Bestfriend thats like a sister poems

I don't usually like new foods immediately, but the first time I had an eel and rice bowl at a Japanese restaurant, it was instantly a 10/10.
Another one would probably be Aloe. My sister bought big cubes of aloe and I never knew how badly I needed that in my life.
Do you guys have anything that you tried for the first time and thought it was delicious right away?

This happened around 2 years ago, but I've recently been thinking about it because every so often, I get the "but he's still your dad" comment every time the subject comes up and today, it happened again.
When I (26F) was 18, I went no contact with my parents for a little over 5 years. Both of my parents were/are toxic, but my father was a bit worse. To put things in perspective, im the middle child, yet still im the only one to have never gone on a family vacation, because i just wasnt ever considered family the way my siblings were. I spent most of my adulthood wondering why i wasnt good enough. Still, I always yearned for a dad and a mom. Two and a half years ago, I was pregnant and just getting out of an abusive relationship. I was isolated from everyone, even friends. After going to therapy and working on my mental health, I decided I needed to establish a support system for myself and my baby. In hopes that they had changed, I reached out to both my parents. They had finally separated during my period of no contact, so they were living separately. My mom lived in a different state, so she wasn't able to help much. My parents seemed thrilled at the idea of having another grandchild and seemed really supportive at first. My dad was dating a new woman and I thought she was really sweet at first. But then she got really controlling and manipulative really quickly. I'd see her call my teenage sister the most horrible names, and it was suddenly clear why my sister always hated her. One time she INSISTED on coming to my last ultrasound appointment with me and my dad. And I could only have one person in the room with me (COVID), so she sat in the car. The appointment took around 45 minutes to an hour. When we got back to the car, I was feeling SO happy over seeing my baby. It was an amazing moment, until we opened the car doors and she started literally yelling at us for taking so long. She very quickly soured a sweet moment. I could list off all the things she's done, but its not worth it.
Anyway, The place I was living in wasnt the safest. My dad let me stay at his house for almost a month, just so I wouldn't have to spend even longer in a bad environment until I closed on my house. They were even "nice" enough to start working on a nursery for my baby at THEIR house. Which, I didn't think anything of, because his girlfriend said she wanted to watch the baby while I worked. It just seemed like excited grandparents to me. I was excited to have such a great support system during such a tough time in my life.
During this time, he made it very clear, he wanted/expected to be in the delivery room with me when I gave birth. He wasn't willing for it to be my mom AND him because he refused to be in the same room as my mom (HE was the cheater, but acted like she was the devil), so it had to be JUST him. Personally, I didn't like the idea of being in such a vulnerable position AND being naked, infront of my dad, but I was just planning to do what he wanted anyway because I always wanted a dad, so if I had to make some sacrifices to get that, then I was okay with it. Towards the end of the month, I had my baby shower and people really came together to help me. By the end of the day, I had pretty much everything I needed and more. Right after the baby shower, my dad told me he should lock the gifts into the room behind his. That they'd be safe in there. So, I agreed. I mean, he had put me through a lot when I was a kid, but even so, I could trust him not to steal from me and my unborn child, right?
No.
The week before i was supposed to move into my house, I called him while he was on his break at work. I was nesting pretty bad. I asked him If he could unlock the door in his bedroom when he got home, or let me know if there's another key, just so I could get the things ready to bring to my house. I wasn't adamant about it, just asked him to do it whenever he had the chance or whenever we were both free, since i worked too. I was very polite about this. The sellers were letting me move in some of my things early, so i wanted to get a lot of the stuff done. He said NO. He refused to EVER let me have my things. I wish I could tell you there was some sort of trigger to this or that I saw this coming, but I didn't. It really did come out of nowhere. I thought we were good. He went on about how I probably wasn't even going to let him in the delivery room with me (I had planned on it, I never told him otherwise.)
After he said that, I told him he'd never be in my life and that he would never meet my child or any future children I have. And I meant it. Even if he HAD given me my stuff back, the fact that he said he wasn't going to, at any point....I can't have someone in my life that even CONSIDERS doing that to me or my children. I went on to have my mother and my sister in the delivery room with me and it was an incredible experience. After the whole ordeal, MULTIPLE family members told me they were glad I cut contact with him, because they were SURE he was going to try to do something so I'd look bad, so he could have custody. I'm so glad I didn't trade one abuser for another by continuing to let my dad walk all over me.
I've now moved to another state, living with the man of my dreams and our 2 children that my father has never met.
Today, me and a friend from my hometown were messaging, having a conversation about our parents. She has a very good relationship with her parents. When I brought up that my father hasn't even met my children, she said I overreacted when I cut contact and I'm denying my children a bond with their grandparents.
So reddit, AITA for going No contact with my father?
EDIT: To answer some questions; yes, I did tell everyone who gave me gifts that their gifts were stolen. Yes, I did contact the police. And the sheriff. Neither would help me. They told me I'd need to bring my father to court. I would've done that, but I had just bought a house. I couldn't afford a lawyer and I was just ready to be done with him completely.
Me and my now husband got together shortly after I had my first child. He was my biggest supporter. We were long time friends and it was a long time coming, so we got serious pretty quickly and he's raised both children as his own.
EDIT #2: I couldn't break down the door or take it off its hinges. There were other people in the house, as my dad's gf doesn't work. I was 9 months pregnant and already under a lot of stress. They definitely would've called the cops if I tried to break into the room.

There have been many theories about the deeper meaning behind the photograph of a woman who looks like Marnie and a little girl who looks like Jas, because it just doesn't make sense from metatextual perspective that it would be simply what it appears as (an old photo of Marnie and Jas).
There have been many attempts at solving this mystery, with some veering off into ludicrous triple tinfoil hat conspiracy theory territory, some that focus too much on spinning a juicy in-universe story without considering whether ConcernedApe would write something like that, and others that go too far in the opposite direction. However, I believe that my theory has the strongest foundation out of all theories I have seen, in terms of both metatextual justification, and in-universe plausibility.
In other words, I think I may have solved the mystery of Secret Note 11, which is the following:

• Secret Note #11 contains neither Marnie or Jas, but rather is a photo of Marnie' sister (Shane's mother) and Jas' mother as a child.
• The purpose or 'secret message' of the note is to clarify the relationship between Marnie/Shane/Jas and inform the player that Shane and Jas' mother were childhood friends.

Below I will explain my justification for arriving at the above conclusion.
First, there let's take a closer look at the photo itself. Secret Note 11 is a sepia photo graph showing a woman who looks like Marnie and a little girl who looks like Jas.
Now consider that the "current era" in Stardew Valley appears to be around the 90s to early 2000s based on technological and societal trends and that Jas is around 8 years old based on the content of her school lessons.
The little girl in the photo is standing up by herself, which would mean that the youngest she could be is around 3 years old. That would be at most 5 years before the present if the girl is in fact Jas. However, 5 years before the present era isn't nearly far back enough for sepia photography to be the norm (color photographs already became the norm in the 1970s), which indicates that this photo is likelier far older, and almost certainly older than Jas herself.
In other words, the little girl in the photo is not Jas. But then who is she? Well, the simplest assumption when you see such a strong resemblance between two people is family relation, and since Jas doesn't seem to have any extended family relationships, by Occam's Razor, the little girl in the photo must be her mother.
Now then what about the woman? Well she looks like Marnie, but if we assume that the little girl is Jas' mother, then Marnie in the present looks a bit too young to have been the woman in the photo. So perhaps an older sister. Now what else do we know about about a potential older sister of Marnie? We know that Marnie is stated to be Shane's aunt, which oddly enough is the only extended family relationship (i.e. not parent and child) that we know of among the inhabitants of Pelican Town. If the woman is Marnie's older sister then she might actually be Shane's mother.
But actually, we have reason to be certain that it is Shane's mother, because another relationship we are explicitly informed of is that Shane was close to Jas' parents and was made her godfather because of that. And thus we have the final piece of the puzzle. If Shane was close to Jas' mother, and both families were from Pelican Town, then it's reasonable to assume that the two families were close in general, and hence why there would be a picture with Shane's mother and Jas' mother.
However, the subject of the photograph is also kind of weird if you think about it (a photo of a woman with her son's best friend and nobody else?) but that oddness actually makes more sense from an in-universe perspective because the Secret Notes are supposed to be things that people have lost/misplaced, and the unexpected pairing of the people in the photo probably led whoever originally possessed the photo to have not particularly cherished it. If it was originally in Marnie's possession, then most likely it was placed away in storage and eventually forgotten about because she would naturally prioritize keeping track of photos of her own family together. And if it was in Shane's possession, it was probably too painful for him to look at two lost loved ones together (assuming Shane's parents are dead because why else would he rely on his aunt?) in his depressed state and so he buried it deep in the back of the drawer before likewise forgetting about it.
Furthermore, there is a metatextual justification for Shane being Jas' mother's childhood friend. We know that ConcernedApe loves making easter eggs to works that were significant inspirations for Stardew Valley, and the whole being reunited with your childhood friend upon returning to the countryside was a recurring element of the original Harvest Moon games, yet there is no such relationship available for the Player Farmer, nor does there appear to be any such relationships among the NPCs… until you look closer and stumble upon the odd situation with Shane, Marnie and the guardianship of Jas, investigate further and discover Secret Note 11, and finally realize that it is Shane who had the childhood friend story, except it ended in tragedy.
In conclusion, the purpose of Secret Note 11 is clarify the relationship between Marnie/Shane/Jas and add a reference to the typical "childhood friend" trope in Harvest Moon games.

In the latest youtube short, Super is still lying on a changing table and having a diaper changed. He's three years old, for goodness sake. Potty train the kid or at least make him feel like he's more of a big boy than his sister and brother. Capron makes an appearance that seems so calculated to demonstrate he's an involved father. Did he actually change the diaper or was that just for the camera? It all seems so forced. Popping out three kids is easy (for Rydel, at least; not all are so lucky). Raising them to be age-appropriate is the accomplishment. That's not happening yet.

I’m turning 21 on a Monday and I want to get mimosas with my sister with brunch but it seems like everywhere I check opens at 11 or serves alcohol at 11:30 and she has an appointment she has to get to so we need to eat at 10am. Does anyone know a brunch spot that serves alcohol at 10/10:30am? It’ll be on 5/20 and I’d prefer somewhere that takes reservations.

This is not the first time I’ve posted here about my family - in 2022 I made a post asking if I was wrong for cutting off my mom even though she had MS after she lied about starting rumors about my two sisters and one of their husbands.
After getting some insight from others on here as well in real life I cut my mom off and my sister and I were only talking to my aunt during this time. My aunt is my mother’s sister but she lives in a completely different state and her and my mother had issues for years and they also haven’t even seen each other in person since before 2001 because of how estranged their relationship was.
Now after my mom had been cut off for about a year my aunt reached out to her to ask her about some family stuff because my aunt found out my grandfather wasn’t her biological father during their conversation my mom disclosed she had cancer and so me, my aunt, and my sister all decided to support her and see if maybe she’s changed since getting another heavy diagnosis on top of the MS she already had.
During this time we were trying to be the best support system we could be and we also supported our aunt and our mom trying to have a relationship again. We all agreed we shouldn’t talk about the past at all and that nobody should try to cause a problem for anyone else (this was mainly towards my mom since she’s the one that has these kinds of behaviors at times)
For about seven months everything was going really well and we all were getting along great, my aunt was even planning to come visit so she could see all of us.
Then last month something happened because my aunt who thought the world of my sister started sending her nasty messages claiming my sister wasn’t who she thought she was and that my sister told my mom about our cousin (aunt’s daughter) being arrested but my sister swears she didn’t and it is public online so I think my mom found it on her own and is just lying about my sister showing her.
Well anyways my sister and I both ended up blocking my aunt on social media because the stuff my aunt was writing to my sister was really awful and we felt she knew how my mom can be and that she shouldn’t have believed her so quickly / said so many nasty things.
Ever since we blocked her she’s continued to send harassing messages that say really awful things about us. The latest was sent to me on Mother’s Day and she basically wrote that I’m heartless and selfish for cutting my parents off and that both her and my mom think I must stay close to my sister because she gives me things which isn’t even true my mother has “borrowed” thousands from my sister and I’ve never borrowed any money from her ever. Before when she was talking to just my sister and I my aunt fully understood why we weren’t close with our mom and now she’s saying it’s wrong to cut her off.
She’s tried contacting me on Facebook, TikTok, phone, and even used someone else’s phone to contact me on Mother’s Day. I hate feeling like maybe I was wrong for cutting her off even though I didn’t really have a huge issue with her initially it was my sister being targeted by her and I also now feel guilty about cutting my parents off again.
So tell me, am I wrong?

TL;DR Mawage. Mawage is what bwings us togethah today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dream!
Our Chairman and these Regarded APES have come here to make this tweasured agweement in front of their family and fwiends, pwomising their commitment in this holy and magnificent pwace, today and each day fowawd.
We would not be here today without wuv. Wuv, twoo wuv between these two. Twoo wuv will follow you forevah, so tweasure your wuv, Mr. Chairman with your Highly Regarded Apes, always.
My wife of 21yrs, who is pursuing her doctorate in Psychology to enhance her Marriage and Family counseling practice, has always been a supportive listener, especially throughout this saga. We watched together the events in 2021 unfold in real-time and in a recent discussion concerning market manipulations and the media's role in it all she interjected with unexpected psychological insights. What felt like a gentle change in the subject matter led to an unexpected and insightful conversation about narcissists, divorcing a narcissist, and the tactics of navigating them in your personal and professional lives.
Miracle Max: “'To blave.' And as we all know, 'to blave' means 'to bluff.' So, you're probably playing cards and he cheated…”
Did you know that there are divorce attorneys who specialize in dealing with cases involving narcissistic spouses? These attorneys are typically well-versed in high-conflict divorce scenarios and understand the psychological dynamics that can arise when one party exhibits narcissistic behaviors. They focus on strategies to manage manipulation, gaslighting, and other tactics that a narcissistic spouse might use to control or prolong legal proceedings.
Specialized attorneys in this area offer guidance on how to maintain clear and documented communication, set firm boundaries, and protect oneself legally and emotionally. Their expertise is particularly valuable in helping clients navigate the complexities of custody battles, financial disputes, and other contentious issues where a narcissistic spouse may attempt to use legal strategies to their advantage.
During our conversation my highly regarded ape-ette, outlined a total of 7 “Acts” in the Narcissist’s playbook.”

1. Denial
2. Minimization
3. Deflection
4. Rationalization
5. Displacement
6. Generalization
7. Victim Blaming

If you have ever had dealings with a Narcissist you know all to well these acts are rarely played in any kind of orderly fashion. Infact, their “playbill” is so well known that a short poem was created by Dyana Craig called “The Narcissist's Prayer”:

1. That didn't happen.
2. And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
3. And if it was, that's not a big deal.
4. And if it is, that's not my fault.
5. And if it was, I didn't mean it.
6. And if I did, you deserved it.

For the purposes of this post and to fully wrap our heads around the manipulative actions by those in the media, the financial system, in government, or our personal lives, we expanded upon the above as follows:

1. "That did not occur."
2. "And if it did, it was not that severe."
3. "And if it was, it is not a significant matter."
4. "And if it is, it is not my fault."
5. "And if it was, I did not intend it."
6. "And if I did, there were extenuating circumstances."
7. "And if there weren't, you provoked me into it."
8. "And if you didn't, others would have reacted the same way."
9. "And if they wouldn’t, the real issue is being blown out of proportion."
10. "And if it isn't, everyone makes mistakes."
11. "And if they don’t, I am under a lot of stress."
12. "And if I did, you deserved it."

These 12 narcissistic acts can be grouped into these stages that reflect a progression in the way responsibility, blame, and reality are manipulated by the media.
Stage 1: Denial

• "That did not occur." - Absolute refusal to acknowledge the reality of the event.

Stage 2: Minimization

• "And if it did, it was not that severe."
• "And if it was, it is not a significant matter." - These steps serve to downplay the severity and importance of the event, suggesting it is unworthy of concern or reaction.

Stage 3: Deflection

• "And if it is, it is not my fault."
• "And if it was, I did not intend it." - Shifts focus from the act itself to the intention behind it or external factors, deflecting responsibility away from the self.

Stage 4: Rationalization

• "And if I did, there were extenuating circumstances."
• "And if there weren't, you provoked me into it."
• "And if you didn't, others would have reacted the same way." - Attempts to provide reasons or excuses for the behavior that justify it or align it with normal responses.

Stage 5: Displacement

• "And if they wouldn’t, the real issue is being blown out of proportion." - This step attempts to shift the discussion from the actions to the reactions of others, suggesting an overreaction.

Stage 6: Generalization

• "And if it isn't, everyone makes mistakes."
• "And if they don’t, I am under a lot of stress." - These steps attempt to dilute personal responsibility by invoking common human faults or personal stress, suggesting that any errors are part of broader, understandable human conditions.

Stage 7: Victim Blaming

• "And if I did, you deserved it." - The final step, which shifts all remaining blame to the victim, positioning them as deserving of the actions or consequences.

These stages reflect a progression from outright denial to subtle and overt forms of manipulation, ending with a complete inversion of blame. Each stage is designed to protect the narcissist’s self-image and deflect any responsibility for their actions onto others or external circumstances.
For those of use that have been around since the beginning and has endured all of the above reminds me of one of my favorite parts in the Princess Bride:
Westley: Aha! Your pig fiance is too late! A few more steps and we'll be safe in the fire swamp. Buttercup: We'll never survive. Westley: Nonsense! You're only saying that because no one ever has. Westley: It's not that bad...Well I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here but the trees are actually quite lovely.
We begin unwinding all financial and manipulative aspects of the now very dead relationship that once existed. We document everything and those weary and nervous and we pick back up with…
Buttercup: We'll never succeed. We may as well die here. Westley: No, no. We have already succeeded. I mean, what are the three terrors of the Fire Swamp? One, the flame spurt - no problem. There's a popping sound preceding each; we can avoid that. Two, the lightning sand, which you were clever enough to discover what that looks like, so in the future we can avoid that too…
We navigate the shills, the media pundits, and hedge fund market making Mayo loving thunts, aka the R.O.U.S’s. Through it all, we arrive at the events of the day! Our mascot triumphantly returns and now the Media is pulling a Prince Humperdink as if we are going to fall for it.
Buttercup: We did it! Westley: Now, was that so terrible? Humperdink: Surrender! Westley: You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well then, I accept. Humperdink: I give you full marks for bravery. Don't make yourself a fool. Westley: Ah, but how will you capture us? We know the secrets of the fire swamp. We can live there happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit.
Navigating and enduring the demise of your first narcissist relationship is, in my opinion, the fire swamp. Reading all the DD ( • )( • ) and easily recognizing all of manipulations and cheating tactics being used and not reacting to them is what makes apes say “We can live there happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying, feel free to visit.”
Last but not least… our current marriage to our chairman, is bliss compared to our prior sham marriage where belief in a free and fair once existed. Remember, narcissists are married to the devil for time and all eternity!
I share this so that further discussion can continue and help everyone understand the kinds of people we are up against. They will never change, they will never care, and if they are fined or even found guilty of a crime, they will always and forever be the victim.

Hello, to begin with I want to add that I never judge people by their look and I do not make assumptions based on that, but in this story I will describe the people as they looked so u can feel it more.
The story that happened to me today:
I had a broken arm and went to the doctor today. In our country, the waiting time in hospitals for such a check is up to 3 hours. The waiting rooms are post-communist, old, white walls and blue uncomfortable chairs. After about half an hour of waiting in a waiting room full of people of all ages, who were also after some sort of injury, a 2-meter middle-aged man came to the waiting room, who at first glance looked somewhat strange. He sat down on a chair and his girlfriend or sister came behind him, I don't know what of those two it was, but she looked even weirder than him. The guy had a tucked-in T-shirt in his pants with the inscription PRAGUE and the Czech flag on the front of the t-shirt. He had rustler pants pulled up high. His posture was stooped. He had brown, thinning hair and thick-rimmed glasses. Blue eyes that only had an empty look. Huge palms, since he was about 2 meters. The woman who was with him was missing several teeth. She was overweight and of average height. She was wearing gray leggings, a t-shirt that was short so part of her stomach was visible, and an unzipped dark green jacket. Both of them showed that they were not completely in order and looked a little dirty, but not like street dirty, more like they just dont take care of them self AT ALL dirty. The woman looked much dirtier. They sat down not far from me and at first it was quiet. Subsequently, the guy started talking, first in silence and to himself, he started commenting everything around him. For example, another patient in the waiting room was wearing a cap and the strange guy said. "Look, the moron still has his cap on. Can you understand that?!? haha" He always laughed really unpleasantly after one of his drastic comments. Horror type laugh. He could be heard and people were looking around at him. As we were all waiting in the waiting room, a nurse came out and according to the ordinary number, called a very old lady who had broken her arm and was going to be checked. The strange guy was sitting closest to the door, so everyone was walking around him. As the grandmother slowly got up from her chair (obviously because she is old), the strange guy aggressively shouted: "WELL MOVE, MOVE, COMMON!!!" Everyone pretended not to hear him and no one ever spoke up. As he commented, he said something that I didn't fully understand, something like: "And what does this tattooed moron think of himself???" That should have been on me because I was the only one in the waiting room with tattoos on my body. So I looked at him and asked him: "You talking to me?"
The strange guy aggressively raised his voice and answered: "YES, I SAID THAT ABOUT YOU AND WHAT DO YOU CARE, DO I MIND YOU?" type shit, to which I replied that he was shouting in a waiting room full of people like he is out of his fucking mind and that's when it started. The guy started almost shouting on entire waiting room: "OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND? YOU CAN BE SURE THAT I AM OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND, I'M 100% SCHIZOPHRENIC. I WILL KILL YOU AND I WILL NOT EVEN GO TO JAIL. THEY WILL JUST LOCK ME IN AN INSTITUTE AGAIN :)… YOU WILL END UP UNDERGROUND BECAUSE GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU IN HEAVEN! YOU WILL DIE!!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT, AT LEAST THERE WILL BE ONE LESS BRAT. A VEIN IN YOUR NECK WILL RUPTURE AND YOU'LL BLEED OUT, YOU'LL SEE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO RETURN TO THE INSTITUTE... I DON'T WANT TO RETURN. MRS. GUIDE I DONT WANT TO GO BACK”. The woman who was with him just watched blankly, motionless, without emotion. I didn't answer him, I shook my head and gave a thumbs up as he aggressively said he was going to kill me. I felt a slight fear and a rush of adrenaline, of course I did nothing. WTF? The guy was visibly sick in the head and god knows what would happen if I reacted to this. Afterwards, he kept talking. Totally random stuff. "Look at how he stares at the phone, that's even worse than alcohol, he's addicted. I saw that on TV" again at me. The woman was silent. A hospital bed arrived in the waiting room, on which lay a very old grandmother who had probably fallen and hit herself somehow. She was lying and holding her head up, she told her daughter that it doesn't hurt, when she hold her head up like that so she has to have her head up. The guy heard it and to the entire waiting room: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO. THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS DIE. HAHAH. OTHER THAN THAT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. HAHA :) NO ONE HAS TO DO ANYTHING BUT EVERYONE HAS TO FUCKING DIE. END UP UNDERGROUND. HAHAHAHA. PSST PSST… SHUT UP, BE QUIET” he said to himself and started rocking in his chair. As the patients went in order, he was angry that there were people ahead of him. The nurse called the next patient in line to the ambulance. It was a mother with a baby in a stroller. The guy said out loud, "WHY ARE YOU GOING? YOU AND YOUR CHILD ARE SOMETHING MORE?”. No one in the waiting room noticed him, people just nodded their heads. After the check-up, the mother and the child came out of the doctor's office and this strange guy said: "WHAT, YOU'RE FINALLY GOING AWAY. WHY WERE YOU THE MAIN???" The woman said with a very calm tone: my child is sick. The strange guy: "And you work?! You have a job!?" The woman said yes and when she saw that he was aggressive, she started walking away. While she was walking away, the guy was talking louder and louder at her: "DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID? SHE THINKS I'M STUPID AND THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT SHE'S ON KINDERGARTEN WITH HER BABY! HAHAHAHA” . It was really terrible, I was really afraid that he will attack somebody. The guy also said things like: "NO. NO. I DON'T WANT TO GET MY HANDS DIRTY AGAIN. Pssst, psssst. SILENCE!..... I have to drink, I have dry in my mouth. dry like sahara i am. DRINK, BECAUSE YOUR KIDNEYS WILL DRY UP!” The doctor called number 12 in, which was me, and this strange guy was sitting about 2 cm from the door to the ambulance. He said something again, but I didn't even listen to his words anymore, I was just careful when I walked by, that I wouldn't get hit or that something would poke me. I went to the doctor and the doctor asked who was screaming like that. I told him what it was about and he told me that I shouldn't pay attention to such people. He checked my hand and I went away. As I was leaving, the guy was talking loudly: "NOW GO. AND YOU HAVE FREE TIME, EXCELLENT HAHA” . And I walked away.
All this was very strange and my first encounter with such a sick person. ou could see on him that he really mean those things. The whole time I had a very bad feeling. The guy looked exactly like some kind of psychopath, like some serial killer who keeps the heads of his victims in the refrigerator so that he can feel dominance over them forever type shit and cant tell the difference between good and bad. I wouldn't be surprised at all if in a few years I see him and his wife in the news that a dead body was found at their home.
Did you have any encounters like this? I want to know

I (27f) was brought up in a house with my brother (24m), my mum (47f) and dad (45m). When I was younger my parents decided to have 2 more children, 2 girls - now 12 and 10. I now also have my own children, 7f, 4m, and 2f, and am in a beautiful happy marriage.
A little back story, I was pretty much a scapegoat my whole life, my brother the golden child, let's just say none of us are on speaking terms with him anymore due to him always getting what he wanted when he was younger. As he grew and after the 2 younger of us were born, he started hearing more "no's", he didnt like that and after a lot of threats, holes in walls, drugs etc, I decided to cut all contact with him. He then decided to cut contact with our parents 🤷🏽‍♀️
Anyway, we recently found out that our 7yo has adhd, and our 4yo has adhd and asd. I also found symptoms in myself that made me question my brain, and got diagnosed with asd, adhd and cptsd (i dont remember my childhood from 5yo-13yo, but remember all the crap traumatic parts). Whilst we were getting our array of diagnoses my parents decided to go through their own processes with my sisters, still in the process, no diagnoses have been made. This is where it starts, the 12yo, I'll call her Stacy, she is me, I was her, she is the scapegoat, she gets the blame for everything, nothing she does is right, she doesn't get help, doesn't get hugs and kisses or love. I see the ptsd symptoms coming out in her and it hurts my heart, I want to take her, adopt her and run away with her. I give her the love she needs because i can see she doesnt get it from our parents, not gonna lie, she has her faults, we all do, we're only human, but compared to our sister and brother, she's amazing.
The 10yo, I'll call her Anna, she is horrible, she makes mean comments, she manipulates to get her own way, she falsely accuses people - and not of small things, she craves attention and loves to be in the centre, she hates when my 7yo has any sort of attention and will try her best to steal it, especially from our mum, it's like she knows how to hurt your feelings and will do it if you don't do what she wants, she's showed my 7yo inappropriate videos, one day I was looking after her because she was "sick" I was in the bathroom, heard my 4yo (who was also sick with whooping cough at the time), crying begging her to stop she didn't realise I had opened the door and caught her hitting him on the head with a pillow, I told her to stop and she did. Anyway she is always looking for approval especially from female adults, she is just mean, she doesnt do anything wrong, she gets coddled while Stacy gets the blame for everything, and gets punished for everything even if she didnt do anything. My parents do nothing, they don't explain to her what she's done is wrong or why it's wrong, they sit on their phones all day, everyday and just say "oh she just has autism", but it's not an excuse... we're really not dumb, you can teach us that it's not okay to do things. I know this is how they handle it because we live on the same property, in separate dwellings, and it's the same everyday pretty much, I try my best to keep separated from them, especially Anna because she is having a negative mental effect on our 7yo, but they come over uninvited and say "mum and dad are being boring, they're just on their phones like always". Everytime I go over they've either locked themselves in the room or are sitting on the couch looking at Facebook, and expect the kids to just watch TV all day, not doing anything. I just see the same cycle happening again, Anna turning out like our druggo brother, and Stacy ending up with CPTSD and wanting to run away.
Anna falsely accused myself of scratching her with a stick today, when I was nowhere near her, she put on a whole act, crying and everything. This isn't the first time this has happened, the first time was falsely accusing my husband of something similar, when I was with them and told the truth whilst my mum was on her side and was never there. Tonight, I got deathstared by my mum, usually its the silent treatment, but also got told "Anna feels like you treat Your son like he has autism but you don't treat her like she has autism", she hasn't been diagnosed either so we don't know if it really is autism, and I treat my son with respect because he treats me with respect, I treat him the way he treats me, with love and kindness (i told mum this in different words). There is no love, kindness or respect in Anna, and if there is you can't see it, it's like she demands respect but won't give it, to anyone at all. If she doesnt get her way, then all hell breaks loose.
So anyway I told my mum "i have autism too mum. you can't use autism as an excuse for the rest of her life. Females, especially where we live, will not tolerate these accusations and comments and she will get knocked out, instead of saying 'she has autistim' teach her what shes doing is wrong" all she said to that was "well, if that happens, that's a life lesson she has to learn" but I don't think it should get to that point? Just teach her while you can before you regret it?
Now i know no one is the same, i know no autistic brain is the same, i know we say inapproriate things and we dont know the meanings sometimes etc. But i dont think using it as an excuse is okay? Its as if they've got the idea of autism in their head and now they dont have to discipline or teach her whats right from wrong? Anyway, I'm always the bad guy according to my parents, or am I? You tell me, I dunno. I'm used to always getting the blame so I sometimes I wonder if I actually am the AH? 🤔
I love my siblings, all 3 of them. Regardless of what has happened between my brother and I, or my sisters and I, I will always love them. I miss my brother, when we wasn't intoxicated he was the best person ever, intoxication is his life now and he's not the person I used to know. I love my sisters dearly and I would do anything to save both from this cycle.

Trigger warning: Miscarriage,suicidal and self harm.
I faked a pregnancy and miscarriage so people would care about me. I (19F) struggle with many mental health issues some being BPD,depression, and anxiety. I’ve always felt alone and always tried to find ways to get peoples attention I’m also a massive overthinker my childhood trauma doesn’t help either. I met a guy on tinder whom I growed close to and almost got into a relationship with but apparently he lied and only wanted me for sex and then changed what he said to say he thought I only wanted sex which he knew wasn’t true. I wanted his attention so bad after growing so close to him I had faked a pregnancy then a miscarriage then told him it was actually just a phantom pregnancy he gave me more attention during those times till he found out it was a “phantom pregnancy”. Fast forward a couple weeks and I felt alone and depressed and wanted to die and I also missed him so I lied to my friend and told her I was pregnant and that I had lied to the baby’s dad and asked her to tell him I came up with the new story which he believed. I was so fixated on everything I started to believe it myself. I even messaged his sister because I was scared about being alone during this “pregnancy”. I even faked an ultrasound which he may also still have. I then craved more attention from Anton as I also ended my life but didn’t I faked a miscarriage and again believed it myself. I felt shit for him and myself and to believe I was really living this. He ended up telling me to just move on and that we are still young but he went to church to light a candle for our “son”. I’ve been emotional ever since thinking it was real myself and very fragile. I told a couple of my friends about my “miscarriage” he then went on to add all my friends and game with them and me but he talks to them a lot more than me (they’re girls). I feel alone very alone rn and ruined and I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m such a shit lonely person. I self harmed for not only the pain but because I feel like I deserve it. I can’t ever tell my friends the truth I really can’t and it’s too far gone now. Idk what to do anymore. I’ve also been off my meds for couple months now which doesn’t help.

I (32m) broke up with my ex (42m) 5 years ago. He was a thief, a drug abuser, a habitual liar, and a cheater.
It was a horrible break up, and he has basically kept the mentality that we were still in a relationship, even though I kept reminding him we were not. I tried to go no-contact, but I was basically scared of him, what he would do, how he would make me feel, because he’s manipulative, so I maintained contact and a sort of FWB relationship. I had no interest in dating anyone so it was an acceptable situation for me.
Earlier this year, I fell in love out of nowhere with a man (50M) 600 miles away. It’s a long distance relationship, but we’ve already met and everything has went so incredibly smooth until last night. I absolutely adore this man, he adores me, and he has been nothing but amazing. And I’ve tried my best to be the best boyfriend I can be.
My ex has had cancer for awhile, so I’ve also tried my best to be supportive while also setting boundaries because I am in a committed relationship. Apparently my support was not enough, my distance too great, and he attempted suicide a few days ago.
Yesterday, he asked me to block him from everything, so he could remove me from his life. I complied, sent him a short message about hoping his mental health gets better, and that I will be blocking him on very possible platform, exactly as he wanted.
He went ballistic, and started spamming my boyfriend with lies about how me and him (my ex) still hook up, how I called my boyfriend short, how I basically called him a loser in many ways, and sent him a graphic video I had sent (to my ex last year) saying I send him little videos like this all the time. He said he has HIV and that he knowingly gave it to me. I don’t think this is possible, but I will be getting checked regardless.
For more context, before my boyfriend and I were “official”, I was at my ex’s house for support because he got some really bad news regarding his cancer. I got a little drunk and blabbed about my boyfriend because he kept asking questions, and it’s hard not to gush about someone you’re falling in love with. My mistake. I should have never said anything to my ex about him. At this stage in our relationship (between me and my ex where things seemed okay), I guess I thought I could confide in him about my life.
He took everything I said and twisted them into negatives.
I have not said a single negative thing about my boyfriend to my ex, or anyone, because he’s been nothing but perfect. He is literally the most amazing man I have ever met.
So last night, my boyfriend and I had our nightly call, and I, through many tears and panic attacks, tried to explain everything my ex said. I felt almost too defensive, but I’ve never had someone lie about me to such a degree, and it was horrifying.
My boyfriend was very calm and understanding, as he knows who my ex is and how unstable he is, but I fear a seed has been planted and our relationship may be tainted. He didn’t say anything like this, in fact, he was mostly worried about my safety regarding this maniac.
My ex is still finding ways to contact me, and basically said he has the power to have me and my sister fired from our jobs, and while he “would never do that”, to know what he’s capable of.
I’m getting a restraining order as soon as I can.
I feel so fucking bad for my boyfriend, that he has to experience these emotions, read all those lies, and still figure out a way to go forward with trust, and I don’t know what to do or say.
Can I recover from this? I’m losing my mind.
Tl;dr: Ex is mentally unstable and told me to go no-contact with him for his own sake. I complied. He then went and started spamming my boyfriend with lies about how I’m unfaithful and have HIV. I explained myself, and my boyfriend was understanding, and is mostly worried about my safety, but I can’t shake the feeling I’m going to lose him over this.

Heya! It’s me again. Just a little update about my post.
This mwa went here earlier at around 6 PM for the committee. My mom and I were the first ones to come, then he asked my mom to call my grandma’s sister to join us, so it was just the two of us left. He started telling me to get a church duty, which I refused for the nth time. I felt awkward because he then asked me about my college program, age, how am I doing in school, and stuff like that, he even complimented me because I said that I’m a president’s lister in our school— and went back in trying to convince me get a duty, secretary to be specific. He stopped talking when other members arrived.
After the committee, we have this thing called ‘dalaw card’, which he collects every after the house visit. My grandma’s sister told him that I’m shy around him (it’s just awkward for me lol). He then talked to me while signing on the card, said that I shouldn’t be shy and that he’ll recruit me to be a secretary and he’ll have me write a ‘salaysay’ next week when he visits again. I don’t know what else to say because I already told him that I can’t because of my school schedule, so I just smiled instead. He also told me that he’ll bring a fill out form (I forgot what it’s called, but it basically comes with the salaysay, I think). I just kept smiling and when he finished writing on the card, he said “mag panata ka na lang muna tapos next week mag salaysay ka na” (“make a vow first, then next week you’ll write a statement”)

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

Am I too much?
My boyfriend and I are new. We’ve been “official” for two months now and are quite serious. We’ve discussed the word love, but haven’t really put it out there. He has stated several times that he believes I’m in love with him but that he believes I’m holding it back to protect myself. He says I should let them out. I’ve repeatedly told him I’m nervous to do so because I’m not trying to rush this already fast paced relationship and that I don’t want my feelings to be vocalized and he not feel the same way. I told him I want to make sure my feelings are safe first, and he insists that they are with him. Just this weekend, he said “what if something happened to me and you never told me?” That statement stayed in my head during the entire scenario I’m writing about.
His wife passed almost a year ago, and since we met, he insists he’s ready to move forward in life. We talk about the future, but I’ve been a bit wary because I know this is all new to him. He is an amazing man and treats me wonderfully.
He’s 56 and I’m 45 but we live about 50ish miles from one another. We make a point to see each other as much as possible. We also make a point to communicate with one another every. Single. Day. We talk every morning before work, text throughout our day, and stay on the phone several hours at night. The only time we break this routine is when one of us is out of town or away visiting family, but we discuss that ahead of time.
This weekend, he came to my hometown, and we spent an amazing weekend together. We had the best time. At the end of the weekend, we both went home, (this was maybe 10am) but I never heard of he made it home safely. I texted him around 1 just to ask. Never heard a word. Then texted around 5pm to let him know I was going to a friend’s house and would call him when I got back home. Told him I hope his day was going well. We usually do check in texts when we know we will be unavailable.
I get home that night around 10pm and ask him to just please let me know if he’s ok. I then call but it goes straight to voicemail. Then again around 12am to let him know I’m worried. I go to bed.
I wake up around 6 am and see no missing calls or messages, so I call him. Straight to voicemail again, so now I’m worried. I go to work and still hear nothing from him, so around 9:30am (24 hours later), I call back. Same thing. This is very unlike him, and I start to panic.
What would you do at this point? I really hesitate doing everything else next, but I’m worried. I call his job to give him a message to contact me. I’m ready to leave it at that and wait. I don’t have his number memorized, so I’m sure with a dead phone that he doesn’t know mine. His job calls me back around 11am and says “ma’am. You called early to deliver a message to ———. Well, I’m calling you back to let you know that ——— isn’t here for us to deliver the message. I definitely was not expecting that and my fear sets in. That was a strange phone call to me.
I’m worried he’s hurt, and especially with not hearing a peep from him for over 24 hours, I leave work early around 12pm and head his way. I get to his house, and he’s not there. I go to his job next, but I don’t go in. Instead, I call a second time. I speak with the same person, and she asks my relation. I tell him I’m her girlfriend. She pauses and says “I’m not supposed to say anything, but I’ll just say this. His family knows what’s going on with him.” I tell her thank you then hang up.
To me, that means something happened. So I go to his mom’s house. Again, I am doubting all of my actions, but at this point, I’m thinking he’s hurt. We are new and haven’t introduced one another to family other than one person. Outside of our own information and the names of our jobs, we don’t have contact info for one another, so I’m unsure what to do during all of this. I decide I’d rather be the crazy lady that did too much than sit back and not know what happened.
So, I’ve been to his mom’s house but never inside. The one time I went, it was late at night and he had to pick something up, and I didn’t want to meet her for the first time in that manner. I have met his sister briefly before. So, I’m at his mom’s house and knock on the door. I explain what’s happening and she invites me in. She does not know who I am, but that’s not unusual. If the situation were reversed, my parents would not know who he is either. She tells me he is in the hospital and that she was there earlier and he should be home later. She told me what happened which is concerning but fits with what he’s told me about his medical history.
She gives me a different phone number for him. She says he had to get another phone the day before because he cracked the one with the number I have. I call it and it just rings. Then I ask the hospital number. She doesn’t give it to me (again, I don’t blame her) but tells me the hospital name and that the system at the hospital is down.
I go to the hospital. The system is down. I ask information, and they say something about ransomeware. After a while of asking, I leave and go sit somewhere to wait. I’m praying he will call me. I text the number his mom gave me and later the number calls back, rings once then hangs up. I call it back, rings then voicemail.
After about 3 hours after getting that number from his mom, the number calls me back. It’s him, and he’s pissed. He says I did too much. He’s mad I called his job because he doesn’t want them in his business. He says he could see if it was two or three days but not one. I told him something felt off and it turns out I was right. He was in the hospital. He asked why I did it all and I told him because he went all outside of our routine in a big way. He told me we don’t have a pattern and not to look for one. We definitely have a pattern. We even talked about it this weekend and I told him how much I love his consistency. I apologized if I overstepped and said I thought we were serious enough for our actions. He said we are that serious but proceeds to say I did too much. He wouldn’t let me come to the hospital to see him and said he needed some uninterrupted time to himself so I went home. I didn’t even respond and I don’t plan to. I feel like I should just step alllllllll the way back. I also think he’s panicking because he’s only used to being loved by his late wife.
I do love this man, but it feels like he took all that love he said he saw and wanted and threw it back in my face. I’ve made it clear that I’m intense. I would have done the same had it been my parents, my kids, siblings, friends, etc. when we talk again, I know I won’t be the same. I don’t trust him with my feelings anymore.
We haven’t talked since. I’m sure he’s doubting me because I’m surely doubting him. Not once did he acknowledge what I went through to check on him. And he wasn’t trying to listen. I told him I’m happy he’s ok but I listened to my intuition which said he wasn’t and it was right. He said don’t listen to that. I told him that had I heard from him just once that he was ok, none of this would have ever happened. Are my intentions even important here?
I know my actions are a lot and this is a lot to read, so if you’ve made it this far, thank you.
Am I crazy? What would you have done? What should I have done? Do you think this is salvageable?

I remember in all the centers I lived in, there were plenty of pictures of JME, Don Alvaro, JME's parents and "Aunt Carmen", his sister around the place, but numeraries never had photos of their blood relations on display in their rooms. This rule must have been given to us when we joined but I can't remember now. I found this sad article in Opus Libros from a num in Spain who remembers an instruction came out from OD in the late 80s on this issue - no personal photos on display in bedrooms.
Opuslibros - Familia de Sangre.- Edu
The whole article is worth reading as it shows how Opus Dei's practices "detached" this man so much from his family that he didn't shed a tear when either of his parents died, and gradually lost all feeling for his siblings. He was allowed to go the burials of his parents but not the funeral masses. He makes the point about how OD's practices hardly line up with the 4th commandment to honor one's parents.
As for me, I took this in my stride as I had a deeply fractured and traumatic relationship with my blood family, which I had hardly begun to process by the time OD offered me a spiritualized escape from it. I would never have put up photos of my family anyway but looking back, the idea that we had photos of JME's blood relations all around but none of our own says so much about how cultish OD is. If I had had to explain that to someone outside OD, I think I would have balked at it or been embarrassed. It's disturbing beyond measure.
It also got me thinking about the other nums I knew. It's not like we chatted much about our families, but I picked up that a fair share had the loss of one parent as a child, two had alcoholism in the family, some had been to boarding schools, and many others were emotionally stunted by parents who were not emotionally available. So in a sense, it would have needed that kind of distance and family trauma to not care about the prohibition on displaying family photos.
What are others' experiences and feelings? Have the rules changed in recent years? Thanks

Warning: mention of pregnancy loss and death of family members by gun violence
I, 31 female, have been together with my husband, 37 male, for 10 years and married for almost 9. We have two beautiful children, a 4 yr old son and a 2 yr old daughter and he has two other children with two other women that he doesn’t get to see and pays child support for. Before my son we had 12 losses, one of which I hemorrhaged from and then I ending up almost hemorrhaging to death after our son was born. We also had one more miscarriage after our daughter was born and I’ve since decided to not try for anymore even though this breaks my heart a little because I always wanted a bigger family.
I recently lost my mother and 10 year old niece in August after they were unalived by a family friend who also unalived himself. Less than two months later, my sister tragically passed in a car accident. To say that broke me is truly an understatement. For months all I could do was cry everyday and feel excruciating pain. My mom and sister were extremely close. We messaged and called every day, multiple times a day even though we all live within a 10 mile radius. They were there for me through everything life had to spit at us. We already have lost every female on my dad’s side of the family. My sister and I were all that was left besides our own daughters. The future feels daunting knowing that there may very well be decades with them not here with me.
It’s been many months now and I feel like I am finally starting to feel happiness and I’m just doing my best to spend as much time with my kids and remaining niece and nephew. My oldest niece is my partner in crime especially now that we are in the no mom and no sister club. She’s only in her early teens and she had also been shot but thankfully survived.
On to the issue. My husband has honestly never really put in any effort for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc. Usually my birthday I don’t give a crap for but it’s only because in the past I’ve been disappointed because no one ever did anything for it. And I’m talking about just like a card and cake. Nothing serious. I really have dirt floor standards to be frank because I just have learned throughout life not to expect anything. That said I am the person who no matter what kind of financial situation I am in will find a way to show love and appreciation no matter the budget. I’ll make you hand made cards, I’ll personally call you on your birthday or special holidays, and I’ll make cake or cupcakes from scratch. If I have a budget I’ll plan dinner and some time to spend out. I just love making people feel happy and special. I was just raised that way.
So of course I find and marry the one person who honestly could kind of care less. I don’t think he has ever gotten or done anything for my birthday, not for Christmas. I remember he got me something for Mothers Day a few years ago…AFTER I had said something. My mom and sister on the other hand always made sure I got a card and we all had a Mothers Day dinner where we would cook and just enjoy time with our kids and ourselves.
This is my first Mothers Day without them and tomorrow and my sisters birthday without her. I had already verbally mentioned how hard it was going to be and my husband fully knew that it was going to be a hard day for me. My friends even sent him ideas for me, like just cleaning up the house and waking up to make breakfast for me. Things he’s honestly never done ever, but hey those are free things anyone could do to make someone feel special. All he said to my best friend was “lol I don’t have any money.” She got pissed. She ended up buying me flowers, a wind chime, some NA beer (I’m sober), and spent extra time with me because she knew I needed my support people on Mother’s Day. My dad also came out in support and got me more NA beer, bought me lunch, and we picked up my oldest niece and I got to spend a ton of time with her. My husband? Slept in until 10:30am. Didn’t do anything all day. I was up at 6 am with the kids and made breakfast after I realized he was still sleeping because ya know, kids can’t starve and I’m not going to wait 4 hours to have breakfast myself.
The thing is, this is just the tip of the iceberg. He can’t stay employed and oftentimes will switch jobs to avoid paying child support. Sure he’s present for the kids now, but when the going gets tough he pretty much stops putting in effort. I bet if I lived even 20 minutes away from him he wouldn’t see the kids often. He has never ever done much around the house despite me working MULTIPLE jobs at times (at one point I was working 3 and going to school). I work full time for a Fortune 500 company and he can’t even schedule a damn doctors appointment for himself. Any time I try to bring things up he’s dismissive or just denies things. And now he’s also getting more angry and aggressive because child support is being taken out again and he ended up swatting our son so hard our son doubled over…in front of my whole family! This along with Mothers Day has got me just thinking I need to divorce him. He can’t hit our kids like that period. All our son did was throw a damn smore at him! And I have multiple witnesses including my niece, grandfather, brother and SIL. I want to protect our kids. I feel like after that happened if I stay with him I am essentially condoning his behavior. I absolutely confronted him about it and he says he feels bad and should never have done it but he felt justified in that moment. I can’t trust someone like that. And it’s not the first time he’s swatted at our son but this was certainly the worst. So I am ready to leave just for that but then our son would have to be with him unsupervised.
If I am overreacting I want to know. He says I am and constantly says I am. I just need some clarity and maybe just support because if I do this, this is something that once the ball is rolling you can’t really stop it. I’m just afraid…but I think I’m more afraid of what will happen if I stay.

I’m new to the show watching with my sister after she came home from college to prepare for season 3.
How do they get the diamonds and beaded embroidery to scintillate on camera? Has there ever been a behind the scenes on the lighting and cinematography? I’ve always complained about the lack of affection shown toward wardrobe in other shows and wonder how they did it. Cut diamonds are very hard to get to show up on camera the same way they do to the eye, and they don’t seem to have used the fancy lighting techniques like a halo of Christmas lights or gauzy lens that have been common for jewelers close ups.

We are having treatment on the NHS. We know we are extremely lucky as it is a postcode lottery as to what treatment you get and depending on the area you live in in the UK. And also people in other countries have to pay so we are trying to be grateful.
I just feel really disappointed after the first consultation. We have been waiting fof so long for the referral and there were administrative delays caused by the GP. This now means that instead of the 3 cycles we would have been entitled to we will be lucky if we get 1 or 2 shots at this.
I have had my right tube removed due to an ectopic pregnancy. I have pouch of douglas endometriosis and it isn't anywhere else on my reproductive organs. My AMH is 20 (which I think is 2.8 ng/ml). I had another pregnancy which I miscarried. My partners sperm samples just seem to be getting worse everytime he is tested. He has a low sperm count of 6million, his motility is 60% which is apparently good but the normal sperm is 1% which is really bad.
I feel so much anger and disappointment towards my partner. I asked him a long time ago to get checked out and have his sperm tested. It took him so long to swallow his pride and do this. I know its hard for men to deal with, but it doesn't help the woman when there is a time limit for us. This has caused us delays in getting our referral and I am older now. Because I'm nearly 40 years old we were told the success rate is 16 percent.
I don't see what the point is anymore. Maybe I am better off alone and just to live life on my own with no-one. The worst thing is that my sister is pregnant nearly due and everytime she fought with me she would tell me that I'm barren and that no one would ever want me and I would never have children andi would always be alone. Looks like what she was saying is coming true.
I feel so useless. I don't even want to speak to my partner because I am so upset. I know he feels this too but I'm so mad at him even though it is not his fault.