Who see's these giveaways and these acts of kindness on influencer platforms and truly believe they are honest acts of kindness? Why do acts of kindness have to be always filmed as a "LOOK WHAT I DID!!!" moment? Why does it always have to do with shopping spree's or giveaways of materialistic crap that really doesn't help the person winning in anyway?
ON Sunday (Mothers Day) Mikayla posted a video of her saying that she was SURPRISING a mother and daughter for Mother and Daughter shopping spree at TAHGET. Saying she's never met them, the daughter is the nicest girl in her school and they are followers of hers. She proceeded with a video of her and a 10 year old girl shopping and Mikayla dumping hundreds of dollars of products into a shopping cart for the kid. Mom, "opted out" of the Mothers Day surprise, and said, just do it for the young daughter. Mikayla shows herself gloating at the end with a mile long receipt "LOOK WHAT I SPENT ON THEM" then gives them 2 giant gift bags of unwanted PR. Of course her weird fans thought she was a queen for this and praised her cause more influencers don't do this.
Mikaylas video said "when I heard their story, I knew I had to meet them" Commenters in Mikaylas video asked "What's their story?" "they don't look like they are in need.( mom was carry a LV purse, kid was dresed well" Mikayla replied with " ITS NOT MY STORY TO TELL"
SPOILER ALERT, THERE IS NO STORY IT WAS A SCHOOL PRIZE WINNING!
!! Verified Tea - Credit to the Reddit !!
Turns out, someone in the MikaylaNogueira subreddit KNOWS the mom. Here is what really happened...
Mikayla's MOM and the young girls MOM work together!! Their school, sells raffle tickets at the end of the year for for prizes like "principle of the year" "win a pizza party", etc etc. Mikaylas MOM created a RAFFLE that for a $1 ticket you can win a $500 shopping spree with Mikayla Nogueira. The young girls mom, entered $40 of raffle tickets for her daughter's to win. Guess who won?
Turns out the raffle win was weeks ago, but Mikayla was in Korea. Sunday (Mothers Day) was Mikayla's only "free day" (try being an influencah for a day) so they planned to do it then, and Mikayla spun it as a Mothers Day special. That's why the Mom never got anything in the video, it was never an intended mothers day spree, the KID won the school raffle prize.
The prize winning was $500, but once they got to the store and started filming, it became very performative and Mikayla went overboard, spending $2556 on this 10 year old. The mom said it was enough and Mikayla wouldn't stop, by the end Mikayla was throwing things in the cart that the kid didn't ask.
Mom says the goods will be donated back to the school.
Typical influencer behaviour. Playing on peoples emotions and faking this performative video that she was changing the life for this mom and daughter is sickening. People in the comments were saying that maybe the MOM HAS CANCER, or that maybe their DAD DIED SUDDENLY.
Why not be HONEST and TELL THE TRUTH. Literally everything about these influencers is about making them look like angels in white. Meanwhile they are lying grifters. The only reason she filmed it was so that it can be a tax write off.
Don't get me starting on this weeks PR drawrin for the lady who miscarried. Again, performative based on the holiday.

Episode Description

Simba leaves Kiara in charge of the Pride Lands while he, Nala, and Zazu go to Kilio Valley to attend a funeral for an old elephant friend named Amanifu who has just died. Upon learning this from Mzingo, Janja decides to take advantage of Kiara's inexperience and comes up with a plan to take over the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, Simba is nervous about performing his eulogy in front of the elephants, including Aminifu's daughter, Ma Tembo.
Song: "Duties of the King" sung by Simba and Zazu

Pros
-First off, I like the sibling dynamic in this episode, as somebody with a similarly aged older brother. Kion and Kiara's relationship has resonated with me, the way they have off days and arguments, but, obviously love each other and make it out strong in the end. I, for one, do not hate Kiara in The Lion Guard, and Kion gives her the same attitude she gives him in early episodes. I like watching their relationship go through ups and downs throughout Season 1.
-I know the opening scene, where Kiara and Kion are fighting over a tree to sharpen their claws is quite intense, because they would've probably gotten into a scuffle if Simba hadn't showed up when he did, but, that is siblings for you sometimes. I feel like anyone who's got siblings of your own can relate, at least a little bit, to that scene.
-I like the plotline of Kiara and Kion's sibling rivalry stemming from their roles in leadership. Kiara is clearly a reflection of her father, when he was a cub, which is interesting and so, she thinks that being the Future Queen is really swell and makes her the alpha, and Kion (who is no better than her) thinks that being Leader of the Lion Guard makes him more important than her. I like this mechanic in this episode. It makes me want to know if Scar felt the same way about Mufasa. I mean, Kion was obviously not resentful of Kiara, unlike Scar, but I wonder if a similar thing happened with the two brothers except, in this case, it drove Scar to insanity and wanting to murder Mufasa.
-Now let's talk about Kiara being left in charge of the Pride Lands (I mean, I do think the main conflict of the episode was Simba's fault, but we'll get to that later). So, I like the fact that Kiara is nervous about ruling the Pride Lands, even for a brief period of time. I like this because for one thing, she's still only a cub at this time, so, she's entitled to be nervous and anxious about being responsible for an entire kingdom. There's a lot of responsibility being placed on her at such a young age, but, she still remained likable, in my opinion. I do like how, in The Lion Guard, she takes her responsibility as Future Queen very seriously. I know this is unpopular to say, but, I headcanon that, as she's grown up into an older cub, she's realised that being queen won't prevent her from being herself, a concern she had at the beginning of TLK 2.
-I do empathise with Kiara, and Kion, because they are both being put into a huge responsibility of looking after the entire kingdom on their own, while all the adults are away from Pride Rock. This is still really early on in Season 1, so Kion is inexperienced as Leader of the Lion Guard, and Kiara only just started her training with Simba, in the pilot episode. I do feel bad at the fact that they have to figure everything without their parents around and I respect them for managing to work out their differences by the end of the episode.
-I really feel bad for Kiara because she gets a lot of crap from people in the TLG community, moreso than Kion does. I feel really sorry for her because people say they hate her for her attitude and that they think she's a self-righteous bitch at the start of the series, but, I don't. Even as a kid, I knew that a lot of Kiara's behaviour in this episode was down to the stress of being left in charge of whole kingdom for a few days without her parents around, while still being a cub at this point. I do really like her and it really upsets when I see people hating on her. I don't think Kiara really means to be controlling in this episode, she's just trying to do right by her father while he's gone.
-I like the fact that Kiara is really hesitant and nervous to have a huge weight on her shoulders, a role she was previously really excited to fulfil in the pilot episode. When Simba asks this of her, she's understanding feeling a lot of pressure to make him proud. I like the fact that Simba admits to her that he was also nervous about becoming king the first time. I like this because we only saw the side of him that was cocky, overconfident and optimistic about becoming king. I like the fact that she was nervous and that he decides to be upfront about it.
-Kiara still remained a likable character to me throughout this episode. I like how she starts out as nervous and how her confidence is slowly building up nicely during the episode. But, she never came off as mean-spirited, to me. Also, it becomes clear that the reason her responsibility goes to her head is because of Tiifu and Zuri's influence on her and the Lion Guard's inexperience and, in this case, plot-convenient incompetence.
-Beshte, "I'm sure she'll be a nice queen." Well, I'm glad at least one of you believes in her. I can't tell you guys how much I love Beshte, always the sweetest soul out of the group.
-Ono, "Thank you for the opportunity, my queen. And you.... err..... my Kion." That line was funnier than it had any right to be.
-Speaking of which, I thought seeing Ono in Zazu's position, temporarily for Kiara was interesting and I think was a great use of his character, outside of being a Member of the Lion Guard. I personally would've been down for more scenes like this. I think a cool send off for Ono would've been to have him be the Royal Advisor to Queen Kiara and King Kovu, in the future. I wish Ono had stayed in the Pride Lands in the series finale and had become Zazu's apprentice or something.
-Bunga, "Your majesty." {bows at Kiara}. Kiara, "Bunga, that's really not necessary." I found that whole interaction surprisingly funny. Also, strong feeling that Bunga has a huge crush on his best friend's sister at this point, and Kiara views him as her friend, nothing more.
-Kiara's plan about the Bees and the Eelands fiasco was actually very smart, and even when I saw this as a kid, I knew that she had a better idea than Kion. Her idea about moving the eelands away from bees' nests is smarter because bees obviously sting when angered. So, Kion was too proud to admit Kiara had the better idea.
-One of the funniest parts of the whole episode for me was Kion saying, "I say we move the bees". Then, the scene cuts to Kion, Beshte, Fuli and Ono running away from a swarm of bees, in terror. I obviously don't want them hurt, but, I just had to laugh because it was so predictable.
-Bunga, "What are you guys running for? Bees taste even better when they're mad!" Accurate behaviour from a honey badger. They can raid beehives without being stung due to their very thick hide and their stink sap.
-When the Lion Guard arrived back at Pride Rock covered in bee stings, if I were Kiara, I'd be laughing in Kion's face at that moment, like "Ha, ha, you were wrong. Only an idiot would decide to move a swarm of bees to a new place." But, in fairness, Kiara was right to be mad at him, in that moment, for his little screw up.
-"It wasn't a total disaster," Kion, while talking to Kiara. Kiara, looks at Fuli and Ono scratching themselves, "Really? It looks pretty total to me." I mean, she does have a point there. In this situation, Kion had everything to gain from taking her advice.
-However, I do like the fact this episode shows that Kiara and Kion are not perfect leaders yet, they're still fairly young and are only just finding their feet, so it's natural for them to have some minor slip ups, that they learn from, like every kid does.
-"Admit it. I was right about the bees and you were wrong." Kion, just admit it and save yourself the embarrassment. Kiara was not being rude to him whatsoever. She was speaking nothing but facts.
-When Kiara talks to Mzingo at Pride Rock, I like the fact that the latter is clearly higher up in the frame because he's the one dominating the conversation and is also the one who manipulates Kiara. I think it's a nice touch where he creepily approaches and blackmails her.
-*laughs "Janja wants peace?" I like the fact that Kiara is clearly sceptical and she's obviously suspicious of Janja's true intentions. I like this because it doesn't make Kiara out to be seriously wayyy too gullible and silly. The fact that was she was suspicious feels more in-line with TLK 2 and makes her decision to believe Janja, partially Kion's fault. Manipulation is also a very powerful tool, especially to done on a semi-young child, like Kiara.
-I like the fact that Mufasa appears to Kion, unprompted in this episode, for the first time in the series. I love this because it feels like Mufasa saw the argument that had just gone down and was like, "Right I need to put an end to this sibling drama before it gets out of hand. I need to make Kion see the error of his ways."
-I actually love the fact that Kiara is, at least partially willing, to give Outlanders a chance for peace. It feels like a nice bit of foreshadowing for her character arc in TLK 2, where she was able to give the Outsider lions a chance to fit in.
-Kion angrily to Tiifu and Zuri, "Ugh! Some advisors you two are!" That was more hilarious than it had any right to be. Because, let's be honest, they were pretty obnoxious in this episode.
-"Get away from the Queen!!!!" I actually love the moment where Kion comes bursting in like a superhero, to his sister's aid. I also love the fact that he calls Kiara his queen, at this point, because he clearly listened to Mufasa's advice, and also because he had felt somewhat responsible for her almost being killed by Janja.
-"Oh we can fight all right!!!" So badass. I personally would've loved to see Kiara fight alongside the Lion Guard. I think it would've been cool to see her help to fight off Janja's clan. I wanted to see what she could do.
-"Six on six..... Forget it!!!!" Yeah, you better run, Janja, you don't stand a chance against all six of these heroic friends. And one of them is a bloody hippo.
-I love Kion and Kiara's closeness at the end of the episode where they make up for their uncivil, squabbling at the start. Kion finally rightfully admits that he should've taken Kiara's advice about the bees and the elands, and Kiara admits that Kion was right about Janja being nothing but trouble.
-Kion, "And I should've listened to you about the bees." Ono, "Oh, sure {rolls his eyes}. Now he admits it." Oh, Ono, you knew all along, but, we love you.
-Kiara and Kion when Simba and Nala arrive home, are really sweet. I love the fact that Kiara wants to be honest about what happened, "Ruling the Pride Lands? It went..." I absolutely love the moment where Kion decides to cover for her and admits that she'll be a great queen, this is an incredibly sweet brother and sister moment. That moment feels like a precursor to the episode "Baboons" and even later "The Trail to Udugu."
-I love the moral of this episode about "being supportive of your loved ones efforts to help, especially when they are wrong," because it applies to both Kiara and Kion in two different situations. Kion was obviously wrong to go against Kiara's advice to move the elands, but, Kiara learned that she should've been more sensitive about that whole situation. But, Kion also learned that if hadn't been so dismissive of her acting queen for a few days and given her his utmost support when she was clearly nervous about ruling the Pride Lands. If Kion and Kiara been more sensitive to each other, then, they would've been able to be in charge of the Pride Lands together instead of arguing. Also, this episode shares another moral, "Communication is key to understanding each other and a successful team." Kiara learns this after Kion saves her and she realises she was wrong about Janja, and Kion learns this when the Lion Guard get stung by bees, and even later when he realises that he was partly to blame for Kiara going into the Outlands, and that if he had been upfront with her instead of outright yelling at her and running out on her, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued. These are two important lessons for kids going through school together, or with siblings and friends.
-Also, Janja is genuinely dangerous and scary in this episode. He traps Kiara in the Outlands to use her as a bargaining chip for Simba or else he and his would eat her. They would've gotten away with it if Kion didn't jump in at the last second. Janja threatened the freaking princess of the Pride Lands! Reason number #50 why he should never be allowed enter the Pride Lands, no matter if he is starving or not, because he clearly cannot be trusted to follow the rules.
-And now I'm finally going to talk about the B-plot of the episode. It wasn't as good the A-plot, in my opinion. I did love the worldbuilding aspect of this episode where we learn that different animals in the Pride Lands have their own customs and traditions that need to be respected. I like the idea of Simba upholding a tradition and it was interesting that he was never trained for it because obviously Mufasa died before he could complete his training.
-I like the idea of Simba, Nala and Zazu going to an elephant funeral. Elephants actually have "funerals" in real life. In real life, if a member of their herd dies, the elephants will crowd around them ceremoniously to pay tribute and they'll collect twigs and branches to cover the fallen elephant to pay tribute, out of respect for them. I love the way its portrayed as a ceremonial funeral in The Lion Guard and that Simba is upholding a tradition. I love the way he has to say it in Elephantese because the idea of the elephants' having a language barrier is a cool worldbuilding element.
-Aminifu is a cool worldbuilding character too who, we're told, played a big part in the Pride Lands' revival and bringing the circle of life into balance. I like to headcanon we was a childhood friend of Mufasa and Scar, and the rest of the Royal Family, and how he go on to be a good friend to Simba, Nala and the rest of Simba's pride. I like to think Aminifu was responsible for all the animals in the kingdom, similar to the Lion Guard, and how his daughter fills that role in Season 2.
-The Elephant Funeral scene looks cool because of how emotional and how heart-wrenching it looks from afar. I like the addition of all the elephants mourning in the background. It was a little dark this early on the series. One elephant hugs Aminifu and looks like their going to cry, another elephant and her calf are crying, while hugging each other.
-I like how you can see shades of Mufasa's death through Simba's voice in this episode, such as, "And now Aminifu has completely his part of the circle of life," and "Well, time for the tribute." I like this because I like to think Simba is obviously nervous about performing a eulogy in front of elephants, but, probably also a bit upset and mourning over his own father's death. I mean, in fairness, he never to give his father a proper send off when he died, so, this probably hit even harder for him.
-I like how this is Zazu's first main character moment in the series and how much of a hard worker and a loyal he is to Simba and Nala, his whole motivation is just to help Simba learn Elephantese properly so he can impress Ma Tembo's herd, during the tribute.
-Nala is such a sweetheart and a loving partner to Simba. I love her because she's pretty much exactly how she was in the original film. She's his loving and supportive wife, and I love the way he gives him moral support when he gets nervous. I love her snarky jab at her husband early on the episode too, by the way, "Worried about Kiara? Or are you worried about your tribute?"
-The song "Duties of the King" was decent enough, I suppose. I mean, it's not my favourite song in the series and I wouldn't be reaching for it. But, I don't hate it. I like the more cutesy, "miscellaneous" animals shown in the background, like the chimpanzees and the porcupines. Plus, it's nice to know that Simba doesn't just sit on his ass all day and that he does important jobs, like he assigns gazelles to their grazing grounds and songbirds to their trees. I love that he presides over aardvark wedding rites and then we saw Muhanga and Muhangus kissing behind some grass. So, I wonder if Simba did in fact, preside over their wedding before this episode. Overall, I like the cute scenes of this song and I like the fact that Simba actually has important stuff to do. I can see why kids would dance around to this song because it's very bouncy and energetic. The beat is fine, but, I don't like Rob Lowe's singing voice as Simba. I think they should've used Cam Clarke all along for The Lion Guard, who actually voices Mwoga the vulture. I don't mind the beat, but, I don't think Simba and Zazu are the best singers, at least in this series, that is. I'll give it a 5/10 because there are worse songs than it.
-Ma Tembo is such a sweetheart in this episode and I love her. She doesn't have a major role in the series as of yet, but, it's still clear in this episode that she has a great relationship with Simba and the Royal Family. I'm glad she had a bigger part in Season 2. I also love her voice actress, Lynette DuPree (R.I.P) and I think she's one of the best in the series. I love how she makes her sound genuinely sad during the procession and then a little bittersweet during the "poop" scene. Also, shout out to the moment where she wraps her trunk around Simba.
-Also, call me childish if you want to, but I actually love it when Simba actually says that Aminifu had "poop on him". I mean, it just gets me because that's not something you'd say at a funeral and the fact that the elephants took it really well and actually laughed hysterically is genuinely hilarious. Like, even his daughter admitted that he had always had faeces on him. It was funny because of how much Simba feels like he screwed up, but, then, the elephants had a really good sense of humour about it.
-Also, this episode makes me wish that at least someone went to the Elephant Graveyard during this series. Maybe Aminifu's funeral could've been there and Simba and Nala would've had to go the place where they almost got killed as cubs or maybe even Kion and the Lion Guard would have to go there. It's such a missed opportunity. Or if Janja went there then maybe he could've learn that Scar betrayed his ancestors long before the events of The Lion Guard. But, speaking of the Elephant Graveyard, I bet Ma Tembo's herd are going to wait for Aminifu to decompose and then carry his remains to the Graveyard because that's something that elephants do if a member of their herd dies outside of their designated area. I like to think that that's what happened after this episode. I just wish they had the funeral in the Elephant Graveyard and we got to see Simba and Nala go there as adults, but, I'm not going to fault this episode for not going in this direction.
-Zazu, "I'm not sure Sire, but, I think you just said he had.... {quietly} poop on him...." Try not to judge me too harshly, but, I just find poop jokes hilarious for some reason, as an adult.
Cons
-First off, I don't like how Kion and Kiara were both dumbed down for the sake of plot-convenience for much of this episode. I get that they're still kids, but, Kion's plans to move the bees instead of the elands was the most stupid idea I've seen in the series. The literally just had an episode where Kion calls out his best friend, Bunga, for making bad decisions and now it's Kion who made a really dumb decision. I mean, that should be bee rescue 101, don't try to move a swarm of bees, they do not like, and the fact that Kiara spells it out for them before this scene, "....if the elands step on the beehives, they'll get stung.... there could be chaos." She's speaking nothing but facts. Kion should've realised that they shouldn't have tried to aggravate the bees. I don't like the fact that he acts cocky and dismissive towards Kiara, when she was so obviously right. However, Kiara was dumb to go into the Outlands alone to see Janja. I mean, I admire her willingness to give strangers a chance for peace, but the fact that she had her suspicions about him and she already knew what he was like, in accordance to the pilot episode, wouldn't she see reason to bring Tiifu and Zuri along for backup.
-I don't like how this episode seems to indicate that Simba favours his daughter over his son. Between the pilot episode and this episode, it seems like he sees Kion as a just a Child Soldier and doesn't actually love him equally. I know it's obviously not through, but, I don't like how he gives off an impression that he has favourites. Parents don't have favourites, unless you're an evil lioness named Zira and you give your youngest son everything, but then treat your eldest son like dirt. But, Simba isn't like that. I don't like how he says "I have faith in you," in such a way that gives off Parental Favouritism vibes. I'm really glad he doesn't have this in any of the later episodes.
-I hate the way the writers tried to do the Kion/Scar and Kiara/Mufasa parallels in this episode. I just don't like it being used as a plot device. The series makes a point to say that Kion is nothing like Scar and how he would never take his anger out on his family and friends. I don't mind Kiara being like her grandfather because he was a great king in his day, but, I don't like how the writers made Kion and Kiara have a similar relationship that led to Mufasa's fall. Also, one thing I loathed early on in the series is the fanart of Kion brutally murdering Kiara in rage, just like Scar murdered Mufasa. I just hate it so much because it would happen since Kiara and Kion have a caring relationship, where they do bicker like siblings tend to do, but, they would never turn on each other.
-I don't like the part where Kiara and Kion were outright malicious towards each other. All the lion cubs in this episode were quite mean-spirited at times. Kion and Kiara for obviously constantly fighting and being horrible instead of admitting to being wrong in certain situations, like the bees and the elands and the Janja situation. Kion is too cocky and overconfident about the bees, for my liking, and Kiara allows Tiifu and Zuri's influence to get her head and ends up believing she's always right. Kion only adds fuel to the fire by yelling at Kiara and then callously running out her instead of being upfront with her about Janja's true intentions. I get that siblings don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but, I don't like Kion and Kiara constantly being scumbags to each other and not giving things a second thought until the end. Mufasa had to be the one to put an end to the "sibling drama".
-Tiifu and Zuri were the worst of all, in my opinion, and I think all of you guys will agree. They were pretty annoying and obnoxious in this episode. They were very disrespectful and condescending towards Kion just because he's not a queen, and they caused Kiara to be disrespectful right back. Kiara doesn't strike me as disrespectful without these two around. I'm glad she actually stands up to them in later episodes rather than being influenced by them. Zuri is my least favourite of the two of them, she comes off as super mean-spirited and bitchy, and Tiifu comes off as domineering and rude. I don't like the way they talk down and belittle Kion and how they throw shade at anyone who believes Kiara is wrong. They act like stereotypical Mean Girls, but, the annoying kind. Plus, they weren't very good friends to Kiara for letting her go into the Outlands alone without a second thought about the fact that it might be dangerous. That doesn't sound like Tiifu. Remember how in the pilot, she was deeply concerned when Kiara was trapped by the gazelles. But, here, the stakes are much higher, and she's up against a much bigger threat and Tiifu and Zuri don't seem to give a damn. I'm glad Kion called them out on this behaviour before leaving. What I wouldn't give for Tiifu and Zuri to be captured by Janja instead, not to get eaten, but just so they can see how dangerous it is. It's episodes like this that make me wonder are they her actual best friends or are they just using her to hang out with the Royal Family. Kiara deserves better than these self-entitled bitches, in my opinion.
-I feel like Kiara should've been the main focus of this episode instead of Kion. I know this only S1 Ep4, but, I still think this should've been a Kiara focused episode, rather than a brothesister episode. I would've been interested to see Kiara take centre stage and the Lion Guard take a back seat. Then, we could've seen more of Kiara's apprehension about becoming Queen and her trying to make all the decisions without Simba around to guide her, and most importantly, see her trying to decide what sort of Queen she wants to be. I would've loved if Kion tried to be supportive of her and tries to help her watch over the entire kingdom, instead of saying "Screw you Kiara, go get herself killed if you want to and my friends hate you." I would've liked to see that explored and maybe have them be a little bit annoyed at each other, but without making them really malicious. Also, have Tiifu and Zuri be in their annoying phase and for Kiara to realise that her "so-called" friends are not being very good friends to her, and have her ditch those bitches at the end of the episode. Then, have Kiara and Kion make some big decision together that really develops their relationship, in the future.
-I don't like how Simba is portrayed for much of this episode. I know, he was mourning the loss of an old friend, but I really don't like angry Simba moments in this series. I don't like the fact that all Zazu was doing was trying to help him practice his eulogy and Simba gets frustrated and roars in his face. I hate it when he throws tantrums, as a full-grown adult lion. I hate the idea of Simba regressing more into his evil uncle as of this series. I know he's not, but, I hate it when acts like it. Zazu, bless him, was just trying to help and Simba took out his rage on him. I do not like it when Zazu has to be the butt of all the jokes. I don't like Simba being a headstrong asshole in The Lion Guard.
-I also don't want to point fingers, but, if Simba hadn't left his semi-young daughter to rule over an entire kingdom for a few days, none of the conflict would've happened if he left Kion and Kiara with a responsible adult, like Rafiki or Basi or someone, just to keep an eye on things. I wouldn't leave kids their age home alone for even a day or more than an afternoon. If they had an adult in Pride Rock with them, the arguing wouldn't have spiralled out of control the way that it did. Also, this makes no sense with Simba's character in TLK 2. This is the same guy who sheltered his daughter the whole time she was growing up and wouldn't even let her explore more than 2ft from Pride Rock or even leave Pride Rock, at another point in the film. In this episode, she's still a cub and he's okay with leaving her to look after an entire kingdom for days on end! Yes, he did show hesitation, but that was after he and Nala had already left the Pride Lands. This episode fails to show just how okay he was with leaving his preteen daughter in charge of the kingdom for a few days with no adult supervision. Also, this episode and the series fails to explain how he regressed back into his over-protective state of mind in the second half of TLK 2.
-A minor complaint I have. This is a very minor nitpick. But, the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands that was established in this episode is very confusing. This episode implies that the elephants live approximately a two or three day walk from the Pride Lands, enough for Simba to outside of the kingdom, when in other episodes it's actually a part of the Pride Lands, just barely on the outskirts of the kingdom. I also don't get why the writers made it seem like Simba, Nala and Zazu took like a day or less to arrive at the elephants' funeral. There's no indication that they were travelling at night or that they ever slept. However, I understand, the writers just wanted to show some of journey and then transition to the day of the funeral, so I won't fault it to harshly. However, I do wish that the distance between Kilio Valley and the Pride Lands was consistent. This episode makes it seem like that whenever Kion and his friends have to help the elephants, it would take them a whole day to arrive on the scene. But, that's just a small criticism I had with this episode.
Overall
So, overall, I did always thoroughly enjoy this episode. Even as a kid, I could not stand the fact that Kiara got a lot of hate in the Lion Guard Fandom and that loads of people blamed her, just her, for a lot of the drama in this episode. Kion and Kiara shared 50% of the blame each and I think that Kiara is overhated. Anyways, I did like Kion and Kiara interacting like real siblings and slowly learning how to work together, it felt a little bit like a prequel to "Baboons" and "The Trail to Udugu", in that way. I like the lesson about learning to communicate well and to listen to one another and that they were both in the right and wrong, at different points. I liked the loving sibling dynamic at the end and the friendship with all the Lion Guard. I like the sense of family between Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kion at the end. Janja poses as a genuinely threat to Kiara. I think the humour was pretty solid as well and the educational value. I liked the worldbuilding aspect and the elephants' relationship with the lions. Aminifu is a cool headcanon character. The only parts I didn't like were, Tiifu and Zuri were unbearably annoying in this episode and weren't very good friends to Kiara. I don't like them being stereotypical Middle School girls. I hate their disrespect and belittling towards Kion and their toxic influence on Kiara. I didn't like Kiara and Kion's maliciousness at the start or the fact that the writers tried to draw Mufasa/Scar parallels. I don't like angry Simba at all in this series. I hate the fact that he gives off Parental Favouritism vibes in this episode. I don't like the fact that Kion and Kiara were hit with the idiot stick in this episode. Simba and Tiifu and Zuri are kind of at fault for all the drama in this episode. The song was just decent, not the best not the worst. Overall, I'll give this episode a 6.5/10, it's not perfect, but I think it deserves more love in the fandom and I think there are way worse episodes than it.

Everything was going great in my game - my character had gotten married, raised two kids, became an elder, apprenticed the son to be a farmer, house was upgraded, also coop and barn.
Then my husband and daughter got sick (my son was fine). I gifted them soap, hoping it would help, but the sickness seemed to go on and on and almost the whole village got sick and died (my whole season has a funeral every day).
Then, I got a notice in the mail that my (sick) daughter was getting married and realized that at the same time my son had been moved out to make space for the new family member. I reloaded a save where the son still lived at home and the daughter wasn't married, kicked out the husband, death caked my character and picked my daughter as the heir to play. She got through her sickness and is fine now.
Her brother, the farmer, continues to live at home, but I can't get him to switch from farmer to farm helper. For several days I've clicked on farm helper in the family menu, but every new day he continues to go to his job and is again switched back to farmer. I'd really like him to quit his job and help around the farm.
And what would have happened if the daughter had died from her sickness? Would I have played as the brother (which I didn't pick as heir) or would that have been game over?

FIRST OF ALL, ITS NOT THE PERFECT HOST OR THE INVITATION ,,,,
I never thought I'd use Reddit someday, but here we are
yall are my last hope
ok here we go, i dont remember exactly about the movie so i will write things i remember
its like some people were invited to a mansion or something like that, they don't know who invited them but they are there
I only remember a few characters: a (rich?) couple with a daughter, a doctor, the main character (who i think its a detective?). Theres more, but i cant remember them.
I vaguely remember that they are trapped there and need to sort things out in order to live, and with that they begin to discover the secret of others, like that. theres a big dinner where everything starts to go really wrong and a maze in which they have to escape from shooters who are looking for them.
the final plot of the film is that the detective is the person who set all this up, all these people who were invited were involved with his mother's death in some way
The couple I mentioned before are this detective's uncle and aunt. Before his mother died, her sister (his aunt) promise she will take care of her baby and after she died, her sister give away the baby.
their daughter already knew everything and helped her cousin with revenge against her own parents, bc she know how fucked up they are
i remember that everything in the final happens in a boat bc they tried to escape and that's when the whole plot happens CRIES
im sorry if all looking messy, first time posting here

Hi everyone,
I know that its normal for this tab to be all over the place, but it really kills your hopes when you see estimated times like 28 months.
Yes, I know I have a long way to go but one can still have hope to be one of the lucky ones that get approved in months time.
Did anybody elses go crazy this week or today?
It seems like it changes every 3-4 days... maybe it goes according to how many prior files and how long the average same case took.
Honestly I don't even know why they have this tab there especially if its not accurate according to many post I've seen on here. It really does give false hope.
I am processing for my husband and step daughter.
My file is in the Potomac service center. I've read its where files go to die.
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative
Submitted on March 21, 2024 Receipt # IOE0924******
14 Months
Current as of today at 9:01 a.m.

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

Submitted on March 21, 2024 Receipt # IOE0924******
28 Months
Current as of today at 9:01 a.m.I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

Okay so I just bought this car about a month ago. When I first test drove her it, it ran absolutely fine. There were no issues with it starting up or going or anything like that. About 2 days after I bought it I took my daughter to a park that was about 15-20 minutes away from my home. On our way back all the lights in the dashboard went out and my radio stopped working and then eventually, about 5 minutes away from my house, the car died at a stop sign. Come to figure out that my gas gauge is broken and I had ran out of gas. Since then I’ve had the car die on me a several more times (even making sure there’s plenty of gas in it) causing my FIL to test the battery (which is fine) and then tested to see if it could’ve been the alternator. The alternator wasn’t charging the battery enough so we replaced that and in the process also had to replace the serpentine belt. The car ran for about a week and a half with no issues aside from the fact that every so often the battery light would flicker on and then go back off, but only when I would go through a residential area where the speed limit doesn’t exceed 35 mph. I have never had it come on or stay on if I am going faster than that consistently. But if I am running around a residential area for too long it’ll stay on. A couple days ago I was out with my daughter for Mother’s Day and my Dashboard started to go out again and I automatically knew I needed to pull over. I let the car idle after I got off the road to see if it would die and it stayed running for about another 5 minutes before it died again. My FIL came to help and after sitting there for about a half an hour or so it started back up without needing a jump. However I was out again last night and it died again, only this time she didn’t start back up after letting her sit. My FIL came and jumped it and she started up perfectly fine and I was able to make it home. I know my battery is good and I know my alternator is good. So why does my car keep dying and what can I do to figure it out?

A mother jumped off the stadium at her daughter’s college graduation, many people saw and her husband and 12 year old were all in attendance. It’s possible the location and specific circumstances were a coincidence but if not that’s a bizarre choice of a time and place..
https://people.com/mom-died-during-daughters-ohio-state-graduation-reportedly-investigating-apparent-suicide-8645309

Just wanted to humble brag about this. Our nearly 15 year old has had quite the rough past two years just being a generally moody teenager and getting into some not great stuff at school. Nothing serious now but could be in the future. The past several months she’s slowly been turning back into the sweet, caring young woman we missed so much.
Last week she asked if Borderlands was any good to play.
Now my wife and I have played since the first was released and most of them got multiple characters and play through. So we’ve been around Pandora for a bit.
I gave my daughter the Xbox out of my office a few years ago so I didn’t have one to join so I ran out and got one, bought her BL2 ,and now we are a VH Team of 3 (Siren, Psycho and Mechromancer) and we are all having so much fun. My kiddo plays COD and Fortnite a lot so she knows shooter and she just can’t get over the looter part and loves to stop and inspect every drop and wants to know what they will do.
My favorite thing however, is that now she has something to talk about with her old and stuffy dad. I never imagined I could love this franchise more, yet here we are.
We’ve also got a 6 year old who is dying to join us. In a few years we may finally have that full team to terrorize all the bandits and baddies.

Me and my boyfriend have been together for just over a year, and we've had the most romantic and passionate relationship, up until very recently at least. A few weeks ago he told me he wants to marry me and asked me to show him the kind of engagement ring I want, my ring size etc. A few nights ago whilst lying in bed he told me he has bought the ring and has it and would I like to see it. I was very confused about why he'd want to show it to me so he went on to explain that instead of it being an engagement ring, he was thinking of making it a promise ring instead because it's not expensive enough and he wants me to change a few things in my ways before proposing. I am absolutely crushed. It's my dream ring thar he had me choose and get measured for and now he doesn't want it to be an engagement at all. I feel so unwanted and hurt and confused. Could someone help me understand what could be happening here because I'm so spun out and heartbroken. Especially after getting so excited, even telling my friends what was happening and how perfect the ring was. I've been imagining how he might have proposed and after what has been a particular difficult and tragic year for me in other parts of my life (my 15 year old daughter passed away in December, I was made homeless and just two weeks ago one of my best friends died of an overdose), it was a little glimmer of happiness and something I was so looking forward to. Any opinions or advice on how I should handle this are welcome.
TL;DR!

Hello manga community
I am in desperate search of a manga I read when I was younger. I can remember reading it as a younger teen (I am now 24). It was a sample read in a japanese magazine that was released in Germany. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the magazine. But I do remember some key scenes from the manga.
vibe of the manga/ genre:
crime, detective, time period possibly in victorian era (not sure tho). People were dressed in pretty dresses with ruffles. Story is about a rich family's secret (?)
Scene 1:
I vividly remember two men fighting with one falling out of a window and dangling in front of it. After he fell out of the window another man holds up the tarot card "the hanged man" and noticed how the man dangling outside the window, looks like the card.
Scene 2:
A woman swallowing poisen that was hidden inside of a ring. I'm not sure but I think it was to escape some kind of situation.
Scene 3:
A girl (possible out of a rich family) standing alone by a street lamp at night, when a man (I could be the same as the one holding the tarot card earlier) approaches her.
Scene 4:
A man getting pricked with a poisened needle while walking down a busy street. He dies shortly after in front of a lot of people.
The whole manga and my memory give me the vibe of a detective researching a death in a rich family, where he finds out about some secret. The daughter was important too but I can't quite remember how or any more scenes with her.
I am really thankful if anyone can actually think of a manga that fits. I does not help that it was a read sample in a magazine ^^°. It could've been a one-shot even. I tried ChatGPT but was not very successful.
Thanks in advance!

Hi all, It’s the first time I write in this forum, I would like to know your opinion about the contact with my NFamily. It’s not a big deal but I have been thinking a lot about it and still don’t know what to do.
My family is very toxic. My mother is a narcissist. My grandma wants to control absolutely every aspect in our lives (specially mine because my father left when I was a child), and my aunt also has problems (I wouldn’t be able to say if she’s a narcissist or just bitter for some reason). When I was a child my mother treated me quite badly in some occasions. When I was 10, she stopped speaking to me for a month because I did something wrong (I don’t remember what), and then told me that she stopped taking her medication because of me so if she died it would be my fault. The medication she was taking was for cholesterol, so nothing too bad, but I didn’t know back then.
My grandma allowed all that and justified everything because ”my mother has depression”, “she loves you”, “she’s doing your best” and that bullshit. The thing is that, with my mother being “like a child” and my grandma trying to control everything, I spent a lot of time with my grandma and my aunt, and my aunt almost treated me as a sister sometimes. But she was quite abusive. Once, I was around 7, she hit me so hard I stopped breathing for what felt like forever. Another time when I was a child she grab me by the neck and put me against a wall, almost as if she was trying to kill me. My grandma was there in those occasions and did and said nothing.
The moment when I decided it was too much was when I got a job offer in another country, which was great and I was extremely happy about, I worked very hard for that. My mother made fun of me for that for DAYS with my aunt and my aunt even said that “she was happy that other people see in my what they don’t” or something like that. When I went to live abroad I had more money and started going to therapy, and eventually I decided to go NC with my family.
Still, I am in contact with my grandma because somehow I find it sad not to have contact with any of them… I’m stupid, I guess.
And now comes the problem. There’s going to be a celebration party for the daughter of my aunt, my cousin. She’s a small child so I don’t have problems with her but I haven’t had any contact with her since I went NC, like 3 years ago. I’m not going to the party, or course, even if my grandma still pushes me every time we talk to go there. In our last call she mentioned that it would be nice if I send some money to my cousin (she’s like 8) as present, and call her to congratulate her (it’s her communion).
I have been thinking about that and I wouldn’t mind talking to the child and sending her some money or something, but: - That implies that I have to contact my aunt, which I really don’t want to do. - I don’t think the child cares that much about me calling her or not… We had a good relationship but then but she was a child and I’m not sure she remembers me. My grandma also pushed me to talk to some relatives when I was a kid and I found it uncomfortable because it was people I didn’t really know and didn’t have anything to talk about… And I don’t want my cousin to feel that way because of me. - I also would like to send the child a present or money, but I don’t know what to get because I don’t know what she likes (for that I would have to ask my aunt), and sending money feels very impersonal, and I’m sure they will use the money for her but at the same time I’m not sure and I don’t feel comfortable. I could also talk to my aunt’s husband to check what the girl would like, I guess, but I haven’t spoke to him also and feels somehow “forced”.
I would be happy to read any advice you could give me! Cheers,

It is a man, old and scraggy. He wears a jacket that lays over the red plaid button shirt and blue jeans. He wears an old baseball cap and a pair of glasses. He yelled something to Dad, holding his hands up like he was pleading, although we couldn’t hear it over the truck engine. They talked, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Hey, what are they saying”, I asked, while petting Matt’s hair, calming him. The old man then put his hands down and came close to Dad in a cautious way. They seem to start having some kind of conversation.
“I don’t really know, hopefully, something good”, Mom answered. They talked for a little while, with daylight beginning to disappear, giving us a sense of dread, and making me more worried about what weird creature was going to show up. Eventually, the old man turned and pointed toward what I think is the northeast. They then shook hands and walked back to their respective vehicles. “What’s going on”, Mom asked as Dad got into the truck.
“Well, our new friend here invited us to dinner at his farm”, Dad replied.
“Does he have supplies?”
“Well, he says has supplies for us to make the journey.”
“Should we even trust him? We just met h-”
“Relax, he’s just an old man, living alone at his farm, feeding his cows. What could go wrong”, Dad countered. The old man then entered the truck that was running and drove slowly, expecting us to follow him.
“Alrighty then, but we have to be cautious”, Mom said, with her suspicions of the old man. We then followed the old truck along the dark, frozen road. It just feels like something is going to show up along the road, but nothing happened. Matt did eventually stop crying, but he is still upset about the Joe escape thing.
“Where are we going”, Matt lamented, with the prior series of events in mind.
“I guess somebody is offering us dinner”, I answered.
“Why can’t we just go home?”
“It’s only going to be a stop, like a hotel. After that, we go to our new home, I guess”, I said, taking another look at Matt and cradling to comfort him. “It’s going to be okay.” I stared out into the darkness. I looked to the sky from the window and I faintly saw something in the clear, dark sky, lit up by the waning moon. They were brilliant, green auroras that defy the bright moon, dancing across the sky like ribbons in the wind. The truck eventually took a right-hand turn into another road, with us following suit. I can see a bright, orange light emerging from a patch of tree. When we passed by, it seemed it was a house, at a farm, burning in a massive flame.
“I guess those people aren’t so, uh, lucky”, Dad said, taking a quick look at it before looking at the road. Passing by, we went on and continued to follow the old man’s truck. We passed onto another intersection until he turned into a driveway to what I believe to be his farm. Going into the driveway, I can see an old house, along with a dilapidated farm further away, barely visible by the headlights. The old man parked by the house, where there were a few other trucks there. We parked alongside the truck and we got out into the cold, near-silent night.
“Welcome to sanctuary, where all are welcome”, the old man bellowed. This is the first time I’ve heard his voice. Matt was the last to get out of the truck, slowly and clumsily climbing out of the truck.
“What’s your name”, my Mom politely asked the old man.
“Oh, I guess your husband didn’t tell ya. My name is Steven, but you can call me Steve”, the old man said, with some crackling in his voice. “I am very proud to host a dinner for you and your family”, he continued. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, my name is Janice”, Mom replied, quite pleased at his politeness.
“Hello, Janice, and what are their names”, Steven asked, pointing to me and Matt.
“That’s my daughter Kate and my son Matt”, Dad said to Mom.
“Oh, what wonderful names for a couple of beautiful children you have”, Steve grinned. “Come, it is dangerous out here.” We followed him to the house, which looked like it had seen better days. He entered through the double-set door, the first a solid door and a screen door behind. Entering the house, it smelled like what you’d expect, old man. Looking onto the floor is made of glossy wood and walls with cracks, likely caused by the earthquake. It is dark in there, lit by candlelight from many candles, yet it’s fairly warm here. I don’t know why we went into the house, but Dad was right, Steve is just a lonely, old man. Matter of fact, there seems to be nothing wrong here, other than the cracks in the walls. “Sorry, the power went out. Had to resort to the candles. I knew my wife would come in handy”, Steve explained as he took his coat off. “Oh, supper will be ready right away. Had to use the fireplace to cook. Also, can you take your boots off?” We took our boots and set them aside. We went into what seemed to be a living room, with dusty old-style furniture.
“So, where do we sit”, Mom asked.
“Oh, well, follow me”, Steve commanded, leading us to the dining room, with a long, wooden table and six wooden chairs, along with their corresponding old-fashioned plates, glasses and cutlery, lit up in the candlelight. We noticed that everything on the table was covered in a thin veil of dust. “My apologies, the recent shocks dropped a bit of dust on the table”, he explained as he noticed us looking at the plates and moved into another room nearby. “Take your seats if you like.” We all settled onto the chairs, and blew off our plates of the dust settled there.
“When will we eat”, Matt impatiently said.
“Once Steve comes out with the food”, Mom answered. Matt sat there with a tired look on his face. Dad seemed to be in a better mood than before and it looked like he wanted to start a conversation.
“Hey, should we talk about something”, Dad asked. I then see Steve with a bowl and a silver plate.
“Here we go, may not be much, but at least it’ll fulfil the soul”, Steve said, smiling when he served us mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “So, shall we pray?” That came unexpectedly, as we are not too religious, but we were in his house and gave us shelter and food.
“Sure, we can do that”, Mom said and we all bowed our heads and put our hands together. Steve cleared his throat
“Thank you, Lord, for this good food to feed the soul in these hard times. I shall pray, in the name of the Lord and Jesus Christ, that these hard times shall be over, so we can get on with our lives. Amen.” We raised our heads and grabbed whatever food there was onto our plates. “Oh, there’s no gravy, so we have to deal with bare potaters and meatloaf.”
“Oh, not to worry. Thank you for the food”, Dad thanked Steve. We began to eat the food once we got it sorted.
“So, what brings you here”, Steve asked.
“Well, there is an evacuation order in effect for this area, so we had to go to Regina”, Dad explained, with Steve taking in every word. “So, we came from Strasbourg, we tried going south towards Regina, but we hit an obstacle in the way and we had to take another route, leading us here.”
“And we encountered a few odd things along the way”, Mom added.
“Huh, interesting. What do you guys think is going on”, Steve inquired.
“By the things we saw, we have no idea. Dinosaurs, devil dogs, hell pigs, the whole deal. I shouldn’t forget the earthquake. They told us a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake”, Dad clarified to Steve.
“Hmm… is that so”, Steve wondered. “Wonder what I think is happening? The Rapture is happening. Do you know how the Bible tells us of the end times? Good people sent to be with God and his kingdom, the rest here to suffer the Hell unleashed by Satan.” By this point, he was beginning to rant, but we couldn't stop it as we all began to feel tired and powerless. “So, the Devil will send his demons in the form of these illusions so that they can torment the sinners. It is happening, it is-” Steve manically continued as I drew towards blackness and his voice becoming less coherent. My vision is now all black.
I saw those same lights, but more rapidly than before. I then emerged onto the same clear sky, but something felt different. I can smell something in the air. I can smell what seems to be chemicals in the air. Looking down, I was terrified. Dark, grey rock in the shape of ropes and folds, similar to those I saw of lava flows on a volcano in pictures. This went on as far as the eye could see. I can see no tree this time, just the cooled lava everywhere. I then walked, feeling every bump and crag. I thought I walked forever until I heard a rumbling sound and woke up.
I am in total darkness. It is cold and it smells like cow manure. I tried to move my hand, but it seemed to be bonded behind my back by a rope. I tried to move my feet, but they were also bound by rope to the legs I tried to speak, only to realise my mouth was agape by a cloth in my mouth. I heard shuffling nearby but I could not see. It was then shone in light when Steve entered the door, holding a candle, revealing all of us in the same situation. I then can see what we are in. We are in that same wooden dilapidated barn we saw earlier and seems to be more damaged than the house, wood creaking can be heard.
“These sedatives are more effective than I thought. Maybe I should use them more often”, Steve smoothly explained, like he’s some kind of agent and began pacing. “Wonder why you are here? Well, I wondered the same thing to myself, why didn’t God take me to his heaven? When I first heard of the government telling us of those evacuation plans, I thought it was that, a leaking pipe. I began to notice things I couldn’t believe myself, at least at first. Earthquakes, weird creatures showing up, people disappearing, the whole spiel. I connected the dots. The Rapture is happening, for sure, but why me? Why was I the one left here on this Earth”, Steve calmly ranted, pacing around the barn, but it seemed to sound crazier and angrier the more he paced. “I thought I had lost my way. I’ve been unfaithful to God and his son. But, I realised that God always has a plan and he left me on this Earth to serve a purpose. I wondered what my purpose was until I had a moment.” He then stopped in place and calmed down. He turned to look at Mom with accusing yet crazed eyes.
“I’m supposed to keep the sinners here in line, to earn a place in God’s kingdom, or suffer in Hell. I know you are a sweet woman, Janice, but your treachery with Satan is over and I am going to do what’s right.” Mom then looked at all of us, with assuring eyes like that of an innocent yet caring mother we all know knew. I began crying and trying to speak through the cloth, but I was helpless to watch by. “Forgive me, Father, for what I am going to do.” He then pulled a knife from his pocket and plunged it into Mom’s neck with no mercy. I looked away once he did that, trembling, with tears pouring out and my vision glazed and I fell limp. I could see my brother tearing up, but he did not look away. I can hear Dad behind me, with his screams of agony and anger covered by the cloth. It felt like I was in slow motion, taking in every moment.
I then heard the chair, screeching as Steve dragged the chair containing Mom’s lifeless body towards the door, leaving behind a trail of blood. I couldn’t bear to see my mother like this. I shut my eyes very hard and hoped it would go away. The door then shut, leaving us alone with a candle, fearing what would come next. I stared at the candle, seeing it dance in the flames like a woman dancing in the darkness. Is this how it’ll end, I thought. End up dying to this sick man? My Mom was killed in front of me. I sobbed with that thought, then I began to think about the inevitable death of me. I hope there’s something after I die. Maybe I’ll see Mom again.
It was silent for a while, nearly no sound other than our moans. Dad seems to be fidgeting at the back of his chair, rocking it slowly. Looking past him, I shuddered at the glistening pool of blood, where Mom was last alive, could be my fate. I then see Dad release his arms from the back of the chair and remove the cloth from his mouth. He silently stood up and bent down to untie his legs from the chair legs. He then went to me and removed my cloth.
“H-h-how did you do that”, I silently wept, fearing that Steve would show up at the door and kill us all.
“My binding is loose. The old man probably took a liking to me”, Dad whispered. “I should remove your binds.” He untied them, releasing me, doing the same for Matt. “Now, we need to be quiet.” We then walked, quietly, along the painfully creaking wood in the near dark, following the blood trail, glistening in the candlelight. We cringed and dreaded each sound we made and watched the door in case it began to creak open. A few silent steps later, we made it to the door and we slowly opened it so as not to make any noise. What was revealed to us is nothing new, other than the blood trail continuing in the snow directing towards the back of the barn. “Okay, Kate, Matt, you guys run to the truck.”
“What about you”, I sobbed.
“Don’t worry about me”, Dad responded, giving me his keys and forcing them into my hand. “If I’m not back in a few minutes, leave. Don’t look back, take care of your brother, okay? I love you, no matter what happens.” He then kissed me on the head and ran to follow the blood trail. We quickly walked towards the black truck, stranded there for maybe hours. Getting closer, freedom is getting closer. When we got to a fair distance to the truck, I heard footsteps behind me and, the next thing I knew, I was knocked over to the ground into the hard snow on my face. A hand turned me over to give me a glimpse of a crazed Steve, his eyes wilder than before.
“Oh, yes, trying to escape”, he bragged. I looked at him, frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights and he caressed my face with his bloodied blade. “You do have a pretty face, but I’m afraid you are just one of Satan's creations, made to pull me to lust.” He then raised his knife in the air when a familiar side emerged, out of the blue.
Joe came and bit him in the arm that was holding the knife. Steve screamed in agony the moment he realised what happened. He shook Joe off and stood up to stand his ground. I stood up as Joe hissed and walked around the crazed being he wounded, not in fear but in aggressiveness. “Is this one of your pets, demon”, Steve screamed as Joe came in for another attack, but Steve countered that with a slash to the snout. Joe then ran away, whining, into the darkness. This sequence of events gave me the chance to enter the truck on the driver’s side. I had some trouble starting it, besides this is my first time driving a truck.
Steve menacelily walked towards the when Dad came barreling and tackled him to the ground. Dad was on top when he went limp. I finally put the keys in the engine turned it on and backed out, with memory serving me the instructions on such a vehicle. Steve pushed Dad’s body and stood up, but by that time, we left the farm.
“Turn back, we have to get Dad”, Matt cried, but I was very emotional, accepting what happened. I felt that, without my parents, I feel… useless.
“Dad’s dead”, I screamed at Matt and he began gagging uncontrollably in tears. I began to feel sorry for him. “Sorry, I, I don’t know.”
“It’s okay”, Matt sniffled. “I guess Mom and Dad are dead anyways.” It was silence for a few more minutes, tears welling in our eyes.
“Hey, our parents are in a better place”, I said, trying to make the situation positive.
“But we are stuck here, without them? Don’t we deserve to go to a better place?”
“Don’t say that”, I huffed and I paused for a bit. “I know we are in the, uh, right place now. Let me tell you something, once we get to Regina, I will take care of you, no matter what life throws at us.”
“What about Joe”, Matt asked.
“He’ll be fine. He probably found his girlfriend already.”
“Hey, don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“I, uh, I don’t have one. That I know of”, I spoke, bringing me back to Sam, remembering that she’s the only friend that I ever knew, and I left her. Without her, I felt alone, no one would ever relate. I began to tear up. “I don’t have any friends. I am alone,” I sobbed.
“What do you mean? I’m your brother!” I looked at Matt, and smiled, happy that he acknowledged that we were in this together.
“Thank you”, I thanked him. I slowly stopped on the road, just to hug Matt hard, crying my eyes out. We then heard what sounded like an elephant in front of us. We looked up to see a walking snow-covered brown fur wall with four pillar-like legs in front of us. Its curved tusks gleaned in the light and the eyes reflected in the light. The furry trunk waved around like a searching snake from a tree. We both knew what it was.
“Hey, look at that, a woolly mammoth”, Matt said, excitement running through him. At this point, we weren’t surprised.
“Yep, that is a woolly mammoth”, I added. The mammoth turned to us on the road, seemingly confused about where it was. It looked at our truck and seemed to growl, like an elephant. We are starting to realise this thing is becoming aggressive.
“Uh, should we move”, Matt asked. I remembered hearing something about standing your ground in case of an encounter with an elephant. I hoped it would work for a bigger, furrier version of one.
“No, we have to stand our ground.”
“But, it’ll attack u-”
“Trust me!” I then honked my horn and it backed up. It then rushed, then stopped, a mock charge. Eventually, it moved out of the road, disappearing into the darkness. We sighed in relief.
“That was close”, Matt sighed. I then continued to drive in the night, headlights leading the way. The road is bumpy, as noticed by every ditch and peak we hit, but surprisingly, Matt was fast asleep. I began to get comfortable driving and used to the road by that point. It was silent for a while until we hit a smaller intersection. That is when the truck shut down, completely and stopped. I tried the gas many times but with no effect. There is no light, nothing. It is near-darkness here, shone only by the moonlight.
“Shit”, I yelled, desperate to turn the truck on without much success. Matt woke up, confused.
“What happened”, he yawned.
“The truck turned itself off. I can’t get it back on”, I fretted and at that moment, Matt was just as panicked as I am.
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know. One moment, we were driving, another it just-”, I quavered, when I heard something rustle in the distance. We stood still, hoping whatever it was didn’t find us. I looked around, hoping to see something in the moonlight. I then see a long, walking animal. It looked like some sort of alligator at first, except for a dinosaur-like head. Once I strained my eyes to the darkness, my fear levels rose as I could see it walk on its hind limbs, with its forelimbs dangling nearly touching the ground.
It was wandering around on the road when I heard a near-crocodilian growl at Matt’s side of the truck. Another of those creatures appeared, seemingly looking into the window like a hungry bear, giving us a chance to see its scaly head. Its exposed alligator teeth gleaned in the light like knives, but more terrifying was the eye. Its serpentine pupil shone brilliantly in the light like eyes in the dark. It then ducked down, gave a hiss, and moved towards the other one. A few more showed up and formed a group.
“What should we do”, Matt asked. “Should we stay?” I looked around, hoping for another way to escape them without them noticing. I further strained my eyes and mentally mapped out the area. There is a cemetery on my right-hand side, a grain bin storage yard on my left and a series of trailers on the other side of the highway, which is ahead of us, from the storage area. There, I see a series of white, storage buildings, something we can go to and wait it out inside.
“Okay, so slowly open the door”, I instructed Matt. The click of the doors opening cringed us. We looked at the group, but there was no response from them. We then, as slowly as we could, opened the door and stepped out. Still no response. Matt then quietly ran to the other side, towards me. “Okay, we are going into the storage yard and go to the other entrance”, I said, pointing to the other right-hand corner. I wanted to get as far away from these things as possible before making a safe crossing. “Then, we cross the highway on the other side, run into the buildings and stay there for the night. Are you ready?”
“I guess”, he whispered, looking at me in fearful doubt.
“We are going to do this”, I whispered back. We then silently ran over, having to rely on our night-adapted eyes, to the corner, walking past the bins. We made it and nothing behind us so far. “We’re good so far.” We then crossed the road and noticed nothing. We noticed a tanker truck, leaking some sort of fluid across the road. I easily recognized it as fuel, based on its distinctive, sickly smell. I wouldn’t be worried about it if it weren’t for a collapsed light pole that is somehow still flickering with electricity near the area where the fuel would be flowing. We quickly avoided the fluid when I froze to see the group of the walking alligators, running towards us. “Run!” Matt tried to run, but one of those things appeared and clamped its jaws at the back of his neck. He yelped in pain and it took him down to the ground. “Matt”, I yelled, helplessly watching as the creature tore into him.
Matt reached out his arm before the others came to him, then a flash of fire came. At this point, I knew what happened, but I couldn’t even think before it exploded. It blew me towards the building, far away. I was knocked out for a few seconds before I regained consciousness, groaning in pain on the ice. I noticed something especially painful just below my chest. I reached towards the area with my hand. I pressed on it, more painful than ever and raised my hand, only to see blood, brightened by the fire. I realised I was wounded, maybe by shrapnel made by the explosion.
I looked toward where the truck was and all I saw was a blaze. Those things weren’t there, at least. I also noticed something else, too, there’s no Matt. I tried to look around for something, some sort of sign of my brother within the fire, but I saw none. I then wept, realising I had failed. I have failed to keep him safe. I have failed to give him a better life. I failed him as a sister. I could’ve done better. The thoughts poured in as tears glazed my eyes. At that moment, I failed to look around me.
I noticed a dark thing beside the blaze. I thought it was Matt, preparing to greet him back, even though I knew he couldn’t survive the explosion. The image became clearer and clearer as I noticed it was one of the walking crocs that, glazed by the fire, was coming towards me.
“Just kill me”, I screamed, preparing to painfully die to meet my maker. The creature was about to attack me when something large, silent as the wind, came charging and clamped down its massive jaws, filled with conical teeth on the hapless creature and raised it. The crocodile struggled before going limp with a crunch within its strong jaws. The big, dark and scaly monster that it is towered over me and is as long as a bus, possibly longer. Its large legs are a contradiction to its small arms that hide beneath its scarred, bulky body.
It turned to look at me with an oddly bird-like expression, revealing in the firelight numerous scars from battles I could never know and looked at me with its beady bird-like eyes, breathing out wisps from its nostrils like a dragon in the cool air. I recognized it as a creature I know too well, a T. Rex. I breathed heavily and sickly, looking at the thing, nearly expecting me to drop the body and go after me. Instead, it simply walked away, carrying its bloody prize with it, and steadily retreated into the darkness.
I then lay down in agonizing exhaustion on my back, thinking of the next step of action like I'm on a suicide mission I would never come back from. I looked in the direction of the graveyard and had one thought. I guess I am dying. a graveyard will do. I struggled to stand up, noticing my blood-soaked clothes and felt a broken left leg. I grasped my wound, limping step by step and enduring the sharp pain while shaking in the cold. Every step I took, I remembered all the memories, good or bad, that I had with my parents. My brother. My friends. My family. I eventually reached the cemetery and slouched at a tree.
“Guess I’m joining you, guys”, I said, speaking to the snow-covered gravestones, only to hear something. A familiar sound of chirping emerged and, lit by the blaze, it was a sight I can hope for. “Joe, what are you doing here”, I depressingly cheered as Joe went to me and curled up in my lap as if he were a cat. I noticed the new-found scar he had on his little snout, but I paid no mind as I petted him. “I guess you came back. Thank you so much for what you did”, I thanked him, not expecting such a loyal creature would be with me, comforting me, to the end, like what my mother used to do when I was a newborn. I heard another noise, this time a deep rumble.
I thought it was another earthquake coming, but it got louder the closer it got to me, becoming more animalistic only felt small vibrations I barely felt. Joe stayed put, oddly enough, as T. Rex, different from the first one, came. It walked towards us until it stopped short of us. It began to produce a low-pitched, bird-like purring, attracting Joe. I realised something, that this T. Rex is Joe’s parent. He joined the rest like him, whom they showed up and all chirped around.
The grown Rex then brought its snout closer to me, not to kill me, but to look at me. It did not reveal its teeth and was still purring. I put my hand out and its nose came close to it. It rubbed it against my hand and started to pet its cold, scaly skin as it breathed through its nose and put it on my chest. I rested my head on it before it pulled away. It gave out a hiss, but I knew it wasn’t that of a threat, but more of a thank you for bringing its small, sometimes immature, child home.
That gave me relief, as it felt like I at least did something for once. They walked away, along with Joe, towards the darkness amongst the gravestones in the cemetery. I glimpsed one last desperate look at Joe before walking beside his parent. I looked up at the sky and I could see all the stars, twinkling, and the dancing green auroras. I began to feel limp and felt the cold embrace of death coming over me, tears pouring out of my eyes. The sky then grew brighter and brighter, the stars faded into the light and I could see my family welcoming me to a new home. It then slowly went black, darker than a cave.
You would think this is the end of me. It wasn’t, or else I wouldn’t be writing this right now. I eventually woke up in a hospital in Regina. I was told I was rescued by a team that transported me while I was in a coma. The doctors said I was very lucky to be alive, as the shrapnel narrowly avoided my vital organs. After that, I was adopted into a new family, but I was only with them for a couple of years before finding a new job and moving out.
As for Sam, I don’t know what happened to her. I would like to think she is safe, somewhere else. As for my family, I think of them all the time. I was in a depressive period right after that. Eventually, over the years, I accepted that they were gone and went to a better place. For Joe, I would like to think he is all grown up, like his parents, and becoming the king of the jungle. I hope we meet again.
As for the evacuated area, it wasn’t some pipeline rupture that caused an evaluation, but an anomaly, with the exact reason not known. There are excuses for the claims of weird stuff going on in there, from disease to chemicals, to eventually a previously unknown geological event, but I saw through it all.
You may ask how, it's because I've been there. Take it or leave it, this is the story I have. As the decade came by, cover-ups were made to hide it, even walls were put around it. Since the incident, the exclusion zone grew from a mere 80 kilometers in diameter to 460 kilometers in diameter, emptying entire cities of the likes of Regina and Saskatoon. I had to move to North Battleford, by the recommendation from the same government covering it up, making me think that time will tell before the floodgates of truth open.
The anomaly didn’t have a name initially, however, over the years, everyone agreed on one name in particular: The Saskatchewan Anomaly.

I apologize this will be a long post:
Well everyone let me just say my Mother is a text book narcissist. Diagnosed. I held on to our relationship because of my younger brothers. I wanted my family to be happy. I lied to myself and held on to the good I saw; even though I know it’s all an act and manipulation for control and her own fucked up toxic validation. I made excuses because she herself had an incredibly fucked up childhood. She also has been diagnosed and takes medication.
The amount of physical pain, abuse and mental anguish my Mother has caused my family is unreal. The pathological lying is unremarkable. She will have a melt down the second you unveil her scheme or correct her. Her MO is she is always “dying” or “sick”. Constantly seeking attention and validation. She is a master at jamming wedges in between people as well as making everyone look like the “bad guy”.
She is a queen at manipulating. Recently she finally was flagged by the State as a drug seeker. She doctor shops to get pills and had many prescriptions for pain pills. The 30 years prior she was a raging alcoholic. Ever since they cut her pills she has began to spiral. Worse than I have ever seen. I knew something was coming.
My Father just died, on my birthday, a few weeks ago. Of course she was no where to be seen and completely unhelpful. The one day she came, when my Father was actively dying, and said in her best actress “oh poor me” voice. “Oh I also had some MRIs this week. Been going to my Doctor and said to him to do everything he can. I don’t want my daughter to have to lose both her parents”. She has Fibromyalgia. She kept talking about her sickness and doctors while my Dad lay there. Actually dying.
Lastly, my Brother and Father hadn’t talked in 6 years. He and I also are not on good terms so of course I tried to go through her. I kept begging her to bring my brother to see my Father. Begged her to have him call me so I could put the phone on speaker. I wanted so desperately for my Brother to talk to him. My Brother wanted to talk to the doctor before coming to visit. He did not believe my Mother that my Dad was actually dying. Understandable, she is a liar.
I gave the hospital his number and asked to have him added as someone the doctor can speak with. All of us were added to a healthcare proxy file. I gave the doctor his number and asked him to call my Brother. The doctor went and spoke with my Father and my Father said “No” when asked if the doctor could call. It was out of my hands and devastated me. It broke in to many pieces. I wanted my Brother there. My Mother refused to bring him (he is disabled and cannot drive).
The day before my Father passed I texted my Mother and she knew my brother was added and I gave the doctor his number. The morning my Father died I again asked her to bring my brother she replied “Your Dad said no, so”. The day after my Father died I received the most horrible texts from my brother. My Mother lied and said that I never told her he had permission to call or see my Dad. She never told my brother he could call or even tried to get him to go in person.
This was my snapping point. Of all the abuse and times she made everything about her. The fights at holidays or special events. The drama and the lies this is by far the absolute worst thing she could ever have done. My father is now dead and my brother will never have closure. She would rather this so she can play the hero to my brother and the victim because me her “horrible daughter” has treated her “badly”.
I know she is a raging narcissist. I know how she is and what she does everytime. Always makes things about her but when my Father was dying?! After he died?! I knew the time would come when I couldn’t take it any more but this. THIS?!
I finally told her off. I finally called her everything she is. I know it doesn’t matter because a narcissist is never wrong and she will lie to everyone until the day she dies. Unlike my Father I will not be there. May she die alone and miserable. May her karma bring her nothing but suffering.
I never thought she could break my heart enough to the point that I finally feel nothing. The years I spent crying so hard and all the trauma she has burned into my soul. I can’t take it any more. I am truly heartbroken.
I fucking hate her. Finally. I feel nothing any more. The small ounces of hope. The love for the woman I want her to be. I can no longer deny and make excuses. I am done and I am not going back.
Thank you for listening if you made it this far.
I’m just so unbelievably sad.

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temporary, ten, tend, tendency, tennis, tension, tent, term, terms, terrible, territory, terror, terrorist, test, testimony, testing, text, than, thank, thanks, that, the, theater, their, them, theme, themselves, then, theory, therapy, there, therefore, these, they, thick, thin, thing, think, thinking, third, thirty, this, those, though, thought, thousand, threat, threaten, three, throat, through, throughout, throw, thus, ticket, tie, tight, time, tiny, tip, tire, tissue, title, to, tobacco, today, toe, together, toilet, token, tolerate, tomato, tomorrow, tone, tongue, tonight, too, tool, tooth, top, topic, toss, total, totally, touch, tough, tour, tourist, tournament, toward, towards, tower, town, toy, trace, track, trade, tradition, traditional, traffic, tragedy, trail, train, training, transfer, transform, transformation, transition, translate, translation, transmission, transmit, transport, transportation, travel, treat, treatment, treaty, tree, tremendous, trend, trial, tribe, 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Secret Touch is the eighth song on the seventeenth studio album Vapor Trails (2002). How do you rank this one? The choices range from skippable (You can almost see the circuits blowing) to superb (The treasure of a life).
Writing credits: Music: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Lyrics: Neil Peart
Concurrent band member quote: "This is a bit of an extravaganza. We built the song around these repeating bass chords that I thought sounded like French horns. The tune has a hypnotic feel, and because we weren't happy just enjoying that feel, we had to smack it up with some power. When we get to the middle section and all hell breaks loose, there are these stuttering bass punctuations. I double-tracked them, but on one of the tracks I went in and digitally truncated the notes to make them sound really abrupt and punchy." -Geddy to Karl Coryat of Bass Player Magazine (July 2002)
Rush Official YouTube Channel link
This track was released as a radio promo single in 2002, reaching number 25 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
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I don't exactly remember it since I read it one or two years ago but basically the mc is a villainess and is not the actual daughter of her father, when the actual daughter returns(heroine) the villainess originally should of treated her very badly but since the current villainess is actually a transmigrated soul who knows what will happen in the future she treats her very well hoping to not die. Due to her actions and the heroine's misunderstanding , the heroine falls in love with her(I think)
The heroine also has a blue(or purple idk) small-fire-ghost thingy that only she can see which tires to correct her misunderstanding but is always ignored by the heroine.
I tried searching for it everywhere but can't find it, if you know it's title please tell me I'm trying to find it since the past 3 weeks

Hello you lovely Spuds!
I'm an American expat living in England with my husband and our child (F7). My husband and I have been together for 8 years, our daughter was a happy accident but it took me at least 6 years to see my husband was the one I should not have kept.
For background: he is an alocholic since day 1, he made me thank him profusely for deciding to stay for the baby because he just wants to live his own life as a bohemian artist, he made us late for our own baby shower because he screamed at me and threw food at me for 2 hours in a parking lot because I bought him some Mcdonalds breakfast due to him being newly wasted at 9am, he proposed to me because his dad was visiting and wanted him to be proud of him - and when he saw his dad was drunk and missed it he got so angry and made us all go home - and then forgot he even proposed, (for the record, I didn't say yes because his friends were pouring beer on us and I wasn't sure I wanted to marry him but he told everyone I said yes and I wasn't capable of standing up for myself at the time). The day of our wedding I wore black and watched a zombie film in the bath haha that's not part of the story just something I'll always remember as symbolic. Of course he was wasted for our family meal reception and kept trying to dry hump his male friend which was weird, but ok. Then ruined seeing Phantom of the Opera for our honeymoon and then admitted to sleeping with his ex when I was newly pregnant (that he repeatedly told me I was crazy for thinking he'd sleep with that 'expletive expletive'). It gets a lot worse for about 3 years while we were in separate countries and waiting on a visa for me as our daughter and I visited a few times for a few months. Lots of binged weekends where he would be gone for days doing various illicit substances and lots of alcohol.
Fast forward to about a year ago and we al live together in England, still having binge days and sometimes things were good and sometimes not so good. the final straw was last March when I had mentioned I might go to a mums-night-out as I didn't feel like I had many friends at the time in England, and he said "I can deal with you being a shit wife but I can't deal with you being a shit mother" because my daughter didn't want me to be gone. Later he told me he only said it to hurt me. The moment he said that to me was the moment everything I was holding onto just died. I'm a massive planner and decided to learn what I actually want out of my life and how to make my own choices and have significantly leveled up since then, I made a 110 page life plan that broke down my life into 13 categories - I was serious about change. I watched "how to talk to narcisstist" videos and stopped allowing him to talk down to me and drive conversations in circles. It was last March when I made this shift and I've just managed to move out last weekend! In that year, he broke my fridge, ruined my bed because he doesn't shower, and shattered my oven glass door because "I made him angry by telling my friends about the situation and making him look bad." He never bought anything because he doesn't work, and the money he does get from his art doesn't go into the family or home. Oh also, I'm his second marriage as he has a case in the states against him for DV but said he only hit her back "in self defence" and he is a wonderful storyteller, clearly. I know, I'm an idiot.
ALL THAT BEING SAID, my visa relies on being married to him and I now have to urgently choose to pay £5k to apply as a parent to my English daughter and will be restarting the whole 5 year visa process which will end in over £10k -or- I could apply for the Domestic Abuse visa which in the long run is waaaaay better for me and my daughter but he would know I did that and would be so angry as he's told me off for "playing the victim" when I reported him to the police and social workers needed to get involved. Since this new year we've had a mostly good relationship as we live completely separate lives and have agreements where our daughter is involved. I feel awful because his parents have helped me so much throughout the visa process and with getting my English license and a car, and until last week I lived in a granny annexe in his mothers back garden with him. I feel like if I apply for DA then its like a slap in the face to his family for everything they've done for me and could potentially isolate myself and my daughter from family in the UK. They know about his character but choose not to acknowledge it and think we just need work things out. I also feel like as it wasn't physical abuse that I am sort of "playing the victim" and shouldn't deserve to apply for it. I don't want to bring my daughter back home to the states as I'm very happy with the safety and quality of life here for her compared to where I'm from, also I'm not even sure if I could as I'd be then taking her away from her dad and english family and friends.
Am I the asshole for wanting to make this massive decision that would then legally label him as an abuser (in the UK) as it would be the most beneficial route for me and my daughter?
Lastly- I am receiving professional support and not relying on internet crowdsourcing support, I'm just so stressed and nervous and there are massive time gaps with the professional support where I 120% overthink these things!!!

Hello Reddit,
I come seeking some insight into my actions this past Mother's Day to see if I am truly out of touch with reality and everything good in this world.
Let me set the stage, this is important; We met over 2 years ago. As with any new relationship there's that initial period where everything is new, you're exploring each other. A few weeks later she was celebrating her daughter's birthday. We had bought her an iPad together. She set it up while everyone was eating cake with the family and unfortunately never checked what synced. Her daughter saw photos and videos of me and made a big scene. She turned 8. She also has a son she adopted away a few years back before going to prison.
Since then she has freaked out every time I am mentioned. Full on meltdown. As such we've had to keep our relationship a secret and hidden. Removed me from all social media and has me muted on Messenger, just to keep the peace with her daughter. This has been going on for almost 2 years in a couple of months.
This Saturday before Mother's Day she went camping with her kid and sisters kids. I didn't know at first, we usually talk in the mornings before she spends the weekend with the kids, our usual morning routine. Sent her 3 messages in the morning, one around lunch and one in the afternoon. She didn't respond until nearly 6pm where she said she went camping and sent pictures.
It was raining for me so I told her I was jealous and wish I could be there. I love her, I'll see her tomorrow, have a great evening and all that. If she or the kids needed anything to just let me know, I'll make myself available. Like 3 short messages and one just spanning 4 lines.
Mother's Day comes around and I sent her a message in the morning telling her shes the best mom and woman in the world, she works so hard for us, try her best and take care of business. She's a gift and a blessing. Told her she's amazing and I love her.
I got a single "Love you" back an hour later. I went to my parents for lunch a little after 9 and texted before going saying I had saved $200 for that day for her so if she or the kids wanted anything to use my card and hoped she liked my gift. (Scented candles and a silver necklace with her birthstone in a heart shape)
Get back from lunch a little after 11 and sent her another message and told her I made a post on FB. Basically just recognizing her for the amazing woman she is and attached 3 of the most beautiful pictures I have of her, two of them where she posed with her daughter. Told her to get something for herself or take the kids out to eat.
3:35pm rolls around, she hadn't seen any of my texts so I text her saying I'm sure she's being kept extra busy today and I wish we weren't apart on special days like today and holidays but hopefully it changes soon and that she liked the gift I had gotten for her.
I didn't expect her to respond so after sending her the text, I went on FB and saw she had posted a new header picture of her kids playing the ipad while sitting on the bed with them, being visited by the son she adopted away. I thought it was beautiful and shared it to my FB with a heart emoji.
Not even a 2 mins later she responds back telling me to "Chill the fuck out, I'm spending time with my daughter!!!"
Followed by: "Dude I'm fucking blocking you! Who the fuck are you to put pictures up of are you fucking serious!!!"
I quickly respond: "I'll remove it"
And she said: "Posting pictures of my daughter so she could possibly see or her dad flip the fuck out!!!" and she blocked me.
Later that evening she still hadn't unblocked me so I sent her an email telling her to please talk to me, I apologize if I did something wrong or to upset her, all she needed to do was voice her disapproval and tell me to remove it. (As I already had) Why do it like this?
She responds back telling me to "Leave her the fuck alone" because she's not "dealing with this psychotic behavior all the fucking damn time. Your mom can be in the hospital dying and you don't post a thing about it, but you put a fucking picture up of my adopted son! Are you fucking serious!".
My response back was I don't post sad shit on Facebook. Never have, never will. I post things that make me happy. I didn't make a post when any of my grandparents died, (last one this Jan), when I was going through 2 surgeries + 7 months of chemo and radiation for melanoma, and certainly not with tubes and wires coming out of my mom. Wasn't even a thought that crossed my mind in the middle of it.
So, Reddit, was I wrong here? Am I so morally wrong and out of touch with reality that I got what I deserved?
I haven't heard from her since. She has used my card though.

First time posting; I'm sorry if I screwed up anywhere!
This happened about a year ago so I apologize if I misremember a few details.
At the time, I was running for a new group of four players. The players so far have had one adventure together: killing rats in a basement. Already the party is roleplaying together and making inside jokes. Even the new players who are a bit shy are starting to open up.
For their next adventure, the party has been recruited to go to a nearby farm that is been harassed by nearby goblins. The farm is tended to by three NPC's: Hillard, an old crotchety man who is secretly a powerful wizard in hiding after a "job gone wrong;" Mallory, his wife (who never got developed); and Dolores, their restless daughter. Hillard wants Dolores to stay on the farm, but Dolores has a hunger for adventure. The party decide to take Dolores along with them to go oust all the goblins and give her some spare equipment they have lying around. For context, her stats are all atrocious with about 6 HP to her name.
Miraculously, she survives their encounters, but not without her almost dying several times and realizing that adventuring is a lot more dangerous than she thought.
The party, to my surprise, convinces Hillard to let Dolores join them. More inside jokes appear with some players in character doting on their new adventuring buddy.
Here's where things get weird.
One of my players, our rogue, takes Dolores on his protégé. He spends most of his gold in town buying her equipment and healing potions and attempts to give her life lessons and training in their downtime. While I don't give a mechanical benefit, I do roleplay Dolores slowly building confidence, namely feeling more safe now that she has a shield and armor to hide in.
Another new player who is playing our druid decides that she is going to roleplay that she's not a fan of Dolores. While the rogue is building up Dolores' confidence and coddling her, the druid instead makes remarks that it's a waste of time as Dolores is probably just going to wind up dead. Other players in character chastise the druid for this, but it's all in character so I think nothing of it. Post session there are more jokes and things seem to be going well.
Later, I get a bunch of discord messages from the druid player that the rogue player is DM'ing her and making her feel upset and useless.
I go and talk to the rogue player and he's complaining because he doesn't like how the druid player is putting down Dolores. I tell him that firstly if he has problems with other players to bring it to me first (a policy I have so that I can filter out the vitriol if players have legitimate concerns) but I remind him that Dolores is an NPC with about 6 HP and that while he might be getting attached, the druid player is under no obligation to do so. I ask him if that's a problem for him and let him know that I will address it if it is, but he says that it isn't and apologizes for his behavior.
I speak with the other players and ask if they're having any issues with this and they're surprised I'm even asking. To them (and me) it added a much needed dynamic to Dolores.
I then ask both the druid and rogue players privately if they would be okay meeting together in a group call to have a discussion, namely to see if this can be salvaged, and they agree. Surprisingly, the rogue player apologizes for being out of line and admitting that he let it get to him. I propose that players are allowed to have different opinions and can roleplay different opinions but that any conflict will stay between characters and not extend outside the table. The players agree and make up, and the next session goes pretty smoothly.
Three sessions later and he has a full-on explosion, calling the druid player a female dog and an impolite word for female genitals, rants that she's "ruined the game by being such a downer to Dolores" and leaves the call. He messages me privately that he really enjoyed our game and would love to be invited to another one if I host, but that he can't stand how miserable "that c---" is by making everyone feel depressed (again, I spoke with the other players and they were surprised he felt that way at all.)
Part of me wanted to call him out, but I'm too nice and instead thanked him for his compliment, told him he would not be receiving a future invite to my tables, and blocked him.
I then had a long conversation with the druid player who has been absolutely emotionally destroyed by this and in tears. We have a player meeting with the remaining players about it. I offer to end the game if no one feels like playing anymore, but everyone says that they enjoyed the game thus far and wanted to see what more I had in store.
Even the druid.
Somehow that game is still going on. And Dolores is somehow still with them, alive and well.

For some background, my mom has struggled with bipolar disorder and is very narcissistic & racist however she is lot better than what she used be when me and my older brother were kids. Due to this behavior our Grandma raised us and hence me and brother are very close to her, so when at the gender reveal party I realised im having a baby girl, I decided I would name her after my grandma and my mother looked overjoyed because it was due to grandma that she is recovered as much as she did.
However she is still a bit cuckoo, my older brother is low contact with my mother after she started treating his kind wife awfully when she found out she was half black, and is thinking of going absolutely no-contact because my mother has been making passive remarks about my to be born niece's possible skin colour. She was even vary of Javier but I am a no-nonsense person and have never let her insult him or hsi family.
But here's where shit hits the fan, after I gave birth I ultimately decided to name my daughter Eloriya, that is not my grandma's name, it's the name of my husband's older sister who died in car accident, it was an awful accident that left my FIL with ptsd and he is now wheelchair bound because his legs don't work.
The reason I named her Eloriya was because when i held my babygirl and I saw her pretty little face the only thing me and quite frankly my husband as well could notice was the uncanny similarity to his sister's baby pictures. My daughter could pass off for her identical twin except she took after my hair colour.
Now when my mother found out, she lost all crap. She started screaming like a maniac and hurling insults to my husband and his family, mind you we were still in the hosipital and she had come to visit me with my MIL and FIL because i had a risky delivery and had to stay overnight. She started accusing my husband on brainwashing me into this and tried to attack him, and accused my MIL of forcing me to name my daughter after her dead daughter.
I couldn't take it, I was tired after pushing out a dang mini human outta me. I screamed at my mother that not every MIl is like her, who forces her wishes on their DIL's. Her face dropped as my husband and inlaws looked on in shock.. I told her off for being an awful mother and that how she could still see nothing apart from herself and what she wanted, unlike my MIL who has always treated my like the daughter she never had I told her if it went like this ill go no-contact with her and then she can enjoy the mess she made and then told the nurse to drag my mother out who was now crying hysterically.
I'll be honest with you, I didn't think I was the a-hole but the never-ending messages from my mom's side of my family calling me an ungrateful daughter who couldn't understand her mother was trying to protect her and asking me how dare i bring back her past and choose my MIL over her is making me think twice. So reddit Am I The Asshole?

I’m a JEE aspirant (16F) and the environment inside my house is awful. My dad constantly criticizes my mom and says that without his presence we would be ”begging in the streets with bowls in our hands”. My mom recently underwent a hernia surgery and right after she came back home, he started throwing tantrums. According to him, we are “nothing” and his entire life revolves around his father and mother (who are 81 and 76 respectively). They have their own house (2 storeyed with over 15 rooms) in their hometown but come to live with us for 3-5 months every year, for health and hospital services (my dad has told them that Delhi, being the capital city, has the best hospital facilities). I have my JEE exam in 2025, with the first mains session just some months away, and despite that my grandparents are visiting us and causing a lot of nuisance inside our house. They’ve already lived here for three months this year, but because of my grandmother’s dental checkup, they will be returning again in August after leaving the place on 24th of May. We have a 3 BHK apartment in Delhi (where they come for lodging and hospitality) out of which only one room has an AC. In Delhi’s hot weather i simply can’t afford to study in my room which is just too hot to be in. As a result I’m having to study in the AC room with my grandparents and everyone else being there most of the time. They talk and chat, and what not!! They’re doing their best to ruin my preparation. My marks dipped from 171 to 107 in my coaching tests. I don’t know what to do. My dad fought very aggressively with my mom and her dad yesterday night. He asked the three of us to get out of his house. He also said that we are nothing to him and he is better off with his brother (who has forcefully occupied my grandparents’ house) and his parents. Also says that he needs people to provide kandha to him after he dies. Also thinks that girls’ parents should not interfere in their family life after she gets married. Ridiculous man, I must say. His other two brothers are the exact opposite. One of them lives in the US with his wife and daughters and only rarely helps my grandparents financially, while the other one fights with them for his wife and kids. I don’t get why my dad has to do all this. I don’t get why my life’s the one that has to suck this bad. I can’t even die, as I’m worried that he will make my mom’s life hell if I take any such step. The most heartbreaking part is that I wanted to go to IIT... And in this environment i can do little to nothing to study in peace. I’ll just have to settle for whatever I get and never come back to this place again...

I don’t really know where else to vent because I can’t do it in real life, but I just need to get this off my chest because I swear I’m not completely selfish or crazy.
I highly suspect my mother has undiagnosed borderline personality disorder due to her hitting nearly every diagnostic criteria, and probably autism. (being undiagnosed autistic, never having needs met, projects unmet needs on everyone else etc.)
I just snapped today and burst into tears out of nowhere. I think all these little things that have happened are just too heavy to bear and I know I need to see a therapist to help me process all this anger and grief I have.
The most recent, I sent a happy Mother’s Day to my mum with a picture of my daughter and she didn’t wish me one back. I know that sounds stupid, but it’s this pattern of me constantly trying to meet and think about her needs with her not meeting mine. And if I get angry or upset about my needs not being met, I’m made to feel stupid or sensitive and I have such horrible communication problems with her but not anyone else.
It makes me think about all the times I tried to help her selflessly and it was never truly, deeply appreciated. Or at least it feels that way. Where I start feeling crazy.
I do want to say that I don’t think my mother is a bad person, but I do think she’s very traumatised and toxic and that makes it so hard for me to figure out my want to cut her completely gone out of my life and whether that’s selfish and illegitimate.
Things I can’t forgive even though she’s said “sorry”.

• Made me drive her to “dick appointments” an hour away while heavily pregnant because “she gave me a car to help her”.
  
• Offered me her investment property to rent out, only to ask for almost double more in rent than promised and not having a working bathroom or laundry for over a year. (I stopped paying rent because she wouldn’t keep the property in legal or safe conditions, says I ruined her bank balance because of it)
  
• Would get black out rages and hit me, then gaslit me all my life saying it never happened.
  
• expected me to be emotionally mature like an adult as a child, and punished me when it came to fights with my sibling as I “was older and should know better” (sibling got away with murder some days)
  
• felt like I had to lie so I wouldn’t ever receive physical punishment or witness her pure rage
  
• blamed me for her own mothers grooming of me (my grandmother) and pitting me against her.
  
• favoured my little brother because of their “traumatic birth” (it was very traumatic they almost died but it wasn’t justification for her favouritism)
  
• blocked me on Facebook because I snapped and raged to everyone when she gaslit me about the house (denies I’m blocked to this day)
  
• told me she was “sick of being my mum” because I had an undiagnosed level 3 baby nd I needed her support when doctors didn’t listen
  
• NEVER APOLOGISES I have to yell at her in tears asking for one back, I always have to say sorry.
  

Wow sorrry for the really long rant. I just really needed to get this off my chest
Edit: Here is my kitty Haiku but beware I suck at them lol
Teddy bear footsies Making biscuits on my face My favourite thing
💖