. I would hear them making love, but I would be locked in chastity, unable to cum. I'm encouraged at all times to play with my ass (aka my pussy) with either my fingers, a dildo or butt plug, so as to keep me constantly ready and make sure I'm always aroused - and aware of feeling empty if something isn't inside of me at any given time.
I want to be in a safe, loving, encouraging and open relationship where everyone is happy and their needs are met. I'm not sure if I'd classify myself as bi or gay. Definitely not straight. The idea of exploring these limits are what gives me life.

Me and my friend live in different countries I live in Australia she lives in Brazil I did ask her out for valentines but she already had a boyfriend so a couple of weeks after that I call her just for a chat and we talked I asked her what her reaction was when I asked her out she said it was weird (I told my mum and she just thought it that my friend was a bit worried and that’s why she felt weird) but as soon as the call finished she was very friendly she asked me what the name of the tv show I was watching at the time was with the eyes (👀) emoji so I got a positive vibe from her that she was ok and we were still great friends but then after that I sent her a few on and of messages ie Brazil beat England in soccer and then one day I sent her a general “hi how ya doin” message and she sent back these Japanese emoticons (not emojis) and because I have literally no idea what they mean I put them into google I could only get one answer though one of them meant cute/fluffy so just to clarify I asked her what they meant and she hasn’t responded yet so I’m a bit worried that I’ve maybe annoyed her or something like that I really don’t want to lose this friendship man…

This is the first time I have had a truly negative experience with inlaws (I’ve been lucky I know), And maybe im out of line somewhere but its been weighing heavy on me for a while now. Warning this is very long im sorry!
Me and my bf have been living together for a year now and our SIL and my bfs brother are neighours. When I first moved in I thought the dynamic would be so fun and we could all hangout together! My boyfriend however, was never crazy about the idea. Now I see why.
Anyway, time goes on and my bf and I wanted to go to a rodeo and I thought it would be fun to go us 4 (us and the BIL/SIL). So we invite them and they tag along. When we showed up we realized they had no beer tents or alcohol vendors there, ok that sucks but whatever we are here for the rodeo! Oh no, not my BIL. The whole time we are watching from the grand stands, it is non stop complaining about how much this sucks and that theres no booze. Finally, the main event is about to start and he decides we all need to leave because ‘this f*cking sucks!’. At this point im holding back tears because I was genuinely anticipating this event for weeks. The SIL was laughing off his behaviour and not saying anything and my bf was visibly annoyed. This was the cause of one of my boyfriend and I’s first real ‘fights’, although it wasn’t his fault; he did warn me. We didn’t have to invite them to this event but yet we did, and BIL ruined it. So that was my first red flag.
Red flag #2: Errands/favours. Every now and again they would text us and ask if we had extras of something they could use (cheese slices, water bottles, etc.) Which we are more than happy to help out once in a while! But it started becoming frequent. To the point where okay did you guys even bother to do a grocery, when they were both working in town that same day. My bf and I very rarely ask for anything as we are both very independent and organized, we usually have everything we need at the house or if not we make substitutions or do without. It was getting to the point where I couldn’t open their snapchats at the end of my shift because it was most likely them asking for us to pick up something for them. I lowkey (highkey) felt like an uber eats driver! On the other end, BIL who has a border line drinking problem always taking beers off my bf. Apparently it was much worse before I moved in but essentially BIL will ask us if we have any beers before hes finished his last one. It’s gotten to the point where he walks right into the house and opens our beer fridge to look for some (um wtf knock? this is OUR HOUSE not your kitchen also we could be naked like holy shit.) I feel like I almost have to hide my drink when I go outside because if he sees me with one he will want one. Also, both the BIL and SIL work in town, if they know they are running low they should stock up, constantly bumming stuff off us gets old really fast. My bf constantly asks his brother ‘you didnt buy yourself more?’ to which he usually replies ‘well i am out’ (what kind of answer is that lmao). And we live literally 5 minutes away from a store that sells beer, he could send his wife to get some more (but no she doesn’t want to leave the house). Needless to say, they make their poor planning and laziness OUR problem. At one point it got so bad one sunday morning his brother walked over and asked if we have cream for his coffee. We only had the starbucks flavoured creamer so we offered that and I kid you not he says ‘Ew why dont you have regular creamer i wont drink that!’ WHY DONT YOU HAVE CREAMER. Like the entitlement was insane, my bf told him to go get his own creamer and BIL huffed and puffed back to his house. After that incident they stopped for a while but as of now the beer bumming is still very much happening. Just yesterday he walked right in, asked my bf if he had any beers, he lied and said no. BIL walked to and opened our fridge and grabbed beers anyway ‘you do have beers’. Well dont you think if we said no we probably dont want you having them? The entitlement and absolute disrespect of our boundaries was evident. I feel so torn with this kind of thing because you don’t want to be rude and come off selfish by telling them no, but at the same time they are taking advantage of how close we live to each other and for them its convenient to keep doing it and I feel like its not our responsibility at a certain point. Additionally, if we did the same to them, they would not appreciate it. I also notice how my bf and I rarely ask for favours but when we do (ex. bf needs a ride to the garage), they are always conveniently busy. The whole situation is giving selfish.
Red flag #3: Disrespecting our stuff. Last summer my mom’s boyfriend had passed from cancer, and at the same time I was moving in to my bfs. She had given me their very nice blow up pool since she wont have any use for it but she didn’t want to get rid of it either because it was sentimental. We took it, blew it up in the yard and used it in the beginning of summer, it was awesome! My boyfriend had mentioned that his brother hated the way it looked in the yard and thought it looked trashy, (we share our yard but had it on our side). I thought oh well he can have his opinion but its our pool and we are allowed to have it, they also have a small pool they put on the deck for their dog so I didn’t understand the reasoning. Anyway, summer ends and I wasn’t paying much attention but the pool was out of the yard, I had assumed my bf had put it back in its box and in the shed for the winter. So spring comes along and Im walking in the backyard doing something and I notice a plastic blue thing behind the shed covered by sharp metal and wood and its really buried in there. I inspect it closer and I realize it’s the pool! Assuming it was my bf I called him upset asking why he would treat my stuff that way. He assured me it wasn’t him and that he thought that I had put it away for the winter. We both paused and knew right away what really happened. His brother had thrown it behind the shed and covered it. I was baffled at the fact that he had the audacity to take it upon himself to take something that didn’t belong to him and throw it behind the shed like garbage because he didn’t like it. If they had something on their side of the yard that I didn’t like that does NOT give me the right to get rid of it or destroy it! He could have asked us to put it away and even at that it still doesn’t give him the right to dispose of it. My bf confronted him about it and his exact words were ‘I dont give a f*ck.’ My bf has told me he has done this kind of thing before when my bf wanted to sell his budlight umbrella on market place and his brother took it upon himself to take the umbrella and burn it in the fire pit while my bf was on a work trip. I just can’t believe someone can be so inconsiderate and show no respect for another persons property.
Red flag #4: SIL is not self aware at all and has a guise of being a sweet, quiet person but her actions say different. First and foremost, she has a huge issue with the MIL, that is a whole other story but to say the least she has some valid issues with the MIL i will not deny. But, a lot of the things she detests about the MIL she is guilty of herself. In my opinion, they are very similar people and they don’t even realize it. She claims MIL has a huge issue with boundaries and always wants to be part of all the plans that they make. She argues the MIL dictates and controls the situation every time, even if its a plan they invited her to (keep that in mind later). She is right she does do that. It is a very valid thing to have an issue with but on the other end they always want to do stuff with us when we dont! In the past we do and the BIL never DD’s, always gets fucked up on booze or if there isn’t freaks out (the rodeo). The SIL excuses it thinks its cute or has an attitude of ‘aw boys will be boys’ ( drunks will behave like drunks). SIL always wants to be home early for her dog or to smoke weed or both, which is fine if she takes her own vehicle but when she doesn’t its quite a bummer for the rest of us who are having a good time and dont want to exactly leave right when the fun starts. This happens a lot at family events. When SIL wants to leave early she will usually pawn off her husband to us to drive him home, which is not pleasant most of the time when he is drinking because he gets incoherently drunk and argumentative. SIL also dislikes the fact that MIL is very performative and makes out her life to be perfect, and pretends the very real and ever going family issues don’t exist. She is partially right about that but seeing both perspectives I can honestly say SIL is just as if not more performative than MIL. The most obvious reason for her being this way is the fact that she is her husbands biggest enabler. If my bf acted the way BIL acted I would not continue the relationship, but if I did I believe your duty as a partner is to keep each other in check and grow together. Instead, she often laughs it off and has the sentiment that thats just who he is. If she wants to leave early she pretty much gives us no choice but to give him a ride and its hard to say no considering we are neighbours ‘you’ll drive him home right? i told him not to be rude this time!’ (He almost always is, and drunk or sober never says thankyou btw). SIL also does this thing that I never noticed before because it was so subtle and I am trying not to think the worst of people, but until my friends and coworkers confirmed it with me I realized it was rude. So at first, I was still getting to know SIL and I honestly thought she was super down to earth and level headed I felt like I could confide to her and truly build a friendship. To preface, my boyfriend and I have a very happy relationship, but we, just like every other couple, have disagreements from time to time. Unfortunately I chose to vent to her at first and she would always reply something along the lines of ‘my husband NEVER does that, we are so good at communicating’ or ‘My husband always likes when I do that :)’. And the first times I thought nothing of it but then it dawned on me that she wasn’t being helpful, she was just complimenting herself while also putting my relationship down. Once I noticed this, I didn’t stop noticing it. I told her once how I regretted making fun of someone in high school while I was young and dumb and she replied ‘Oh, I was always nice to everyone i met and tried to always be kind:)’. These little comments were belittling me and almost making me feel ashamed for being vulnerable and admitting fault. And it was all disguised as being nice. She will do the same thing with my bf. She will have no issue talking about his faults while in the same breath saying her husband is nothing like that and they do x y and z better. I always hold my tongue when realistically I shouldn’t. If I had the same energy towards her husband she wouldn’t be as calm as I am. The thing is I know my bfs faults and I will agree if you point them out, same goes for my own. But to use our faults against us when we confide in you and you boost yourselves up with it and disguise it as giving advice? Thats not right. Lastly, already touched on this a bit but inconveniencing favours. We ask her for a ride once in a blue moon like im talking twice or 3 times a year if that, and she’s miraculously busy. But she’ll ask us (more me because my bf doesn’t answer anymore and as of now I wont either) to pick her something up at the store after a 9 hour day at work, meanwhile she works from home and her husband works in a city where he could also do the same errand. The other day she asked my bf if I was sleeping (it was 6-7am), and my bf says yes she is. She proceeds to text me while i unfortunately forgot to turn my ringer off. Now I may have fault in this for even entertaining her but Im the type of person who opens snapchats right away, I am trying to get better at this now. So despite my bf telling her Im sleeping aka do not disturb me, she texts me to go bang on her windows because her husband forgot to set his alarm. I told her just one second I will put my pants on and get out of bed and do that for her right away. I should have told her that she interrupted my sleep and went against what my boyfriend told her but I can be bad with people pleasing so I did it anyway. She constantly tells the family she doesnt sleep well with her back pain but she had no problem with the idea of interrupting mine to wake her husband up. She also complains about people walking over her boundaries but she literally ignored my bf saying I was asleep and messaged me anyway.
I think the main problem here is that they have issues as neighbours and as family members respecting boundaries and privacy. I don’t know what else will solve these issues other than my bf really addressing it all or just plain and simple moving out, which is not what we want to do because we love our house and put so much work into it. I could also address it but I feel like they may not be as receptive to me as they would my bf. UGH sorry that was long

TL;DR: Taro's character, the reasons behind the rivals' affection for him, the increasing difficulty in eliminating them, and the possible endings could be more compelling if chalex weren't so lazy and close-minded.
Concept: Without rivals, Taro appears bland. As more rivals appear, we gradually uncover Taro's true personality.
Rivals:

• Osana: Taro is patient with her, unaffected by her mean tendencies.
• Amai: Despite losing a childhood friend, Taro remains open to new friendships.
• Kizana: Taro's willingness to engage in activities outside his comfort zone, like theater, shows his open-mindedness.
• Oka: Taro is kind to Oka despite her odd interests, even though he dislikes the occult.
• Asu: Taro enjoys fun activities and avoids negative spirals, despite life's challenges.
• Muja: Taro's visits to the school nurse show his desire to care for others.
• Mida: Taro's efforts to improve academically, becoming Mida's private tutor, demonstrate his commitment to self-improvement.
• Osoro: Taro sees beyond appearances, valuing good intentions over reputation.
• Hanako: Taro's selflessness is evident in his acceptance of his sister's neediness.
• Megami: Taro's sense of justice aligns with Megami's principles.

Ayano's Perspective: As Ayano learns more about Taro, her obsession grows, intensifying her disturbing fixation.
Negative Traits: Taro has flaws:

1. Represses negative emotions to avoid worrying others.
2. Prioritizes others' happiness over his own needs.
3. Vulnerable to trauma, leading to anxiety and hostility.
4. Slow learner, failing to recognize rivals' intentions.

Possible Endings:

1. Worst Ending: All rivals are murdered. Taro, broken and suspicious, rejects Ayano's confession. (YOU LOSE)
2. Poor Ending: All rivals reject Taro, leaving him desperate for connection. He accepts Ayano's confession out of low self-esteem. (YOU WON?)
3. Bad Ending: Taro rejects all rivals, realizing he needs more time to form a healthy relationship. He rejects Ayano's confession. (YOU LOSE)
4. Good Ending: Taro remains unaware of the rivals' eliminations and accepts Ayano's confession. (YOU WON)
5. Best Ending: Ayano befriends all rivals, impressing Taro with her kindness. He happily accepts her confession. (YOU WON)
6. Secret Ending: Taro subtly rejects Ayano, leading her to kidnap and torture him. Taro has no choice but to comply. (YOU WON?)

Rival Difficulties:

• Osana: Childhood crush. Protected by martial arts expert Raibaru.
• Amai: Kind and social, constantly surrounded by others.
• Kizana: Always in the spotlight, difficult to isolate.
• Oka: Secretive and skilled in occult practices.
• Asu: Busy schedule and excellent physical condition.
• Muja: Knowledgeable and careful despite clumsiness.
• Mida: Experienced and cautious, making peaceful elimination difficult.
• Osoro: Spends time with delinquents and is physically formidable.
• Hanako: Overprotective of Taro, investigates suspicious eliminations.
• Megami: Well-trained, strong, and supported by the school community.

Possible Dark Secrets:
Osana: Loves cute things but fears ridicule.
Amai: Mistreats rude customers subtly.
Kizana: Sabotaged someone to get a lead role.
Oka: Performs disturbing occult rituals.
Asu: Was sexually harassed by a respected coach.
Muja: Accidentally worsened a student's health condition.
Mida: Cheated on her final thesis.
Osoro: Harmed an innocent person by mistake.
Hanako: Drove away Taro's friends to protect him.
Megami: Raised with extreme expectations, lacking a normal childhood.

A couple of years ago I tried writing my own version of Stones Abbigale. I never got past the first couple scenes, but I'm considering returning to it. I wanted to basically rewrite and change up a lot of things, mainly focusing on Abbi and Davis and changing some elements. Let me know what you think!

1
It's almost four in the morning and Seth is threatening suicide again. Good. Fuck him. I hope he does it. I don't text him that because I read about this girl who told her boyfriend to kill himself. The irony was that when he actually did it she got charged with second degree murder. My life is fucked as it is I don't need to make it worse. I’m shivering under my comforter because we’re halfway through November. I think about the turkey that won't get made this year and the family I won't see. I think that's swell. Seth is still texting.
Its like u dont even care after everything that happened and after everything we did together i saved ur life and i stayed with u when u cried and i hugged u and i did everything for u but that wasn't enough was it? i try so hard and all u ever are is a bitch to me that's not fair u want me to die and u hate me and u dont even care and im sick of it abbi why is is so hard for u to care about me?
I don't respond. I don't like how I feel about this. This should be easy. He won't actually do it. He won't. He’s too self involved to kill himself. I put my phone face down on my bed. The sheets shake around it as he sends message after message. I was sleeping on a ticking bomb so I got off of it. My feet stick to the floor, I struggle to step. I might as well have been standing barefoot on ice. I trudge to my window so I can see my street at night. Winter is really coming. You can't hear as many birds as you used to. They've all gone. They've all flown away. I can see three streetlights from where I’m standing. If you can from right to left you can see the concrete fracture into the sand. I open my window and brace for the chill. I stick my head outside. The ocean is not far away. I hear it hitting the shore over and over. Waves of water splashing incessantly, almost beating out my text notifications. The street lights flicker. I think of last summer. When Seth and I got really high after the news broke that my Mom was cheating on my Dad. I was making out with that bong. Emptying bowl after bowl, clanking the glass on the road to empty it out. Just thinking about it makes me feel the street pole against my back again. I was laughing and crying. Seth leaned in and hugged me. “I’m a sure thing,” he said. “I love you and I always will.” I caught my reflection in his sunglasses. I looked awful. I shiver at the memory. My phone is still buzzing. I try to catch my breath. I shut my window and start to walk back to my bed. A room always looks different in the dark. Maybe you think you know where you are, but there is always something that can jump out at you on the floor. Like a ghostly paper bag or a vengeful shoe. Objects that seem to move on their own with the sole drive of tripping you. I crawl back into bed. There's the phantom of Dad’s snoring . I know he's not sleeping in his room, he fell asleep on the couch after finishing his seventh fifth. Sometimes my brain fills in the gaps so I can hear it everywhere. Funnily, I haven't actually heard him snore since Mom left. That's the one thing I ever heard them fight about. Before she turned out to be a whore, I guess. BZZT.BZZT.BZZT. I can't bring myself to read any of his messages. They're coming so fast all the paragraphs are lost to motion blur. Seth’s arms wrap around me and I think about the beating of his heart and the warmth of his lips against my skin. I open up the texts, ready to respond.
I love you
I text this over and over until I fall asleep.
Davis was the only senior on the bus. Somehow, everyone else had a car or a ride. It’s all right, though. James would probably give him one if he had a car, but he skated to school every morning. That's why he barely ever rode the bus with him. The bus thumped along the under paved roads. Davis forgot his earbuds at home, so the only music that accompanied him was his racing thoughts. Two sophomore girls popped their heads over. “Ohmigod, Davis!” One of them shrieked.. “As I live and breathe,” he smiled. “Nice,” she said. “I’m so excited to see your finished painting.” Davis took the lower level art class for a requirement. Like most things, he's not taking it very seriously. For their pop art unit, he's painting a portrait of the art teacher with a warthog face. It's one of his funny disruptions. He knows Mrs. Stanley is going to have a real field day with it, but it doesn't matter. Artistic liberties, he’d profess. “She's such a bitch, isn't she?” The sophomore girl turns to her compatriot, who only nods in response. “She's just jealous,” Davis says. “It must be depressing to teach art and see the youth soar above her.” “For sure,” the girl doesn't get it. Class clown is a semi-heavy burden. Davis doesn't really feel like talking to these girls, but his position demands it. Comedy informs everything about him. To the giant thrift store jeans, to the loud Hawaiian shirt. He and James are the ultimate combination, at least he likes to think so. Quiet brooding begs for bright distraction. The girl is still trying to talk to him and Davis is saying his preprogrammed lines. The bus stops in front of James’s street. Surprisingly, James is standing there. “Like I’m this close to just filling my hydroflask with vodka, yaknow?” says the chick. Maybe she's just trying to get a rise out of him. “Better be prepared to give me more than a sip,” Davis is watching James grumble towards the bus. The sun is beating down on the forming ice puddles. James stomps through them with small shattering steps. James turns up the bus aisle and plops in the seat next to Davis. Davis’s smile is genuine now, but he fights it from getting too wide. “Crash your vehicle?” Davis asks. “Something like it,” there's something off with him. Davis doesn't want to push it. “Well damn, hope insurance covers it,” Davis wants James to break and laugh. Is it just another mood or did something actually happen this time? “It won't, I got bad credit,” James grins and it's like heaven. “What's the move for you today?” “Surviving art and physics for me,” says Davis. “Those bastards love to keep me down.” “Who doesn't,” James eyes the girls who have since returned to whatever they were doing before. It's the judgement stare, as Davis calls it. James likes to observe his peers like a zoo-goer. Breaking them down to taxonomic types. Davis likes to think that James doesn't do this to him, but he knows he probably does. “It sucks you decided to be bad at school and take baby art,” James is still dissecting the sophomore girls down to their tropes. “We could have done Art II together.” “I wouldn't want to get between you and Alex. I know how you love it when people piss in jars next to you.” “That's disgusting,” James breaks his glare at the girls. “It's performance art, it's beautiful,” Davis gets up out of his seat to yell. “Everyone witness the wonderful work of Alex Madov! Disengage yourself from the shackles of capitalism by shouting with me: Poopy, pee pee, poop!” Davis gets a few chuckles from the other kids on the bus. “Sit down, fatso,” mumbles the bus driver. “I will not be silenced! I’m a messenger of the good word, sir!” “More of this shit and I’m skipping your stop!” “Fine, but I will make Alex remember on the day of judgement,” Davis sits back down. James is full belly laughing. “You're so retarded,” James wheezes. Davis can't even come back with a response. He's high off of it.
The bus pulls into the school lot with a short stop. The mobs get up and begin to race out. Davis follows James down the line. “You know Abbi?” James asks. Davis feels a little pit form in his stomach, but he doesn't change his expression. “Vaguely, what about her?” “She's in my art class,” James begins. “And I think … well you know, I’m going to talk to her.” He walks down the steps and out the door. “Doesn't she have a boyfr-” before Davis can descend the driver's arm blocks him. “I’ve had enough of your shit, kid,” he says. “If you keep being obnoxious, I’m gonna find a way to make you pay for it.” James looks back, but he can't stay. Davis knows that he's gotta get to class. James does a little wave goodbye and Davis salutes him. “Are you even listening to me?” the bus driver seethes. “Yes, sir. Divine retribution, got it.” Davis ducks underneath his arm and exits the bus. James has already disappeared into the crowd.
I pass the bong to Ashley. She starts another bowl. She’s the transport and I provide the material. The little things that keep our friendship afloat. I look at the clock in her car. “It's 8:45,” I pick a piece of bagel out of my teeth. “So that's it, we officially missed first period,” Ashley tops it off. “They won't mark us, you know. It's a study.” “Yeah, but when's the last time we signed in? I heard they're changing the policy again. Do you still have the lighter?” I toss it to her. I don't get it. It's always her idea to pick me up so we can smoke before school, why now is she suddenly caring about attendance? “We're pretty girls, we can get out of it. I’m next,” I tap on the clock. “Are you sure it's not fast?” She shakes her head as she takes a snap. We're parked in the pond area a block or two from the school. It's our designated smoking spot. I like it, even at the end of fall it's pretty. I’m so engrossed that I don't realize her tip out the bowl and put it back in the cup holder. “I don't know if it's wise to keep up the activity, we should probably get going soon,” she starts up her car again. “Okay,” I say. She reverses and swings out of the lot. We lean into the silence and it's super weird. “Seth texted me last night,” I wait for her reaction. “Oh,” she grimaces. “What did you say?” “That I loved him.” Silence again. Ashley's trying to put together something well-meaning while understanding that I’ll probably ignore whatever she has to say. “Abbi, I’m not trying to tell you how to run your life, but …” Her expression is now quizzical. She's said what she is about to say a number of different ways all ready. She thinks and thinks and decides to say nothing. Good call, I would have screamed at her. Not because what she thinks about my situation isn't true, I’m just in a ‘screaming at people mood’ because of it. “I’m going to dye my hair again,” she changes the subject to avoid conflict. Classic Ash. “Oh yeah? What color this time?” “I don't know,” she checks her reflection in the rear view. “The red has faded out, maybe blue or pink this time.” “You should go with a softer pink,” I say. “Since you're a soft spring.” “Yeah, maybe.” We enter the school lot. “Listen, do you want to get together when I do it? Maybe you can dye your hair too.” “I don't know, I might be busy,” I say. “Seth might want to do something,” I pause for her to protest. “Okay,” she says. She parks and we get out.
I barrel into art class. I don't care if I reek, out of all the teachers I can tell Mrs. Stanley smokes the most. It would be hypocritical of her to care. It looks like I’m the first one. Weird. I check my phone. It's 8:45. Well, fuck. Looks like Ashley needs to fix her clock. Mrs. Stanley is at her desk. She looks at me knowingly. “Eager to create today, Abbi?” I just nod and sit at my desk. I’m really feeling it. I open up my precalc notebook and just start sketching. Birds, eyes, trees, whatever. Kids start coming in. Their chatter echoes around me, I try to focus on what I’m doing. Someone bumps into my table. I look up. It's this lanky blonde kid, I think his name is James. He presses his hands underneath the desk as he leans up to talk to me. “Eww!” He shouts. Some kids turn and laugh. I don't. I just stare at him. James goes red and sits next to the kid who pissed in a jar. Once an adequate amount of students are in the room, Mrs. Stanley starts her lesson slideshow. On the screen is a dirty urinal. “How many of you are familiar with this work by Marcel DuChamp?” she asks. At this point, Jason, the designated meathead jock, enters the room. “Sorry I’m late, Mrs. S,” he booms. He looks at the slide. “We building bathrooms today?” Mrs. Stanley glares at him. “Wouldn't you like that? Considering you spend all of your time in there.” “Whatever,” Jason brushes his mullet behind his ears. “No, not whatever. Would you like me to move you into the sophomore class with Davis? Believe it or not he's getting much better marks than you are getting in here.” Jason rolls his eyes and takes his place in the chair next to me. “Up to a little extra curricular activities before art, Abbi?” he motions a joint in his fingers. I scoff and go on my phone. There's another text from Seth.
sorry about last night
and
im reading it all right now that was fucked im sorry
I start to respond, but before I can Mrs. Stanley outstretches her hand. “Give me your phone, Miss Hagerty. I’m sick of giving you warnings.” I don't have the energy to fight, I just give it to her. “You can pick it up at the end of the day.” My jaw actually drops. Jason must have really set her off, she's not usually such a cunt to me. “Anyways, found art. What is it? Well, found art is the use of everyday objects to convey an altered meaning. It can be something you find on the street or something that once held value to you. For example, My Bed by Tracey Elim.” She pulls up a picture of a messy bed that looks suspiciously like my own. “So for your final unit of the semester, you will be making your own found art. I really want you to take this project a little more seriously than most of you have been taking this class. I’m giving you the privilege of picking your own partners, but I’d like to remind you to be thoughtful with your choice. This will be worth more for your grade.” I look around. I don't have any friends here. I toy around with the idea of asking Jason for convenience and he looks like he's about to pull that move. Behind me there's that James guy. He’s sheepishly looking at me. He seems kind of nice. Okay. I don't feel like getting up so I just turn around in my chair. “Hey James, wanna be partners?” He balks a bit and then smiles at me. “Yeah, totally,” He's beaming and it's somewhat endearing. Alex and I switch seats and now I’m next to him. “I’m gonna be real with you …” I begin. He stops and shifts a little. “I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing for this.” He regards me oddly. Like he's trying to piece me together. It doesn't bother me. “She said we have to bring in an object that's special to us and present it artistically basically,” he rubs his chin. Damn, I must be baked to hell. I didn't hear her saying that at all. “So got any stuffed animals we can cut up and make Lovecraftian monstrosities out of?” “I got a hamster cage, hold the hamster,” I say. It comes out kind of weird and I probably sound stupid, but he doesn't seem to care. “Let's make a fucking zoo.” “Perfect!” He’s kind of cute actually. In a way. Something about this feels fun. I realize the bell will ring soon. “So um,” I rip out a page of my precalc notebook, still fresh with my drawings. I scrawl out my number and push it to him. “Call me so we can figure out the project some more.” I pack up all my stuff and start to head out. I can feel him watching me and it's not that bad. “I sure will,” he says. Everything feels really groovy. There's a lightness now. I’m halfway out the door when I remember my phone. I can't believe that I just forgot about Seth. I think about begging for my phone, but I feel too above that. Still, something shakes the good feeling as the bell rings.

I always thought I wanted kids and I romanticized the whole pregnancy and birth and motherhood experiences but now that I’m learning more about it and a close friend of my partner is on kid #2, I’m getting that feeling less and less , I see the pros and cons and I just feel so lost for the future (my partner said he’s good with whichever decision I make)
The pros I see - family - future events - cute lil moments when their growing up - my partner would be a great dad (I feel like I’d be a good mom if I get my anxiety under control) - the kid/parent friendship when they get oldeadult
The cons - my anxiety/mental health is already poor - my stress levels - not where i want to be in life (career and health I want to be better) - financial burden - expectations (that my partner and I would have, family… - health risks - death/birth complications - PPD - ruining my relationship (having a baby because I feel outside pressure to and we end up resenting each other… I may read too many Reddit stories) - how my body will change - how it will affect my career - life in general -> housing crisis, politics, job security, - the moms I know now compared to before kids have completely lost their own identity (I would still want to be my own person not just ‘mom’) - being disappointed (have to be realistic- everyone has an idea of what they hope their family will be like ) - family not getting along (it could happen) - lack of personal /couple time
So I have a few questions 1. How is your life different from friends/family with kids 2. What are holidays like being childless 3. Do you regret not having kids/feel like you missed out on that experience? 4. How did you know you wanted or didn’t want kids 5. Did you decide to have kids because you wanted to fit it/it was the next step?
When my partner and I tell people we might not want kids , they seem personally offended by that decision, as if I chose not to because of someone else specifically

Hey all, I'm back. Been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks but I'll be back for now. Still working on Grand World Tour, and the release date will be announced shortly.
Ripper, Ripper, Ripper. The alfalfa male. Two sides of the same coin of RealRipper and FakeRipper. He was made so hateable in season one with the fart jokes, with the climax in episode 5, and mellowed out whilst still keeping his charm for the remaining episodes he was in. He had excellent dynamics with Chase and Zee. He contributed in challenges in an unique way, such as when he picked up Priya to go coast to coast for the skull and him and Chase teaming up in the very first challenge. Even during merge, his prowess shows where he was able to be one of the first to bring an egg back to Chris and almost won immunity the very next episode. In season 2, his character mellowed out a lot, and while he still had some of his charm, it was almost like he became a completely different person this season. He had a good first four episodes, with his peak being in the glass tile game where he got two right, but the last three he became Gidgette 2.0 with Axel, to distract Prileb (Notice how they were fixed in the finale.) All in all, still very humoring to watch this season.
Characterization:
Boy oh boy where do I even begin. Back in the Reboot, this man was very mean-spirited and gross to the point he would shamelessly pick on people. He will also use underhanded tactics to achieve victory, such as using Priya as a human shield and having Zee distract a cassowary only to leave him behind.
He shows off a more vulnerable and softer side when he forms a crush on Axel, whom he goes to great lengths to impress yet fails. He eventually succeeds and cares about her immensely, going against his mentality that caring about other people makes you look weak, to the point he chooses to leave with Axel when she's eliminated.
Plot/Story Ideas:
Some ideas that say it better than I could with Ripper, starting with u/Slayquil (Shout out to that one fanfic with Ripper and Axel's pregnancy). "I'd like to see his character arc finish. He already changed a lot from 1 to 2, so maybe 3 could close it out? I'd also want to see more of his friendships with Chase and Zee, and also more of the cute type of relationship he has with Axel later (not whatever the hell s2e7 was...that was uncomfy to watch). I've said it before but with the right writing, I feel like they have the potential to be really fun and certainly less toxic than Prileb." I'd love to see him close out his character for the first three episodes of the new season. It would be nice to see more of his interactions.
One big issue arises, which is how he outlasted Axel, and I really doubt that it'll happen for a third time. It's why, and due to his personality, that I do not see him going far.
Character Rankings:
I'm a really big fan of Ripper's character, and I find him rather underrated as far as the reboot goes. Aside from his fart jokes, his interactions are some of the best of this reboot, namely coming from the Trout Trio and Axel. He was enjoyable to watch with his demeanor showing off a change of pace from what we usually see from the show, and hes portrayed as such. Season 2 has a lot of issues, starting from his interactions being less interesting (which is a Rematch problem), and was flanderized in his final few episodes. His relationship with Axel, while the build-up being interesting, came off rather rushed in the sense that Rippers character kinda became a different person.
Personal Ranking: 10/16; Season 3 placement: Early boot (14th-16th?)
Let me know your thoughts on Ripper as a character and potential plots he can have. Also let me know if I missed anything and leave a comment!

Classic story of the lonely, jealous third wheel made extra spicy by gay shenanigans.
I've known Jon longer between the two of them. We grew up together, came out to each other first. And he even knows that I have feelings for him but he only sees me as a brother. Cool. I can live with that. He's my best friend and I wouldn't trade that friendship away.
Then comes Ryan, someone I used to work with who I also had a huge crush on. He was charming, funny, shared so many interests with me, and made the work life so much bearable and even something to look forward to. I left our workplace earlier than he did but we never lost touch which was awesome because I really like him.
My birthday last year though happened and they finally met and instantly connected. At first I liked it that the two most important people in my life became so close right away until I started to feel like I was now being demoted as an onlooker to their bourgeoning love story; a love story I wish I had with either of them...
They began to drift away. Back then I would have nightly conversations with them about anything and everything that crossed our minds but now it will sometimes take days before they even see any of my messages. Things I normally did routinely with either of them slowly took a backseat as the weeks went on.
It got worse when in the off chances I got to hang out with them separately, I'd get comments like
Ryan: Oh Jon looks really cute when he's wearing his basketball jersey.
Me in my head: We were in the same basketball team. You've seen me in that jersey. And people always thought Jon and I were brothers because we look the same except for my glasses.
or
Jon: Ryan recommended this new tv show and it was really fun! You should watch it too!
Me: I have... I recommended that to you too... I recommended that to him too.
I just feel so... unacknowledged all of a sudden. I don't just feel alone. I feel lonely. I feel abandoned. I feel betrayed. I am Woody in that Toy Story Meme where Andy discards him.
It's dramatic I know but I've kinda built my life around these two adorable idiots and I just feel so lost without them now.
And I know wholeheartedly that I am bitter and jealous and I am a coin flip toss up between either wanting them to break up or suggesting a throuple situation (delusion, convince yourself).
But ultimately though I also am happy for them. They matter so much to me and I am truly glad they found happiness. And I know it's neither of their intentions that I feel this way right now.
It just freaking sucks.

To be honest I don't know how I feel about my writing. I was hoping you guys could give some advise to help me improve. I'm new to writing longer fic, most of the stuff I wrote before is one shots and poems. Also English isn't my first language, so I'm in unfamiliar territory.

1. I'm kinda regretting writing my story in past tense. I think that present tense would have been better, reserving the past tense for my flashbacks. Is it too late to change it? I mean it would mean having to rewrite the whole fic. The problem is I altered posted 6 chapters and I'm worried it would mess it up. What do you think, should I do it. Would I loose readers? I don't want to have to repost the whole fic, because I would loose all my comments and kudos. what is the best choice here?
2. From what I learned in school and from the advice I read online, show don't tell is one of the most important rules of writing. However that is my exact problem. When I read my stuff I get the feeling like my writing is too dry and not descriptive enough and my beta agrees with me, but every time I try to be descriptive it comes off as flowery and it just feels like it was written by other people. How can I add more descriptive elements without sounding too flowery?
3. On that same note, my beta said that I tend to over explain scenes like for example in one chapter of my fic, there are several scenes where one character refusing help due to being stubborn and not wanting to be a burden and and the other character being frustrated/feeling they are taken advantage and wanting to end the friendship. I was trying to show how their friendship slowly imploded and as such certain elements pop up again and again. My beta said that it was too repetitive and that readers are not idiots who can pick up on themes without being hit over the head with a hammer. She's right of cause, but to be honest I'm not sure I'm good at writing subtext. Do you guys have any resources or tips to help me improve in that area?

Edit: Please do not delete this post. Yes I posted it before, but deleted the post because I wanted to change the title and that wasn't possible after posting. I'm not trying to spam just get this post out. sorry for any inconvenience.

I need to preface this by saying that my mom is by far the worse parent between her and my dad. She became a stay-at-home mom when she had my brother, and by her own admission, she decided not to do anything with friends, maintain friendships, or create friendships for as long as my siblings and I were home (I'm the youngest). Around 2016, my mom just became so much worse than she'd ever been. I have happy memories of her from my childhood, but my high school years do not see her fondly. It was then that I realized she was emotionally abusive, and when I reached college, I started attending a non-SBC Baptist church and she told me to go to hell. For over a year, she constantly harped on me that I had lost my way and spit in God's face and then she made everything about her and that I hated her (true) and that I was spitting in her and my dad's face because I wanted to spend spring break with friends or stay in my college city that I loved for the summer.
One of the reasons I'm trying so hard to graduate early is so I have less time of being financially dependent on my parents. Right now, they're funding my education and living situation, and that is good. I appreciate that. However, they lord that over my head at all times. I started dating when I started grad school, and I posted a cute picture of my partner and me kissing, and my mom told me that I shouldn't go on a weekend trip with him anymore because "you know how men are, he'll want to sleep with you" and then told me that she saw that picture and was unable to sleep all night. She picks fights with me and got mad when I wanted to go with my partner to a museum that my family wouldn't appreciate bc it was "unsafe" to uber with another person in broad daylight. After a vacation, I was with my partner and his family, and my mom got mad at me for not driving home in rush hour when I had told her that I knew for a fact the route was actually safer at night. Then she told me that me and my partner didn't need to be joined at the hip and started criticizing him. She senses that she's losing control and I'm sick of her taking it out on me. It's not my fault that she didn't make a life for herself outside of her children.
She and my sister are big proponents of "family is the most important thing" but will refuse to acknowledge that family can be built. If I did the whole "the actual phrase is 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'" my whole family would get really pissed. I care more about my close friends from undergrad and my partner. I like my siblings okay, and I would be a lot more receptive to a relationship with my dad if he were divorced from my mom.
Yesterday, I created a finsta because I like posting but I need there to be no pressure on receiving likes. My mom requested to follow it and at first, I allowed it, but it immediately made the finsta less fun, so I told her that parents are not supposed to follow finstas and even siblings don't always (my partner has three sisters, two of whom have a finsta — there's only one other sibling per finsta there). My mom got mad at this explanation, saying that instagram wasn't real, and then was mad again that I was like "then what does it matter?"
I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but interactions with my mom are the only things that can immediately deflate me. My partner sees how I react whenever I get a text from her, and my entire demeanor changes. I have panic attacks sometimes when she texts me. I've muted her contact before. She acts like I'm dumb, and she doesn't respect my degree because I'm liberal (and not a conservative expert). I wanted something for myself where she couldn't touch it, and then she was pissed that she couldn't. And it's frustrating because I'm still on their insurance (which is good and I like it, admittedly) because I'm still at that age, and since my parents are traditional, they would pay for my wedding with my partner, and I would also appreciate that. But I know even that will be an issue because my partner and I are deadset on a no kids wedding and only inviting close friends and family. If I could cut off my mom and still have an okay relationship with my dad, I'd do it. But the people who have loved me better than my family ever has are my friends, my undergrad mentors, and my partner. I don't like my mom, and I don't love her. She is an obligation that I cannot wait to be free from.

I (19M) was always lonely throughout my life. I never had friends in school and never took part in any co-curricular activities. I would be jealous of my classmates with them hanging out with friends and being able to talk to girls, so I decided that after my high school I will try to make friends in college.
In college I met a group of people who I thought could be my friends. We would talk and have fun together. We would joke about each other. Even there were 2 girls in our group and with their friendly nature made me comfortable to talk to girls. Even there was a guy in the group who I would hangout with a lot. We would sit together and go to eat food together in the canteen or outside college.
I even started talking to a girl. She was really sweet and cute to talk to and we would bitch about our professors and at once shared playlists with each other. She was the one who asked me for my Insta ID. She would look and smile at me and wave at me. It was amazing. I thought my college life is going to be way better than my school life.
But it all came crashing down. In October me and my friends bunked our classes and went to the sports arena to play games. We were playing darts. One of the 2 girls, let's call her S, jokingly told one of the guys in our group that she would hit him on his head with a dart. So I jokingly told her that I would hit her with the dart but I accidentally pointed at her breast. I was looking at her face so I didn't realize it.
She got offended. She took the other girl, let's call her Z, and told her everything about this. Z confronted me and started shouting at me in the sports arena attracting everybody's attention. The Sports Officer came running towards us. He heard the entire story and took my ID card and told them to write a letter against me to the Dean.
After the letter was written he took me and the girls to the Dean who thought of this as a minor incident and told us we are legally adults and coming to him with these petty complaints. Then they told the Dean about me taking photographs of them and leaking them.
The day before I clicked S's photos of her eating a banana in the presence of our friend group. She took it very sportingly as a joke and I uploaded them to our personal Whatsapp Group. Everyone of us including her were laughing and giggling. But she and Z told that I took them without permission. They even told that I was never a friend and I was an outsider.
Dean got me suspended for 15 days because the next day our vacation would start so throughout November I was in my home. My mother uses this incident as a weapon to scold me evey now and then when we have arguments. And the worst was my crush.
During the days of my suspension I was in contact with my crush. She would even send notes of the classes of that day everyday throughout the suspension, but she didn't know I got suspended. Then when I rejoined college and started attending classes I sat far to my former friend group and behind my crush and she ignored me. Completely.
Throughout the whole day she would ignore me. That broke my heart. I was very upset and regretful for my actions. I think that my crush stopped taking to me because she got to know about this incident and misunderstood me. I have been hating myself for not respecting boundaries. Now I am all alone seeing my classmates enjoying their friendships and relationships. I think I deserve this.

To be honest, I wasn't sure that the Advice sub would let me post this there so I'm posting it here because it's so fucked up. And it didn't seem right for Let's Not Meet, either. But I do need advice, because I feel I'm losing my fucking mind.
So I (30F) have always been very close to my cousin (30F), let's call her Angela. Because we're the same age, our parents (my mom and her father are siblings) went through all the same stages with us and as such, we were more or less raised like siblings due to how much time our families spent together.
We even had homes in the country in the same township, which is where I think this happened. And I can't really tell my family this because it will make me sound legitimately crazy. And some part of me even doubts this memory, but at the same time I know in my heart that it's true. It's a complicated feeling, and this memory was brought to light last week when my suspicion I've had for years was more or less confirmed.
One winter, sixteen years ago, when Angela and I were both fourteen, both of our families were at our cottages, a twenty minute drive from each other. Angela and her little brother (my cousin, let's call him James) parents (my aunt and uncle) were going skiing one morning, and I wanted to go too. So I spent the night at their cottage, like I often did when we all went up north.
Angela's bedroom had two single beds in it, and James' room was down the hall. The whole house was open concept, so the hall from Angela's room to James' room did not have walls, but rather was bordered by two railings over which you could see down into the main floor, the open concept living and dining rooms.
James is four years younger than us, and when he was 10, he was such a typical little boy/little brother, it's almost cartoonish to look back on. Like, I'm talking *constantly* bothering us, putting a stink bomb on a remote control car that he would sneak into our rooms, trying to read Angela's diary when we weren't in her bedroom, just all the stuff. But never anything cruel or out of the ordinary or sinister, just a massive handful.
The basement of James and Angela's cottage was filled with storage and old toys, and sometimes (on the rare occasion) that we'd willingly play with James, we'd all go down to the basement and try to freak each other out. Anyway, one of the toys in the basement was your typical Raggedy-Ann doll from the 60s or something. I think it belonged to my uncle when he was a kid and then Angela when she was a baby. Her name was Trilly. I forget who named it. Anyway, I have vague memories of playing with it when we were much younger and pretending it was our third cousin or our little daughter. But since then she'd sat in storage in the basement.
But, what great nightmare material! Right?! A creepy, limp, smiling doll. So the night I stayed over, before we went skiing in the morning, James, Angela and I were up to our playing in the basement, and I remember we tried to freak James out by pretending Trilly was alive or something like that. Whatever. Game over, we all had dinner with the parents, then watched a movie as a family and went to bed. James to his room and Angela and me to Angela's room.
Now this is the thing. Angela and I still joke about this night, and she remembers it just like I do, which is why I sort of wrote off my hypothesis until last week. That night, in the middle of the night, I started tossing and turning. I woke up and could tell that Angela was stirring as well. One of us said to the other, "are you awake?" and the other said "yes," and we realized that we both couldn't sleep or were woken up by the same thing or were both just feeling restless. But then, at the other end of her room, Trilly was sitting in the fucking desk chair.
I think it was Angela who pointed it out. We saw a shadow, thinking it was a person, freaked out, and then relaxed briefly when we saw it was just the doll. But then we got freaked out all over again and were like, "why the FUCK is this FUCKING doll in your room!?!?", murderously standing up and going over to it to pick it up and throw it in James' room and pound the living Christ out of him.
We turn on all the lights, turn on the hall light, stomp down the hall into his room and turn on his lights, and see he's not in his bed. We then go downstairs (my aunt and uncle's room was on the main floor), Trilly still in Angela's hands, and hear my aunt and James in the washroom. Turns out James had been sick for the last few hours and my aunt had been up all night with him as he was throwing up in the washroom. And when we saw the scene we immediately could tell that James had nothing to do with Trilly. Like, it was just one of those really believable situations where we could tell James truly had no idea what was going on. We even felt bad for him. And, to top it off, when we told him the story in the morning it scared him so much that he didn't go into the basement for like a year. Anyway, it just seemed really sincere.
So Angela and I went back up to her room and we were like, "are we *sure* we didn't bring this up here last night? Are we sure? We must have." Anyway, while we were really freaked, we figured that it was explainable. We knew the doll obviously didn't walk itself upstairs like it was some horror movie. But, because we were fourteen and all for the drama (and I remember us having the "better safe than sorry" mindset) we called her dog upstairs (Bella, a poorly behaved black poodle). We started playing tug-of-war with Bella, using Trilly as the toy, and eventually Bella ripped her to shreds.
Anyway, funny memory, making the dog rip up the doll, we laughed and thought we were tough and cool, then we went back to bed.
The next morning, instead of all of us going skiing, it was just Me, Angela, and my Uncle, because James stayed home with my aunt on account of his stomach flu. But when we woke up, Angela was acting weird. Nothing too noteable, just really bizarrely quiet as she moved around her room to get her clothes out of her drawers and get changed. She didn't, like, acknowledge me in her room. I said something like "morning" when she didn't acknowledge me, and she looked at me and then turned back to her drawers and kept getting changed.
And she was looking around weirdly, I remember that too. Almost like she'd misplaced something, but a little more dazed than that. Just moving strangely. Then she went downstairs without saying anything to me at all. I thought maybe she was just super groggy... but it still felt really weird.
When I went downstairs, she was standing at the island in the kitchen buttering toast that my uncle had put in for us. I distinctly remember walking up beside her and the toaster, pulling a piece of toast out of it, putting it on the plate that had been set out for me, and when I dipped the knife into the container of butter, Angela smacked my hand away, hard, and looked at me and snapped, "what are you doing? Don't take things that aren't yours". I was shocked. It honestly felt like being struck in the face. She'd never spoken to me like that before, and even though we were like siblings, I still felt that kind of mortifying embarrassment you feel when someone calls you out on misbehaving, even though I wasn't doing anything wrong; but it *was* her family's butter and bread? I don't know. That's what I remember thinking. But it was awkward and weird and I just said, "um, what?" and then she didn't say anything, just kept buttering her toast, and I mumbled some apology.
The three of us then drove to the ski hill and, I kid you not, Angela and I didn't speak the whole way there. I had no idea what was up, but I didn't want to ask with her dad in the car.
Then when we got to the ski hill, we went skiing just the two of us and on the chairlift during the first run I mustered up the courage to say "Hey, did I do something wrong? I feel like you're really mad at me or something". And she turned to look at me and was confused. Not friendly, not warm, not reassuring, but confused. It was almost as if I was a stranger and she looked at me as if to say, "sorry, who are you? why are you talking to me?"
And she responded in a formal way: "Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about". The distance in her voice was really eerie, and I started to think maybe this had to do with the doll incident the night before and either she was trying to extend the prank, and she was the one who had put the doll on the chair, OR she felt guilty that we ruined this family doll and she resented me for being a part of it. Anyway, when we got to the top of the hill, she skied down quickly and didn't wait for me to go back up again, and we ended up skiing separately.
I felt awkward and embarrassed like I'd done something wrong. I ended up skiing with my uncle who asked me what was up with us, and I just said I didn't know. Then after our day of skiing, he dropped me off at my family's cottage and continued on home with Angela.
For the rest of that whole school year (we were in ninth grade), Angela and I didn't really speak. It was really sad. We were like sisters before, but better because we weren't actually sisters, but cousins, and so we were like best friends that were related. Seriously, we were really close. And it really messed me up, I felt like she just ghosted me. I would text her and call her house but she was always "fine" or "with Jessica" (her best friend). I chalked it up to her just outgrowing me, and it really fucking sucked. But, to be honest, it was so jarring and such a stark shift that I was more confused than hurt. I talked to my mom about it and she explained to me how rough it can be to be a teenage girl.
But that following summer, we were up at our cottages again, and our family had a barbecue and invited over my aunt and uncle and Angela and James. I had seen Angela at family things a couple of times since and she would just kind of ignore me and spend the whole time texting, which is what I expected this time.
Sure enough, that's what happened for the first bit of the barbecue. But then when the food was ready, she came up beside me as we were dressing our hamburgers at the condiment table and said, "oh my god, remember that night we got Bella to ruin Trilly?" and I was so shocked by her friendly tone, by her acting as though she were picking up a conversation we just were having, that I just stared at her and said, "yeah, that was crazy". And she said, "yeah, so funny. Anyway, how've you been?" again, really different and formal. I almost couldn't get past how altered her tone was, like we'd never even met. In fact she seemed so sprightly and kind that I thought she was mocking me.
And our relationship since that barbecue carried on just like that. She started talking to me more, but I'd reference inside jokes or ways we used to be or things we used to do and she never really latched on to any of them. I was caught between thinking she'd outgrown me and thinking she was like embarrassed of our closeness before or something and was trying to move on. I talked to my mom about this, and again got the speech about how teenage girls can be really cruel/strange sometimes.
So until we were about 22, we were like that. Nice to each other, talking sometimes, not that close, and I learned to not try and act like we were all close or that we had been close. I talked to my friends about it too and they said it was normal for friendships to change like that. But something felt off about this. I started to honestly feel crazy for hanging on to this "before" memory of Angela so much.
Then when we were 22, we grew apart. This time, it was mutual and natural. I moved cities, and she got engaged and became a real estate agent and we just had nothing to talk about. It was gradual and I didn't notice it much. Which brings us to eight years later, just last week.
I was travelling in Iceland. I had to be there (very randomly) for a conference/workshop I was leading for work, and turned it into a vacation. Rented a car, decided I was going to drive across the island after the conference was over and stay on the east part and explore a bit.
Day four of my seven-day long road trip. It's mid-afternoon, I'm hungry. I've been driving for three hours and have come across no sign of civilization at all, and it was fifty miles to the next town. But then, voila! A little gas station/general store/cafe! Perfect!
Ah, fuck. I literally can't believe I'm writing this. It makes me sound fucking crazy. But here I go.
I park in the little three-car parking lot. I get out of my car, step onto the gravel, the sky is white, expansive, there are mountains everywhere around me, fields, sheep. The air is fresh. Seriously middle of nowhere. I walk up the wooden rickety steps and push open the door and hear the door chimes go. A man walks out from the back room and greets me, and the place is cute. There's a little handwritten menu above the cash register and I asked him in my pathetic Icelandic/English mix if I could have the gravlax toast. He's very friendly and kind and says yes, asks if I want a coffee, I say yes please, blah blah, he rings me up at the cash register, and I go and sit at the one table they have and wait for my food.
I look around - it's mostly a fishing supplies store with some general groceries. The man opens the door to the room from which he came, the kitchen I suppose, and says the order to the lady in the back who looks like she's doing some prep cooking. Immediately I stop. It's freaking Angela!!!! Or I thought it was.
Now, remember, I hadn't seen Angela in about eight years. Since her dad passed away when we were twenty-three, and because I'd moved cities, we just had no reason to really see each other especially after growing so far apart.
So, like, OH MY GOD, it's Angela! She's working at a random little general store in middle-of-nowhere Iceland! But wait, I thought. No. This is obviously not-fucking-Angela. Angela is a real estate agent in my hometown. I'd obviously know if she lived in Iceland lol. Right? I don't really use social media but the odd time I do, she'll pop up here and there. But I guess not enough for me to *confirm* she still lived in my hometown.
But anyway, she looked enough like Angela that I went right up to the cash register and rang the little bell and the guy came back out and when he opened the door I was able to get another look at her, and my heart skidded. A chill spread across my crown. It was one hundred percent Angela. Like, my full-on cousin. So, looking over the guys' shoulder, RIGHT AT ANGELA, I smile and say, "Angela!! Oh my god!!" and before she could respond, the door shut again.
And the guy at the cash smiled really big, a nice, friendly, smile and he looked surprised as well, and pointed back over his shoulder and then at me, as if to say, "you two know each other?!" which confirmed for me that her name was Angela, because he seemed really delighted at the coincidence. Expecting her to emerge from the kitchen, I walked around to behind the cash register (the invitation was implied by the guy) and he put his arm back to open the door for me, or for Angela, whom we both expected to be making her way over to me, too.
When he opened the door, she was head-down again, chopping vegetables. I walked through the door and said, "Angela? Angela!" smiling, thinking she hadn't seen me yet or realized who I was, all context considered. She looked up at me, and then quickly, as though avoiding my eyes, looked down. "Hey", she said, quietly, at the cutting board.
WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON? Before I could ask anything, she said, "I'm really sorry, okay?"
What?
She repeated herself and then continued: "I'm really sorry okay? But we can't talk".
I actually, like, had no clue what was happening. I was looking into the eyes of my cousin whom I hadn't seen in forever in some random fucking shack in Iceland and she was acting skittish and afraid. I opened my mouth to protest and she said, "I need you to leave," then she called the guy's name and said something to him in Icelandic. She can speak Icelandic??!
The guy came in, his demeanour totally different. Almost like he was a bouncer. He gestured to my coffee and toast that were ready to go, took them in his hands and ushered me out of the kitchen and I could tell I no longer was welcome. Either I wasn't welcome or I was in danger, or both. It felt more like the former. And I don't think the guy had any idea what was going on, either. I think she must have said something to him like "I don't know this person, this person is crazy" or something. That's how he was acting toward me.
I got in my car, I drove five minutes down the road, and pulled over. I miraculously had service and I called my mom and told her everything. She kind of just laughed at me and was like "Many-Patient2894, that obviously wasn't Angela". And joked about me making some poor Icelandic woman feel extremely weird. But based off the guy's reaction when I said her name, her name was Angela, and the way she spoke to me and said sorry and said we couldn't talk, like, she knew me too. I told my mom all of this and I sounded fucking crazy and she just was basically like, "Haha, yeah, weird". I think she thinks I was making up the part about the apology.
I told all of my friends this, when I was still in Iceland, and they all reacted like my mom did. At this point, I had four days left in the country, and I kept wanting to return to the cafe/general store. But I didn't. I started to think maybe the woman thought I was someone else. But then I kept coming back to, but wait, this person was Angela. Her name, her body, her face, like I just didn't know what to do.
This brings me to two days ago, the day before yesterday, when I returned to Canada, where I live. It's eight o'clock in the morning and I'm on my way to work. In my car. Just picked up a coffee. Exhausted. Not thinking about Angela at all. Thinking about my laundry, my bills, what I'm going to make for dinner. The traffic is bad and it's a miserable day outside.
My phone dings. It's a random number. The text reads: "Hey! It's Angela! How was your trip?"
Haven't heard from her in eight years (except for our run-in in Iceland, if indeed it was one). No "how have you been??", no "I miss you!!" no "long time no talk/see!". I also hadn't posted anything about my trip on social media. Unless you were a friend of mine, you didn't know I was there.
I immediately call my mom, who follows Angela on Instagram, and ask her to look at her profile. Sure enough, Angela (not at all to my mother's surprise), is posting stories of the bachelorette party she's at in Miami. She's, like, not at all in Iceland.
I have no idea what's going on. And the way Angela/the woman spoke to me in the cafe had the cadence and softness that Angela had, and in my memory, lost, starting the morning of the skiing after the incident with Trilly and the dog. For some reason I'm fully back there in my memory now, realizing that that was the first morning of "the new Angela", the one that seemed to have no emotional memory of me at all. Like, the Iceland Angela seemed more like the "before" Angela.
I haven't replied to the text. I have no idea if it was bachelorette party Miami Angela or Iceland Angela that sent me the message, the area code is from neither Angela's hometown or Iceland.
I need advice, I have no idea what to do or who to talk to. Do I reply to the text? What do I say? I feel like the real Angela is fucking trapped in Iceland or something and has been for a long time. Or I don't even know. I have no idea what to do.

To be honest I don't know how I feel about my writing. I'm currently writing fic, but working on ideas for an original story. I'm new to writing longer stories, most of the stuff I wrote before is one shots and poems. Also English isn't my first language, so I'm in unfamiliar territory. I was hoping you guys could give some advise to help me improve.
1) I'm kinda regretting writing my story in past tense. I think that present tense would have been better, reserving the past tense for my flashbacks. Is it too late to change it? I mean it would mean having to rewrite the whole fic and I'm worried it would mess it up. What do you think, should I do it?
2) From what I learned in school and from the advice I read online, show don't tell is one of the most important rules of writing. However that is my exact problem. When I read my stuff I get the feeling like my writing is too dry and not descriptive enough. I do use dialog to make the story more engaging, but I have the feeling that aside form the dialog it's still a bit stilted and my beta agrees with me. However, every time I try to be descriptive it comes off as flowery and it just feels like it was written by other people. How can I add more descriptive elements without sounding too flowery?
3) On that same note, my beta said that I tend to over explain scenes like for example in one chapter of my fic, there are several scenes where one character refusing help due to being stubborn and not wanting to be a burden and and the other character being frustrated/feeling they are taken advantage and wanting to end the friendship. I was trying to show how their friendship slowly imploded and as such certain elements pop up again and again. My beta said that it was too repetitive and that readers are not idiots who can pick up on themes without being hit over the head with a hammer. She's right of cause, but to be honest I'm not sure I'm good at writing subtext. Do you guys have any resources or tips to help me improve in that area?
While this is technically about a fic, I am looking for general writing advise in general, which is why I posted in this sub, as well as on the Fanfiction Sub. I appreciate any help I get.

With all the new players entering the game as of late, a lot of the same questions get asked - specifically, ones like "How can I make the perfect team for classic/endless/etc.?". The guide ahead is an attempt at answering more common questions on the former end, from the perspective of someone who almost exclusively plays Classic and many wins under my belt in doing so. Community feedback welcome; hopefully something like this can expand into something like a wiki/full guide so we can help new players down the line, too!
Classic and You: Starting Out
So you just picked up the game, but not sure where to start. "Which starters are best?" "What team should I go with first?" "I unlocked [x] - can I beat Classic with this?"
Let me reassure you: you can beat Classic with anything. (Yes, even something like Caterpie.)
That said, it's understandable to not know where to start, especially if you don't know all the starters, or maybe haven't played all the various generations of Pokemon through the years. Many of them have their own strengths and weaknesses, and some are built stronger than others. For example: Fuecoco is commonly the #1 recommended starter out of the base selection you get when first starting the game. Why? His final evolution, Skeledirge, naturally learns Torch Song, which is a hard-hitting fire move that guarantees a Sp. Attack buff each time it hits. This lets you snowball fairly quickly, as each attack makes you stronger and stronger during battles. Many starters have "specialty" tricks like this that give them an edge - Sprigatito's final evolution, for instance, gets Flower Trick, a hard-hitting grass move that always crits (and therefore always ignores opponent defensive boosts and/or your own negative debuffs). Even with all these being the case, though, there's no "perfect" team to start with that will guarantee a win - and in fact, getting a win on your first run can be exceedingly difficult. Your starters all only have 10 IVs, neutral natures, and no egg moves - they're the bare bones minimum to get going. And that's okay. But it means you need to temper your expectations.
Pokerogue is a rogue-like - and in classic rogue-like form, you build upon what you start with little by little. Your primary goal shouldn't be to get a Classic win at the start. It's certainly doable, but even if you win, you're still likely without any reliable starter to take on Endless just yet, so there's no sense in rushing there. Instead, focus on that concept of building - specifically, building your starter pool. Every time you catch something, you unlock it as a starter (if you don't have it yet). You also get candies, which can be used to power up those starters by either unlocking a passive ability (unlocking additional features) or reducing their point cost, letting you bring more starters to each run (or more powerful ones!). Catching things with higher IVs also make your starting stats better - catching a 31 Speed IV Pidgey, for instance, means your Pidgey starter now permanently has 31 Speed IVs. More stats = more power, and getting higher IVs on your starters is probably the biggest early jump you can get on pushing your team further.
With this in mind, making a "perfect" team is less important than just making A team, so that we can go out and catch some things. As for what to catch, though, here's a list of things I'd keep an eye out for:

• Anything with a missing and/or "dark" pokeball under their name. Just like in some of the main Pokemon games, Pokemon in Pokerogue will be marked with a pokeball if they've been captured before. If it's missing, and you want it as a starter, catch it! More importantly, though, is the "darkened" icon of the pokeball - this indicates that you've unlocked the starter, but this one has something you don't have yet; maybe a gender, or maybe an ability you don't have yet. For instance, a Meowth starter that you have may only have Pickup, but the one in battle before you now has Technician. Catching these "darkened ball" pokemon will unlock more options for your starters, letting you switch between these unlockables at the pokemon select screen when you start your later runs. I generally recommend catching as many of these as possible - in the beginning, it'll seem like every pokemon has a dark ball, but that's because you don't have many things unlocked yet. As you unlock more things, they'll get rarer - and more importantly, when you start looking for those elusive Hidden Abilities (HAs), these darkened balls will help you discover them more easily when you have everything else already unlocked. Remember, this is a rogue-like - we're building our starters here for future runs!
• Anything "rare". This is somewhat subjective, because "rare" can mean anything from "hard to find" to "legendary". In general, though, I recommend keeping an eye out for things you don't see often - starters, for instance, or legendary/pseudo-legendary/ultra beast/etc. "boss" monsters at the end of every 10 waves. But catching duplicates serves a secondary purpose - remember, it also gets you candies, which you can use to power up those rare pokemon starters you have later. Getting candies from friendship is certainly doable, but especially for rarelegendary pokemon, this can take a loooooong while. Catch them if you can to make it easier on yourself later. (A sub-point of this: If a rare or starter is available in a daily run, consider "farming" the daily run over and over to catch them again and again! Many of the daily run guides point these out intentionally for this reason - daily runs can sometimes be the best way to target farm candies in this way.)
• Anything you plan on using a lot. Somewhat of another sub-point of the above, catching duplicates of things you know you'll use often can be useful for candy collection. Specifically, this works well for things you know you'll use often - your first few shinies, for instance, or general-use pokemon that have Pickup. Build your Zigzagoon army! Candy collecting is especially useful for these to reduce costs, letting you take more of them with your legendary into Endless mode when you get to that point.
• Any shiny. This goes without saying for many, but shinies are the lifeblood of Pokerogue. You need them...a lot of them. They come in three flavors - starting from the weakest, a yellow shiny (Luck 1), then blue (Luck 2), and finally red (Luck 3), with the color being the "star" marker of the shiny pokemon on their HP bar. Eventually you'll want as many Luck 3 shinies as you can get your hands on, but when you're starting out, you're building from 0 - so catch any you see, even if it means failing your Classic run to do so. A new run takes an hour to start back up; a new shiny could take days or even weeks to find in Classic. (Ideally, though, don't be afraid to refresh/"save scum" to try and find a way to catch it without sacrificing your run if you can, and if you're willing. No sense in wasting all that work.)
• Don't neglect your team. Remember, our eventual goal is to win Classic...but more importantly, we're hoping to get as far as we can, and 190 if possible. The sprint from 180-190 is the most profitable floor in Classic for egg vouchers, with each Elite 4 member & the Champion at 190 giving them upon victory (Plus, first time wins get you bonus achievement vouchers too - two for one!). With this in mind, you want to make sure to balance your team out as you go, and don't neglect it as you progress. Perhaps your team needs a good rock-type wall to throw in the way of hard-hitting trainer pokemon. Maybe you're looking for a Ground-type to soak all those electric moves you keep running into in the electrical biomes. Good team building will carry you further than any IV or egg move ever could. Even the strongest legendaries can fold to a weakness.

This "starting out" phase doesn't have a specific length of time to get past - everyone progresses at their own pace, and some will get luckier with egg pulls and catches than others. Don't get discouraged. Just keep building on what you have - that's your initial goal, and it only gets easier as you do it.
As you start going through your Classic runs, the main resource you're looking to accumulate at first is egg vouchers - as many as you can get your grubby little new player hands on. Beating gym leaders, Elite 4 members, the Champion, and beating Classic all reward you with them. Doing the Daily Run each day also rewards you with a 10x pull voucher. Rarely, they can even show up after beating a stage in the item choice rewards - if so, pick them, usually over most anything else. Eggs build on your starters, and usually with either massively boosted IVs or egg moves to give them considerable bumps in power. Rarely, you can even get shinies from them.
And speaking of the egg gacha: only pull from the Shiny gacha at first. The entirety of your goal as a new player should be accumulating shinies. The legendary gacha is misleading - you only get increased odds for the shown legendary, not all of them (at least as of this post), and even then legendaries often have a huge starter cost tacked onto them, making teambuilding difficult early on. Once you build up your starter collection with a good few handfuls of shinies, and are cruising along in Endless vacuuming up vouchers, you can spend some on the other gachas for specific niches if you like (move gacha for egg moves, legendary gacha for legendaries), but for the most part the shiny gacha is where the money's at. Besides, the shiny gacha can hatch legendaries, too - so you're not missing out on legendaries by not hitting its specific gacha.
I Got a Few Shinies And Legendaries - What Now?
Alright, so you've been cruising along, catching everything you see and building your starter pool like the rockstar rogue-like player you are. Keep building from here, but now you have more options - you can start bringing shinies on your Classic runs to improve the quality of item rewards you get at the end of each floor; you can maybe even bring a legendary/ultra beast along to have an easier time against the end boss and get that first win. At this point, if you haven't gotten that first win yet, now's the time to start knuckling down and making a serious go at it. Some general points of advice for Classic success I haven't yet covered:

• Early on, focus on 1-2 pokemon. Ignore the rest. Same advice as in Endless works here. This perhaps sounds counter-intuitive, but until at least floor 30-40, try your absolute hardest to only focus on leading with 1-2 pokemon (and that second one should ideally only be necessary to cover the weaknesses of the first). Your immediate early-game hurdles are the two rival battles at floors 8 and 25 (and maybe a Gym Leader battle at 20), and if you try to level everyone evenly you're going to find it harder to win. The Exp All and Exp Charms you get from rival battles and item rewards will more than catch your team up later even if you don't ever use them...so don't worry about them for now. Right now, you're creating the Ultimate Early Game Juggernaut(s) to get you through the initial hurdles.
• Be frugal with your money in the beginning. In Endless, it's common practice to reroll often to look for specific items - candy jars, rare candies, etc. That's because in that mode, once you get set up you have almost unlimited income. In Classic, your income is much more limited (usually hovering ~$100k or so by the mid to late floors), and you don't have the luxury of blindly rerolling for optimal results. The option to "save scum" your re-rolls exists, if you were willing - after winning a floor, check the rerolls, and if you don't like any of the offerings, refresh the page. This will "start the floor over", resetting the rewards and refunding your money. This isn't really necessary, though; in fact, I rarely reroll rewards at all until floors 180-200, and often settle with generic healing/item rewards. Why? You'll notice through your runs that in the midgame (floors 50-150, mainly), you'll accumulate quite a bit of gold; instead of using this gold for rerolls then, where it doesn't help much, you should instead wait for the later floors where you start to take on the toughest opponents of the run - the Elite 4 and Champion on floors 180-190, the final rival battle at 195, and the final boss at 200. Specifically, 180-190 is where you'll buy more healing items than perhaps the rest of the run combined (to keep your team healthy in between each Elite 4/Champion battle), and 190-200 are where you really want to look for things like X [stat] items to give your team that extra "oomph". Even the strongest legendaries fear a Butterfree packing +4 X Specials and an X Speed. Money saved early on lets you dump it into rerolls later where it matters most. (Don't ruin your run by being *too* frugal, though - if your party is near death early on, spend it. You can't spend it later on if you're dead.)
• Pickup is NOT necessary (but it is helpful). I see a lot of general advice in posts on pokerogue that tell new players to stack Pickup team members on Classic. This isn't necessary, or even arguably desirable past maybe the first 20-30 floors unless you're running a very strong carry that can solo all 200 floors (which is extremely unlikely, and far more difficult to boot). I've won Classic many times without using Pickup at all, and I can't say as I miss it when I don't have it. More importantly, you need to be cautious which items you're picking up - the end boss can and WILL use them against you, so things like Sitrus/Enigma/stat boosting berries that you picked up along your 200 floors suddenly seem a lot less useful when they're in enemy hands. That said, if you bring someone along with Pickup, be generous with handing out berries and other items to your party regularly using the "Transfer" option, so you can reap the benefits all throughout your 200 floors. Sitrus, Enigma, and the speed/attack boosting berries in particular are great in trainerival battles where you expect to take hits and want to revenge kill things. In the endgame against the final boss, though, perhaps load everything on a party member you hope never to bring out (such as your Pickup mon) so they don't get stolen. (Hot take: I prefer to use no berries at all in my Classic runs if possible, with one exception: Lum! Lum is amazing for healing status effects, especially when it feels like some trainers have all the hacks against you, and it doesn't feel bad if/when it gets stolen later.)
• The same goes for Pokerus. The biggest advantage to having pokerus is capping out your levels faster; even without it, in the later floors you'll still cap your levels by each final stage so long as you pick up a charm or two along the way (which you'll usually do, pokerus or not). It's also a decent help for that floor 11-25 range where you're at your weakest and that second rival challenge comes knocking. In Endless it's common practice to take a pokerus pokemon so your carry can keep up with the level gains of the floors until you get fully set up; in Classic, the scaling doesn't feel nearly that punishing. If you can bring a good pokerus pokemon, though, it's more helpful than not - just don't go out of your way for it or feel like it's "necessary".
• Understand how biomes work, at least somewhat. Many of them chain into each other naturally, which is part of where the memes come from regarding "endless water biomes" or similar. As you start to expand your starting 2-3 into a full 6, know what biomes you need to look for and what to avoid. This is part of why the Map is one of my favorite item rewards to pick early on - it lets you target farm the remaining members of your team much easier, and towards the last 50-80 floors you can choose the easier ones to coast through while you finish building your team. In particular, routes you need to keep in mind:
  • You always start in "Town" and move into "Plains"; this is 100% guaranteed in every Classic run. This means the first 20 floors are always weighted heavily to normal- and grass-types. When building your starting team, it's helpful to keep this in mind - for instance, picking up things strong against these two types (shoutout to Flamigo/Hawlucha!) and maybe not bringing a grass type knowing that you're likely to catch one early on if you're desperate for filler.
  • "Metropolis" vs. "Lake" vs. "Grass": Moving out of Plains, these are your three options available if you have the Map by now. The biome you leave Plains for is the biggest observation you can make for your run - it will dictate how you form the rest of your team as you progress into the midgame. If you get diverted to Lake, but need an Electric-type (for instance), you need to find a way to get the map to divert to "Construction Site" or loop back to Plains, or you may be hard pressed to find an Electric-type at all in your entire run. The same goes for Fairy- and Steel-types - "Fairy Cave", the biome with the largest quantity of fairy types, is only accessible through "Meadows", which requires you to go through the forest biomes first. If you're not looking like you're going through those areas, you'll need to be less picky about what fairy-types you come across if you hope to snag one. (I recommend visiting the wiki for their nice little flowchart diagram if you ever want a more nuanced look into each path and where they can potentially lead, along with what spawns in each.)
• Build a well-rounded team. Building mono-type teams is cute, but ultimately extra work. Focus on coverage and being able to handle anything that comes along - remember, the last floors feature a variety of Elite 4 members and the Champion, all of which will require a varied approach on what types of Pokemon to bring for best results. By floor 100, you should either have most of your team set or a plan to fill the rest out by the time you reach ~170. By 180 it's likely too late (with the exception of maybe getting a last Mushroom or TM to fill out a moveset).

I (19M) was always lonely throughout my life. I never had friends in school and never took part in any co-curricular activities. I would be jealous of my classmates with them hanging out with friends and being able to talk to girls, so I decided that after my high school I will try to make friends in college.
In college I met a group of people who I thought could be my friends. We would talk and have fun together. We would joke about each other. Even there were 2 girls in our group and with their friendly nature made me comfortable to talk to girls. Even there was a guy in the group who I would hangout with a lot. We would sit together and go to eat food together in the canteen or outside college.
I even started talking to a girl. She was really sweet and cute to talk to and we would bitch about our professors and at once shared playlists with each other. She was the one who asked me for my Insta ID. She would look and smile at me and wave at me. It was amazing. I thought my college life is going to be way better than my school life.
But it all came crashing down. In October me and my friends bunked our classes and went to the sports arena to play games. We were playing darts. One of the 2 girls, let's call her S, jokingly told one of the guys in our group that she would hit him on his head with a dart. So I jokingly told her that I would hit her with the dart but I accidentally pointed at her breast. I was looking at her face so I didn't realize it.
She got offended. She took the other girl, let's call her Z, and told her everything about this. Z confronted me and started shouting at me in the sports arena attracting everybody's attention. The Sports Officer came running towards us. He heard the entire story and took my ID card and told them to write a letter against me to the Dean.
After the letter was written he took me and the girls to the Dean who thought of this as a minor incident and told us we are legally adults and coming to him with these petty complaints. Then they told the Dean about me taking photographs of them and leaking them.
The day before I clicked S's photos of her eating a banana in the presence of our friend group. She took it very sportingly as a joke and I uploaded them to our personal Whatsapp Group. Everyone of us including her were laughing and giggling. But she and Z told that I took them without permission. They even told that I was never a friend and I was an outsider.
Dean got me suspended for 15 days because the next day our vacation would start so throughout November I was in my home. My mother uses this incident as a weapon to scold me evey now and then when we have arguments. And the worst was my crush.
During the days of my suspension I was in contact with my crush. She would even send notes of the classes of that day everyday throughout the suspension, but she didn't know I got suspended. Then when I rejoined college and started attending classes I sat far to my former friend group and behind my crush and she ignored me. Completely.
Throughout the whole day she would ignore me. That broke my heart. I was very upset and regretful for my actions. I think that my crush stopped taking to me because she got to know about this incident and misunderstood me. I have been hating myself for not respecting boundaries. Now I am all alone seeing my classmates enjoying their friendships and relationships. I think I deserve this.