Loan agreement between family or friends

Content Warning:Mentions of Child Abuse & Gore
They called me a colic baby, meaning I was a seemingly healthy baby that was distressed for an unknown reason. The fits of crying mostly dissipated by six months, but they'd crop up every now and then into toddler-hood. When I became capable of babbling a few words, I would summarize my pain in a few words: belly hurt. Belly HURT!
My parents didn't have much money, but they took me to the doctor for a checkup anyway. After running a physical exam and blood test, they determined that I was merely an excessively gassy little girl and should probably eat a more gut-friendly diet. They also prescribed some medicine which would eliminate the gas and relieve my pain.
It was from that moment on that my parents gave me the nickname "Gas Girl" (which I despised). The name stuck for several years, and anytime I'd get a little stomach ache my mom or dad would say, "uh, oh. It's not Gas Girl returning, is it?" I'd glare at them with my arms folded and pout, saying, "I'm not Gas Girl. I'm Wonder Girl!" My parents would share a look, then burst out laughing. Just as I was about to shout a retort, my dad would open up his arms and bend down in that familiar pose which signaled liftoff, and all my childish rage detached like a racing sticker as I leaped into my dad's arms and he flew me around the living room shouting "Who is it? It's Wonder-girl! Here to save the day from Gas Girl!"
Anyway, just as the nickname wore off, the pain returned. I was about 7 or 8 when I had my first big episode. I was in second grade, and the class was cutting out shapes. The pain came on so suddenly I remember lurching back and falling out of my seat. The next few hours were a blur of adults: my teacher, the nurses, the principal, my parents. I remember how cold and alone I felt despite being surrounded by grown ups, and my stomach hurt so much I was crying pretty much nonstop.
My dad bought a bunch of OTC medicine to try and settle what he thought was a really bad gas episode. My mom laid at the side of my bed and did bicycles in the air with me. Hours passed in pain as my adolescent imagination conjured up images of an evil little elf blowing thousands of bubbles in my belly. I consciously pictured myself popping them, but every time I did, more were blown. My dad scheduled a doctor's appointment for the next morning, and my mom stayed at my side until I was able to fall asleep sometime late in the night.
I dreamed vividly a horrific nightmare. I was strapped to a black, metal box. A surgeon donning blue scrubs with white gloves and a mask entered the space in my peripheral vision. The air was cold but crisp, as if every bit of dust had been scrubbed out of existence. I could feel my breathing, my heartbeat, even my skin. The doctor stepped forward and I could see the distortion of a smirk in the folds of his mask. I expected him to say something, to tell me what he wanted, but instead he lifted my shirt so my belly was exposed. "It's cold", I said in a mumbly voice. He lifted his hand in the air, and I saw behind it off in the back of the room was what looked like the glass wall of an aquarium. I was confused for a second, but only a second. The surgeon plunged his hand into my stomach like a spear, splitting through the flesh as if it were the skin of a ripe fruit. The previously silent man began to cackle like a maniacal villain as I nearly passed out from the pain. I felt his fingers swimming through my guts like parasitic worms. My body shook as cold sweat and blood began to ooze from my pores. I wanted to scream but I couldn't make a sound. I could only lay there, paralyzed, as the evil doctor explored my insides.
Somehow I lost consciousness in the dream, but when I woke up, the memory came flooding back, and I screamed with all the force of a thunderstorm. My parents skipped the appointment and rushed me to immediate care, but by the time we arrived, the pain was gone. I explained my dream to the doctor, but he said it was normal to dream up reasons for the pain. They recommended a CT scan to screen out the possibility of an ulcer or internal bleeding. Despite my parents' scarce savings, they agreed to run the test. However, something deeply entrenched in my mind thought of the dream with the surgeon and I protested. "I don't want a test!" I screamed. "But, honey, how are we going to know what's wrong?" replied my mom. "Nothing's wrong now. I don't want a test."
Looking back now on my persistence, it should have been obvious that there was something wrong with me, but my parents, who were thinking of their finances, allowed themselves to acquiesce to my demands. The pain would continue into and throughout my teenage years, and the one benefit that I can credit to it was that it taught me how to endure pain and hide it well before puberty started. Compared to my childhood cramps, period cramps were around a B+. Very bad, but not end of the world bad. However, they'd stick around more reliably, and eventually the two began to combine until I could no longer discern between them. Occasionally I would have a nightmare and wake up with a pain that was a little higher in my stomach, almost approaching my chest, but it would always disappear by breakfast time, and the chaos of a teenage girl's life would once again reassert itself in the form of an outfit that didn't look quite right or the memory of every word of a conversation with a guy I liked or how my teacher was out to get me. Basically, I had become normal.
And then two weeks after I turned 16, my dad passed away from heart failure. Apparently the stress from a paycheck-to-paycheck life in sales added onto a bad diet and a penchant for alcohol was a recipe for disaster. He was only 49. I was crushed.
The weeks and months following his funeral were filled with teenage anger and resentment. I directed most of it at my mom, who I held accountable for not being strong enough to step up and help with the bills. One day, when I was searching the drug cabinet for some painkillers to deal with some bad cramping, I noticed a new prescription for a drug with a really long name. I looked it up. It was an antidepressant. From that moment on I stopped giving my mom shit, but I grew a bit distant from her. I started spending a lot more time with my friends. I became reckless, adopting a drinking habit and unsafe sex practices. I smoked a bit but I didn't really like it. I guess I was just trying to find a way to move on, as naive as it was.
Fast forward to my present situation, and I'm a college student. A junior to be exact. I ended up scrounging up enough money from working two restaurant jobs to see a therapist on my own dime, and managed to make peace with my mom before leaving. We both talked out all of our trauma and cried together, and from that moment on, I haven't had a drink. About six months ago I got on the pill. I was starting to see one guy consistently and I wanted to be safe, but also I wanted to know what it felt like to not have stomach cramps anymore. It was freeing. I remembered my dad lifting me up into the air as a child, and I figured it kinda felt like that. I still cry thinking about him, although I don't let anyone see.
Anyway, about a week ago I started having really bad pain again, but this time it was in my chest. I would wake up in my apartment (I share a 3-bedroom with some friends from the college) with heart palpitations. My heart felt like a snake had wrapped around it and was trying to choke it out. The pressure would give way to a burst of fast ba-dum's, then settle, then start again. I remembered my dad's prognosis and started to get really scared, so I scheduled an appointment with the on-campus doctor for the next day through the online health platform.
They told me that chest pain is no joke and scheduled to have me scanned at a nearby hospital. This was four days ago. My boyfriend, Kevin, drove me there even though I said I'd be fine going alone. I think I already knew our relationship wasn't going to work out long term, so I was kind of checked out. I felt bad about it though because Kev is actually a really good person, but our personalities just don't match. He's very introverted and doesn't like to go out, whereas I thrive in group settings. Anyway, he drove me and I ended up getting an X-ray. The doc came in to share the results and I was immediately put off by the dubious expression on his face.
"What do you mean the images are blurry?" I asked.
"Well, it's just… that. They're blurry. It's very unusual for this to happen unless you have a pacemaker or some other device implanted. Do you know if you have something like that?"
"No, never," I said with a quaver in my voice. For some reason I thought back on my childhood dream with the surgeon and felt the urge to vomit.
"Well, let's run a CT scan and see if we can make anything out." He soothed.
Normally the CT and MRI dock was booked for a week out but the doctor happened to have an open space for me that same morning, so I waited about an hour and then got in the big tube machine that took pictures of my chest and abdomen. He said he should have the results by Thursday. That was Yesterday.
I was driving onto campus for my 9AM class when I got the call.
"Hello, this is Dr. **** calling for Josie **** ." (names redacted for privacy reasons)
"Oh, yes, this is Josie," I said and fit the phone between my shoulder and ear as I tried to find a comfortable posture."
"Yes, hello," the male doctor said in grave way which made me feel like this wasn't going to be a short call. "I wanted to see if you were available to come in today for some more tests."
"More tests?" I asked. "What about the first ones?" Images of blocked heart valves and cancer presented themselves on my mental screen.
"Yes, well, I wanted to discuss the results with you in person. There was a bit of a … well, an inconsistency, and I didn't want to upset you—"
"Upset me!?" I blurted, my free hand flying out over the steering wheel, swerving my car toward the curb. I corrected, then lowered my voice, "sorry, I don't mean to be …" be, what? This is completely absurd. "Could you at least give me some indication of what's wrong with me? I'm just kind of panicking here."
The doctor was quiet for a moment, then returned. "Sorry, Josie, I didn't mean to spook you. Both the X-ray scan and CT scan are picking up interference which is unusual. It's possible it's just a flaw on our end, so that's why we wanted you to come back in—to do an MRI and really verify what the issue is. This one would be free of charge and we'd get you results same-day as we feel bad about the issues with the machinery. Do you think that would be possible?"
I took a deep breath. I still felt uneasy, but at least now there was some kind of explanation I could lean on. "Okay, yeah, I can come in. I have class until 9:50AM, but I can drive over after and be there around 10:15, 10:20-ish. Would that work?"
"That would work great. We'll see you then."
I spent the whole of my communications class thinking about what could be wrong with me, doodling my ideas down on a notebook. Heart disease. Cancer. Some kind of peptic ulcer. Maybe it was the pill? The drinking? Was this some kind of cosmic retribution? I didn't know.
An hour later I was back at the hospital. I expected to be ushered into the MRI prep room, but instead I found myself in one of the normal patient rooms, sitting upright on a bed. The nurse did the preliminary height and weight measurements and medical history. I asked about the MRI, but all she said was that the doctor will discuss that with me. Before she left, she handed me an assessment to fill out. It seemed to be a list of questions about the medical history of my family, specifically about our mental health. Does your family have a history of Schizophrenia? Have there been any instances of domestic abuse? Did you have vivid nightmares as a child? Etc. I marked the boxes, then set the clipboard down.
At last I heard the fated knock on the door, and my doctor came in holding an Ipad. The door was only open for maybe a couple seconds, but I could see multiple nurses and technicians peeking their heads in my direction, as if they were trying to catch a glimpse of me. That can't be good.
"Hello, Josie," the doctor said and clicked on the little TV screen. He didn't even look at me. I could see dried sweat along his hairline.
"What's happening? I thought I was going to get an MRI…"
"Well, actually we aren't sure if that's the best course of action." the doctor said as he clicked the screen and pulled up a series of images.
"Can you look at me, please?" I snapped.
The doctor raised his head and tilted it in my direction. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide as if only realizing I was here at that moment. "I'm sorry, Josie." He took a deep breath, preparing some kind of canned presentation, then let it out and said, "It's just easier if I show you." He pulled up the first global image from what I presume was my CT scan. It was a front-shot. I could see my organs as little geometric shapes and—
"Wait, what is that?" I asked, pointing at the screen.
"That—is the problem."
I spent the next minute just staring at it. Somehow, in between all of the organs, there was some kind of cylindrical mass—I thought it was my spine at first but quickly realized it was too wide and there weren't any vertebrae—and at the head of the mass was, very clearly, a hand.
"What the fuck is that" I said in a tone that was at once forceful and pointed.
"It appears," the doctor started, looking away again. "It appears that there is a mechanical hand in your chest cavity. It's attached to a piece of a forearm that begins at your stomach, here," he pointed, "and continues up until, well, it appears to be holding your heart."
Ten seconds passed in silence. Then I was hit with the equivalent of the laughing gas they give you at the Dentist's office. All the blood in my body surged to my forehead and I felt light as the very thin hospital air. "Hahaha!!! You expect me to believe that? What kind of fucking clown-show hospital is this? Am I at the circus?' I stood up and started toward the door. The doctor body blocked me.
"Please, Josie, that isn't it."
"Oh?" I said sarcastically. "Please, do tell."
"Could you have—oh, okay, okay,, let me explain."
I stood there with my arms folded, unrelenting.
"When we first had you do the X-ray there was a big blur. It was clear that something was blocking us from seeing the image. The CT scan was able to take some actual pictures of it. I know it seems, well, unusual—"
"Wait, what the hell is that?" I asked, gesturing toward the clipboard.
"What?" The doctor looked disoriented.
"Those questions. Are you trying to insinuate that my mom and dad implanted some kind of mechanical hand in my body?"
"No," the doctor raised his hands. "We were just trying to gather some more information… Josie," the doctor said as I once again headed for the door handle. "Please, there's more. From the blood test we conducted it seems that you're pregnant."
I was so done. "I'm on the pill, asshole." I sneered and swung the door open, ignoring the sets of eyes trained on me as I scurried to the end of the hall, ran outside, and climbed into my car. I expected to see a bunch of people in white coats running after me, but there was no one. I started the car as tears began to stream from my eyes. Fuck them, I thought and sped out of the parking lot.
I couldn't return to my apartment. I ended up driving for hours, working my way back to my hometown. I spent a long time thinking about all the things I had experienced growing up. The stomach pain, slowly working its way up to my chest. The vivid dream of the surgeon feeling around my guts. Was it really that crazy to think my body was trying to tell me something? Why had I decided against having a CT scan all those years ago? Why now? I didn't—couldn't believe what was happening to me. But was that just because I didn't want to believe it?
And then there was the pregnancy. I was definitely on the pill. I knew it wasn't Kev's, or at least I was pretty sure it wasn't. We haven't been having sex for a little over a month now. But did that mean that something else didn't impregnate me? My paranoia was at its peak. I considered the possibility that maybe it was me that was Schizophrenic. None of this made any sense. I wanted my dad. I missed him. I considered going to see my mom, but despite making up with her, I still didn't feel close enough to her to own up to everything. I wanted to be alone—needed to be alone.
I ended up getting a Motel about 10 minutes away from my house. It was around 1AM when I finally opened the door to my room and laid down on the bed. After hours of thinking, a single thought occurred to me like a kind of defense mechanism: if I really am pregnant, I'm not keeping the baby. I want it out.
Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard the notification sound go off on my phone, which was odd since I was sure I had set it to vibrate. I turned and grabbed it, unplugging it from its charging dock. I had received a text message from an unknown, 5-digit number: 66669. This is what it said.
66669: If you terminate my baby, I will crush your heart.
***
I haven't been able to sleep since. It's now 6AM and I've drafted this as a cry for help. Please, let me know what you think I should do. I'm too "in it" to see the details clearly. I feel alone and scared and paranoid. Someone or something is watching me. Maybe it has been my whole life.

~First~
(Got up Early to talk about the CPAP machine and such. Only to be given an appointment on friday. So yeah, in trying to solve a sleep issue I’m giving myself more of one. Incidentally Friday will be late due to well, the CPAP retrieval and tutorial)
The Pirates
“So, they’re here.” Agenda says contently as she finishes feeding her fussiest little girl.
“Yep!” Jingay chirps happily as her freshly hatched little children are happily playing on the glowing, shimmering platform that her rattle has brought to life. She can’t do anything complicated, but a soft shiny platform for her little slithers to play around in? She can do that, but it takes some focus. The tiny fluffy child of Vuni is cuddling the strong Jungle Nagasha tail that wraps around her own tail.
“How formal a call do you think we should make?” Miles asks in an amused tone.
“Not especially, after all the babes ensure it will never be properly formal, they’re too happy and healthy.” Agenda notes.
“I blame you for that.” Miles says and Agenda laughs.
“If you don’t want the blame I’ll take it.” Vuni remarks.
“You’re just as guilty.” Miles says and Vuni laughs in response.
“What’s going to happen?” Jingay asks and Miles is pensive for a moment.
“I don’t know.” He notes as his hand gently rubs the handle of his revolver. The constant rubbing had necessitated him re-burning the names of his family back into it. “But no amount of waffling about will let me know. So if you don’t mind. I’ve been... getting something a little ready.”
“Is this what you’ve been sneaking around to do for the last three days?” Agenda asks.
“Something like that. It’s a bit of a treat I wanted to give you girls so... care to join me?” He offers.
“What have you done?”
“Me and the boys got together a great big feast so that we can all talk The Inevitable at once. It took a bit of doing, but when the boys and I get moving, we really get moving.”
“Are you including Red Squadron and Biran in that?”
“And a lot of cadets too. Markus gave them a proper mission in setting up the area.” He says.
“How is that a mission?”
“It involves deploying a military force to secure and prepare an area for higher ranking officers to approach and remain there for a time.” Miles says before offering his hand. “There’s plenty of space for all our little ones, and for all our allies. Give them all a big impression. How does that sound?”
“Well, if you’ve been planning this for days.”
“I have. All of us have.”
“Then I suppose we HAVE to show up, don’t we?” Agenda says in a luxurious tone. “I’ll get my coat.”
•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•
The hall that Miles leads them to is a massive refurbished hanger that has all kinds of carpets put down, tapestries hanging from the ceiling and tables upon tables of different treats of all sorts already out. The Undaunted Cadets are all rushing around putting down more meals and treats and between the richness of the carpets, the crystal bowls and platters and expensive drinks and foods. But the sort of... scrambled way it’s been put together by the cadets lends it an earnestness that bleeds through. More important though are numerous floating platforms where a child can be safely put down and be right beside their parent.
“Oh this is a treat. I haven’t even been one of you guys for long!” A four part harmony says as Moira walks in with little Liǔ Shù napping in the arms of the four bodies that didn’t speak. The toxic little girl not only has numerous of the protective pendents on her and woven into her clothing, but is in a dark jumper that lets her bright skin stand out as if for presentation.
“Well, as their novels say, all for one, and one for all.” A new voice says as a pair of Cannidors lead in their own family. More and more and more people pour in from all entrances, many in uniform, many of them her own girls. Some of them she barely recognizes. Every single one of them that notices her looking raises a glass, nods, salutes or somehow pays their respects to her.
Her little one squirms ever so and is softly comforted. For a moment there is almost a feeling of vertigo. There was a time where all this wasn’t even a dream of a dream. She could remember the feeling. How could she forget it? The sensation of something gripping your very mind and soul and stopping you from even thinking of disobeying. Then so long trying to get things right, trying to be in control of her own destiny, before finally achieving it and learning just how hard that was. How many sacrifices and concessions she made before what seemed to be one of her final concessions... turned out to be final in the best of ways.
“Alright! We have a connection to The Inevitable! Who wants to say hello to the next batch of humans in the galaxy?” Ryu calls out.
“My Lady?” Miles asks as he smiles up at her. She gives him a raised eyebrow at that.
“My lady is it? Well then, I better live up to it.” She says.
“Connect us!” She commands and there is a cheer through the room before a massive projector uses one of the tapestry covered walls as a screen. “Good Ship Inevitable! Can you hear me?”
“We can, you are on a friendly frequency.” A man of Asian Descent says sitting stiffly in his command chair. “I am Observer Wu, sent from Earth to conclusively determine what is going on outside our corner of the galaxy. Identify yourself please.”
“I am Duchess Agenda Lilpaw! I am the ruler of the Vucsa System an Undaunted World! I greet you, because I have long learned my lesson to stay on the good side of humans!”
“Have you now? If I’m not mistaken that is a fully grown human right next to you. You look like you could take him fairly easily.” Observer Wu says in an amused tone.
She looks down to Miles before shaking her head.
“I made that mistake once. My entire ship was not enough.” She says fondly before pulling him close. “Then I was offered a deal, and he used it to help make me a duchess. So you’ll forgive me if I think humans are a good thing to have around.”
“Did he now? I didn’t realize galactic conquest was the intent of The Dauntless and her crew.” Wu notes.
“Well, as one of the conquered, I would like to say I prefer this result. After all, being able to walk about the city without a bodyguard is a welcome change of pace.” Vuni says drawing attention to herself with a slight bow. “Ambassador Vuni Luxed at your service.”
“So this world prefers to be conquered?” Observer Wu asks.
“This world was a slum at it’s best. A hellscape at worst.” Mari Horny states as the Carib woman waves to the camera. “Mari Horny. I was here to witness it all. I’ve seen slaves freed, monsters hunted down no matter what kind of power or influence they have, be they person or beast. With them I’ve seen the children I worked so hard to protect grow stronger and thrive. Doom has come to this world time after time, and they met it each time. If you’re here to observe, then observe this room! Everyone here saved, aided or inspired by the people you’ve come to evaluate! There are ten pure blooded humans in this room, but beyond it is nearly a billion souls who will vouch for them from the first to last! And so will I!”
“No need to be so dramatic ma’am. I’m an observer, not a judge. I am here to see and hear without bias or illusions. Things are odd, and odd things have happened. The governments and officials back home need to understand clearly and without any doubt. So that is why I am here. There was confusion in the first message sent back. The second furthered the confusion due to multiple parties having separate interests. I have been tested, tried and guaranteed numerous concessions and payments for an utterly neutral perspective.”
“So your word is going to be how all is, then they decide if we committed treachery.” Franklin notes as he floats up with several bundles around him, many of them laughing. “Behold this then. My children. All healthy, with myself as the only human parent. My daughters take after their mothers, my son takes after me, but has his mother’s strength.”
“He is nearly transparent.” Observer Wu notes before Franklin gives the little boy a tickle and he flickers in and out of visibility while laughing. “Most interesting. This Vucsa world of yours, before I do my research upon it, is there something you would like to say about it?”
“This is a world on the edge of Wild Space. Which means that it’s often been used in the past as a place where experiments happened.” Miles says.
“Interesting. Such as?” Observer Wu asks.
“Such as my daughter here. I am Moira Octalliry, I will cut through the details and simply state that my anatomy allowed me to be experimented on a great deal.” She says and Observer Wu looks at her oddly.
“Are you one, or many?”
“I am one, but I am eight as one.” She says. “As is my daughter, I have named her Liǔ Shù. She was a piece of myself remade to produce a weapon. She and I were both rescued. I was forgotten in darkness for thousands of years, as was my daughter. Held in a single moment in time and left to rot.”
“And... is she a weapon?”
“I am told you have creatures similar to her new ability back on your homeworld.”
“We do? What is the name of this creature?”
“The Poison Dart Frog.” She says and Observer Wu’s eyebrows go up.
“Don’t forget about the fact that we fought off that robot witch!”
“Robot Witch?” Wu prompts.
“A weapon of war created by a very large, dangerous and expansive criminal family. A death robot known as Mother Massacre.” Moira says. “So consider that. Without them going... I don’t even know what to call it, I saw the contradicting orders, without them going sane for lack of a better term, I would still be in a slowly failing stasis capsule, buried and forgotten in the darkness.”
“And so, in summation, and from the mouths of those that clearly trust them what is your opinion of The Undaunted and the humans that make it up?”
“When I was brought to this world it was as a slave, my dignity ripped from me, my home destroyed and in less than a day I had my freedom, dignity and a new home.” One of the Erumenta that Agenda cannot recognize out of hand announces.
“And my own. My whole family, those that were enslaved are freed, those that were indoctrinated into that wretched way of life have been allowed time to recover.” Biran says grandly.
“They took me in.” A smaller voice says as Karim rises up. “I’m a Hlo’Shab. Death Born. I could have reasonably only expected to have my core shattered, or shunned for my entire life. Instead I have a home.”
“And... to be Death Born means what?”
“I am a Slohb. By blood I have only one true parent. I was broken off of them far too soon and they died as I survived. Death Born. Or... well, I don’t have blood but... you get the idea right?” Karim asks.
“I understand.” Observer Wu notes. “I have more calls incoming. Is there more from Vucsa for me to see or hear?”
“Over here!” A jubilant voice calls out and the room turns to see Hewhew standing on the shoulders of Heffer to tower over everyone with the Agela’s height added to his own. “Red Five calling it in! The Vucsa Defence Fleets fly fast and proud to keep our home safe!”
The crowd around him, pilots all, throw up their right arms and cheer along with Hewhew. “Welcome to the Galaxy Observer! We’re ten tons of awesome in a two pound bag! Let’s rock!”
Observer Wu smiles as he looks around. “I look forwards to discovering the truth of things.”
“That’s the fun part of the galaxy sir, it’s so absurd we don’t need to lie.” Miles states and Observer Wu turns back to him with a smirk.
“Well, we shall see, won’t we?” He asks. “Is there anything more?”
“I take it you’re not in the mood for a display of flight prowess? We’ve been working on a new routine.” Hewhew calls out.
“Perhaps later. I have numerous calls waiting.” Observer Wu states. “Now if you’ll excuse me...”
~First~ Last

Still treating them like family? And lets them near little girls when that person had drugged and SA’ed me as a teen for 7 years?
Right when I was about to file a civil lawsuit against my stepfather, my mother suddenly turned cold and called me evil. Then abruptly cut off all contact with me. And I fell apart. It took so much therapy and lost jobs to finally feel ok. 3 years later, I had to reach out to my mother to settle student loans details. To my surprise, she all of a sudden is acting kind, sad that she has been lonely, and I am here now suddenly comforting her.
Then yesterday I found out that turd stain was hanging around my little sister (who wants to be with her father), that he has a gf who is a lawyer with a son (luckily not a daughter), and I have this rage bubbling inside me to out him to everyone. Bc he deserves to be on neighborhood watch listed as a child sexual predator. But he is not and he is free to live his life and has a job at local very popular amusement park (think animation) as a security guard. Where he is around little girls and young teens. It’s infuriating and I can’t stop fantasizing about outing him!
How do you deal with this? I am going to file a lawsuit against him in the next 5 yrs as I have about a decade to get lawful justice (researched statute of limitations). However, only when I have enough resources to do so.
A (very long) backstory, mother abandoned me at 5 yrs old, I had a father who was a drug addict and wildly physically abusive. She shifted the blame of abandonment due to my father using me as a bargaining chip “you leave me and you leave her, or you stay with me, keep getting DV’ed and you can stay with your daughter”. She chose to leave.
Then years later we reconnected, she took me into her home where my little sis was just born and her bf of 5 yrs lived, and he immediately became a creep. I was 13 yo then. Slowly, he groomed me into believing he was looking out for me, turning me against my mother, told me all the bad things she said behind my back (which was honestly true, my mother was donwright neglectful and hated my face bc she said it looked like my dad.)
Then… after a year of pretending to be a friend to a 13 yo, he crossed physical boundaries and I tried to run for help.
Sadly, my mother didn’t care to listen even when I was sobbing for her to listen. And he rushed up, took me by the arm and told me to come with him in the car. And begun driving me to school. There, he cried, emotionally manipulated me, and said if I told anyone, my little sister would be without a father like me, my mother would be homeless bc of me. And that it would be all my fault.
And a few days later, he’d cross the line again. But this time, I cried in the bathroom scrubbing myself over and over again bc I felt so dirty, disgusted for what he had done to me. He had me drink shots of liquor, gave me illicit drugs, and would go to town when I’d black out. Other times, I would be asleep and he’d come in pants down, and just made me do it.
7 years of this and I am still getting flashbacks of times I had blacked out. Now hearing he is living free, unseen by the law as a criminal and pedo, with access to young girls, I am furious.
How would do you handle your own fantasies of outing the abuser? How do you handle connecting with family members who pretend nothing happened?
His mother (the pedo’s) literally told me I was TEMPTATION at 13 yo and that’s why he couldn’t resist SA’ing me. I was so shocked to hear that. Even looking at my lil sis who is now 17yo, she looks so young. How could a mid-30 yo man find a 13yo as temptation? How could his mother say that? Ugh!!

Hoping to maybe find some advice and perspective from other gamers out there.
I have always been really big into computer games, even since I was a child. It was a way for me to connect with friends and communities I much more preferred to most real life connections. When I met my current primary partner I was in a polyamorous relationship where my primary partner at the time also did not approve of me wanting to play video games as much as I did, and rightfully so. I ended up selling my computer to try and salvage that relationship. but eventually relapsed and built another PC going back to my old habits.
That relationship eventually crumbled, but my secondary partner and I continued dating. Her and I later had a child together and decided to become monogamous. I talked with her a lot about my struggle to balance PC gaming and life responsibilities early on in our relationship, so she was acutely aware of how I liked to spend my time (often to my own detriment). For some reason she stayed by my side even though I continued to go back and forth between moderating my computer time, and fully diving in.
Sometimes I feel angry that I can't do the things I want to do without being made to feel guilty for not wanting to use my time the way she thinks I should. I have come to terms with the fact that having such a hobby that takes up such a large amount of one's time is probably not great for most relationships, and I should prioritize my time in a way that better suits my family. I have come to terms with the fact that I am a struggling addict of sorts, and perhaps shouldn't have a computer at all if I'm unable to effectively moderate myself.
I am once again on the verge of getting rid of my PC as it's become a point of contention with my partner.
I often end up wondering if there are successful relationships out there where one or both individuals are avid gamers, or how people in my position have been able to manage things in a way that's amicable for everyone.
Please let me know your thoughts, perspective, and advice, and I am open to harsh criticism as I know I may well deserve it.

Hi all,
I'll start this by saying we have a vet exam scheduled for Friday to rule out pain, have a one-on-one training session set up for June 3rd (earliest we could get in with the trainer) and am in contact with a Behaviorist to get a consultation set up as well. But I am really upset and in a bit of a spiral regarding some behavior from my 11 month old Rottweiler Penny, so I'm turning to (hopefully) friendly strangers for support and guidance.
We've had Penny since she was 7 weeks old, and she has always been a sensitive puppy. We've done 5 sets of puppy classes with her since we have had her, including the AKC Star Puppy Certification. She did well in those classes, but did exhibit some initial stranger danger, so other humans in the class would give her treats and our trainers would help us socialize her more to strangers. She's been great with people she knows, and she knows a lot of people! We are a childless family in our mid-early 30's with a pretty active social life, so we've had many friends over and things have always been great. Up until about 2 months ago.
My mom, who Penny has been around a lot, was over and was petting Penny on the head and face before Penny snapped at her. I was a little shocked, but I figured Penny just didn't like to be pet on her head. We have since asked family and friends to not pet her there. Everything was fine and we had no other issues until this past week.
This weekend, she snapped at 2 individuals in our house. One, a friend she knows very well, who forgot to not pet her head. Another, a family member who has not spent a lot of time around Penny, but who was petting her because came up to him and sat down in front of him. In both instances, Penny approached the people and seemingly asked to be pet. She put her head on the lap of our first friend, and sat immediately in between the legs of the other guest. I wouldn't expect them to read more into her body language as guests, so I will now be hyper aware to make sure I am picking up on any other signals, but when she's excited to see people - jumping up to say hello tail wagging to suddenly snapping it's hard for everyone to track exactly when/why she decided to turn to aggression.
I am so heartbroken and scared for my pup. We have spent countless hours and $$ training, socializing and working to make sure Penny was a well rounded, happy, good girl. We love her very much, and really want to set her up for a successful, full life. Anyone have any experience with something similar? Any words of wisdom or advice? Any kind words to lend that could help reassure me that she's not a terrible dog and I didn't fail her miserably?

I just left my appointment for my annual pap and found out I am 4weeks & 5days pregnant. I have a follow up scheduled at 8weeks and my Dr said to start to prenatal. Until then, I am a chronic over-thinker and I now have so many questions!! I’m not ready to share my news with family or friends that I would normally ask & I’m hoping this is a good and safe space to get some answers 🤞🏽 If anyone has any response to one or any of these questions, or a good resource where I could find these answers, you will help give me some piece of mind and a place to start!

1. I have drank alcohol the past 2 weekends (without knowing about the pregnancy of course) and I just want to know if that’s something I need to worry about now?
   
2. I am a really clumsy person and I trip and fall a lot, is this something I need to be weary of? Is a small fall a big deal or are all falls a big deal?
   
3. I have a 100lb dog that sleeps between my husband and I and he will often kick his legs out in his sleep and kick me in my back, ribs, stomach. I plan to get a pregnancy pillow, but is there anything else I can do to ensure safety while I sleep? Is this even a concern or just me?
   
4. PCOS, Endometriosis, and fertility problems run in my family. Is there any extra testing I should look into getting done to ensure a healthy pregnancy? Is there any additional supplementation I should be doing to counteract these issues?
   
5. I smoke marijuana regularly for medical reasons, and I have heard mixed things on smoking while pregnant. Does anyone know if it will affect the pregnancy if I continue to smoke? And what, if any, are the short/long term affects on baby?
   
6. I know there is a lot of foods pregnant women should stay away from. What are the most dangerous foods to stay away from and am I supposed to start following a specific diet now?
   

Hi fellow redditusers
I really need your advice. I am a 20 year old male and currently located in Europe, Switzerland, as an au pair. I am taking care of two boys for 3 months now, and to put it lightly, it has not been an easy journey. I originally anticipated leaving in August per my contract, but I do not feel like this is the right place for me, or anyone, anymore. The things making me stay are my conscience and moral. I am going to share my story, and hope that some of you can understand my ongoing issues here.
First of all, the relationship between the mom and dad is falling apart. There is no love or affection between them, and the only type of communication they have, is arguing. They call each other names and the love is nowhere to be found. The boys are supposed to be raised in a loving and humble way, and I am trying my best. But at the same time, it is not my job to take care of the relationship - I am here regarding the boys and making the parents’ lives easier. On the other hand, the boys are witnessing these arguments, and the father also has a problem with alcohol. So, as the fight goes further, the more likely he is to leave for the night and doesn't show up until everyone has gone to bed - him being drunk. Frankly, I can't tell, when he has been drinking, but the mother sees right through him. It is hard to be in the middle of all this - as the helplessness kicks in. The discussion have been getting worse as time went by. The youngest of their sons (6) is also very sensitive and gets emotional very easily. He cries multiple times throughout the day, and gets very aggressive if he does not get it his way. He is definitely a challenge for me, mentally. Wouldn't be a problem without all this other stuff happening although. Meanwhile the family is planning to move into a renovated house next month, ongoing since Corona.. It seems very unrealistic for them, as they are basically planning a divorce in the midst of it. I truly wanted all of this to work out for them, but it takes a huge toll on me as well. Also, the municipality had to visit the family here, to make sure that everything is okay within the family. However, it did not turn out as one could hope, since they just put on a mask and the parents made everything seem like there was nothing going on behind the walls. The kids didn't say anything either; they are kids. The municipality does not show up to check on every other family, there needs to be something bad going on - so that just clarifies how serious my situation is, but nothing changed though. The reason for all this is probably found in the dad's roots, and a lot of problems with renovating the house. I have a great bond with the mother, and I get to hear her thoughts on the situation. She thinks, that he's a psychopath. Why the mother hasn't left the problematic father yet? Something in her tells her to hold on.. neither she or I can explain it.
Now, you are probably thinking:"Why haven't you, as an au pair, left already?" And yes, I know. My friends are kind of telling me the same. The thing is, I can't. It would be devastating for me to leave in the midst of hell for the family, and I for sure know it wouldn't make a single thing easier. I feel like I'm the rope holding the family together, so it doesn't fall apart. I know, it is not my responsibility, and I'm actually only here to be au pair. And these are not fair conditions to be an au pair at the moment. What should I do?
TLDR: Family problems regarding a drunk father not able to raise his children properly. Should I leave or stay 3 more months?

I (22F) felt tempted to cheat on my boyfriend (24M) with one of my friends from work (33M). Am I a bad person now?
Throwaway account because there is no way that I’m going to write this on my main account- A part of this is just trying to get this off my chest because it is a touchy and morally heavy subject that I felt pretty secure in for all of my life. I knew exactly where I stood when it came to the topic of cheating but now I don’t know anymore. I don’t know if I’m a bad person now and it is also making me question if I should stay in my current relationship. I’m a little scared to reach out to my friends and family on this because I know exactly where they stand with this and I want a fresh perspective on if this is normal or if i need to go see a therapist before I lose everyone in my life.
The backstory is: I (22F) have been dating my boyfriend (24M) (we’ll call him Wesley for the sake of the post) for a little over 13 months. Things have been a little rocky between us since the nature of our work has us doing a long distance relationship for most of the time we were together. It’s gotten to the point where he and I have gotten so busy that me and Wesley have barely gotten to even contact each other. Other little things have contributed to whether I want to stay in the relationship at all like the fact that he doesn’t make time to talk to me even just a little over email or something. It could be small, i don’t really care, but i haven’t heard from him in months. I have to admit that I’m not exactly great about communication either because I am also busy with work and landing a very big promotion that I have been wanting for several years now.
I just recently got this promotion last weekend and in my line of work this promotion is a big deal. A couple of my friends went out to dinner and one of my friends that was at the dinner (26M) said that Wesley is more than capable of communicating at least through email with his work situation which I didn’t really know at the time. When he is free, I keep getting this feeling like he’s avoiding me for some reason (ladies you know the feeling). I don’t have any hard proof that Wesley has been cheating on me at this point but I cannot deny the growing negative intuition I had been intensified by my friend’s statement.
Fast forward to the next day when another group of us went out for food and nightclubbing. This is when my friend (33M) (We’ll call him Adam for the post) came with us. Personally I haven’t gone out like this in a while, so I was a little insecure that I would make a fool of myself in front of my friends that do regularly go out. My insecurity turned out to be in vain since me and Adam ended up teaching a couple of my friends how to do the two-step dance and I was having a really fun time with everyone. At the nightclub about a couple drinks in, two of my female friends went to the bathroom leaving me and Adam alone on the dance floor with the rest of the other people that were also clubbing there. He and I started to two-step again to the beat of the music and he was a really good dancer, he asked me if it was ok to dance with me, and he danced with me like I was a queen that he just scored. To be very clear, neither one of us crossed that line of cheating but I would be lying if I wasn’t absolutely intoxicated with the sexual tension on that dance floor to the point where I had to fight myself internally to keep my sanity in check.
For both me and Adam’s sake, I am glad that I fought that temptation and did keep my sanity in check, but at the same time, even though neither of us crossed that line, I felt more passion and sexual attraction during those few dances alone than I had felt during every past relationship I have had and my current relationship too. The worst part is that I want more of that passion and sexual tension that I have been missing in my relationships that I didn’t even know I had been missing out on. Because of this, I’m now questioning if my relationship with Wesley is even worth saving at this point and I’m also questioning if I had become a bad person if I had felt tempted to cheat on Wesley and the fact that I want more passion like with those two-step dances that I danced with Adam. Again, to clarify, me and Adam never kissed or did the dirty, it’s so hard to explain from just a few dances but the passion and sexual tension in the air between me and Adam was absolutely intoxicating and beautiful and I loved it and want more of it but at the same time, there’s no way that my brain is going to let myself compromise my own integrity, because at that point I know I won’t be able to recover from it. So please internet strangers, for the sake of saving my mental and moral sanity am I a bad person for being tempted to cheat? Do I need to see a therapist before I lose everyone in my life? I have seen so many reddit posts about failing relationships because of cheating but nothing about being tempted to cheat so I want to know if I am totally overthinking this.

https://forms.gle/aEb79tY7NGuGojro9
[HIRING] Graphic Designer for Logo Design - Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Brand
Hi everyone!
I'm looking to hire a talented graphic designer to create a logo for our new fresh squeezed juice brand. We're on a mission to provide a fresher, better tasting, and better quality option. Our brand aims to evoke feelings of freshness, health, and sunshine with every sip.
Some details reserved until we've reached an agreement on the project:
Project Overview:

• Brand Name: TBS (to be shared)
• Product: Fresh squeezed orange juice
• Brand Values: Freshness, Premium Qaulity, Vitality
• Target Audience: Health-conscious individuals, families, fitness enthusiasts, and consumers who prefer fresh, natural products.

Design Requirements:

• Style: Modern, clean, and friendly. Avoid overly complex designs.
• Colors: Bright and vibrant colors like orange, yellow, and green.
• Typography: Clean and legible fonts that are approachable and contemporary.
• Iconography: Consider elements like a hand squeezing an orange, juice droplets, or sun imagery to convey the "fresh squeezed" concept.
• Versatility: The logo should be scalable and work well in both color and black-and-white formats for labels, bottles, ads, and digital platforms.
• The Secret word is Green Beans

Deliverables:

• Primary logo (full color)
• Black and white version
• Logo variations (icon-only, wordmark)
• Color palette and typography guidelines

Budget: $200 - $500
Deadline: ASAP (open to your timeline)
To Apply:
Please fill out the form here >>> Form to Apply
Plan to submit:

• A link to your portfolio or previous logo designs
• Your estimated cost for the project
• Any initial thoughts or ideas for the logo design
• The secret word

We're excited to see your creativity and look forward to finding the perfect logo for Supreme Squeeze! Thank you!

TLDR at the bottom
Been together with this girl for 10+ years. We really had a great relationship. We had this incredible balance of trust, freedom, responsibility and caring. About 2 years ago, we simultaneously decided to make a career switch. I started my own startup whilst she got the opportunity to step into a semi-manager role.
At the time we had a 5yo son and 2yo girl. We worked hard and professionally managed to accomplish great things whilst running a good family life. But we forgot to invest in ourselves and eachother. My co-founder went through a difficult time so a lot of work ended up with me, giving me increasingly more stress. At home, I managed to do the stuff that needed to be done, but was just mentally absent. I felt like becoming more agitated and apathetic about everything. I went through a really difficult time but luckily my girlfriend was really understanding and supportive.
Then more shit hit the fan. The grandmother of my girlfriend passed away, she had a really great relationship with her. At the same time, she was looking forward to a new colleague to support her after one year of waiting, but got the news she had to wait another several months. And even more, she received concerning medical news that possibly could turn out to be cancer.
I saw her becoming more quiet, distancing from me. When I tried to talk to her about how she felt, she always tried to turn the conversation away into a more practical topic not concerning her feelings. She suddenly would go out for walks in the middle of the night, messaging for hours on her phone, which was not her usual behavior. She suddenly got dressed up more than ever, went to stylists, started working out,.. Something was changing. She seemed depressed but somehow also found a drive to do this new stuff.
I was still in a mentally bad place. After 9 years she suddenly went silent. I was well aware I haven’t been emotionally available for her in the last months so at some point, the idea pops up that she’d possibly was seeing someone else, despite rationally I knew that only could be a 1% chance.
Anyway, as valid as my feelings were, I decided to just ask her right away. She was somewhat flabbergasted but just laughed and said no. And that was it. We never had once a point were we distrusted eachother. She just said no and never asked why I’d ask such thing.
So it just fed my feelings of distrust even more. Three days later, she went even more quiet and distant but I buckled up and asked her if she wouldn’t think that was a strange question? She acknowledged that but ended the conversation quite quickly again. I couldn’t wrap my head around it and at night decided to peak in her phone and went through messages to find.. nothing. I felt really bad I did this because I’d never accept my partner going through my personal stuff. Trust is so important for me.
About 1,5 year before all this, I decided to ask her to marry me, which she wanted. I waited 8 years to ask her (!!!) but due our more busy life, organizing the marriage was on a low pace. We already booked a location for june and had a wedding planner getting everything ready.
I decided to suggest her to pause the wedding preparations to take some time to recover from what happened to her and we both could use some time off. She inclined to continue the preparations of the wedding. I asked her if she was sure she still wanted to marry me, because she didn’t take any initiatives in the last months, which at some point was logic concerning what happened to her. But she insisted she still wanted to marry and it would help her to concentrate at something positive in her life. This was december last year.
In the weeks following, I several times tried to make a moment to talk. She always changed subjects, said had chores or work to do,…
Eventually one evening late february she said she wanted to talk. She told me she increasingly lost feelings for me since months but never dared to tell me because she didn’t want to hurt me. Then all that personal stuff happend to her. She was emotionally already too far away from me to reach out to me, especially since she felt I was also going through a hard time. She kept up with loving texts, sex and even confirmed to still marry, just not to hurt me.
She just went through all those feelings behind a wall. She never told me once her feelings for me changed. Apparently she had so many disappointments in moments I didn’t pick up her feelings. I don’t know if that was caused by me being mentally absent or her not being clear enough about what she expected. Probably something in between.
She left the day after and went to a closeby airbnb for a month, just so she’d close to the children. She slept all day, stopped working, went through an immense hard time. She couldn’t talk to me nor see me. She was a complete different person to me. I could see aversion in her eyes when she saw. She didn’t want me to ask her what happened and just wanted me to accept this new reality.
After one month she had to return home because she had no place to stay so we started bird nesting (the children stay at home and we swap places every week) She still hardly wants to talk about her feelings or what happened, and gets angry if I try to. The only thing she wants is to leave me and get to rest.
She’s in a real bad place and there is no wqy I can reach her emotionally. Friends and family she talked to, reach out to me and say she really needs help, which she refuses. She signed a contract for an apartment closeby. She can enter one week before our initial wedding date..
We have little savings due her long study career and my startup so she’s getting her financially in a difficult position too.
I’m three months later now and still can’t wrap my head around this. I’ve been together with her for more than 10 years and in no way she’d ever do anything like this. We always had a really deep and trusting relationship. She’s a different person now. My mental and emotional energy constantly shifts between being concerned about her and trying to keep myself together. I feel anger and mourning at the same time about the same person. She disrespected me, lied to me about her feelings. I even have no chance to change anything.
I still cry multiple time every week and it feels like one step forward and two steps back. I have no perspectives except she’ll leave the house (we’re bird-nesting for the time being) and will end up probably have to sell the house we bought together because I lack money to pay the mortgage myself.
I feel desperate, depressed, lonely, overthinking all day.
I’m seeing a psychologist since the week she left. She’s trying to make me concentrate on my own needs and put boundaries to protect myself. But it’s very hard to do so. I feel really empathetic to her. She really needs help and seems to be in a flee-mode.
TLDR: my girlfriend hided her feelings for probably a year, and left me when going into a depression.

I posted this story in another sub when I learned about fearful avoidant attachment. and a couple commenter's thought some behaviors sounded more like bpd. I was wondering what it's like being close to someone with bpd & if this sounds similar at all? .................................
Awhile back my friend told me her therapist said she's avoidant. I'm not sure if it's more dismissive or fearful but my guess is fearful.
We've always had a slightly tumultuous relationship. & learning she's avoidant made past things make sense. Ive known her for 10+ yrs, both girls. Sometimes we're so close & she's always called me her soul mate. Then (what feels like) out of no where she'll shut down or get distant.
Anyways she's getting married this year & I'm not sure if she wants me there or just in her feelings or what. I want to support her but am very confused.
A yearish ago she sat me down & semi friend broke up with me saying I make her feel guilty/she doesn't feel like she makes me happy etc. That I didn't have to answer now but to think about if we really make each other happy.
Then she went on a trip with her bf/family, got proposed to, accepted & when she got back asked me to pick them up from the airport. I was surprised but figured this was her quirky way of waving the white flag.
Things seemed okay between us & then she comes over to hang out one day & is in her feelings wanting drink. She ends up clinging to me, crying, telling me she doesn't want to marry her fiance, doesn't want to lose their friends/family if they break up, tells me I'm her soul mate/best friend & feels safe with me etc..
Over the following few months, when we meet up she's telling me all the reasons she doesn't want to marry him but also they're in couples therapy etc.I just listen giving her a space to vent no opinions.
Then I don't see her for a couple months & when I do she's in full wedding planning mode. Again I'm a little surprised & mention something like I'm glad they've worked things out. She just laughs, says what do you mean we were ways getting married everything's great. Like nothing ever happened. I just say congratulations & leave it at that. She asks me to be a bridesmaid, I say of course.
We go on a couple group trips my fiance & her & her fiance + some of their friends. & I can tell after the 2nd one she was withdrawing from me. So I didn't reach out to her for awhile til she did me. We hang a couple times, I thought things were OK. the 3rd time we hang out. We get into a bit of an argument.
She's grilling me about when I'm going to get married/details & I'm trying to tell her i have no details to give her & were not moving at the same pace as her and her guy.
Then she tells me again that I still make her feel guilty & doesn't enjoy when we hang out anymore. She doesnt want to be around me. But loves me & still wants me in her wedding. I'm very confused.
Now I can't help but wonder if I'm just in the wedding party cause she feels guilty/obligated.
At the same time I'm trying to remember that she feels guilty alot. She vented to me about how her fiance & different members of her family make her feel guilty. She feels guilty if she doesn't complete a to do list etc.
So i guess im wondering if this seems like her going through something avoidant related & I should wait it out/give space.

Or if she means what she says, I make her feel guilty & truly doesn't want to be around me anymore. I feel confused & like I shouldn't be in her wedding in that case.

I (27F) have a brother (25M). My parents have always favored him.
Background and examples: Growing up, it was small things like he’d rip my Barbie’s heads off, or steal my toys, or take my markers and leave them without lids to dry out. He was never told not to do this, it was me who was always in trouble for getting mad at it. However I was like 7. I never, and still don’t, have a reason to mess with him or his items. I just wanted my space and and myself to be left alone.
If we fought, it was always ‘my fault” because I was older. It was like he’d antagonize me, then I’d eventually snap back, but I got in trouble.
Examples - he would like touch with me his finger and hold it there and when I’d say “stop” 3 or 4 times, he wouldn’t. So eventually I’d just slap his hand or something to make him stop, but I’d be in trouble. It was never “well you need to leave her alone” from my parents to my brother.
Fast forward to high school, I always had the hardest time getting my parents to let me hang out with friends, socialize, etc. They were extremely strict, and yelled a lot. I was a normal kid, not exceptionally bad. I made good grades and stayed out of trouble. When my brother was also in high school, they never fought him on anything. He’d have the cops show up with him at our family home for being out drinking, but never got in trouble. I got caught drinking before too (no cops) and it was hell for me from there on out.
Overall, they are extremely harder on me and do not treat us equally. Even he has said it. I don’t have an issue with my brother, I have the issue that my parents have capacity to treat me the same as they do him and they actively have always chosen not to.
They were mean when I went to college, it was not an exciting time (it should be). They wanted me to stay home for college but I couldn’t bc all they did was yell at me. I was always a straight A student, and wanted to do business school. My dad was insistent that I would be “very poor” and to pick something “better”. So I did engineering. I made straight As for first 1-2 years then, started doing badly. My mental health was bad as my parents were just horrible to me, always yelling, and I couldn’t keep up with engineering. They would constantly block me, or rip $$ out from under me, and threaten not to pay my rent or tuition which just added to my stress. I was going through a hard time, and they were everything but supportive and were mean. My mother has since apologized, my dad has not and sees nothing wrong with it. Anyways, I graduated 1 year late (switched to business like I wanted to) but still with honors. My parents made it extremely clear that I was not going to receive a dime from them after graduation, and not to ask. They also made me take a loan for my 5th year of college, which I pay each month. After I graduated, I moved out on my own to Houston and have paid my own way (rent, loan, all expenses). 1-2 weeks after graduation, I asked my dad for $300 dollars and said I’d pay him back. He ignored me. I never asked again. Today- I make enough to support myself and work in finance and enjoy it. I do not need their assistance, although it would be nice.
This weekend I learned that my brother (also was pushed into engineering by my dad, but had a 5th year as well as he switched to criminal justice) has been supported by parents ever sense he graduated. They have been paying his $1500-1900 rent each month as he’s been in law school school. He’s been in school for 2 years now. So they’ve easily paid 30k+. They also pay for this clothes, trips with friends, etc.
I asked to go to grad school, but my dad laughed at me and made it clear that he wouldn’t support me.
I am livid that they have been paying for my brother to just live & go to law school post college , but didn’t help me at all. They basically just said “good luck” and never gave me anything. I don’t even need the money (although it would be nice) as I have a job. However this just majorly hurt my feelings and I cried myself to sleep last night and don’t even want to look at my dad. He thinks I’m in the wrong for being bothered by this. AITAH?

So here's the story, at least as far as I've been told:
My grandfather served in the US Army Quartermaster Corps during World War II, and was stationed in (among other places) the Netherlands. While he was there, he got to know a couple of Dutch Marines who were being shipped to the United States at the end of the war for some reason. My grandfather, who was still stationed in Europe, told them that if they got to America before he did, they should look up his family.
According to family lore, they did just that: three strapping Dutchmen appeared one day at the doorstep of my great-grandparents' apartment in the Bronx, bearing greetings from Luigi. They apparently caused a big stir in the family, especially among my grandfather's three sisters, who were all in their early twenties at the time.
My grandfather died in 2009, and I only recently heard this story. I'd love to find out more about these men if I can — ideally, I'd be interested in reaching out to their families, but I'd even appreciate just learning who these guys were and how they wound up in New York City immediately after the war.
Here are all the clues I have, drawn from my grandfather's papers that my uncle inherited:

• A photo (front and back) of an unknown man in uniform. He's not one of my relatives, and I assume he's one of the Dutch soldiers who visited my grandfather's family. The back reads, "From Cpl. M.G Nijs, for the girl for souvinier." It was taken at a photo studio in Jacksonville, NC.
• This list of locations (written on the back of his ship ticket) showing where my grandfather was stationed between November 1944 and April 1945. He was in Maastricht in May-April 1945, then in Geleen.
• This photograph (front and back) of a young woman. The back reads: "Cory Baggen, Jeleen, Hol. John + Joe's sister — Scotty took picture from inside trench — the dope!" Scotty was my grandfather's best friend who he served with in the Army.
• A letter sent to my grandfather by "Jeff" from Tilburg, Netherlands, in May 1946. The author's English is pretty rough, and there's a line I can't make out, but they were clearly very close.

I know this is a long shot, but if anyone has any ideas or clues, I'd really appreciate it!

Hi! So I am a 16-year-old girl, and I need some advice. Basically, I have been through abuse and neglect as a child, I (and others) would say more than most. My mom is a recovering addict and my dad is incarcerated. I lived with my mom until I was 3 years old then we got evicted due to her relapsing, then we were moving between crack houses until I was almost 4 when her sister found out where I was and came to get me. A month later, I moved in with my other aunt and lived there for about 3.5–4 years until I moved halfway across the country to live with my mom again which lasted for 6 months until once again, she relapsed. I finished out third grade and moved back with my aunt for another 3–3.5-ish years. She developed some health problems so I moved in with some family friends where I was adopted at the age of 11. They were narcissistic and emotionally abusive (saying I was worthless, that they wished they never adopted me, etc.) On top of that, I don’t really know if this is considered physical abuse but I have been thrown across rooms by my hair and kicked into the door of the oven (which was off) and received many bruises and a few scars. About 7.5 months ago on my sweet 16, they locked me out of the house, took $2,655 from me (paid back due to threat of suing), told me to never come back, and called my aunt to come pick me up. CPS was involved and did nothing because they believed the adults with high-paying jobs instead of the teenager who didn't even want to have them involved in the first place (my guidance counselor called against my wishes). Back to now: I am a junior in high school and have normal teenage tendencies (at least according to today’s teens) such as trying new things. I have tried vaping, drinking, and THC gummies but nothing worse than that. I got caught with the gummies and I was told that I am no longer allowed to see my “friend” (my girlfriend, my uncle is homophobic, and I’m scared to tell my aunt that I'm a lesbian) Anywho, she threatened to send me in a group home. I don’t know what to do at this point and I'm asking anyone and everyone for some advice. Also before responding, please acknowledge that I am diagnosed with PTSD, and ADHD and suffer from anxiety/depression. Additionally, my grades have been slipping due to a lack of sleep and stress (side effects of both my ADHD and the medication I take for it). I was also previously an honor student and now I struggle to keep a 3.5 GPA. I did tell my aunt about these things but she thinks I'm lying. Should I tell her I want to go into the group home, or stay here? She wants an answer tomorrow afternoon and I don't know what to do.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead in the next 24 hours.
Whether that's the Costella family, or whatever this is, I'm not sure.
The police are taking forever, and part of me knows they're either refusing to believe me, or RC got them too.
I'm holed up on our school bus, so I've got nothing better to do.
I want to tell you about my team.
We met in our sophomore year.
Strangers standing outside the club room.
Levi was the freckled brunette who wouldn't stop talking about Game of Thrones.
Sunny, a pretty redhead, told him to shut up.
Tom, a sandy blonde, nodding his head to music corked in his ears.
I just wanted to be part of a club, and get away from my overbearing mother.
I won't say it was a perfect start. Our school was lacking in funding, so anyone could join, which made us more of a Quiz Club. I had some serious anxiety, so I stayed on the sidelines for a while, watching, rather than taking part.
It's not like we actually talked to each other initially. The first few weeks, we played Jeopardy, and attempted to find more members to cement us as an official Academic Decathlon club.
Unfortunately, though, it was just the four of us.
Which made it extremely hard for us to be taken seriously.
According to Google, Academic Decathlon teams were made up of nine members, placed by their GPA.
Our principal laughed at us, but he did let us become official.
Which was out of pity, I assumed.
The club was assembled, and we started meeting up after school.
Sort of.
Sunny barely showed up, and Levi didn't take anything seriously, preferring to spend the time telling us about his weird family turf-war.
Our principal dumped us in a tiny classroom with a resident rat living under the floorboards.
There was barely enough room to move, and the four of us crammed together for three hours was less than appealing.
Still, though, I wanted to be part of a club.
I had grown up with parents who were obsessed with board games, so I was pretty good at general knowledge questions. Our club room was too small for anything else but three desks (Sunny and I shared one) and a whiteboard we had to shove through the door.
But, again, we didn't start as an Academic club.
It was more akin to Story Time Club.
Arriving late on my third day, armed with quiz cards from home, I found Tom and Sunny completely mesmerised by Levi’s storytelling skills, drowned in shadow.
They didn't even turn the lights on.
I strictly remember squeezing next to Sunny, and hearing the words, “But there was so much blood all over the floor, and my Mom told me to go upstairs and hide under the bed…”
Sitting in front of them was Levi, perched on a desk, his legs swinging, a whiteboard marker between his teeth.
Sometimes he'd get up, and illustrate parts of his story.
It sucked that his drawings were all stick people.
I won't go into full details of his life, but Levi grew up as part of a family who had… interesting methods of making a living. I had seen the guy’s father multiple times when we hung out at his place, and, yeah, my friend’s family definitely had Soprano vibes.
Levi’s Draw My Life was nothing to do with the club, but it did bring us closer.
Even if, at that point, I was considering leaving.
But it's not like it was easy to walk away from these guys. It's like finding your soulmates. Levi wasn't the only one with an interesting life. Sunny Lang was an ex kpop trainee, who was kicked out for being too fat, which led her to develop a severe eating disorder, and a hatred for her own body.
Sunny explained her family were originally from Boston, her mother growing up in Korea.
She signed up for an idol agency focusing on creating a new girl group, and had gotten all the way to the final stages, before being kicked for her weight. Sunny told us her story with a smile, though there was a hollowness in her eyes I couldn't ignore. The other girls were judgemental bullies, and the idol diet and brutal regime almost killed her.
Sunny lived in a tiny apartment with 9 girls, who would tear each other apart for a chance to debut. Sunny said all the other girls debuted, and when we (not so patiently) asked for names, she shrugged, admitting she signed an NDA that prevented her spilling the beans.
What she did say, was the K-pop idol is a product, not a person– and are made and moulded into a product.
She had zero interest in throwing her humanity away to become a manufactured doll.
So, one of us was the son of an underground family, and the other was an ex idol.
Tom was an aspiring horror writer with a famous older step-brother.
His story times were usually, That one time I went to the Met Gala.
When it was my turn to reveal my story, I told them the only interesting thing about me.
I could smell when something bad was going to happen.
They laughed, but I was being serious.
When I was a kid, I smelled my mother’s brain tumor.
I remember it smelled like curdled milk.
I asked Mom why her head smelled of mouldy milk, and Mom laughed and said it was her shampoo.
It was actually a grade two tumor growing inside her brain.
Thankfully, the tumour was found quickly and removed.
Growing older, I became sensitive to smell. The little girl choking on the bus smelled of singed wood, and the old man crossing the road stunk of gasoline.
In the fourth grade, my classmate Alex Castor smelled of lemons all morning.
I sat behind him, choking on the stink all the way through class.
Ever since I met him, Alex had always smelled… off.
It was a distinct smell I could never understand, and as the days and months and years went by, that smell morphed into a subtle orangey musk that was so strong I had to cover my mouth and nose. Then, he smelled like lemons.
During Recess, I watched Alex fall off of the jungle gym, straight onto his head.
Alex Castor was dead before the paramedics arrived, my panicked teacher attempting CPR when his brains were leaking out of his ears.
The school claimed it was an accident, but Alex would have been fine if the jungle gym wasn't built on solid concrete.
I told my team members this, and Levi was sceptical.
“You can smell bad things?” He said, his lips curved around his milkshake straw. In the early days, we hung out in the local bar. It's not like we were allowed inside, but Levi could get us in anywhere.
I was squeezed between Tom and Sunny, while Levi took the seat opposite us. I couldn't help noticing our waitress was insisting on free milkshake refills, her frantic eyes glued to Levi.
I had zero idea why. Levi Costella was about as intimidating as a fruit fly.
Wearing a white shirt with a popped collar, a leather jacket thrown over the top, Levi was giving rebellious Harvard student, rather than son of a crime family.
Leaning forward, he raised a brow, clearly not believing me.
“So, you're like a stink psychic?”
I shrugged, sipping my own shake.
“Sure.”
I wasn't planning on telling him the club room smelled off on our first day.
Once we actually started the club, Levi surprised us as the smartest member, and getting to know him further, I came to the realization his family were infamous in our town.
However, his parents hid it well. Lucy and Michael Costella were the owners of a popular ramen store in our town, hiding under the facade of two successful business owners. The Costella’s were an attractive family.
Lucy was a sophisticated brunette with a lipstick smile, Michael, a handsome fluffy haired man who looked like he modelled glasses.
The two were fiercely protective over their youngest son, not so casually reminding us behind grinning smiles, that if anything happened to Levi, we would automatically be involved in the family.
I mean, they did laugh and say, “We’re joking! Look at your little faces!” when Sunny went deathly pale. But there was definitely truth behind their words.
Being Levi’s friend was… challenging at first.
Tom and I were in his room studying for finals, and an alarm went off, flooding Levi’s room in red light.
I had zero idea where it was coming from, but it locked all the doors and windows, forcing the Costella residence into temporary lockdown. Levi didn't seem fazed, casually mentioning his parents were taking care of it.
He had a whiteboard set up in his room, and was standing in front of it, cramming all of our textbook notes into one easily digestible drawing.
Levi wasn't just smart.
He was Ivy League smart, so we had struck gold with him.
His family were questionable, and yes, sometimes I did fear for my life, but as the more time we spent at his house, the Costella household became a second home. We got used to the alarms.
I just brought along ear plugs.
I wish I was writing this post about Levi’s family, and sure, they are a factor in what is going on right now, but I want to preface this by saying the events below involve the 2024 scholastic decathlon final in our town with the school’s listed:
Starbrook High School.
Ratcliffe High School.
Please note, the incident that took place last night was immediately covered up, and all phone footage was destroyed. Our town is mostly out of the way, and does not show up on Google searches.
We also have our own version of the academic decathlon, which is a more town-level competition, due to lacking funds. The four of us were desperate to start competing with our schools.
So, we started taking things a little more seriously.
We got a coach.
Mr Hanes, who was hesitant at first.
In his words, “You will hate me as your coach.”
He started by recruiting more members, announcing, “If you want to be taken seriously as an actual club, then I'll be taking the reins from now on.”
He did, and with our teachers guidance (and sometimes brutal honesty), we reached a level where we could start competing with other school’s in town. Now, none of us knew this, but Mr Hanes was obsessed with winning.
So, club meetings were twisted into two hour study sessions with no talking, followed by Mr Hanes Jeaprody, which was Jeaprody, without the actual fun.
We were quizzed multiple times, answer cards and practise questions quite literally thrown directly in our faces.
I hate to admit this (I really hate to admit this) but Mr Hanes’s tactics worked. Sure, we had been mildly brainwashed by our slightly unhinged coach, but with Levi Costella, we destroyed our competitors. Like I said, our town held their own version of the academic scholastic decathlon, but it was pretty much the same, with some changes.
Ten subjects. Language and Literature, Math, Social Science, Economics, Art, Music, Interview, Speech, and Essay.
Unlike the official Decathlon, ours was more like a game show, with the ability to be knocked out if a team member answers a question wrong. Whoever answers the most questions correctly wins. Team meet ups were either tests, study sessions, or quizzing each other.
Which leads me to last night.
The finals were held in the reigning champions, Ratcliffe High School’s, auditorium.
And we were about to win our town’s Scholastic Decathlon 2024 Championships.
Well…I was knocked out in the music section. Standing next to my coach who I was sure was going to asphyxiate from excitement, I could smell the sudden potent stink of lemon. I tried to ignore it at first, but the more questions my team were answering correctly, the smell got worse, suffocating my senses.
This wasn't just lemon. The stink was like a burning, singing smell trickling into my nose and the back of my throat.
It was stronger than what Alex smelled like.
This was suffocating, drowning my thoughts.
“Are you okay, Cassandra?”
Mr Hanes nudged me when a Ratcliffe girl was struggling to answer a question, only for Sunny to jump in with the answer. “You look quite pale.”
I nodded, forcing a smile.
My gaze was on the Ratcliffe coach, a scary looking blonde woman, whispering in one of her student’s ears.
The Ratcliffe kid freaked me out. He was way too tall, dark blonde hair, and bulging eyes I swear were not blinking.
His gaze was glued to Levi, who wore a smug grin.
There was a smaller girl next to the Ratcliffe kid, a Macbook balanced on her knee. Every so often, he leaned into her, the two of them in deep conversation.
“I'm just nervous.”
I jumped when Ratcliffe scored a point, their side erupting into cheers.
During the break, we had a mini team meeting.
Sunny rushed to the bathroom to freshen up, and I noticed a Ratcliffe girl with a bouncing ponytail following her.
Ignoring our coach’s speech, I joined the two girls in the corridor, that lemony scent hanging thick in the air.
I caught them in an awkward position.
The Ratcliffe girl had her fingers pinched between the material of Sunny’s dark blue shirt bearing our school’s name.
Sunny looked confused, her lips parted like she was going to yell.
Ponytail dropped her hand, suddenly, with a nervous laugh. “Oh! I'm so, so, sorry,” she gushed. “You had, like, the biggest spider crawling on your back.”
Sunny caught my eye, shooting me a reassuring smile.
“Thanks.” She made sure to keep her distance. “Uh, where's your bathroom?”
The Ratcliffe girl nodded down the hallway. “It's just down there. I'm going there too if you want me to show you?”
Sunny motioned for me to go back to the auditorium. “Uh, sure! That'd be great!”
I did try to follow them, only for Sunny to cough loudly.
I took the hint, reluctantly heading back into the auditorium.
My team was hyping each other up, Levi in the centre, sweating through his team shirt. He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “I can't do this,” He groaned. “Ratcliffe High is known to play dirty, man. They're unbeatable.”
“In what way do they play dirty?” I asked, joining them.
Levi gulped down water, shrugging.
“I dunno! They're already trying to distract me with the stink eye.” The boy narrowed his eyes at a grinning Ratcliffe kid who, after noticing our stares, jumped to his feet, waving at us.
“Hey guys!”
“That's Harry Cartwright, the son of the Cartwright family who tried to kill my parents in the third grade.” Levi mockingly waved back. “As you can see, their kid is a fucking sociopath.”
Huh. I wasn't expecting the smiley kid to be the mobster’s son.
Harry Cartwright was not what I expected.
Unlike his team members, he was the only one in casual clothing, a short sleeved white shirt and jeans, a pair of sunglasses perched on top of his head.
Tom went pale.
“Fuck.” He hissed. “He’s one of you? Then those bastards will have a reason to play dirty, right?”
Levi shrugged, averting his gaze. It was the first time I saw his eyes darken, like he was subtly telling the boy to back off.
“The Cartwright’s have been trying to buy our land for a while,” he muttered. “I wouldn't put it past them to use the Decathlon as a way to attack.”
“Attack?!” April, another member of our team, hissed. “Like, attack attack?”
Mr Hanes grabbed the boy, resting his hands on Levi’s shoulders. “Ignore them,” he said. “Hey. Look at me.”
Levi did, raising a brow.
“You're losing that spark in your eye, young man.”
“Spark?”
Our coach nodded. “Look at me, kid.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “I am looking at you, Mr Hanes.”
The man was shaking. I was guessing his whole career (or coaching career) was on the line.
“They know they're losing, Mr Costella.”
Hanes shook the boy, squeezing his shoulders. “You are being positive and Ratcliffe doesn't like that. They want you to be nervous. They want to make you second guess yourself and lose confidence. Don't let them get into your head.” he smiled, giving the boy a playful shove. “Kick their asses.”
“Exactly!”
I didn't realize Sunny was back from the bathroom.
The faint smell of lemons had followed her. I noticed a wet patch on her shirt collar, though she was quick to smile at me, admitting she'd spilled water down herself. Sunny wrapped her arms around Levi, squeezing him into a hug.
She hung on for a little too long, Tom dragging her away with a laugh. “Good luck, all right?” she backed away, ruffling his hair. “We’ve got this!”
When I hugged Levi good luck too, I had to resist covering my nose.
The smell of lemon was unbearable, just like fourth grade Alex.
But it wasn't as potent as earlier.
I vaguely remembered the smell starting to fade once Alex’s body was being carted away on a stretcher.
Following my captain through the crowd, I was right. The smell was less suffocating. Before he went back to the stage, I grabbed the back of his shirt.
The material was soaking wet.
“How are you so wet?” I said, swiping my hands on my shirt.
“Huh?”
I shook my head. “Never mind. Do you remember what I told you in sophomore year?”
Levi settled me with a confident, but nervous smile. “Thaaaat you're scared of clowns?”
“No. I mean the boy who smelled of lemons.” I gritted out.
Levi surprised me with a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
Levi did know what I was talking about. He brought up my stink sense a day earlier in front of his parents, and I had to cover his mouth to shut him up.
Leaning close, I whispered in his ear. “You stink of rotten lemons.”
He nodded slowly, pulling away. “Uh… thanks?”
I bit back a hiss of frustration. “No, you don't understand what I'm saying–”
“Starbrooke High School,” The host announced. “Can all members please return to the stage.”
Levi held up his hand for a high five.
“Can we do this later?” He winked. “I'm kinda busy carrying this spelling-bee on my back right now.”
I nodded shakily, high fiving him, and letting him jump back onto the stage.
Before his words hit like a tidal wave, ice cold water slammed into me.
Spelling Bee?
Slowly making my way back to the stands, Levi’s mistake was circling around my head. He did win a spelling bee, but that was in middle school.
Thankfully, the smell of lemons was gone when I returned to my seat.
Mr Hanes handed me a soda. “Chill out, Cassandera, it's just a game.”
He could talk. The guy was on his fifth coffee.
Mr Hanes was not chilled out in the slightest.
Surprisingly, the event went well. I was half expecting my team to be crushed by the rafters, or caught in a blaze started in the crowd. But we were doing well. No, we were winning.
Reaching the climaxing round, Sunny choked against a smug Ratcliffe boy, joining me on the sidelines.
Levi answered the next question with a confident smile.
We were winning, but Ratcliffe could still catch up with a miracle.
The second to last question was to Ratcliffe, and it was general knowledge.
”Where on the human body would one find the *orbit?*
I knew the answer, and so did Levi, his lips breaking out into a smile when the Ratcliffe boy was hesitating, eyes wide.
Our school’s buzzer went off, Levi slamming his hand down.
Bzzz!
The host turned to our team. “Starbrooke, can I have your answer?”
Levi nodded, shooting our team a victory grin.
“It's…!“ He opened his mouth to answer, his jaw slackening suddenly.
The boy’s shoulders slumped.
“Uh… “
“Um…”
“Huhhhhh…”
Levi inclined his head, blinking, his eyes glazing over. There was a sudden, hollow vacancy that sent chills down my spine. It was like someone had reached into his skull, and yanked out his brain, leaving a shell in his place.
To my confusion, our team captain frowned at his buzzer like he'd never seen one before. He pressed it, exploding into child-like giggles.
Bzzz!
The audience laughed along nervously.
Tom nudged me. “What the fuck is he doing?”
Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz!
Levi’s entire body was slumped, his hand slamming down on the buzzer.
I caught something pooling down his chin.
“Is he… drooling?” I whispered.
Mr Hanes looked mildly horrified. “Has he been drinking?
“Levi?” Tom spluttered. “Drinking?!"
Whatever we were watching, however, was definitely influenced by… something.
Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. Bzz!
“Young man, that is not a toy!”
The host wasn't amused. “Starbrooke High School, I need an answer from you,” He nodded to Levi, who was pressing the buzzer, his smile growing.
“Once again,” The host backed away, like Levi was contagious. “Where on the human body would one find the Orbit?”
Levi cocked his head, lips parted.
His gaze found the overhead lights, and he winced, his lips curling into a frown.
“Starbrooke High School!”
Levi jumped, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry. “Palm tree?”
The audience laughed, and I started feeling nauseous.
Across from us, I could see the twist of a smirk on the Ratcliffe coach’s lips.
Bzzz! Levi slammed the buzzer again giggling.
“Starbrooke High School, if your team member continues to act like this, I will be forced to disqualify all members.”
Our captain stopped, gaze glued to the host, his hand creeping towards the buzzer, like it was a big red button.
The audience loved it, laughing like they were watching a sitcom.
“He wouldn't.” Tom whisper-shrieked.
The auditorium was silent for a moment, awaiting Starbrooke’s response.
Levi stuck out his tongue, slamming his hand down.
Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz–
When Tom dragged Levi away from his podium, a Ratcliffe girl hit her buzzer.
“Starbrooke High School, you are disqualified,” the host announced. “Ratcliffe High School, do you have an answer?”
It was Ponytail who nodded with a grin.
“The answer is the eye socket! The Orbit is part of the eye socket!”
“That is the correct answer.” The host was distracted, his eyes glued to Levi.
“Ratcliffe High School wins.”
Levi jumped when the Ratcliffe wide erupted into cheers.
His eyes were wide, clinging onto the buzzer for comfort.
Next to me, our coach looked like he was going to faint.
I barely noticed Ratcliffe’s victory, too busy watching our team captain, who was Harvard bound, tipping his head back and smiling at the ceiling like a new-born baby. Tom dragged the stumbling boy over to me, his mouth twisted.
“This was Ratcliffe, right?” He hissed, shaking our captain, who was struggling, squirming in his grip.
“Did they put something in his drink?!” He prodded Levi. “Hey! What did they do to you?!”
Still, though, drugging his drink didn't make sense.
Levi never left the auditorium, and kept his water bottle with him the whole time.
How did they even manage to slip something into his drink in the first place?
Did I smell our competitors drugging him?
Sure, intentionally inebriating my teammate was morally wrong and illegal, but why could I smell lemon?
“I doubt it was Ratcliffe.” Sunny squeezed next to me. “I've been watching them. They're harmless.”
“Then how the fuck do we explain this to his parents?!” Tom whispered, grappling with Levi, who was fighting to get back to the buzzer.
When Tom let go of him, he dropped onto the floor, crawling over to his podium. It was like watching a child.
Who was determined to piss off the adults.
Levi jumped back to instead feet, his gaze was glued to the host, a smile curved on his lips, when he slammed the buzzer again.
Bzzz!
“Someone, please remove the Starbrooke boy from the stage!”
I was embarrassed, our whole team ducking our heads as our captain was forcibly removed from the podium.
Mr Hanes grabbed Levi, pulling him off of the stage.
I expected our coach to be mad at him, but I think the teacher was more worried, a phone pressed to his ear while he forced the boy into a sitting position.
No, I don't think it's influence from alcohol, I could hear his conversation.
Levi kept trying to get up, mesmerised by the buzzer. The teacher was firm but gentle. “Hey. Sit down, all right? Keep still.” He went back to his phone call, gently prying Levi’s eyes open.
From what I can see, there's nothing wrong. He's just kind of…
Mr Hanes swiped his own hands on his jeans. ... wet?
Team Ratcliffe came over to rub it in our faces, though I was still tuned into our coach’s hissed whispering.
Water? No, I don't think it's water. It smells… no, I haven't told his parents…
“You guys did awesome!” Ponytail's voice was sugary sweet. Too sugary.
She held the 2024 trophy, bearing a satisfied smile. I noticed the Ratcliffe members were surrounding Harry, like guards.
“Better luck next time, okay?” She held out her hand, her eyes twinkling.
“No hard feelings?”
“Control your dog.” Harry said, amused eyes flicking to Levi, who was once again sprinting back to the fucking buzzer. His eyes had visibly darkened, lips curled into a triumphant smile.
Harry Cartwright was watching Mr Hanes chase our team captain like it was his own personal entertainment.
I had to look away before I died of second hand embarrassment.
“What did you put in his drink?” Tom demanded. “Weed? Edibles?” the boy attempted to shove Harry, only to be pushed back. “What the fuck did you do to him?”
Harry’s smile didn't waver. “Like I said. Control your mut.”
When the Ratcliffe team walked away, our red faced coach struggling with Levi, who was behaving progressively more erratically, informed us we were longer welcome inside the school.
Tom suggested calling an ambulance, but our coach was hesitant.
We all knew who Levi’s family were.
On the way out, Tom matched my stride. He was frowning at our team captain struggling to walk.
The way he was acting was already eyebrow raising.
But walking at an angle and being unable to stand up straight was worrying.
“I don't think they drugged his drink.” Tom muttered.
We pushed through the doors out of the school, and I revelled in the cool night air grazing my cheek. “If they did, he would be acting out of it, right? So, what's the deal with him acting like–”
“A child.” I finished for him.
“Yeah.” Tom leaned closer. “Do you think this has something to do with their turf war?”
I slapped at a bug creeping across my cheek.
Levi fell over again, this time bursting into giggles.
“Almost definitely.”
Levi was right about Ratcliffe playing dirty. I didn't realize how dirty until we were on the losers bus home. Levi was in the seat next to me, and the kid hadn't moved since we left Ratcliffe, his eyes wide, lips pulled into a dazed grin.
Bzzz!
The noise startled me from slumber. I was drooling, my head pressed against the window. Outside, the sky was pitch dark, and squinting through the glass, I couldn't get a bearing on where we were. I thought I was hearing things, but when I sat up, I heard it again.
Bzzz!
It was close.
Leaning over the boy, I glimpsed a smear of scarlet on his headrest.
I choked on my next words.
“Tom.”
Tom was in front of me, listening to music.
He didn't reply, his head of dark blonde curls nodding to the beat.
“Levi.” I managed to get out. I prodded him, and his head lolled into his shoulder. “Hey. Can you… sit up?”
Bzzz! Bzzz!
When the boy didn't move, I gently grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward myself, something contracting in my stomach.
I don't know how long it takes for your mind to fully register something, but my body was already reacting.
Levi’s seat was infested with bugs, eating their way through the upholstery. I was aware of my body moving back. I threw up, instantly, screaming into my hand.
The back of my best friend's skull resembled a deflated soccer ball, what was left of his brain leaking from his skull where a swarm of skittering bugs chewed their way through brain tissue, metallic legs scratching the curved, pearly white of the base if his skull.
Levi’s head hung, his body flopping into mine.
But his eyes were still open, lips still stretched into a smile.
Blood ran in thick rivulets from his nose and ears.
Bzzz!
I could see them, black writhing dots alive in his eyes, wriggling movement under his skin.
“Tom!”
I jumped up, stumbling into the aisle, my stomach heaving.
And it was only when I was on my knees, swiping bile from my lips, when I realized the others weren't reacting.
Tom wasn't moving.
I pulled an Airpod out of his ear, a long, slithering string of pink attached to the end.
There was a stray bug skittering across his hand, his face starting to twitch and writhe.
Moving back, I checked myself over, my hands shaking.
Head.
Shoulders.
Hair.
Clawing through it, my breath was stuck in my throat.
Arms.
Legs.
Feet.
Mr Hanes was slumped against the window, a reddish froth bubbling from his mouth.
Sunny.
I started towards the back of the bus, but all I had to see was her bowed head, half of her skull chewed through.
Sunny was in a far more deteriorated state, her face had been ripped through, a skeletal smile glinting in the dim.
The thick black smear on the window next to her was moving.
When I screamed for the driver to stop the bus, he ignored me.
If anything, he stamped on the gas.
I moved forward to shake him, before glimpsing a bug creeping down his face.
Calling 911, the operator laughed at me.
“Bugs are eating your friends.” He said. “Do you know the penalty for calling with bullshit pranks?”
The bus didn't stop, so I stayed at the front, while the bugs took over the back, eating through my teammates.
After four hours, I risked leaning over the seat next to Tom to check on Levi.
They were eating him.
Chewing all the way through skin, muscle and bone.
I tried to stop the bus, but the driver’s hands were tightly wrapped around the wheel.
Another hour, and blood was seeping down the aisle, crawling with bugs.
Levi was gone, and in his place, a buzzing skittering pile of bugs, that I thought were going to move to a second victim, maybe burrowing into the seats.
But, no.
These things began to tremble, replicating.
Building.
Slowly, nothing became static, and static became muscle.
Then bone.
Then flesh.
When a body began to slowly form, moulded from the dead boy, I stumbled back.
These things weren't eating Levi Costella.
They were rewriting him.
…
Edit: I'm still on the bus. I'm 99.9% sure that I'm infected with whatever this thing is. I can't stop fucking itching.
I keep picking them off me but they won't stop. This bus isn't going to stop until I'm like the others.
…
Edit 2:
I can feel them chewing into my skull. They're in my ears. I keep spitting them out. Please, someone get them off of me. Help me. I don't want to die at 17.
Edit 3:
Still alive. Still breathing. Maybe they're leaving me alone????? I think I'm okay. There is a pile of bugs at my feet, but they're crawling off of me.
Edit 4:
Levi really wants to go home. Like, he just told me he REALLY wants to go home. He's got a gift for his parents.
~~Edit 5 :) ~~
Levi is next to me right now, an odd smile on his face.
The bugs are not finished building him yet, but he'll be ready soon.
We will be ready soon.
Your son says hello! He is a wonderful boy, is he not?
Mr and Mrs Costella, I cannot wait for you to meet him.
He is our greatest achievement, and rest assured, you will give us what we want.
Warm regards.
The Cartwright's.

I am so confused right now.
I (17f), have a best friend, we'll call her B(17f). We became good friends really quickly and it has just been a year of being close to one other. It all started when we had a free period in school and talked about our family and stuff for the whole time without hesitation. From then on we were inseparable. She means so much to me, really. I was soo lonely before her, never had anybody to talk to or just be with and she changed it so I'm really indebted to her for that.
We have just given 12th boads this year (its bacically final exams of 12 standard which is on a all india bases). During the exam month maybe after 2 of the exams I got to know that my grandmother passed away. It was really shocking because even though she was in the hospital, she was making speedy recovery. The day she got discharged from the hospital, we lost her on the way home.
I wasn't really close to her but this is my grandmother we're talking about. I was really disturbed after hearing this, especially because I hadn't met her for years, neither I was able to bid her a last goodbye. I wasn't even able to participate in the rituals for her funeral.
The day I got this news I told B. I told her that my grandmother died. She said it's okay, and that even though my grandmother wasn't nice it's hard to loose a grand parent and that I should focus on my studies. This is badically all that she said. I had talked to her about my grand mother and told her some questionable things that she has done, so maybe she thought that I wasn't affected with her death but idk why I expected her to console me, to just be there for me. i didn't even get are you OK text from her.
The next day she was texting me about how there is this person she texted on reddit who turned out to be weird. That's what she asked me the next day after my grandmother just died. She never asked me how I was, never. I was not as responsive as usually was but that was because i was bloody alone. My parents had all gone to the hometown for the funeral and i was at my aunt's house because i could'nt leave the exams. I was so alone and not even once she asked me how i was. I even told her after a few days that i am not okay and that it really hurt when she started taliking about a guy to me after i told her my grandmother just passed. To that she replied that I was being cold so she thought she should give me some time and also she was sick with a throat infection do she couldn't wait for me to talk.
That really hurt. I know she was unwell and it must be difficult for her to think about other stuff while being in sickand I also understand that I am not a baby and that I shouldn't expect people to coddle me, but that really hurt. She did apologise and said that she didn't expect that I would be affected by this. But then went on as if it's all normal from the other day. After this incident, I tried to just forget it and move past it, but everything that she did just infuriated me. It never felt like she was sorry, even after she said it. This has just made me feel like she doesn't care at all. She is recently started talking to this guy on telegram. And all we talk about is him. "Should I send him this?" Or " he send me this message what should I reply with" something or the other about him. She tells me that she talked to him for hours one day but she couldn't even txt me once.
I was really trying to just forget it, really but I just felt so off. It's like I have to work to make things no longer awkward between us when she was the one that hurt me. It still infuriates me. Every conversation is about her, how her father demotivates her or how her grandma did this or something something along those lines. I have started to feel as if she doesn't know anything about me. Sometimes it's like she doesn't care at all about me.
I know I'm no angle myself. But when I did something wrong I know that I tried to change that about myself, tried to mend things (atleast in my head i was trying, idk if it was noticeable).
I know her life is harder than me, she has gone through more stuff than I have, but sometimes is it too much to expect someone to just listen and tell you that you aren't being dramatic Or hell's sake tell you that you are being dramatic rather that telling them that worse happened with them?
I am so just frustrated right now. We were on a meet and she started to talk to that same telegram guy in the meet. I have done this too but in my head it's like "i did it only once and then apologised for it, and its not like i always talk about someone else while we are together."
I don't know what to do. I really wanted to tell her that I am hurt but it feels like it has been to long and I shouldn't hold on to something that happened a month ago. I really don't want to loose her. She is that only friend that I have and we have a great friendship apart from some things. Idk if what I feel is justified or if i'm being dramatic and entitled, expecting too much from people Please be completely honest and tell me if I'm wrong so that i can try to better myself or how I should handle this situation. Any advice for this pety situation is welcomed.
Thank you for reading Sorry for the long post and if things are unclear, it my first time trying this so I don't really know how to be presise!

Sorry this may be long. I am an extremely motivated person and hard working. Prior military, business owner for many years and just retired young at the age 58. Very Alpha personality in great shape. Like many people, I have a sexual fetish and that absolutely turns me on more than anything else. I even know where it started. I lost my virginity to our towns slut when a friend invited me to go have sex with her. She agreed and I watched my friend have sex with her first and then, I had my turn. I loved watching them and I actually loved the fact that she was more than ok sleeping around. It was empowering for her. Ever since I have had a shared girlfriend/wife fetish. My first wife I married while we were still both in the military and it was more a marriage of convenience for extra pay. She was shared and I loved every minute of it. Plenty of young military men happy to help out. I am not into swapping, I am not gay or bi but I love to watch and then reclaim my woman. I also love the taboo aspect of the dynamic. We got divorced when I left the military. My next 7 years relationship was exactly the same. I told her up front what I was into and she signed on. We had a great run but I was offered a job overseas and we split as friends. I met my current wife in Europe. She is 10 years younger and from a eastern block country. We dated for two years and she clearly wanted to get married. I explained to her my history and my fetish. Even showed her videos of my prior experiences. We discussed it extensively and she had lots of questions. when I thought the time was right I told her I would marry her if she would agree to being a shared wife. That she was to have at least one sex partner for regular sex for the duration of our marriage. She agreed, with the agreement that it doesn’t turn into a swingers relationship and that she doesn’t want to see me with anyone ever! There was a lot of discussions so there would be no surprises later. I agreed, I had tried that in my previous relationship and it wasn’t my thing. I didn’t like to swing or swap. I liked to watch and then have reclaiming sex after. We got married, moved to Florida and we had a few MFM 3 ways but they were very few and far between. She then changed the dynamic and said she would prefer to have sex along with them. We tried that a few times but then she just stopped the extra sex all together. It has now been over 10 years since I watched her have sex. It has been 4 or 5 since she had sex with anyone else. Our sex life is also down to once a month maybe. We have now been together for 20 years and we have no children. We have stayed together because we have an ok life and we are financially independent. During that time my wife has attended colleges and has multiple degrees. She has had a very profitable career in a field we share and has wanted for nothing. It has been my lifelong dream of mine to retire in the Virgin Islands. December, I purchased a very nice 4/4 home with an amazing view of the ocean. I paid cash and we never have to work again or worry about money. I absolutely love it here. My wife hates it. She is threatening divorce if we do not more back to the states at once. The issue is there are no malls here. No fancy nail salons or country clubs. There are areas on the island that are run down. The roads a bad and the power loss is common. We have our own generator so that really isn’t an issue. She doesn’t have many friends state side, so missing friends is not the problem. She has just become a spoiled American who wants a posh lifestyle. I have two options. Sell my dream home and give up my dream that I worked for my entire life and give in to her demands. Or divorce her after 20+ years, give her half of everything we own and start over at nearly 60z I feel like I have already lost my sex life that was our agreement. I should not have to give up my dream life and house as well. I lived up to my promise. I took her from a shit hole country, married her, educated her, made her very wealthy. I worked my entire life to retire in my dream location in my dream house. I feel as if I could justify one or the other but I am having a hard time justifying the loss of both. Is it too late to find someone right for me at this age? Am I the Asshole?

I'm interested in opinions on conflict and resolution, and maybe some advice on how I can handle it with my sister who has a very different way of handling arguments than I do, and with whom I seem to get into tiffs with more and more often.
I have always considered the relationship that my sister and I have as "close" - we speak multiple times a week and consider each other not just a sibling but a best friend. However - when she and I do not agree on something, or I challenge her opinion, she appears to physically escalate first (tone change, voice cracks or becomes extremely firm) and then she finds a way to end the conversation abruptly, by saying she has to get something done or is late for a meeting. If we volley for a little bit, and I challenge her assumptions about a particular topic and don't accept her view fully (even if I'm validating her right to have an opinion), she also gets very tense, and can escalate to the point of not speaking to me for days. She always restarts back with me at some point, but never refers back to the original, tense conversation. There are usually no apologies exchanged because there is no forum for them.
I don't feel comfortable repeating this pattern as I am trying to become more aware of the energy I surround myself with, and my triggers. It feels like we're missing a massive piece in between the argument and the resolution - maybe a space to reflect on why we got upset, what triggered us, etc. and maybe sharing something lighthearted to bring us back to our baseline. I sense that she is unwilling to do that for whatever reason, or that if I try to resolve, our relationship will be in jeopardy. It feels way too threatening to She always returns, but it feels like there is no safe space with her to talk through feelings like this. Anyone in a similar spot with a family member or friend or have advice?
Context: we were both born into a very dysfunctional family where communication was not conducted properly or respectfully. I am in therapy to understand more about how this impacts me and all of the important relationships in my life.

So, English is not my first language even though I had studied it for years now, so, any grammatical error, please be excused. I also want to point out a few things up, this story is LONG, as it says on the title, we’ve been together for almost a decade, so there’s a lot of things to patch up, also, I’m not trying to paint him as the bad guy nor myself as the good guy, just trying to let it all out because there’s some details I cannot say to everyone I know, so it’s better for me to just talk about it with internet strangers, also, I don’t know if this place has a limit of characters, so if it has, it’s going to be some parts long.
So, to start this, I (27 F), broke things with my bf (26 M) Alan (Not his real name) after we’ve been together for little less than a decade because I was just so fed up with everything we lived together, not having the strength to even try and give this another go as he wanted us to. A year before meeting him on my last school year I was s*xually Ass*ulted by a man that I met on a park where I used to go dancing, not only that, but he made me believe that I was okay with what happened (I was sixteen and he was 21, here the age of consent is not until the 18th mark), he made me believed that I liked it, and made me believe that no one would ever believe me if I ever decided to report it, so I didn’t, but obviously it got me a pretty bad scar.
I met Alan one year later, his friend group was friends with my friend group, so in school we kinda merged together and he was a good guy, a great guy even, he always had something nice to say about me and he never blamed me for being scared of a group of people so anytime I wanted to buy something on the school market, he did it for me until he tried to make me come across my fear and was just behind me as I was approaching the big group gather on the market trying to make me feel confident enough to buy things by myself, after that we became closer and closer until one day I went with my friend group to recess with his friend group, but he wasn’t there, I asked one of his friends and he told me that he wasn’t feeling right and was still on the classroom, so off I went and looked up for him, we talked for a while and then he thank me for listening to him and not bug him with the “guys don’t cry”, that made us even more close to eachother and we started something, not a relationship, but a situationship from mid July to late November, when I graduated from school (He had one more year to go), on my celebration date, he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes, I made him meet my family shortly after and I met his.
He was a part-time gamer, and the first straw was that he believed that I would made him choose between his games or me, but no, I didn’t, even so, I asked him to teach me how to play so we could play together, I was not good, at all, but I was just glad to be on his hobbies, little did I know that would be one of the reasons I broke things off. We had fights and arguments because he was a competitive type of guy on this online games and, because I was bad at them, we usually lost games because of me, it took us a lot of work to find a solution, he had to put down some bars, because it was not healthy, also the first “or else” that he made me aware of, was when I told him that I needed him to express his emotions to me, but he took it as “Show emotions or I’m leaving you” which wasn’t the case, but worked up just fine.
Some years passed and… You remember what I told you about the year before meeting Alan? Well, we couldn’t get intimate in that way and I had to sit him and explained what happened, he was supportive and we didn’t do it after our four year mark, but again, he wasn’t as supportive as I recall, he usually push over it and only stopped moments before I got a flashback of what happened. But that one time that we did it, I remember it well, I started crying out of emotion because I finally overcame my fear, but after we finished, he stood up, we cleaned ourselves and he made me get ready because he didn’t want to be late to a friend’s birthday. Speaking of intimacy, he had a really big drive and I didn’t, but every time I tried to say “no”, he got all frustrated so I started initiating moments after I saw him like that so I could brush that feeling off of him, our intimacy was like that until just months before our breakup.
Now into another thing, I have always work, even when I was still at school, I’ve always worked to get my things, I’m not good at saving money, but I work my butt off, so when he started to gain interest on a particular expensive game, we usually used his mother credit card and the one paying it was me, he said that when he worked he bought things for us, but… This is the thing about it… He only worked 5-6 months in all of our relationship, sure, he went with his father some times to do some work, but he didn’t even saw that money because it went directly to a gaming console for himself, so in years that we’ve been together, he worked 5-6 months and the rest was payed from myself and he still took his time working as a sort of argument against me.
Now, one time, when I was on the university, a random classmate just suddenly kissed me and I was in shock, so in shock that I didn’t kissed him back, nor could I stop him, but when he went for a second one, I backed out and I went to my boyfriend crying because I thought I was cheating on him because someone kissed me and I explained every detail to him, but the guy dropped off from college, so I never saw him again and then, another day, I was in the subway and encounter my ex boyfriend while he was, actually, coming back home after his own studies, I ignored him for the most part, but he actually asked politely to let him talk to me, so we went to a public park and he actually just wanted to say sorry because he cheated on me with his ex girlfriend while he was with me, we didn’t do anything besides me listening to him and giving him the closure he was searching for, we did not stay in contact, I just said to him that it was not something that I keep on mind to this day, but if it made him feel better, I would accept his apology and then we parted ways, everything I did and said I made my boyfriend aware of and he was such in a panic that one of his friends actually went to his house and they talked shit about me because I dared to let my ex ask for my forgiveness. Those are the only two time that I recall I made him feel insecure, two times and that’s it and he wasn’t letting any of those things go any time we got into an argument.
I remember one time we actually parted ways for some days and I kissed a girl, a girl that I have liked for a very long time and only then I figured that she actually liked me back, but I was stupid enough to not go for her, and wait for this guy for us to get back together and I actually told him everything, I know I shouldn’t do it, because it would only made him feel like on the edge, but by that time I felt like it was better to come clean about everything, he knew everything about me, it was only fair that I keep it like that. But then he got jealous everything I said I was talking to her in a friendly way (he never was banned from looking into my phone) and now I understand that his jealousy was not that unfounded, because I kissed this girl while we were separated.
There was numerous times when I wanted to break things with him, but he always managed to made me come back to him, one time we were walking on the sidewalk and I told him how I felt and that I was thinking about breaking up, he got on the ground, took a piece of glass and tried to h*rm himself, but I stopped him and we never talked about it again. Another time I was home, not at work because I was injured and we had a phone fight, not breaking up, but making it subtle, then a couple hours after that I received another phone call from an Unknown number, telling me that he almost threw himself on the subway and, Injured as I was, I went to get him and Uber us to his home.
I had to make two limits for him, I didn’t want him to call me before checking if it was possible for me to talk on the phone, unless it was an emergency, of course. And that I didn’t want him to go to my home unannounced, because he did it too much and he did not respect those boundaries until there was yet another conversation about breaking up and just then, he stopped doing it. He also lied to me one time when he went to the bus stop at freaking 7 am with the excuse of “I just wanted to get some air” and the proceeded to talk to me all the way about his problems and follow me to my workplace, and then he had the audacity to get mad when I told him I couldn’t stay longer because I had to get to work, just when we finally broke off he came clean that he was, obviously, trying to get a hold of me and not “Trying to get some air” as he tried to make me believe. I even started to go to my destinations by other means because I was afraid I would encounter him in every corner that I usually go to.
One of my college friends started a relationship with one of his friends and now that we broke things off, neither of them talk to me, so I am not sure what sort of fairytale he told them in which, he obviously was not in the wrong at all.
I am not asking if I was the AH here, nor asking if I should talk to him again, I am pretty confident That I shouldn’t, I just wanted to vent, thanks for anyone who would read this loooooong story. Cheers.

I (24M) am cis gendered straight and my partner (21F) is a bisexual nonbinary. We have been together for about 4 months and things have been amazing for the most part. We love each other and get along well but when it comes to sexuality and gender stuff we tend to have our differences in how we view the world. I knew from the start that they identified as non binary and I had never tried dating someone who labeled themselves as that so everything has been new to me. We had talked about it early on that I saw myself as a straight man and normally would find myself dating women but I told them that since they were born as a female and still present themselves to be very feminine and still look like any other girl that I didn’t see the issue with being attracted to them. I also told them that if we were to start a relationship I would still see it as a heterosexual one and still consider myself straight because I strictly like them because they are female and they dont plan on doing anything to make themselves more masculine. They told me that they prefer they/them pronouns and prefer the term partner instead of girlfriend and boyfriend. They said that as long as I could make the effort to use the correct terms when I’m with them, they had no issue with the fact that I would see the relationship differently than them. They are even fine with the fact that I say she/her and use the term girlfriend when talking about her when she’s not there. They haven’t come out to any of their friends or family about their identity so when we are with them we act as a regular man/women heterosexual relationship which I really enjoy and is a big reason why this relationship works out for me. However the other night they called me gay because they technically aren’t a women. I got a little defensive about it since I clearly started at the start that I see myself and the relationship as straight. So I immediately shut them down and told them that I’m not gay because I see them as any other girl and that this will only work if we don’t come at each others identity whether it be gender or sexuality even though we may not personally agree with each others. Anyways like I said before for the most part we get along great but part of me thinks this whole relationship is bound to fail at some point because of how different we are. What do you think?
TL;DR- will a relationship between a straight cisgendered male and a non binary identifying female ever work out if we both respect each other’s identity and sexuality but don’t necessarily agree with it?