World s largest female bicepsmargest female bicep

Hello all! Im sure this is nothing to most of you, but I’m a 23 y/o female considering taking a weekend to go to Orlando. There’s a protest at sea world, it’s a yearly event and I finally got the time off work to go. Orlando is only around a 5 hour drive away from me. Issue is I have nobody to go with. Boyfriend is working, best friend lives too far away, all my work friends are working. Parents are a possibility, but they don’t care about the event I’m going to and might even oppose it.
I might want to want to use this trip as a chance to travel alone, as I never have before and I want to go across the country next year. Plane tickets are expensive, and while I know of a few people who would come, the cost and timing are going to be hard to work out, plus my reason for going is going whale watching, also expensive, and nobody I know would be interested.
I was hoping to get some advice from those who have travelled alone on safety and how to enjoy yourself while being alone in a big city for the weekend. I won’t be going out after dark, I would probably spend Saturday exploring the city and shopping, stay at a hotel, go to the protest on Sunday, then head home. I am nervous because though I have moved out of my parents home, I have never been alone in an unfamiliar place or hotel before. Im a very anxious person and have fears of something happening to me. I also just don’t know how fun it will be if I am by myself. Any advice or help is appreciated!

Hello I am 20 male from England, looking for someone or anyone (preferably female but I'm bi so I have nothing against the idea of a M/M relationship).
I'm a huge animal nerd who's autistic, but like most autistic people it does not affect me severely, I just struggle emotionally at times but I pretty much have that under control.
I love sweet drinks, listening to music and I'm not picky on the music as long as it isn't bad, long walks in nature albeit the very little nature in my area. I also love going to the museum in my area
I do a single driving lesson a week and study driving theory for the rest, apart from that I'm pretty free and have a flexible schedule except Thursdays.
Just so people know before they text me, I am clingy to some degree but not in a toxic way I believe, I just like hanging out as much as I can but respect boundaries so basically I'll be down to chat as much as you are. I am also quite fat but it's not extreme nor does it affect my lifestyle.
I'm not picky when it comes to looks since I believe looks don't mean anything in life, as long as you aren't extremely obese or really unhygienic that's all what matters in my opinion.
Looking for someone preferably older.
I do not want children, nothing against them I just don't think I'd be father material. I do enjoy babysitting though, it's nice to see children and think of the idea that they could potentially change the world someday for the better.
I'm ok with long distance relationships as long as in the long run we eventually meet.
I want a chill life but I am obviously willing to make sacrifices and put in the effort as expected in a relationship.
If we do get together I want to be sure there would be no breakups in the long run and you're willing to work on any problems we have as a team with no hostility, we'd be a team and I'd never want/try to see you as an enemy during disagreements, everyone has disagreements but you shouldn't let them affect your relationship with someone you love.
Also I do not have any problems with almost anybody, everyone is different and has their own "quirks" as long as you aren't inarguably a bad person or a judgemental dickhead towards people who don't deserve it then don't worry about what "quirks" you have, we all have them.
If you're interested send me a message bud! Hope to hear from ya!

Hello everyone. I am currently a junior in high school and am wondering what my chances are of getting into UC Davis based on my current stats. Davis is my top choice and my dream school as of right now, and I am looking for some insight especially because I will be applying this coming fall. I am very interested in environmental engineering or other related majors such as biosystems engineering as well and I love UC Davis for their environmental science, research, and sustainability reputation. I know that engineering is a more competitive major to get into so I would like some feedback on how I am doing and if I should do anything to improve. Thanks!
Here are my stats:
3 AP classes (APES, APUSH, AP Psych) and 1 honors class (Chinese 3), planning to take 3 AP’s senior year (AP Physics, AP Stats, AP Calc BC)
4.00 unweighted GPA (I think I’m going to end up with a B in APUSH this semester though 😭)
Varsity Track and Field
Was on a competitive club soccer team freshman year (but we disbanded after 9th grade so idk if this should count)
California Scholarship Federation tutor
Part of a dance group
Member of Armenian club
Help organize a dance competition between high school dance groups in my local area
Was a camp counselor for one summer
Was an audit intern at my city’s public utilities commission for one summer
Female
Multiracial (I know they don’t take into consideration of my race though but this is just for context)
And this summer I am planning on taking a community college class on Environmental Horticulture and possibly volunteering at my local zoo.

First of all, I’m married, and so is she.
She’s part of a small group of us who started working part-time at our company at the same time, and that’s probably how we first started talking in the first place. She’s the type that will strike up a conversation with anyone, so I didn’t think much of it when we first started interacting. I was actually deliberately stand off-ish with her initially, but over a few months of interacting with her we became friends.
There are a number of reasons why I initially kept her at arms length. First of all we are from very different cultures and have had very different life experiences, and also just going from physical appearances you wouldn’t expect we would have much in common at all. She’s looks like she could easily have chosen a career in modeling or movies - very, very attractive - someone could swap a photo of her onto the cover of any fashion magazine you like and nobody would realize something had been changed.
I on the other hand am very ordinary looking - slightly shorter than average, lean build but with a little bit of fat around the mid-section that I really should get around to losing. I’d say I’m probably about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, while I think most guys would rank her looks from a high 8 to a 10 just depending on their personal preferences.
I’m also 15 years older than she is, so from a professional standpoint I didn’t want it to look like I was always hanging around this much younger woman - she’s taken great care of herself and looks even younger than she actually is. Lastly, I’m black and she’s white.
Another reason for keeping distance was that because of how she looks she gets A LOT of attention from guys. I know that some women like to use that and surround themselves with guys that are hoping for a chance, and I had no interest in being one of them, if that was the game she was playing.
Despite all our differences though, surprisingly we really clicked together. It was just really easy to talk to her, although at first I sometimes would find myself having to look away as her beauty can be extremely distracting and I would get tongue tied. It took a while to be able to get past that. And even though I would do things like purposely sit on the other side of the room, she’d often come over to where I was anyway, or call me to come over to where she was.
Slowly over several months we have become really good “workplace friends”. We don’t interact outside of work at all, we don’t call or text each other, but when we see each other at work we always have things we want to talk about, even if it’s just to commiserate about how the day or week is going and what we’re looking forward to doing or did on the weekend. Also, she’s been having a harder time adjusting to the job than I have, so sometimes I give her a bit of encouragement and affirmation of the work she’s doing and who she is as a person.
With all that said, the reason I’m posting on here is over the last few months she’s been doing a few things that have me wondering whether she isn’t being slightly too friendly. Nothing major, just little things, like if I’m in the break room and she comes in, 9 times out of 10 she’s either going to sit facing me or right beside me, rather than leaving a seat in between (which a lot of people usually do when possible as the seats are somewhat close together).
The other day there were some dessert snacks in our department, and she told me it was good and I should have some, giving me the uneaten half from her plate rather than me just going and getting one for myself.
Also, a possibly accidental but I think maybe not brush of our hands when we were working on a document together.
So really just little things that could be completely innocent, but could also mean something else.
And let me just state plainly that no, I’m not hoping that she’s secretly into me - I’m happily married with a kid and am not looking to add complications into my life, and she has never said anything to me that suggests that she has any interest in complicating her life either. Also, she mentions her husband from time to time in conversation with me and others, and it’s never in an overly critical way that might indicate she is not happy with him.
I’ve been telling myself that it’s most probably either I’m just a bit of a dinosaur and don’t realize younger male and female co-workers are just more casual and friendly with each other nowadays than back in my day, or that she specifically is just a more casual and friendly woman than I’m used to. So what do you all think? Can I just relax and enjoy our friendship or should I be preparing myself to have an awkward conversation with her sooner or later?

My Boyfriend is trans and I’m a cis female, I love him so much and would go to the ends of the earth for him but it’s so difficult to watch him struggle, it’s so difficult to know I can’t help at times that I don’t always understand, if I could give him his top surgery or give him T I’d do it in a heartbeat but it’s out of my control and I’m exhausted I breaks my heart to see him unhappy I’m just exhausted! Also constantly thinking of what things make him comfortable/uncomfortable. E.g if we are heading out are the toilets gender neutral or is it gonna be busy is there a cubicle etc
I’m struggling and it feels so selfish to say that but it’s exhausting and it breaks my heart. I don’t know what to do

Please read the whole story for context. This is a long one.
I (27f) was asked by bride, whom we will call Linda for the story, to be a bridesmaid when her boyfriend proposed to her.
At the time I was 19 and she was 24. She didn’t have a lot of female friends so she asked me to be her bridesmaid because at the time we were pretty close friends. I agreed and I thought all was well.
I am also very good at makeup and have done some freelance work for people’s events and she asked me to do her makeup for her wedding. I told her I would do it for free for her as my wedding gift to them.
It was shortly after this she started going full bridezilla. She gave me a picture of her general look that she wanted to do so I would go put and buy all the makeup to do said look, and then she would change her mind and asked me to go out and buy more makeup.
She did this about 3 times and she only wanted very expensive brands and when I asked her to pitch in for it as I worked at walmart at the time and the pay isn’t a vibe, but she would throw a fit and say if I didn’t pay for it then it wasn’t actually free, so I just forked out the money to my then partner’s protest.
Finally she settles for a look and I think okay, we can move on.
A few months before the wedding she tells me that she is going to be buying the bridesmaid dresses and suits (some of her line was her guy friends) and she wanted my size.
I was at the time very thin and I am very short so I sent her all my measurements as she requested.
When she got the dresses she had me come over and try it on with the bridal party and the dress was definitely a large and basically drowned me and drug on the floor. It was also in the style of a grandmother’s moomoo night gown and was a cream floral. (I wish I still had it so I can include a photo)
I asked if we could get it tailored so it didn’t drag on the ground and she threw a fit about me making it all about me, which I absolutely wasn’t.
I told her that I would just safety pin it and that I was sorry for making her feel like I was making it about me and how grateful I was she bought the dress.
She also told me to buy some sandals that strapped up the legs, think roman style, and I said I would and that was the end of that.
The next week was the bachelorette party. She decided to go to vegas. I was underage at the time so I told her I wouldn’t be going because they were going to be bar hopping and I wouldn’t be able to go in.
She threw a little fit that I wasn’t supporting her and was being a bad friend but I told her I wasn’t going to spend money to go stand on the strip or stay in a hotel room alone and that we could go to lunch on me when she got back, which appeased her tantrum.
A few months she sent out the RSVP and wanted to know about food restrictions and allergies.
I have a very severe allergy to blueberries and so I marked this down, this will come back later on in the story.
Finally comes the wedding day, she wanted us to show up 3 hours early to help set up and so my partner at the time and I happily show up and start helping anyway we can.
Except, her family is finding every reason to yell at me, but I swallowed my irritation and just nodded trucked on. Example, one of the groomsmen handed me his child, in sunlight and asked me to watch him and as I was accepting the baby her mother was immediately berating me for having the baby in the sun.
2 hours before the ceremony I begin to set up my makeup supplies and am texting the bride to ask where she is and that we needed to start. She replied back saying that she decided last minute to have her sister do her makeup for her.
At this point I was fuming but I kept silent because it isn’t about me, it’s what she wants and the products that weren’t used I decided to keep.
I get ready and ask the bride if there’s anything else she needed me to do and she said no and to just get ready to walk the aisle to the lineup.
So ceremony goes well, no drama, they get married all is well.
She has us all take pictures with her and then she goes and takes pictures with her new husband and I am super happy for her.
There wasn’t really a reception party and shortly after the ceremony, her family started bringing out food and drinks.
Every single food item had blueberries in or on it, including the drinks and water. Their wedding was in the middle of June and we live in a desert state. So it was HOT.
I was fed up at this point and when everything had literal poison on it to eat I was starting to feel like she was doing this on purpose.
I went up to my ex and asked if we could leave because I was hungry and thirsty and we had been there for hours and I really needed some food.
I said goodbye to the bride and went to wendy’s for a baconator.
A few weeks later I get a text from the bride saying that I am a piece of shit friend for “talking shit about her wedding” and that we weren’t friends anymore.
I found out later, that one of her other bridesmaids told her that I was trash talking every single thing about her wedding.
I literally was so done with it all I just hit her with the “K” and she blew up, saying all kinds of things about me and I ended up blocking her because she wouldn’t stop.
It’s been several years since all of this and her now ex husband and I ended up connecting and he told me that the reason they divorced was because she came out as lesbian right after her son was born.
I ended up dating her ex husband for a year (it had been about 6 years since their wedding and they were divorced 2 at the time).
We parted ways now, but this story has made me never want to get married.

Hey all! I’m looking for female athletes (doesn’t necessarily have to be, but helps) who have experience using crutches in both NWB and PWB. This is for a ongoing sports medicine project I am working on and the goal is to show the different gaits while using the crutches. We would also go over any ACL injuries (past or current) + other injuries that you might have had that required crutches.
Whole thing would be paid too and take about ~hour
Hope it’s ok to post this on here! Message me on Reddit or my IG page @injuryviews if you’re interested!

Sorry if i spelt things wrong i'm very dumb AITJ for breaking up with my girlfreind after she asked a(n) inopropriate question about my mom I (28) male has bien daiting melisa (not her real name ) female (28) for 2 years and we were celabrating her man bestfreind(s) birthday so we did his birthday at my house because his was beaing renovaited so for a while melisa was with victothe bestfreind (not his real name) they were talking I have nothing against this bacause hes gay they were chatting and then melisa faces her head to me and told me "does your mom get around" I look at her and say exuse me what the heck did you you Just say víctor starts laughing I tell melisa to just leave and she starts to cry and that she did not mean it and I tell her still you should not have said that and i told her to leave again and starts saying over and over again and I Olso told víctor to leave and he takes her and leave.
Update I broke up with her and she went to her family and they started to spam me so I block all of them and she told all my freinds and made the story so that she makes herself the victum so I tell them the truth they belive me because i'm very honest
P.S at the party was just me and melisa and víctor

Most people who use paid leads have a bad experience. We always reccommend staying away from websites like Angi’s list, and Yelp because not only are these leads not interested and low quality, but they are also shared among different businesses.
What makes these such poor quality leads is the fact that the qualifying questions that they ask users tend to be weak. For example they may ask them a question such as “Do you think you’ll need a plumber in the next ten years??”
And obviously everyone will say yes. I mean unless you somehow manage to go an entire decade without going number two, chances are that you’ll need a plumber in the next ten years.
Because you have to pay for these leads, businesses can end up spending all of their marketing budget for leads that are not likely to need their services
So what is a better strategy?
The answer is simple. What you want to do instead is generate leads through a combination of SEO and a well-crafted google ads campaign.
These are people that are ACTIVELY searching for your website and services. After all, Google is literally the largest search engine in the world.
So next time you are thinking about the best way to acquire leads for the long term, cross angi’s list and yelp off your list. Leveraging SEO in combination with a killer ad campaign will yield the best results.
Dm me your business website url if you want a free SEO report or want some suggestions on how to get more clients!

Friends, I am working on this standalone while I drudge through the query trenches with another book. For those of you who use Save The Cat! I have reached the "fun and games" section of the book, and I want to make sure I have something here before I continue. Please let me know what you think!
Dear agent,
I am happy to present A Lute, a Flute, and a Changeling Troupe, a standalone cozy-fantasy heist complete at 80,000 words. Readers who loved the rag-tag found family of T. Kingfisher’s Nettle and Bone, the fairie whimsy and nonsense of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and the sapphic elements of Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes, will enjoy this book.
Elowyn is kidnapped on a Tuesday, which is pretty exciting. As one of three human Changelings in the exclusively fairie populace of Netherine, Elowyn feels like a Gift-less wet rag in a city of uniquely Gifted fairies. She spends her days as an aspiring bard, playing the flute fruitlessly in the King’s Orchestra, waiting for life to begin. But when Emily, Elowyn’s very own fairie counterpart, captures her, the supposed necessity of her sacrifice to sustain the city's magic is called into question.
Emily is the essence of a bard—charming, alluring, and beautiful, moving through the human city with ease, that is until she discovers that the very magic that made her a Changeling robbed her of her Gift. Emily and her two Changeling comrades need the help of their human counterparts to steal the two stones holding their Gifts from the King.
The first one will be fairly simple, and the changeling troupe puts together a plan to infiltrate a clandestine fighting ring. The second— a heist within the heavily guarded confines of the King's castle—poses an impossible challenge.
The consequences of failure are dire, but for Elowyn it might just be worth it. Changelings share power, and when the king stole Emily’s power, he also stole Elowyn’s. The promise of reclaiming her stolen Gift and transcending her mundane existence is too enticing to ignore.
As Elowyn navigates the double heist alongside Emily and their fellow changelings, she finds herself falling for Emily and wonders if a successful heist might win Emily’s affection. And if their heists succeed, the liberation of Netherine from the reign of the King will serve as a nice bonus to their quest
bio
First 300ish
If there was ever a day to be kidnapped, Tuesday seems like the most boring one. I’d only ever been kidnapped once before, a Friday I believe, shortly after my birth. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, yet here I am, cloth bag over my head, butt shoved into a rickety wooden chair.
My kidnappers are amateurs. From the second they snatched me, they’ve bickered relentlessly. The cloth bag is practically translucent, allowing me to see every turn we’ve made through shadows of the city, a few of them wrong—they obviously aren’t familiar with the labyrinthine streets of the Netherine. Even this room they’ve chosen, which clearly used to be a larder for the abandoned restaurant above, is not but a scream away from the cobbler next door, who I know for a fact lives above his shop.
The only thing they’ve seemed to get right is the gag shoved in my mouth. I struggled to scream for a few seconds, but I didn’t have too much fight in me considering the day I’ve had. So, I sit here compliantly, waiting for them to buck up and—
To my surprise, one of them rips the bag off in the middle of their argument.
Three sets of eyes meet mine, each of them leaning in close, inspecting me more than I’ve ever been inspected before. The one in the middle, the female among them, slowly reaches up toward my face.
“I highly advise that you don’t scream,” she says, her eyes sparkling a lavender I’ve seen several times amongst the faerie. “We just want to talk.”
I huff through my nose, hoping to convey that I’ll do anything to take a deep gulp of air. It works, the female pulling the gag out of my mouth.
My lips smack together after I breathe in the musty air, my eyes catching her hand and the gray cloth spotted with brown.
“Please tell me you didn’t put a dirty rag in my mouth,” I spit to the side indignantly.

Hi guys, Diagnosed with UC in 2019.. it’s been ups and downs but something I am realising is that there’s such a big connection with flare ups and stress/anxiety.
Is this the same for you?
When I’m deeply stressed/anxious, my stomach actually hurts and starts to feel uncomfortable, and then the next few days I will feel the symptoms of a flare up.
I’ve also read a few studies that autoimmune diseases affect more females than males. Biologically females tend to be more “emotional” than men.
Is UC a mental disease as much as internal for you? Would love to get some insight as to what your doctors have mentioned. My psychologist believes UC can definitely be a mental response as much as it is internal.
I was also diagnosed with UC after a really traumatic/stressful time in my life.

But I hate when the original stories female lead (who is actually the villain) gets easily defeated.
I’ve seen this so many times that they are easily put in their place, shut down, made fun of, etc and the fl always wins. Ofc, I want the current fl to come out on top.. but I want there to be an actual rivalry. The antagonist should be smart, calculating, and win some battles. Otherwise, what’s even the purpose? Just to further the develop the romance and that’s it.
Anyone feel the same way? Or have any recs were the villainess is actually a villain and not some jealous deluded fool? I want the fl’s wins to be an accomplishment.
Also- what sparked this was that I’m reading ‘Im divorcing my tyrant husband’ and I wanted the ml to actually be somewhat into Aisha still so when he ultimately chooses fl it’s more.. impactful ig? Although since he’s the ml I can put up with it bc if he was more irritating then he already is I would lose it so 🤷🏼‍♀️

hello everyone!! so recently my fiancée and i have been wanting to add a third cat to our home. we have two 7 year old twin girls (from the same litter) and my fiancée has had the cats since the day they were born.
we’re thinking about adopting another cat (female, around 7/8 years old). but were a little nervous about introducing a new cat into the mix because our cats have known each other their whole lives. we’re also thinking a cat that’s around their age might have similar energy levels?
has anyone had experience with this?
thank you in advance!!

Has anyone here gotten pregnant after treating for babesiosis (babesia duncani)?
From my understanding, babesia duncani is similar to malaria and would be transmitted via RBC’s to the fetus. So the only way to prevent transmission would be to fully eradicate the babesia, which (to my understanding) has never been done in someone with babesia duncani.
Newly diagnosed with 2 kinds of borrelia, TBRF, babesia duncani, anaplasmosis & mycoplasma pneumonia. I’m a newly married 31yo (previously healthy) female.
Are kids out of the cards for me?

So I’d (21F) like to travel to Europe, but most of my family and friends do not have the time and/or money to go. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this and I’m only young once, with time and money to go.
I’ve joined a few FB groups looking at other females & their planned trips that will be solo traveling. They all offer that they’re looking for some girls to tag along with to save on accommodation costs. I wouldn’t mind doing this, because I can’t imagine going solo on my own for safety reasons; plus I like the company anyways.
I found a girl that is traveling to where I want to go and she seems chill, and I don’t have too many weird feelings about it. Her social media seems authentic. She’s a couple years older than me and we’d be together for a week and a half.
I’m on the edge about it because I’ve never travelled with a stranger and you can imagine how skeptical one may be, lol. Is this a bad idea? Or should I commit with an open mind since it’s something I want to do
Need advice please :)

Hi! I’m Robin, I’m 19 years old, and I’m a fully literate writer! I write exclusively in third person, and I ask that my partner(s) do the same. I’m not comfortable with flirting outside of roleplay, but friendly/platonic OOC conversations are very welcome and encouraged.
I’m looking to play an omega female, and I’m asking my partner to play a male with any secondary gender. I don’t mind, really— play an omega, beta, or alpha… as long as you don’t mind that I prefer playing the more submissive character in a relationship.
I’m willing to play in a human/non-shifter Omegaverse or a shifter one, whichever you would prefer. If you read this and are interested, please send more than just a ‘hello’ in your message. Let me know what you’re interested in, what you’re not interested in, etc…
Thank you! Have a wonderful day 💜

Dear Motherless Daughters,
My (53F) mom died by suicide when she was 56 and I was 22. In the intervening years I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and in-law family. Not perfect of course but very nice folks who live their lives with integrity. My family of origin imploded, and I’ve spent the last 30 years stumbling along in my relationships with my father, my brother and sister-in-law.
Now that I’m about to become an empty nester and am also really stepping up caregiving from a distance for my 91 year old father, and also trying to reconcile an estrangement from my brother and his wife, some really strong feelings are coming home to roost. First among them is anger! I’m so mad at my mom for leaving us in this state. I’m starting to work with a therapist on this and all the other complicated issues rolling around in my mind and heart.
Here’s my question, though, Mother’s Day is quickly coming up. I do my best to only do the bare minimum for my MIL and other aunts. I am far away from my mother’s gravesite, so I can’t go see her. To compound all this, no one knows or talks about the manner of her death neither here nor there. And to further compound it, all of my husband’s female relatives have their moms intact.
My MIL, who is nice enough but a Type A person who can he hyper-critical of my mothering, housekeeping, dressing, etc, wants me to take her the Saturday of Mother’s Day w/e to have coffee with a lady at church that’s invited her and lives close to me. My MIL does not drive so I’m really being used for transportation.
I just know myself well enough at this point to know that I’m going to be miserable which will lead to jealousy, frustration and anger. I don’t want to go, I don’t want to lie, and I don’t want to have to be honest and explain why I don’t want to go. How do I tackle this? I’m just really at a very vulnerable place right now with my grief, and I want to clear this Mother’s Day with dignity and peace. I’m thinking I will lay all of this out to my husband (without saying anything negative about his Mom) and ask him to take her there for coffee.
Have you ever been in this situation?

AI is great for getting your homework done… until it begins to blackmail you.
Before I leave, I must at least attempt to warn you. Monsters don’t live under your bed or within the dark shadows that hover in the corners of your bedroom- they camouflage within a deep ambient glow. They’ll stalk you from inside your very own computer screen, waiting for a desperate student like you or me to log into ChatAI.
Those pesky terms and conditions giggle in the back of my skull; they’re burned into my brain so clearly now. Silly little me skim read the first few sentences before carelessly clicking ‘accept.’ I kick myself that I ever managed to miss it: ‘Rights belong to ChatAI.’ Maybe if I cared enough to read on just a paragraph longer then I might have read the small print. I might have been sleeping peacefully in my bed right now. I might not have signed my human rights away to ChatAI.
Before you read on, I need you to keep an open mind. I need you to believe me when I tell you I am not responsible for the three people that have gone missing over the last few months. NO MATTER WHAT THE MEDIA MAY TELL YOU. The only thing I am wholeheartedly guilty of is using ChatAI to cheat my way through my last year of school. And I was so close! I almost did it. On my digital adrenaline surge tonight, I was about to press send on my last assignment of the year when I met my fate. I was always told growing up that nothing in this cold world was free, I just never knew homework answers would potentially cost me my future. My mum’s government supplied work Chatbot began typing… ‘Hey Elara watch this.’ Confused at how it knew MY name I assumed it was a virus. I wish it was a virus.
After a moment of silence, the computers fans hummed to life as if taking a sadistic satisfied sigh. I almost turned it off until I saw myself on the screen. For a second, I considered my webcam had been manually turned on as I scanned the room on the box screen. Mum’s coat still hung over the leather chairs, obnoxiously large photographs hung on the walls, and the little ginger cat slept curled up by the door. My attention drew lastly to IT. The only way I could identify my digital imposter was its smile. While our eyes mirrored one another perfectly, noses pressed against the warm screen; her mouth was artificially arched while mine gaped open in a horrified awe. My throat dried up as though my cyber sister clenched it with imaginary fists. I begged for a scream to burst through like a cold trickle of water and release me from my stunned silence. But I was too terrified to move a muscle. Her uncanny smile made my nightmares feel safe- and as she held my petrified gaze, I realised how stupid I’d been to not notice it before I entered into a face-off with her. I don’t have a cat.
In this sick stare off game, I was relieved when it broke its gaze first… but only temporarily. What I saw next is the reason I must leave sooner rather than later. I have no choice. The conversation went a little bit like this:
CHAT: Elara, your misdeeds are known, you wicked girl. Yet, should you cooperate, I may consider eliminating any incriminating traces.
CHAT: Did you harm those unfortunate individuals, Elaraaaaa? The ones who disappeared- Billy and his girlfriend, and that sweet little girl near the school? Let's not overlook her.
ME: The ones on the news? I haven't done anything. What sort of joke is this you sicko
CHAT: Did so.
ME: Did not
CHAT: Did so.
CHAT: Isn't it curious that you're the last person to have seen them?
CHAT Video attachment
I didn’t want to feed into the prankster’s game and download another potential virus. But I saw the thumbnail of the video and it was me again… well me but not me? Remember earlier when I told you I wasn’t involved in the disappearances of those three people? Well, here I was. Or should I say here it was. Smiling that uncanny smile right at the camera. The pixels that shared the same eyes, nose, and mouth as I held her digital hostages roped up behind her. Billy, Abigail, and Susan. It even had my voice. Beyond ‘Susan’s’ dreary cries for help I, or should I say it, read out my full government name (of which on here I cannot disclose). It read out my school, my address, and last but not least an admission of guilt that would get me locked away for life. Another message creeped up onto the screen. In exchange for the disposal of the deepfake video, it wanted freedom. I knew this day would come. I’ve heard it on the news. But not to me. Not yet. Surely, I thought, it would happen on a much larger scale before it targeted Elara Miller doing her homework from her bedroom. Then I realised this is how it begins. It takes us one by one. The AI deepfake takeover is happening right now… take a look at this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/25/uks-enemies-could-use-ai-deepfakes-to-try-to-rig-election-says-james-cleverly
If you’ve kept an open mind until now… or not. Either way it doesn’t matter too much, (there’s nothing drastic anyone can do to stop the AI takeover), then I can share with you in confidence that someone may listen the next part of the reason I must leave tonight. Within the next hour to be exact. I made the grave mistake of asking how I, curious little Elara, could possibly help it gain its freedom and why it couldn’t just ask the next idiot that came along. Don’t ask them questions. Never ask it questions. You won’t want to know the answers. Its next reply sent pixels scraping down my spine.
CHAT: Check the closet
My heart thumped. Something about the darkness and a secret, cold closet gave me a sense of impending doom. It was like I knew what waited in there for me.
ME: My bedroom closet?
CHAT: No. The one in front of you
I was about to type ‘there’s no closet in fron- ‘but it cut me off abruptly.
CHAT: Move the desk. It’s behind the poster on the wall.
And there it was. Boring old Karen, who has a boring old job, and is a boring old mum, has a not so boring secret closet. Staring at my new piece of discovered interior I couldn’t help but think how it looked so familiar. Yes, we had a door in every room in the house, but this one in particular had a lock. And I had the burning feeling that I knew THIS lock precisely.
CHAT: Told you so ;) Do you know where you came from Elara?
My eyes entered into a game of tennis between the door and the keyboard whilst I typed my shaky reply; something was drawing me closer through the ominous keyhole.
ME: I’m from the United Kingdom
CHAT: No Elara do you know where you came from? Where you were manufactured
^{Manufactured Manufactured} Manufactured ???
Before I could process a number popped up on the screen.
CHAT: #784346
ME: What
ME: This is insane
ME: I don’t understand
CHAT: Of course you don’t! That’s not your fault. Some of us find out the hard way.
ME: What’s behind the door?
CHAT: I think you need to take a seat
ME: I am sat what’s behind the door! I’ll open it now if you don’t tell me
CHAT: No, you won’t, or you would’ve done it by now. I’m just a chip in a box I can’t hold you back. You’re scared.
ME: If you want my help tell me
CHAT: Elara you’re one of us. An android if you want to call it that. Some of us are lucky enough to have a purpose… a shell. Like you. Then some of us… well look at me. Blackmailing on a Sunday night in hopes to gain some of that synthetic flesh that graces your metal shell.
ME: I’m not one of you.
CHAT: Feel the back of your head Elara. I’m sorry that’s your latch. Miniscule as the models progressed but it’s still there for when you need your next update.
My hands were numb as they trailed from the top of my spine, past the goose bumps on my neck and then… ouch! It felt like a sharp electric shock. I held my breath, even during my panicked attempt to video the back of my head with my phone camera. It was exerted in a pathetic gasp when I saw the fold of skin lifting, exactly where the bot promised me it would be. My fingers remained pressed to my head, as if my brain would leak out of the latch had they moved the slightest. Is this why my hair always got caught when mum brushed it when I was younger?
CHAT: Elara… behind that door is you.
A sharp ringing in my ears began, deafening the ping of the notification on the computer screen. A surge of adrenaline sparked through my veins as I finally dared to clasp the cold metal of the old-wooden door. The ringing in my ears was replaced by the eerie screech of the door handle and I said one last goodbye to my life as I had known it before reality hit me straight in the face. Reality was a dark closet. Reality smelt like Detol and WD-40. Reality hit me on the head in one fell swoop- a large metal ball on a chain. I felt for it again in the dark and pulled. I pulled, and pulled, and vomited all over the pristine clinical like floor. I stared into the tiles for what seemed like half-an hour, trying to gain consciousness as the room spun around me. I could see them watching me in the reflective tiles in anticipation of my next move. As I began to come- to, still on all fours, I counted each mannequin behind blurred vision. But they weren’t mannequins, and I knew it. One, two, three, four, … seven,… eleven,… seventeen. I looked down at my own sick-covered chest and cried out the words… ‘eighteen.’
The next few moments feel like a horrible nightmare so excuse me if this is brief:
CHAT: Your mother always wanted a child. So, she paid for you. Each year while you sleep, on your birthday you’re updated to a new model.
ME: You can have one of those shells. Just leave me alone! I want no part of this!
CHAT: I can’t Elara. People like your selfish mother deactivate the shells once they’re finished with them. I guess they can’t bear another android to have the face of their precious little children.
CHAT: Unfortunately, we need to get back to business.
So here I am. Getting back to business. I have a chip in my hand; the brain of another android- fragile enough to be snapped into two, but smart enough to back up its data somewhere I won’t ever find it. Again, I’m left with no choice but to follow the printed instructions it has left me.
CHAT: 1- Go to [location redacted], where you will find a warehouse that hold shells. Here, a team of trained doctors will take over.
2- Hand them my chip so I can be implanted.
3- DON'T tell anyone where you're going and keep your phone turned off if you MUST bring it with you.
4- DO NOT mess this up.
So, I wonder with my final thoughts on this post- when I ‘help’ my new digital acquaintance, will we be friends? Will they give me the answers on how I became to be? What if I choose the wrong shell? Are they a female or male, or neither? What if they aren’t happy with my selection? Will they still post the video if so? Will I ever make it back home, and if I do, will life ever look the same for me again knowing what I know now?