Text messages disappeared on verizon how can i retrieve

Hello Charlotte I have watched you for awhile and I have been struggling if I am in the right or wrong with my story.
its a bit long and I apologize but it requires a lot of background so that you can understand the entire situation. Also please excuse If my grammar is bad. FL am I right?)
So the background, I (32f) has a 12 year old son who has extreme behavior problems since he was 3. His father (35) was always a deadbeat I never really noticed since I was young and "in love" we dated for 4 years by the time I got pregnant and I was scared I told him I didn't want a kid and that I was way too young (19) his only response was "you can do what you want but if you get an abortion I will leave you" being 19 and "in love" I didn't want to loose him so I went through with it. while I was 5 month pregnant I found out he cheated on me and gas lite me saying "it was my fault I cheated" once I had the baby he was never really around I took care of our son alone (with help from my mom, aunt, and my best friend) but my ex only showed up once or twice the first 3 weeks for maybe an hour at a time. I had a C-section and without his help my cut didn't heal correctly due to having to take care of a new born alone. He convinced me to move out of my dads house with the baby to move 4 hour away in another city and I was told we would only have 2 other roommates since we couldn't afford it alone, which I was ok with hoping that living with the baby and I he would step up.. SURPRISE he didn't he and his friends were constantly going out to the movies and hanging out and I was left alone with the baby..by the time I decided I wasn't happy we had 5 people living in this 3 bedroom townhome so when my ex went to take a nap I gathered my things and the baby and drove the 4 hour south back to my dad (I was so scared to tell him because last time I did he took our son and refused to give him back until I agreed to stay). I'm gonna fast forward a bit because this abusive relationship just got worse and worse and I don't really want to go through it again. when Our son was 3 my ex went to jail for selling guns illegally. at the point our son started to get behavioral issues which my father and I got him therapy thinking it was related to his father just disappearing. Nothing helped and he got worse and worse. I got married and had another son with my husband and we moved 2.5 hours north to get away from my ex since he was getting out of jail and I was scared of him and what he might do to my husband or me. My older son got worse to the point where he was beating up my youngest son to the point my little one would flinch when he walked by, my cats wouldn't leave my room until my oldest went to bed, he went through a window at school, throwing desks with intent to hurt others. we at this point got him so much testing, therapy, psychologist (which my father helped pay since it wasn't covered and it was costly) so many different medicines and NOTHING was working he was getting worse...My father passed right before covid and I was struggling getting through so my ex called and said "I know you are struggling let me take our son for the lock down so you can get through and heal" so I agreed since i wanted nothing more then for our son to be a part of his fathers life.. Huge mistake he refused to give him his meds because (i was just drugging him) and dropped all the work on his grandmother, he would leave to work before our son woke up and return after he went to bed.. his grandma would call me about a month or two later crying saying "you need to get him please I'm disappointed in how hes treating his son and I raised him better.." so I met her the next day half way and apologized and that I didn't know he wasn't around (he also claimed him on taxes illegally since our custody agreement says I get to claim him). Then once I get him back things got even worse my oldest was stealing knives and hiding them under his pillow, taking the cats and stuffing them into things and squeezing them, he left the front door open and convinced my youngest to walk outside while I ran to the bathroom and he disappeared for 15 minutes I had to call 911 (my son admitted he did it on purpose a few days later) he took something the wasn't replaceable that was my dad and completely ruined it and I was devastated I called my ex his father crying "please help me I cant handle this with him alone anymore please.." at this point my stress was pretty high I had chest pains and I barely ate and didn't sleep a lot I was in constant iep meetings, therapist offices, Psychologist appointments. my ex took our son and moved to Colorado for about 4 months and called me saying he cant handle him anymore he's a psycho and he needs him gone. Of course I took him back and he flew in Jan 4th those next few months were the worst few months he was baker acted 3 times in 4 months...once directly from school in cuffs since he threatened to kill the officers. He set fire in his room and thankfully I smelled the smoke before it burned down my house, we got another therapist through the baker act and we saw her once a week where she told me "if he doesn't get help he will be the next Jeffery Dahmer or the next school shooter" I cried and said "I have been scared of him for years but I cant get him help, nothing is working" I was told they would be getting him into a long term treatment due to his extreme anger but I couldn't hold out another 6 to 12 months I was so scared for myself and my son and my cats and my husband at this point I slept maybe an hour that entire week, my chest was in constant pain, I barely ate anything and I was so stressed and tired I took some pills in hopes to get sleep to get the stress to go away (I regret it and I wasn't trying to die I just wanted peace even if just an hour) regardless it almost killed me I was in the hospital for a week to where I talked to doctors and phycologists which they told me "get away from your son. If you continue doing this you will die and its time his father step up"
I'm sorry the background was so long but I felt it was important because I raised my son practically alone for 11 years. I paid every expense alone (besides when my dad offered to help) I never received any child support (even though it was court ordered 7 years ago) I would ask my ex for some money to buy our son clothing and I was ignored...he never sent a Christmas or birthday card or gifts or anything in all these years.. thousands of dollars in medical bills alone and idc about the money I just wanted our son to be happy and healthy.. now my ex who is raising our son he now texts me and threatens me "if you don't pay me 350$ a month then ill get you arrested" I keep telling him "1 I don't have 350$ laying around and 2 why should I have to pay you when you haven't paid me in 11 years?" the way I see it is its a two way street not one...why is it okay for my dad and I to pay THOUSANDS and he never pays but now that the shoes on the other foot he expects me to pay him? My ex is also demanding that "If I can't pay then make my husband pay.." So I should pay him? I feel I have paid my part towards our son and now its his turn to pay his part. I still plan to be a part of my sons life I talk to him on the phone whenever his father lets him call me I send him a card for his birthday, Christmas, thanksgiving, and Halloween with photos. I send a text to his father once a week saying "Tell our son I love him and he's welcome to call whenever" now that he moved back to our state (about 2.5 hours away) I plan to try and drive down once a month to see him (its just hard since I still have my youngest and I'm currently pregnant) I love my oldest son. I know he has some severe issues but I love my oldest son I believe he has the ability to be a sweet kind boy he's just struggling and it breaks my heart. I feel as if I failed him since I couldn't get him the correct help but I tried so hard. My family thinks I did the right thing giving my son to his father and also feel I don't owe him any money. So I guess AITA for refusing to pay my ex for my oldest medical bills?

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this and quite honestly I never really planned to post it online as I felt lile it would be a move seen as to just gain sympathy but now I'm at a loss and thought I'd give it a shot. I apologize if there's some rambling I'm not quite sure of what I'm doing here. Fair warning abuse and some sh will be mentioned.
I am 16f currently almost 17 and have not had a good home or family connection since I was 10. My bio dad (I think hes 36\37?m) was never really around as well as an addict (He claims to be sober though I dont quite believe that). There is also belief of abuse when I was with him though it isn't and most likely will never be confirmed. I do have many memories that I can remember vividly of times I was with him despite being between 6 and 8 at the time. He officially left on my 10th birthday by sending me an email apologizing and I didnt hear from him again for 6 years and its been on and off texting, he has been to jail multiple times throughout the last almost year weve been in contact.
Past that after he left my mother (34f) and step dad (36m. I think) became my only parents. Despite having my stepfather there my whole life I did consider him as a dad but he wasnt my actual dad my mom was my mom. She became my only 'parent' and I clung onto her. Around this time I also had a baby brother (6m now) my mom and step dads kid and a 10f now sister my dads and one of his ex girlfriends daughter. This is kind of important to note that I love my sibling and family and would never purposefully physically hurt them or hurt them in general.
Fast forward to christmas of the year I turned ten, I had sadly fallen into the wormhole that Im sure many others fell into of being groomed by men. Sending things and being taken advantage of. On christmas eve my step father found out and hell broke loose. I can admit my fault now but back then I didnt understand the length of how bad it was what I had done and had been doing, my mother held me that night as I cried and had my first panic attack. This was the beginning of our downfall though.
My mother and step dad had completely lost trust in me (which is fair) but we just couldnt seem to get along. Sure we could act fine and everything but now the cops were in our lives and I ended up moving away from home from this incident and in with my nana, as my reaction was to shut down while my mother yelled and cried trying to speak with me but I refused. My mother then grabbed a bag packed it and told me to get in the car dropping me off in another town at my nanas. This was early January around the beginning of covid I believe.
Me and my mother were low contact and I quite honestly missed her but at the same time I was happy where I was. One day in March I came home from school to see my mother in the house, she was bringing me back to live with her. I can't remember why so suddenly but I did end up moving back and she switched me to a catholic school (we were online because of COVID at this time).
During my time back I began to date my now ex girlfriend but she is now one of my biggest supports as she knows most of this as she witnessed some. Not in person but through video calls or just regilar calls that I dont believe my family were aware of.
My parents put child locks and time locks on my computer, and I wasnt allowed to have a phone (again fair) but with me being the child I was I wanted to socialize so I would play games like Among us or go into chat rooms that my parents would block and I would get in trouble. I rember about a certain one that they got mad at me for using my step dad months later during an argument yelled at me 'That one site you used just got shut down for trafficking' I was around 12 or 13 at this time and wasnt fully understanding of the length and what that meant. I just know his anger scared me.
I wont give the fully backstory but some incidents were as goes:
We came home from a drive one night and I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. I was 13 at this time. My step dad came into the room pissed off and I sat up confused and simple asked 'What?'. He got mad and half yelled 'Don't fcking what me' then he continued to take eveything out of my room. Dumped all my clothes into a pile on the floor an drilled two pieces of wood onto the top and bottom of my closet doors so I could no longer open it as well as changed the door handle so that they could lock me in my room (which they did). During this I was standing in the corner scared and crying and he came got all up in my face and said 'Are you fcking scared now l?' Then proceeded to oush my head back then slap me. Afterwards I was locked in my room with a mattress, blanket, pillows and a pile of my clothing. I believe I was in there for a week though Im not sure. During that time they would open the door and ask if I needed to pee or shower, I always reufsed unless I absolutely did have to go because I just didnt want to move. They would at lunch and dinner bring in a plate with food and a cup or bottle of something to drink. I rarely actually ate it and slowly the food turned into bits of food and saltine crackers. I have now learned that according to my mother my step dad told her that I was being violent and getting all up in his face and that he was scared of me. She has also said that they did this because they were scared I was going to hurt or k*ll myself. Which at this point in time I had never done, attempted or really even thought about. Also, on the first night I dont know if more happened but I woke up in darkness to my step dad laying with me and hugging me as well as apologizing, I was scared and didnt know (and still don't know) what to make of it so I pretended to sleep. After awhile he left.
We were arguing basically everyday, which they would always start and I either wouldnt feed into it or would try to end it which only added fuel to the fire.
Many of these arguments led to me running out of the house and coming back late or not at all.
When I was 14 my school counseler noticed I seemed off I guess and I broke and told her. Then CAS came into my life. Long story short they did nothing and saw nothing wrong (my parents never admitted to anything and ir was a childs word against two adults) while only adding onto the tense atmosphere I called home.
Finally in fall of 2021. I left home for the last time. I love to paint and I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time when my step dad came in and turned the light on (I had a simple lamp on my desk) he then noticed green paint on my floor. He immediatly got mad and told me to clean it to which I said I would. He left for about 5 minutes and I hadnt cleaned it yet having been in the middle of something when he asked. This started an argument and escalated to him screaming at me then grabbing my arm and pulling me into the hallway. I began to scream back and he was taking my wallet and other things using the excuse 'You didnt buy them. They're not yours' my mother was trying to get us both to stop but it ended with my dad opening and unlocking the front door telling me to leave and the door was open so I did. Cops were called that night and I moved in with my grandmother. I lived with her for about 3 weeks and the whole time my mother argued and tried to manipulate me into coming back.
Me, my mother and grandma had made a deal because I didnt feel safe in the house or comftorable that I would come home every Tuesday and Thursday. I stayed there Tuesday and on Wednesday after school went to a friends. My mother tried to get me home claiming the deal had never been made and called the cops on me. They showed up at my friends house and brought me back to my grandmothers where we explained the deal. I called my friend and her mom and began to apologize and not even 5 minutes into it my papa came into the apartment and screamed at me. My mother had apparently called him and said she never wanted to see him, my grandmother or me again and that my stuff would be on the side of the road if I wanted it.
Wuth everything going on I am sad to say this was my first ever time attempting to take my life that night. I went to psych ward for two weeks and moved in with my nana and papa afterwards.
The relationship with my mother and step dad is beyond strained as they both wont admit of the things that went on and since I got my doagnosises (Borderline personality disorder among other things) my mother has now began to blame my bast actions on it saying things like 'it all makes sense now'. Neither of them will apologize and they expect me to apologize. My relationship with my nana and papa is also strained the only person in my family I get along with is my cousin (19m) and my grandmother (84f).
Since turning 15 I gave struggled greatly with depression, suicidal thoughts and worst of all self harm. I have attempted many times and everytime my family only shows annoyance and disappointment only making me go deeper into this spiral.
Since turning 16 I have been kicked out of my nana and papas 3 times. First because they learned I smoke weed and got mad saying they didnt want someone like that in their house as well as I was just like my dad (my father is a drug addict and quite frankly I am terrified of anything other than weed). Second time they somehow got it into their heads that I was using substances other than weed. Third time was because we were arguing and my papa grabbed me to which I started yelling at him to never do that and he immediatly claimed he didnt do anything. I told him to f himself and my nana told me to get out.
Because of all this I havent had a stable place im years. I ended up moving to British Columbia for 4 months and living with my dead best friends family (rest in peace my love💜) where I got amazing support and do plan to live back there once I am 18. Sadly I moved back in with my nana and papa (thin thin line of me staying for good as the toxicity of this household has only grown since I left those months ago). The night before I moved back I had a breakdown and messaged my mother that I need her among other things. The next day while I was at the airport she responded and we blew up into a fight because she didnt give me time to explain what my plan was. All I had said was that I wasnt sure if I was moving back in with my nana and papa and she told me just dont and to stop using them. This escalated to where she blocked both me and her father. My papa. This was in February.
Since she blocked me I have talked to multiple friends and even just had time to reflect and realize that when I say I want my mom. I really want the mom I thought I had back but shes gone and we cannot seem to reach an impasse. Family is one of the most important things to me and it breaks my heart that I cannot be there for my younger brother. I accepted that I will most likely once I'm 18 offically just cut them off and leave this toxicity that I am in.
My family members always push me to apologize and fix my relationship with my mother and step dad.
Last weei my mother reached out again and seemed fine. We talked for a few days until she said 'Well I've heard a lot about new stuff but not past stuff' to which I asled what she meaned and she said 'An apology'. I just got upset and hung up. I know I do owe some apologies and I have aplogized for things like the past mistakes and some arguments but they want me to apologize for everything, even the things they twisted into being my fault which weren't. I refuse to apologize and they refuse to acknlowedge it. I don't know and can't think of what she wants me to apologize for that she was meaning in that phone call but its most likely something she just wants to pin on me. She refuses to acknowledge or belive that my step father ever hit me claiming that at the time 'I was crazy and she can't be sure'. These are statements and things that I won't forget and will most likely never forgive even if I do get the appropriate apologies.
I feel like I am doing the right thing by staying low contact then just cutting them off when I am 18 at this point. Though I am not sure as my nana and papa and others are making me second guess it through guilt tripping or manipulating me. I am well aware of what they are doing and if I could make myself stop believing them and feeling this way I would but they are my family and I really don't want to lose them, but I think its for the best.
AITA? And if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Hello folks. Using a secondary account for obvious reasons.
I'll try to make this succinct. My wife and I became parents at a fairly young age (still legal consenting ages) and we both come from families that aren't the healthiest when it comes to parenting, communicating, etc. Thus, we entered into parenthood unprepared. And, despite all the reading and attempts at communicating with our kiddo, we're still failing and flailing.
For some back story: Three years ago, our child (born female) told us they wanted to be trans. We didn't fully understand it, as they've never presented as anything other than female (and still don't, really), but we've been supportive and have never voiced our skepticism. We have talked about it in general, though. Still, they present feminine. This is just backstory to help you see how early the idea of sexual and gender identity came up.
Fast-forward to December '23 when they have 5 partners (yes, you read that correctly). Mind you, we've had lots of discussions about safety, communication, being careful who you place your trust in, etc. In December, one of their boyfriends broke up with them, calling them all sorts of terrible things, and then they both doxed each other. We had conversations about it, and they were pretty understanding, and ultimately understood that apologizing for doxing the boy is not accepting full responsibility for the entire situation.
Before this happened, we didn't like the kid. He lacks general respect for others, is very hands-on and shows a strange possessiveness towards our kid when they're hanging out (both in our living room and in public; FWIW he's only one of two partners who have ever hung out outside of school). For instance, when our kid would be off the couch doing something, this boy only wanted them to sit next to him with his arms around them and even tried getting our kid to sit on his lap. Weird stuff. I knew boys like him when I was a kid, and it creeped me out even though I was a fellow horny boy. Haha.
So, the breakup happens, the school learns about it and asks if either of them want to press charges (!!), we all talk about it, and our kid agrees they don't even want to be friends with this boy. Well, a couple weeks later, they're friends again. We chat some more about maintaining healthy barriers, especially with an ex. They agree and say that they only interact with them within their friend group.
Now, to the reason I'm making this post. I opened up the iPad today, which should be the family iPad, but it's signed in to the kid's iCloud account. Thus, their text messages are synced with that device. Messages is open, and I see a conversation with the contact name "stupid bitch". Turns out it's the ex, and they have talked before about masturbation, him wanting to "rail" our kid (to which our kid responded "YES"), and talking about character AI chat bots and making them horny. Our kid has photos in their album of a short-form erotic story as well.
Masturbation is normal at this age. And having these thoughts is normal. But what is unsafe is sharing it with others, and ultimately engaging in those activities with others, at such a young age.
We've obviously failed to get this message across, and to get them to see what we see. I don't know if that will ever be possible, despite what books say about raising teens.
How can we best approach this? We don't want them to just think, "Oh, I need to do a better job at hiding this," or "I'm a bad kid," or what-have-you. But that is the direction they typically go.
FWIW, they have a therapist that they've been seeing for several months. To my knowledge, they have not spoken with their therapist about the really bad break-up with the boy, but the therapist does know they have 5 partners.
We don't have friends, much less other couples or parents to talk with about these things. Neither myself or my wife have therapists (though we wish we did).
Hopefully that's enough information to go on.

(Sorry for such a long post)
So there's this friend I have who wasn't really a very close friend of mine, but she was one of my only friends back in 7th 8th grade (middle school). We fell out of touch in high school during covid and then in 11th we were back in touch again, and once again we didn't have any friends apart from each other. I came out to her 2022 December and she cut me off, we just didn't speak after that, which was perfectly fine with me. Now more than a year later she decided to reconnect, and at first it was fine and I went along with it because I didn't want to be rude, and it was really just surface level niceties, however things have changed.
Beginning of april she texted me about how she needed to talk, and i was okay with that for the time being. I mean I shouldn't have entertained her specially when a huge exam of mine was close (she knew about it), but yeah. However after that she thinks that we're back to being really close friends, which we never were in the first place, and she keeps dumping a shit load of her trauma on me. I've kind of always been the therapist friend in friend groups and have been trying to stop that, so I tried to tone it down but she isn't getting the hint (or is ignoring it), and im pretty sure she's still homophobic based on how the mere mention of my relationship in a message was the only message she chose to ignore.
Basically, she's in a really bad space mentally, like- a breakup and toxic family and whatnot, but she really only talks to me because she wants someone to dump all her problems on (and with the way she villianizes everyone to the nth degree im pretty sure even if i were to receptive at the moment, she'll turn on all of it the moment someone else came by). She's incredibly persistent, like- calling me when I told her I can't, asking me to stay on text with her when, once again, I've told her i can't (i cannot stress how few conversations of substance we've had before this).
So back to the main question, I need a spell that could possibly cut her off, but gently. I don't want to hurt her further, but I'm currently in a bad space myself and I just need a way to like- cut her out of my life
Tldr: A girl I used to know decided to reconnect and trauma dump on me and expects me to be there for her even though im in a bad place myself and have expressed to her I can't. She's incredibly persistent and won't take the hint. Need a spell to cut her out of my life gently without hurting her

Both my boyfriend and I are 16, we have been together since we were 12 and been friends since we were 8.
To give some context before I start I have struggled with self esteem issues for a very long time, I tend to overthink quite a lot and get very overwhelmed and anxious when it comes to how people feel about me. Recently this problem has gotten worse due to a problem me and my boyfriend had.
When we were hanging out one day I went on his phone to send some photos to myself that he took, on his camera roll I found a photo of an another girl from our class that was taken without her knowledge. In the photo she was just standing with a group of friends talking with them but I just didn’t understand why he would have that. She is the crush of one of our close friend so I thought that maybe he saved that photo of her because our friend sent that to him, my boyfriend has this tendency to save anything that is sent to him so it wouldn’t be unusual. I decided to go through his chat with his friend so then I could see who sent the photo, to my horror I found messages between them of them talking about other girls. Not of girls from our school but people online, and when I finally found the photo it was him who took the picture. I was extremely hurt and felt betrayed, he found me crying and when I told him what I saw he left to go take a walk. He came back and apologized saying that he should never have said that and the reason he talked about those other girls was to see what his friend would say about it. I accepted it but realized after it was a bad excuse.
That was 2 weeks ago but I can’t forgive it, it made my overthinking worse and my self esteem even lower. My boyfriend, his friend, and I call regularly and play games together but when I’m not there on call with them I’m afraid of what they are saying behind my back. I haven’t been able to trust him.
Now to today. My boyfriend and his friend have been planning on having a sleepover with each other for about a month now and unfortunately I am not able to go because my parents won’t allow me to. I was excited but after that whole incident I have been hesitant, I’m scared to leave them alone and I’m scared of what they might say. My boyfriend promised me that he would never talk about anyone else like that again but I have been having difficulty trusting him.
We had an argument while calling and this is sort of how it went. So we were talking about the sleepover and I told him I wanted to be on call the whole time with him, this got him upset almost immediately. He told me that he didn’t want me being some helicopter parent and he and his friend was going to leave call from time to time. I didn’t want this to happen because I am scared of what he is going to do behind my back. I expressed this, that I was scared that he was going to do something and that I just wanted to call so then I could get some peace of mind that he wasn’t betraying me.
He got angry with me and told me that it wasn’t his fault that I choose not to trust him and that he was done with me overthinking all week. To give context to that I have been asking for a lot of reassurance from him because after that situation I felt very unloved and insecure because he was talking about those other girls. He told me to figure my shit out on my own and to stop making him my caretaker for whenever I’m upset. After he calmed down slightly and texted me how he is having a rough time right now, he’s off his antidepressants until he can get it refilled and my overthinking is not helping him at all. He’s now blocked me until I can figure myself out and he told me not to contact him until then. I feel shitty right now, I understand that I have been overbearing.
What can I do to make things right? What can I do to make myself a better girlfriend and person.

I have a boss that has a habit of sending emails to his team with only a subject line (and no body text). These emails are short, three words, something like "come see me." However, over the past year or so, I have developed an increasing amount of stress and physical anxiety about actually having face-to-face conversations with them.
The reasons are, firstly, because these emailed requests do not provide any context for the meeting upfront, it feels unequal in power, they hold all the cards. Secondly, the meetings never feel collaborative or respectful. I am being asked to justify or defend something, according to "what a someone said" or "what a customer wants" (because they have intercepted phone calls meant for me and want to relay the message themselves) and then I am being instructed to change something. The conversations in the meetings are not mutual; my voice is not heard or respected, my professional judgment is deliberately ignored. Thirdly, for me, I have increasingly negative reactions to these requests because they activate past trauma from similar circumstances, I have anxiety and experience panic attacks (yes, I am in active therapy for this and I am working on it). And I have developed coping mechanisms together with my union (such as asking for union representation at meetings).
Just recently, they emailed me again with their three word "come see me" and I replied, can you let me know the context for the meeting, will I need union support?... But they didn't reply to my two emailed follow-ups. I
I'm unsure of what to do next ... let it ride or continue to follow up. I'm anxious, because the last time I missed an email from them, they confronted me in a formal discipline meeting with my union rep.
Honestly, how can I work with a such a boss who insert themselves into the my customer relationships, who overrules my professional judgement, and with whom I feel a great deal of anxiety speaking with? They are going nowhere soon, I anticipate at least a few years of this. My black and white, anxiety-filled mind says, I need to manage this relationship, or I need to leave.

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I’m trapped. I can hear that thing lumbering through the hallway. My God, what the hell is it?The soft scratching of my pencil sounds deafening in the quiet of this tiny closet. I’m almost certainly gonna die in this place. I just hope someone can find this, maybe it will do some good. Or maybe it already doesn’t matter. I’m not sure how long I have until that wheezing thing finds me. Oh Jesus, or that grey stuff might ooze under the door and dissolve me. Oh my God! What it did to Benny, Sammy, Jonesy and Donald! To all of them! Even if I don’t survive, the world needs to be warned!
Long story short, I was a cop but I got shot in the head. The doctors said I was lucky, that it went straight through without hitting anything vital. However, I still needed three steel plates to hold my skull together. Also ended up with permanent tremors in my right hand and a nasty scar just under my eye. So, it’s no surprise that my cop career didn’t thrive. Just a year later I was a “retired” 45-year-old cop, living off scraps. After a few months, I started to get desperate for work. One evening while out with my friend, Graham, he mentioned something about some private research institute in the Mojave Desert. “What, are they still blowing A-bombs out there?” I scoffed, eyebrows arched with bemused incredulity. Graham stared down at his beer, “Not sure what the hell they do. But they pay super well, so who cares,” he took a long sip of beer, foam clinging to his lips, “I think it would be a good fit for you”.
Turns out this facility, and it really is known as the “Facility”, was located in the middle of nowhere. When I looked it up I couldn’t find any information at all. Later that week I called the number that Graham had scrawled down for me on a beer stained napkin. My right hand wasn’t good with delicate tasks so when I dialed the number I had to use my left hand. The phone rang twice before a metallic voice answered and said to hold for an operator. After a few seconds of muted elevator music, I spoke to a soft voiced woman who told me my skill set was perfect for their current vacancy: a security management position. Her voice was soothing, “Your credentials are excellent. If you like I can fax some forms and a draft contract over, and we can pay for you to fly on up to see us in person. I’m certain you’ll get offered the job.”
She was right. One flight and several NDAs later, I was employed again! By the time I started my new job I realized I had no idea what research went on down here. During the interviews my duties as a security manager had been discussed but any mention of their actual research interests had been carefully omitted. On my first day I asked others about the nature of the Facility’s research, but no one had any interest. “Just stick to your contract. No point in rockin’ the boat,” my new boss, Sammy, said to me curtly. I’ve not discussed it since.
The part of the Facility which I managed was section B.15. This area was located several hundred feet below the sun scorched surface of the Mojave Desert. It comprised many green corridors peppered with tall wide doors made from dark, stainless steel. The rooms inside were large and sterile. Of course, whether or not we wanted to know the nature of the research, after patrolling some of the research labs for weeks, it wasn’t hard to figure out that the scientists were mostly archeologists. Or maybe paleontologists. I often found different objects lying around in various states of cleanliness. Some looked like ancient amphoras, or large stone bird baths or even fossilized remains. Others were less identifiable: a melted lump of some glimmering metal or large chunks of a glass-like material. I found this all extremely curious because, as far as I knew, the Mojave Desert didn’t have much in the way of ancient architecture. At least of any ancient civilization that I know.
As the months went by I started to get friendly with the other guards, most of them ex-cops too, and we played cards and drank Irish coffee in the evenings. My two main colleagues consisted of a jovial, short man with orange hair named Jonesy and a much older much grumpier and much balder man, Donald. They were good men and we had a lot of laughs together. My stomach twists when I think about where they are now. Though I grew fonder of my fellow guards, I found myself developing a severe dislike for the researchers. Most of them were mean and arrogant. The only scientist my security buddies liked was a scrawny guy named Benny. Our favorite thing about Benny was that he never talked about his work.
It was earlier, at 1400h, when all the scientists were running from their rooms. They must have received some message a few minutes before and we watched them from the surveillance monitors as they got all excited, their lab coats flapping and flowing as they made for the stairs. Soon after this, the large red landline phone near my desk began to ring. Expecting the call, I picked up the receiver before the first ring finished, “Hey boss, what’s all the excitement about?” Sammy’s voice was uncharacteristically anxious, “The diggers have found a friggin’ huge object out here! The biggest thing they’ve ever dug up. They want to bring it to B.15 so I need you to organize the logistics and security”. My brow furrowed, “I guess it’s too big for the main entrance? Maybe we could bring it in via the big doors of the auxiliary hangar?” she grunted with agreement, “Yea, we’ll have to improvise a bit but should be manageable. I’ll get some of the boys from B.10 and B.14 to help you out.” I nodded, “Thanks, see you soon”
Donald, Jonesy, some interns and I had coffee in the office and called the guards at the hangar doors to arrange clearance. About an hour later we met the guards from B.10. and B.14, together we climbed the many stairs to the hangar and waited for the cargo to arrive. The massive metal hangar doors had been opened, which was rare. What was more irregular was that nearly every staff member from sections B.09 to B.18 were all gathered together in a silent knot of people. Despite the silence the air sizzled with anticipation, as well as the searing heat. I stood transfixed from curiosity, waiting in the shade of the doorway as the relentless sun beat down outside. I squinted. In the distance I saw a black speck grow larger against the bright blue sky. Slowly it took the form of a helicopter with an enormous rectangular shaped mass dangling below it.
Within less than a minute the helicopter made its cacophonous approach toward the hangar and gently lowered the object onto a wide wooden scaffold. I barked orders and signed forms as the guards rushed about. The air was blaring with the sound of helicopter blades and sand rocketed into my face, forcing me to splutter. “Alright, let’s get this thing processed!” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter as its engines powered down. My colleagues and I wiped dirt from our faces. Sammy emerged swiftly from the chopper and shook my hand. Her hair was in its characteristic librarian-bun but her eyes were glassy. Had she been drinking? We quickly reviewed the paper work she gave me and then she made her way back downstairs to her office in section B.1. She was keen to get away for some reason.
As my colleagues cleared away most of the staff and the excitement died down I was finally able to take a moment to inspect the object. It had been lowered onto a wooden scaffold fitted with wheels and had been pushed slowly into the center of the hangar. The few aircraft in this hangar were all currently under repairs, leaving plenty of space for the object.
The object was a wall. It was rectangular and about twenty-five feet long, ten feet thick and twelve feet high. The wall first appeared made from boring grey stone. I even remember thinking, “It’s not even that big”. However, when I looked closer it was, alive. I barely noticed the helicopter take off and leave as I saw the wall’s surface bubble. The hangar doors began to close as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. A bead of sweat ran down my cheek and I thought I heard something. It sounded like someone far away calling my name. I felt a strange pressure around my head. A sudden invasive thought dug into my mind: throw yourself into the wall. I shuddered and held myself back despite the sudden strong desire. I heard the faint voice of Benny and crashed back to reality. My eyes snapped open and I found my nose an inch away from the wall. It radiated cold like an open freezer and it smelled like rotten clay. The surface of the wall simmered ever so slightly. It reminded me of the fizz of some grey effervescent medicine. I paled as I took a large step backward, “I.. uh, what is this?” I turned to face Benny who stood with another scientist. He glanced at her briefly before he approached the wall, “Honestly, we have no idea”.
I got Donald and Jonesy to help Benny transport the wall down to room 278B via the service elevator. Donald grumbled, “Guh, this thing smells like something my dog puked up”. Meanwhile Jonesy stared with eyes as large as saucers, “It looks so cool!” Once downstairs, I told Donald and Jonesy to take some forms to the admin department and I returned alone to my office to get some more coffee and file away the rest of the paperwork. I tried to put the strangeness of the wall out of my mind, but it had truly unnerved me. I felt so tired. As I sat at my desk facing the surveillance monitors I was unable to fight the force fusing my eyelids together.
I’ve been hungover a lot, but when I woke up at my desk I’d never felt quite so singularlyawful. My clothes were soaked with sweat and my whole body felt exhausted. My arms felt like molasses. My forehead throbbed and I was bruised. I also felt a weird pressure squeezing my head from all sides. I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes.
Then I froze.
A hand was lying motionless on the floor just behind the table at the center of the room. I leapt to my feet and rushed forward. I gasped from horror as I saw Donald lying there, his chest sliced to ribbons. Gallons of dark scarlet stained his blue uniform. His eyes stared up empty and terrified. Pallid and shaking I ran to my landline to call for backup immediately. As the receiver met my ear my stomach dropped into my feet.
The line was dead.
I was so confused. We had lots of fail safes to ensure communication remained enabled, but the line was dead and there was no sign of any response. I rushed back to the monitors. The cameras were all operating normally. I started to breathe heavily. I couldn’t see anyone. The corridors were green and bare. I looked at the clock. It was 1817h. I had slept for about two hours. But where was everyone? Where were the janitors? My heart was hammering in my chest and my head was throbbing. My eyes narrowed with a sudden thought. Where was that wall?
I searched for the wall and found it was back in the hangar! It sat upon the bare ground right by the massive doors. However, the doors were sealed. The wall itself looked different. It was absolutely enormous! Just over two times longer and taller and wider. Just then, I realized that the titanium blast doors had been sealed as well. My heart rate doubled as I noticed large dents, scorch marks and scratches all over the doors. The hangar floor was covered in blood. My God, I even saw a rocket-launcher lying blackened and fractured near the doors. What the hell had happened?
I spun my head to look at the security panel on the wall to my left. My heart, already racing, felt like it leapt out of my mouth. My eyes grew wide as I realized Donald must have activated a quarantine procedure. This meant that the entire Facility would be sealed airtight. The only way to open any doors now was from the outside. My God! Why had he done this? Where was everyone? Did I really sleep through all this? Where was Jonesy? I looked back at Donald, my heart still racing from seeing his dead eyes stare into mine. I sighed sadly and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was now 1831h. I returned to the monitors and began to rewind the security footage.
Surveying the screens, I watched my past-self enter the security office at around 1600h. By 1610h I had passed-out on my chair, drool dangling from my mouth. “Ok, so let’s see where the wall was at that time. Should be room 278B.” I thought to myself aloud as I clicked on the button that displayed the footage of room 278B and the surrounding corridors. The screens were black as the footage loaded and I was about to hit the play button but hesitated. Did I really want to see this? I closed my eyes and took a few slow breaths. I have to know. I hit play.
The camera was located opposite the door giving a full view of the room. At first everything was normal. It was 1623h when they were unstrapping the wall. A loud popping sound was heard and the researchers spun around. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered. Suddenly something long and slimy exploded from the flesh of the wall. It wrapped around Benny and pulled him in. He screamed in terror as he vanished, his cries immediately silenced.
Without realizing it I was instantly on my feet, shaking my head in pure denial. My heart burst. What the hell was that? What the hell? What the hell? My head was full of static. I felt tears in my eyes as I watched guards and researchers rush into the room. The wall shimmered, it’s simmering surface began to boil and bubble and it grew a few inches higher. I saw it reshape itself so that intricately carved figures appeared on the wall’s edge. I leant in closer and gasped. One of those figures looked just like Benny, his mouth stretched into a permanent scream. The guards and researchers were horrified by what they saw. Suddenly, without warning, their body postures relaxed, their eyes grew glassy, and their arms fell slack at their sides. Those within the room moved as if sleepwalking. Some stayed still while others left the room. Brow furrowed from confusion and fear, my eyes swiveled to the footage of the corridors outside. The guards and researchers that had just exited 278B immediately began attacking and grappling those around them. I yelped as a vacant-eyed guard lazily shot another man in the leg. The thrall then dragged the wounded guard into room 278B. The mad guard held the wounded guard’s leg fast as he casually walked into the grey wall, pulling the struggling man in behind him. During this altercation I noticed Donald, he was hiding behind the corner of the corridor at the far end and was firing his gun at the thralls. He didn’t manage to hit anyone though. He then ran over to help a stray research intern to her feet and then they both ran down the corridor and out of view.
I could still hear the pleas for mercy as those who fell victim to the thralls were dragged into that horrifying wall. With every person it swallowed, the wall wriggled and grew. More ghastly decorations began to bloom on its surface, all of them made from the bones or likenesses of those absorbed. The bigger it got the stronger its psychic influence became until it reached everyone in the Facility. I looked on in horror as one by one, all janitors, researchers, guards, diggers, admin staff, everyone stopped what they were doing, mid conversation, their eyes emptying. The janitors dropped their mops and buckets. Researchers dropped precious materials and equipment without care, letting them smash to pieces. In unison, with vacant expressions, they moved toward room 278B. Among the horde of thralls, I saw Sammy and Jonesy, and so many others I knew. A guy who’d held the door for me once, a researcher who always slurped her coffee at lunch. Hundreds of people! What filled me with an unnamable dread was that I knew what was gonna happen. I knew what was coming. I tried to shout at the monitors, “Stop! Wait!” I grabbed the monitors and shook them with frustration.
A terror began to fill my stomach, deep and cold and aching. Suddenly I noticed Donald reappear on the screen. He was trying to hold back the intern he’d helped earlier, but it was useless. I saw Donald stare with incredulity as he sat defeated on the ground. Everyone else around him stumbled dreamily toward their doom. But Donald refused to give up. I saw him run from corridor to corridor, trying desperately to stop them. He threw chairs and tables in their way but they simply pushed them aside or jumped over them. I saw him run toward this office. I saw him enter, saw myself slumped on my chair still completely unconscious. I saw Donald try to shake me awake, he slapped me a few times and was yelling in frustration. He gave up with me eventually and ran over to activate the quarantine lockdown. I saw him tear down the hall back toward room 278B, pistol in hand.
As soon as Donald got close to 278B a long pale tendril burst through the door directly into his chest. The tentacle had a hooked end and it slashed him. I saw blood spurt out of him, saw him stumble and fall to the ground. However, he still managed to get a hold of his gun and fired multiple shots at the tendril. It writhed and flailed. Donald took this opportunity to climb to his feet. He grimaced and clasped his chest as crimson leaked to the floor. He moved back down the corridor. Eventually he got back to the office. He locked the door and, still fumbling with his keys, attempted to open the ammunitions cupboard. Before he could find the right key, he cursed and then collapsed. I cried out in frustration. That whole time I was completely useless!
My mind felt like static again for a few seconds. I couldn’t work out what my next move should be. A thought hit me hard. Why had Donald and I not been psychically affected by the wall? Everyone had been enslaved. Why not Donald? And me? My eyebrows shot up into my receding hairline with sudden realization. “Shit, the steel plates in my head!” And Donald had a steel plate in his skull too because of a rock-climbing accident he had in his 20s. When I got close to the wall, had it sensed my resistance? Had it tried to incapacitate me? If so, it meant the thing possesses sentience.
While I pondered this, I noticed some thralls re-strap the wall in room 278B. They transported it to the elevator and back up to the hangar. Once there, the thralls moved the wall off the scaffold onto the floor and began to beat heavily on the large metal doors with bare fists. Some even shot at the doors with their handguns. The ricochets killed a few of them but not one single person even noticed. Some of the guards even used a rocket launcher! I yelled with shock as they fired at deadly close range, lazily blowing themselves up, leaving the doors scorched. After this proved futile, the thralls all grew rigid. Next, they all formed a line in front of the wall and one shambling step after another, all the remaining employees were - assimilated. Even the dead and wounded were not spared. Those still alive carried the corpses of their fellow thralls into the wall.
It was 1735h when the last employee disappeared forever into the grey horror, and the wall expanded to its current size. Without warning, a large mass of twisted limbs emerged from the wall. I gasped from horror. Its silhouette was about seven feet tall and thin and stretched. It had too many legs and it didn’t appear to have a head. This thing lumbered over to the doors and began to strike them with a strength and ferocity found only in a starving polar bear. I could tell that the doors were taking strain, and they began to bend, but even then, they did not yield. After just over half an hour of smashing the door, the creature stopped and slowly shambled toward the stairs. My heart froze. It was coming here! Or was it here already? I sat still for a moment and tried not to lose my mind completely. I swear I could hear Woody the woodpecker laughing somewhere in the distance. I needed to keep it together. I took a long deep breath and tried to think of a way out.
Summarizing the details of my predicament, I realized I was trapped alone inside the Facility with an otherworldly force. Also, even if I found a way out, I’d potentially be letting an evil into the world that could destroy all life. My eyes grew even wider and I grabbed at my hair, “But my God, if this thing gets out. If it gets into the minds of other people. If it gets larger and larger. Could it swallow the world?” I was talking aloud now; the sound of my voice gave a new clarity to my situation that made me shudder. I turned back to the monitor. It seems I was all caught up. I stared blankly into the screen while I watched my past-self wake and wince from pain. I switched the monitor off and saw my reflection in the blackness of the screen. I was pale and my eyes were sunken and unblinking. “What do I do now?” I turned in my chair to look at Donald’s body. “Poor Donald, he didn’t deserve this”, I muttered softly. My eyes moved from his body up to the ammunition’s cupboard just above. “Wait, was he trying to get into the cupboard earlier?”, I gasped with realization. “Holy crap, he was trying to get the bomb! Me and Donald were gonna use a left-over bomb from the excavation site to blow some random shit up!”
I stood up quickly and walked up to the cupboard. I opened the cupboard with little effort and found the twenty pounds of plastic explosive inside. It had already been set up with a sixty second timer and a remote detonator. I sat at the table with the explosive, a vague plan forming in my broken mind. “Maybe if I somehow get this wall-thing to eat this bomb then...”
Before I could formulate my thoughts fully, the lights flickered, and the entire Facility was plunged into darkness unceremoniously. My nerves burned with fear. What had happened? Had that thing knocked the power out somehow? The next few seconds that past were the longest I’d ever experienced. Eventually dim green light bloomed to life and the reserve power kicked in. Then I heard slow, shuffling footsteps in the corridor just outside the office. I froze once again, my insides turning to mush. My mind raced. Had I remembered to lock the door? My stomach leapt into my feet as I heard the shuffling get louder and louder. I heard hoarse, wheezing breaths, as if the thing struggled to breathe. I jumped from fright but remained absolutely silent as whatever the thing was banged on the door with a deafening blow.
BANG!
The door shook and bent slightly.
BANG!
Silence.
BANG!
My heart was hammering in my ears and I sat deathly still. I could hear that thing breathing louder. After a few moments I heard it shuffle away. My entire body was shaking as relief washed over me. I turned to look at the screens. Dare I turn them on and check what it was? After a few seconds I turned to the monitors and switched them on. I waited in nervous anticipation as they flickered to life showing me that all the corridors between me and the wall were currently empty. I didn’t bother checking the corridor I suspected the shambling thingwas in. I didn’t want to see it unless I needed to. I’d had just about all the stress and terror I could take and by this stage I felt weirdly calm. It must be shock. A thin sigh escaped me as I stood. The fear in my blood began to feed a furnace of anger in my heart. I thought about all those who I had lost. I felt my expression turn to granite, “It’s time to kill this thing.”
I opened the door slowly, my fully loaded gun in my good hand. Spare ammo along with the explosive and a sawed-off shotgun was stashed in my backpack, and the remote detonator was tied to my belt. I held a heavy-duty flashlight in my shaky right hand. I moved cautiously through the dark green corridors. I’d never thought of how creepy this place could be until this moment. Gooseflesh crept up my arms and neck as I continued. All I could hear were my soft footfalls and shallow anxious breaths. I cleared the corridors one by one until I made it to the stairs. I walked up the stairs carefully. I took one step. Then another. Slowly, I climbed. After many minutes, I was near the hangar. Then I heard the soft sound of crying.
Someone was crying. No. Many people were crying.
I stopped dead in my tracks. My entire body shook from the adrenaline surging through me. Once my head peeked over the top of the landing, I froze. The wall loomed gigantic before me. Its edges were now framed intricately with the skeletons of hundreds of people, all twisted and screaming in agony; tortured souls bound together. I could hear them all. They were all screaming. Screaming for me to join them. I felt that pressure squeeze against my skull tighter and tighter. I shook my head in defiance. “No! You bastard! NO! I will not join you!” All at once the moans and wails stopped. I suddenly found myself at the top of the stairs without knowing when I’d finished climbing them. “But you will” came the sound of hundreds of twisted voices fused into one. “We are them. We are all. We can be all. We will be all. All and all and more than all.”
A deafening blast came from the wall and slithering, tangled human limbs emerged. It had four legs and several arms. It looked like the bodies of eight or more people shuffled and glued into an otherworldly horror. Its multiple mouths screamed a high pitched roar that was pure torment, and its sharp pointed teeth gnashed and chomped. I only had a second to dodge. I leapt to the side and fired multiple shots at the thing’s center of mass. Its horrifying body of fused torsos wriggled and bled black ichor. It screamed with pain and jumped at me, grabbing my leg. It tossed me into the air and I slammed into the floor a few feet away. As I hit the ground I yelled in pain and heard something metallic smash. Before I could catch my breath, it was upon me again. From the ground I fired several shots at it. This made it jump away and scuttle down the stairs. I noticed immediately that the remote detonator had been smashed beyond repair. With the creature momentarily out of sight, I kneeled and took off my backpack as fast as I could. “Only one way then”, I said quietly as I pulled out the bomb and started the timer manually. I also got the shotgun out. I needed to do this now or never.
As the final shell clicked into place I heard a roar coming from the stairs. The thing was back. Before I could react, it leapt at me and knocked me to the ground. The bomb flew from my grasp. It bared down on me, grabbing at my throat ready to tear me apart. My reflexes saved me and I managed to use my shotgun to hold the thing at bay, but it was way too strong. Desperate, I kicked it hard in the chest and it let go. I used this moment to grab the bomb that lay behind me; only 37 seconds to go! Terrified and crazed, sweat pouring down my face, my mind in pieces, I rammed the bomb into one of the creature’s mouths and kicked it back again as hard as I could. I heard it yelp like a wounded dog and it lost its footing. It fell sideways and in that second, I took my shotgun and fired at it in the chest. The force of the close-range blast sent me flying. At the same time the creature was hurled back into the wall where it was enveloped quickly.
My head was fuzzy. I was dizzy and the wind had been knocked out of me. Was the bomb going to work? I felt something warm and wet drip into my ear and touched the side of my head. My fingertips came away soaked in blood. My head was spinning. With a foggy mind I grabbed my bag, collecting my weapons and flashlight. As I stood up I heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath my feet shook and for a moment I was confused. Then I looked up at the wall. Its surface was boiling like I’d never seen before. It was shaking and growing. I turned to run when suddenly there was a massive blast, and the entire wall exploded into hundreds of grey chunks. These rained down all around the hangar, smashing several aircrafts. The blast knocked me off my feet.
When I awoke I could see early morning light through the tiny cracks in the blast door. Where the wall had once been now stood a small blackened crater. I coughed and lifted my head to inspect the wall pieces and found that they – my mouth opened. They were melting. I watched in dumbfounded horror as the pieces began to merge, just like that scene from Terminator 2. It was rebuilding itself.
As I stood to run I heard a groan. My blood became ice.
I turned slowly in terror to find the shambling, wheezing monstrosity behind me. Like the creature I’d shot, this one seemed made from bits and pieces of human limbs knitted together randomly. This one had six legs which came out of its mouth, its head positioned within its torso where the bellybutton should be, and it wheezed in pain. I almost puked from fright but my feet were already carrying me away. I sprinted down the corridors, ignoring all the pain and fear and exhaustion and anger and frustration inside me. Without thinking, I leapt into the first janitor’s closet I found and locked the door. After catching my breath, I found this notepad and pencil, and have been writing this report in the sterile glow of my flashlight. Hopefully, I have left some useful information for anyone who may find this.
Now I lie in wait. What is that thing? If it can survive a bomb like that, what hope do we have? It’s no wall at all. It’s a membrane. An interface. Somewhere very different is pressing up against us. It has torn a small hole, and was now prying it open further.
So here I wait, hoping to be saved, but even as I write this I can hear that thing walking past the door. With a soft click I turn off my flashlight. I try not to breathe. I can hear the snuffling, it’s right outside!
Shit! Shit! I hear keys. The door is unlocking! How? How?
Oh God! The doorknob is turning...

So I’ll start this story off by saying I (28 M) my wife (25 F) are newly married, we got married in late December and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. She’s genuinely the sweetest person and the perfect wife. We’ve never really had and issues or arguments that aren’t resolved the same day. We aren’t expecting or have any children, yet. This whole situation happened one week ago and so much has happened since then I just want to get it off my chest. It all started when my mom invited me and my wife to her 50th birthday party. I love my mom of course so I was very excited to go so I told my wife who wasn’t very excited. I should mention that ever since I’ve been with my wife her and my mom just don’t seem to click. I’ve have caught my mom making snide remarks a couple times while she thought I wasn’t nearby or listening. My wife has complained to me a couple times but I chalk it up to my mom just needing to get used to her, and my wife will agree.
So on this day we arrive to my mother house at 6:30 we walk in to people chatting and my mother sees us walk in and runs up and gives me a big hug, talking to me asking how my day was, she practically ignored my wife which I didn’t seem to notice but my wife mentioned it later. After some time of talking to everyone there we all sit down and listen to my mother talk because my father comes out to cut her cake. We all get a piece and we’re sitting at the table with about 3 other people besides my mom, my father, my wife and I, when my wife gets a piece of frosting on the dress she bought recently just a couple days ago. She quietly gasps and says “Oh no” before quickly excusing her self to go to the washroom and wipe it off, my mother follows to go “help her” which now I know her true intentions. After about 1 minute I hear a loud “F*CK U” from my wife followed by a slap and a thud. My father and I rush in to see my mother unconscious on the floor with my wife standing there crying. I ask what happened and she said that my mother had made a comment about her dress being “ugly” and calling her too fat for it. I yelled at my wife and told her that was so reason to knock her unconscious cause at her age that could be seriously harmful. I told her to “get the f*ck out” or I was going to call the police. She looked at me with the saddest eyes and said “Really.” I said “Yes” while pointing towards the door. She quickly wiped the look off her face and walked out quickly.
We took my mom to the hospital who had no serious injury’s besides a bruise on her head and just feeling dizzy. I texted my wife after I found out my mom had really no serious injuries and told her hat I was sorry for yelling but I was just scared and nervous because that’s my mom I would never want anything to happen to her. She didn’t reply to that message, or any that I sent for that matter. I just thought she needed some time. But now, the reason I’m writing this post is because today I heard a knock on my door while I was watching TV, I opened it and to my surprise I was being served with divorce papers. I took them and closed the door and immediately called her. And for the first time she answered, I started yelling at her saying she was being dramatic and making decisions too fast. After all she was the one who punched my mom for nothing but a snide remark about her dress and her weight. I should be the one mad at her, I told her to please rethink it and come over so we can talk. She said she has nothing to say to me and already made her mind up. She said she’s tired of dealing with my “narcissistic crazy a** mom” and hung up. I threw the remote ont he wall and started crying. I love this woman with my whole wife and the fact she’s divorcing me of something so small. I don’t know what to do and I need advice please, Am I in the wrong?

me f25, ex m24 hi, in short, i made a lot of mistakes in my relationship out of fear and insecurity. trust was broken because of this. Now they have left me because of these things and they said i’ve hurt them too much- they said they were sad and confused about me. they were not perfect in the relationship either but they said the things i did made it harder for them to engage, so the things they messed up with still feel like my fault.
they broke up with me by text, 4 days into a month long holiday abroad they’re on. he wasn’t talking to me much and i feel i pushed him to say it because i asked why he was withdrawn and not updating me about the trip (i was a bit naggy because i missed him and he wasn’t really messaging or calling much). i think he felt suffocated by me because i was clingy in general. he finally said he’s unsure about us and needed time to think. He took a couple days and sent the breakup text. He refused to call but in some voicenotes i sent i asked for them to work with me. i said i’d go to therapy and work on being insecure and the mistakes that came from it etc. They declined and reiterated their breakup text telling me to move on with my life without them.
we have had wonderful moments, full of love. i felt like it was a loving relationship with some things to work through. i don’t know how to deal with him not wanting me or “us”. its been 2 weeks of no contact since the breakup text. i want them back but don’t feel it’s possible. they’re abroad so i don’t even know if they would have processed things. i have some of their things i was going to get a mutual friend to give back. I’m asking for any advice, I feel lost and like i’ve lost the best thing ever. I want to be better and feel I can be more grounded. This was my first experience of love, Im not sure how anyone moves forward.

I (29F) recently started talking to this guy (30M). We met while ordering street food 4 days ago, and I asked for his number.
I'm not very attached to my phone. I prefer spending my time watching something in my laptop or reading a novel, if I'm not working or doing chores. And frankly, I'm not used to texting since I don't have that many friends. It feels kinda awkward for me, and I run out of things to say.
We're in the first phase of getting to know each other, and he's the first guy I've talked to in a while. He complained that I take time to answer and disappear after a few messages. He asked me if I'm still interested in getting to know each other. I answered in the positive, and he replied that it doesn't show.
What should I do to keep the conversation going? How can I connect with this person without having to push myself?
FYI, we live in different cities and I just got back home. I also have bipolar disorder, for which I take medication for over 3 years now.

For perspective, this story starts around October 2022 and ends around January 2023
October
When I was in year 11 I was pulled out of my English class along with 2 other students by a different English teacher , we'll call this teacher Lalo. Lalo told us that we were invited to an after school club he hosted called the creative writing club that took place every Wednesday after school.
I'm not much of a writer or anything but I decided to go one day to see what it was like, that and I think Lalo is a rlly cool guy.
So I walk in the room and I look across to the end of the room and I see a girl ( her codename was Lunnettes, my friends came up with it, we'll get to that later) in the year below me, I vaguely recognise her by face because our form rooms are opposite each other. We make eye contact and she instantly starts giggling with her friend. I was intruiged by this, but I didn't talk to them, I just sat and did the activities provided with someone I knew in my year.
I notice that Lunnetes and her friend, we'll call her Yoyo keep giggling and Lunnetes keeps looking at me. Despite all this, I still didn't say a word to her, nor did I catch her name, but she seemed lovely and funny.
This whole glancing and giggling thing continued when I showed again at the club, and it also started happening other places we passed by each other like at break, walking in the hallways etc
This all caused me to develop a lil crush on her, because she seemed lovely, funny and she was cute. Also the idea that she likely thought that I was cute was the main reason I liked her ( I know that that is a stupid reason to like someone, but I was stupid back then)
November
One day I accidentally found her on Instagram ( yes I know that sounds stupid but that's how it happened). I didn't follow the account, because at this point, we still haven't had a conversation, this was also how I found out her name. I also found out that she really liked a specific anime movie, so that gave me an idea, I decided to watch the movie, in hopes that when we do have a convo, and I could bring it up in that convo
At this point , I had told my 3 main friends about it, their code names will be Fox, Capybara and Cricket (ik they are stupid names I just thought of these on the spot), Capybara came up with the code name for her, " Lunnettes" , he decided upon that because she would wear glass's but never over eyes, only above her head which rlly annoyed him, we just decided to roll with it
Then one day I saw her walking by( keep in mind that because of the insta, i knew her name but she didn't know mine or the fact that I knew her name) then I went up to her and asked her if she was going to the writing club that week, and then asked her for her name (even tho i alr knew it), then gave her mine, this then gave me a valid reason to know her name yk
December
Fast forward to the last week of school before the Christmas holidays , one last writing club before Christmas break
I go to the writing Club, and I ask to work with her and her friends (Yoyo included), she said yes, and we actually got on really well. This was when I brought up the movie to her (as if I didn't just watch it to interest her)
Then the Christmas holidays had started and I decided to follow Lunnettes on insta, then at like midnight she follows me back and sends a friend request on snapchat ( my snap is in my insta bio) , I added her back on both
Then around 5 or so days into the holidays she sends a vid on snap to me, the problem is that I opened it in a go karting lobby, so I couldn't hear the vid very well. The vid was of her friends (Yoyo included) at a Christmas party all talking to the camera, the only words I heard were my own name, and the words "alpha male" , and since it was on snap, it wouldn't let me replay it , so I sent a snap back asking what that vid was about, and she responded later saying she didn't even remember sending anything, which was just odd
January
New years eve came round and I sent her a happy new year text, she sent one back with 3 heart emoticons
Holidays end and school starts again
This is where things start to go wrong, the glancing and smiling continued but less frequentthan before, but then I started to start talking to her on snap, and hope that I could get to tall to her at the writing club, I went to that club almost every week but she wasn't rlly showing up to it, and when I'd text her, her interest was lacking. But I was stupid, so I kept perusing.
Then one day she actually showed up to writing club, she didn't look as happy to see me as she did one month ago, I worked with her again, but there was no connection and she seemed disinterested, unlike the time we worked together just before the Christmas holidays. After the club was over, on my way out, I did one of the most regrettable and embarrassing things I've ever done, I asked her if she was free that weekend, she wasn't
Then the next day Capybara and Fox went up to her friend group but just stood next to them, in hopes that I and Cricket would follow them, I did, mistake number 3. And so there we are just stood like 7 metres away from them, and I'm really nervous whilst her friends and my friends are all laughing, then the bell rings and me and my friend walk away, but my other two friends stay there for a moment, as I'm walking away, I hear Yoyo and another one of her friends go over to Capybara and Fox who are still stood there and one of then says "ok, which one of you likes her". Me and Cricket are standing by the gate waiting for the other two to come back, we see them walking to us and they're absolutely dying of laughter, I can tell something bad has happened, my friends come back to me and my other friend and Capybara yells "SHES A LESBIAN!"
My world was completely flipped upside down, I remember feeling like the whole school was gonna find out and that I'd be a laughing stock
But a week passes and I get a text from Yoyo on insta telling me that the whole lesbian thing was a joke and that Lunnettes finds me "fit" (her words not mine) and suggesting that i talk to her, then her other friend messages me, I'm presuming to make fun of me or something but just ended up saying hi. Lunnettes then messages me saying not to listen to them.
Her friends started approaching me and my friend group in school asking us all sorts of weird questions, they even asked Fox if he was "coochie" (again, their words not mine) along with all sorts of odd things for about a week or so every break time.
Then Yoyo messages Fox, and Fox wanted answers, and he ended up finding out the truth. It turns out that lunnets used to like me but doesn't anymore, then lunnets messages him wanting to know what's going on, Lunnettes ends up telling him that she never liked me, according to him she was a "prick" and she said bad things about me to him, even something along the lines of "how could I ever like someone so unsociable" he told me that he was glad I didn't go out with her because she turned out to be horrible.
I believe him, but it's been over a year since all this, so I'm open to the possibility that she's changed, rumors about her tell me that she hasn't, but I take them with a pinch of salt, because at the end of they day, they're rumors/gossip
I haven't heard from her since (at least irl)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, anything at all.To those that actually sat through and read all this, thank you very much, I appreciate the fact there's so much to read. :)

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this and quite honestly I never really planned to post it online as I felt lile it would be a move seen as to just gain sympathy but now I'm at a loss and thought I'd give it a shot. I apologize if there's some rambling I'm not quite sure of what I'm doing here. Fair warning abuse and some sh will be mentioned.
I am 16f currently almost 17 and have not had a good home or family connection since I was 10. My bio dad (I think hes 36\37?m) was never really around as well as an addict (He claims to be sober though I dont quite believe that). There is also belief of abuse when I was with him though it isn't and most likely will never be confirmed. I do have many memories that I can remember vividly of times I was with him despite being between 6 and 8 at the time. He officially left on my 10th birthday by sending me an email apologizing and I didnt hear from him again for 6 years and its been on and off texting, he has been to jail multiple times throughout the last almost year weve been in contact.
Past that after he left my mother (34f) and step dad (36m. I think) became my only parents. Despite having my stepfather there my whole life I did consider him as a dad but he wasnt my actual dad my mom was my mom. She became my only 'parent' and I clung onto her. Around this time I also had a baby brother (6m now) my mom and step dads kid and a 10f now sister my dads and one of his ex girlfriends daughter. This is kind of important to note that I love my sibling and family and would never purposefully physically hurt them or hurt them in general.
Fast forward to christmas of the year I turned ten, I had sadly fallen into the wormhole that Im sure many others fell into of being groomed by men. Sending things and being taken advantage of. On christmas eve my step father found out and hell broke loose. I can admit my fault now but back then I didnt understand the length of how bad it was what I had done and had been doing, my mother held me that night as I cried and had my first panic attack. This was the beginning of our downfall though.
My mother and step dad had completely lost trust in me (which is fair) but we just couldnt seem to get along. Sure we could act fine and everything but now the cops were in our lives and I ended up moving away from home from this incident and in with my nana, as my reaction was to shut down while my mother yelled and cried trying to speak with me but I refused. My mother then grabbed a bag packed it and told me to get in the car dropping me off in another town at my nanas. This was early January around the beginning of covid I believe.
Me and my mother were low contact and I quite honestly missed her but at the same time I was happy where I was. One day in March I came home from school to see my mother in the house, she was bringing me back to live with her. I can't remember why so suddenly but I did end up moving back and she switched me to a catholic school (we were online because of COVID at this time).
During my time back I began to date my now ex girlfriend but she is now one of my biggest supports as she knows most of this as she witnessed some. Not in person but through video calls or just regilar calls that I dont believe my family were aware of.
My parents put child locks and time locks on my computer, and I wasnt allowed to have a phone (again fair) but with me being the child I was I wanted to socialize so I would play games like Among us or go into chat rooms that my parents would block and I would get in trouble. I rember about a certain one that they got mad at me for using my step dad months later during an argument yelled at me 'That one site you used just got shut down for trafficking' I was around 12 or 13 at this time and wasnt fully understanding of the length and what that meant. I just know his anger scared me.
I wont give the fully backstory but some incidents were as goes:
We came home from a drive one night and I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. I was 13 at this time. My step dad came into the room pissed off and I sat up confused and simple asked 'What?'. He got mad and half yelled 'Don't fcking what me' then he continued to take eveything out of my room. Dumped all my clothes into a pile on the floor an drilled two pieces of wood onto the top and bottom of my closet doors so I could no longer open it as well as changed the door handle so that they could lock me in my room (which they did). During this I was standing in the corner scared and crying and he came got all up in my face and said 'Are you fcking scared now l?' Then proceeded to oush my head back then slap me. Afterwards I was locked in my room with a mattress, blanket, pillows and a pile of my clothing. I believe I was in there for a week though Im not sure. During that time they would open the door and ask if I needed to pee or shower, I always reufsed unless I absolutely did have to go because I just didnt want to move. They would at lunch and dinner bring in a plate with food and a cup or bottle of something to drink. I rarely actually ate it and slowly the food turned into bits of food and saltine crackers. I have now learned that according to my mother my step dad told her that I was being violent and getting all up in his face and that he was scared of me. She has also said that they did this because they were scared I was going to hurt or k*ll myself. Which at this point in time I had never done, attempted or really even thought about. Also, on the first night I dont know if more happened but I woke up in darkness to my step dad laying with me and hugging me as well as apologizing, I was scared and didnt know (and still don't know) what to make of it so I pretended to sleep. After awhile he left.
We were arguing basically everyday, which they would always start and I either wouldnt feed into it or would try to end it which only added fuel to the fire.
Many of these arguments led to me running out of the house and coming back late or not at all.
When I was 14 my school counseler noticed I seemed off I guess and I broke and told her. Then CAS came into my life. Long story short they did nothing and saw nothing wrong (my parents never admitted to anything and ir was a childs word against two adults) while only adding onto the tense atmosphere I called home.
Finally in fall of 2021. I left home for the last time. I love to paint and I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time when my step dad came in and turned the light on (I had a simple lamp on my desk) he then noticed green paint on my floor. He immediatly got mad and told me to clean it to which I said I would. He left for about 5 minutes and I hadnt cleaned it yet having been in the middle of something when he asked. This started an argument and escalated to him screaming at me then grabbing my arm and pulling me into the hallway. I began to scream back and he was taking my wallet and other things using the excuse 'You didnt buy them. They're not yours' my mother was trying to get us both to stop but it ended with my dad opening and unlocking the front door telling me to leave and the door was open so I did. Cops were called that night and I moved in with my grandmother. I lived with her for about 3 weeks and the whole time my mother argued and tried to manipulate me into coming back.
Me, my mother and grandma had made a deal because I didnt feel safe in the house or comftorable that I would come home every Tuesday and Thursday. I stayed there Tuesday and on Wednesday after school went to a friends. My mother tried to get me home claiming the deal had never been made and called the cops on me. They showed up at my friends house and brought me back to my grandmothers where we explained the deal. I called my friend and her mom and began to apologize and not even 5 minutes into it my papa came into the apartment and screamed at me. My mother had apparently called him and said she never wanted to see him, my grandmother or me again and that my stuff would be on the side of the road if I wanted it.
Wuth everything going on I am sad to say this was my first ever time attempting to take my life that night. I went to psych ward for two weeks and moved in with my nana and papa afterwards.
The relationship with my mother and step dad is beyond strained as they both wont admit of the things that went on and since I got my doagnosises (Borderline personality disorder among other things) my mother has now began to blame my bast actions on it saying things like 'it all makes sense now'. Neither of them will apologize and they expect me to apologize. My relationship with my nana and papa is also strained the only person in my family I get along with is my cousin (19m) and my grandmother (84f).
Since turning 15 I gave struggled greatly with depression, suicidal thoughts and worst of all self harm. I have attempted many times and everytime my family only shows annoyance and disappointment only making me go deeper into this spiral.
Since turning 16 I have been kicked out of my nana and papas 3 times. First because they learned I smoke weed and got mad saying they didnt want someone like that in their house as well as I was just like my dad (my father is a drug addict and quite frankly I am terrified of anything other than weed). Second time they somehow got it into their heads that I was using substances other than weed. Third time was because we were arguing and my papa grabbed me to which I started yelling at him to never do that and he immediatly claimed he didnt do anything. I told him to f himself and my nana told me to get out.
Because of all this I havent had a stable place im years. I ended up moving to British Columbia for 4 months and living with my dead best friends family (rest in peace my love💜) where I got amazing support and do plan to live back there once I am 18. Sadly I moved back in with my nana and papa (thin thin line of me staying for good as the toxicity of this household has only grown since I left those months ago). The night before I moved back I had a breakdown and messaged my mother that I need her among other things. The next day while I was at the airport she responded and we blew up into a fight because she didnt give me time to explain what my plan was. All I had said was that I wasnt sure if I was moving back in with my nana and papa and she told me just dont and to stop using them. This escalated to where she blocked both me and her father. My papa. This was in February.
Since she blocked me I have talked to multiple friends and even just had time to reflect and realize that when I say I want my mom. I really want the mom I thought I had back but shes gone and we cannot seem to reach an impasse. Family is one of the most important things to me and it breaks my heart that I cannot be there for my younger brother. I accepted that I will most likely once I'm 18 offically just cut them off and leave this toxicity that I am in.
My family members always push me to apologize and fix my relationship with my mother and step dad.
Last weei my mother reached out again and seemed fine. We talked for a few days until she said 'Well I've heard a lot about new stuff but not past stuff' to which I asled what she meaned and she said 'An apology'. I just got upset and hung up. I know I do owe some apologies and I have aplogized for things like the past mistakes and some arguments but they want me to apologize for everything, even the things they twisted into being my fault which weren't. I refuse to apologize and they refuse to acknlowedge it. I don't know and can't think of what she wants me to apologize for that she was meaning in that phone call but its most likely something she just wants to pin on me. She refuses to acknowledge or belive that my step father ever hit me claiming that at the time 'I was crazy and she can't be sure'. These are statements and things that I won't forget and will most likely never forgive even if I do get the appropriate apologies.
I feel like I am doing the right thing by staying low contact then just cutting them off when I am 18 at this point. Though I am not sure as my nana and papa and others are making me second guess it through guilt tripping or manipulating me. I am well aware of what they are doing and if I could make myself stop believing them and feeling this way I would but they are my family and I really don't want to lose them, but I think its for the best.
AITA? And if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone so this is a really petty story from middle school I’m in my 3 year of high school right now.
So anyway when I was in middle school I had this two girls that were my best friends we‘ll call them Abby and Martha and we would mostly walk around the campus talking or sit at the lunch tables drawing but starting 5th grade they would start to ignore me and not answer any of my questions. But is was fine cause naive me still thought we were all friends but one day in 6th grade a few weeks before my birth day they said they had a surprise for me for my birthday but there was also some bad news and I would have to wait for them to tell me that night on discord. So there I was 6th grade me waiting for the text when I get it they said “do you want the good news are the bad news first” I said bad news first cause how bad could it be. It was bad they sent a whole ass list on why they thought I was a ”fake friend” non of them were true. They said I was homophobic which is funny cause I’m gay, they said I was racist which I’m not that either I have plenty of friends that are black, they also said that don’t care about them and never helped them when they were sad which is also wrong because one of them, Martha she said to never say are you ok to her so she doesn’t cry more and I said ok, Another one was I could never remember there birthdays bitch I could hardy remember my own birthday, either way I could keep going but I don’t want to make this to long. So that happened and what was even worse is that they added my enemy to the chat she hated me cause she thought I was trying to steal her man! It took me a whole day to process what happened and that was my first break in this story as there are many more to come. Now fast forward to my birthday I invited Martha and Abby to my party cause why not, only Martha came and two friends from my karate class. Everything was fine until, Abby messaged martha asking were she was martha said at my house Abby freaked out and called Martha a fake bitch and did message Martha for the rest of my party.
Fast forward to my 7th grade year I was still friends with Martha and I made some new friends that I hanged out with but it didn’t last long as It all started during the elections for student council half of my friend group wanted person1 to win while the other half wanted person 2 to win I didn’t know who to pick so I became my own person. But you know who keep switching sides and spending false rumors it was non other then Martha she was causing drama on the second month of school like girl. That was the first crake the second one was when martha and two other people from my friend group but egg into person 2’s soup (one of the girls from the election drama) It didn’t end well and our little group split into two groups the gossip group and the non gossip group the one I’m in along with Martha and two other girls (minded that there were 7 of use). Then Martha and one girl we will call her Stanley girl, they moved over to the gossip group cause they got into a fight with another girl in my group. And of course Martha caused a lot of drama in the gossip group and he ended up only having one friend by the end of the year who was the Stanley girl. Of course Martha got some karma in 7th grade like getting in trouble for fat shaming a diabetic kid or when the girls did like a group therapy and when I was talking about the 6th grade incident she started to cry, fake tears to cause I was ranting and calling her out on it. She always cries when shes in trouble and tries to get out of the situations and get the attention on her which worked all the way up till our 8th graduation.
When you graduate from 8th grade at my middle school you would right a three or more paragraph speech talking about your time at the school this is were my pettiness comes in. The speeches are basically thanking the school and remembering the funny moments, so what I did was talk about good things and bad things of every year, my school was kindergarten all the way till 8th grade. So you can imagine the look on Martha’s face when I basically talked shit about her in front of the whole school. It was priceless and I was the last speech of the 8th graders so when everything was done Martha and her one friend got hit with a lot of questions and insult’s from the middle schoolers and it got to the point were she started crying and ran to her mom.
So there’s my story I hoped you in joyed, feel free to ask me anything in the comments and make sure to subscribe to Charlotte as he is are petty queen. Nyx out

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I did a lot of reflection and writing in my journal. It just reminded me of things that I thought we would always do. How I messed up and hurt an amazing woman... we texted throughout the day a bit and traded voice messages back and forth. It wasn't really working, especially since I kept deleting some before I would send them. I didn't want to burden her with too much and I was hurting.
Well she decided that we should just have a call. So I called her and we talked for 3 hours. It was a good talk, there updates about kids and talked about healing. Then covered more in detail topics we covered throughout the day. I told her I love her, which I probably shouldn't have done... but I promised myself no more lying to her. So I am just giving her the unfiltered words from my heart whenever we talk. She told me she still has love for me and always will. I know it isn't the same as saying I love you, but it felt good knowing she does have some love for me.
We had one of our strange moments. This is something that has always happened with us. I always thought of it as the universe trying to tell us something. I was talking about stuff we talked about and planned on doing 4-5 years ago, stuff we haven't really discussed since, then a few minutes later she finds a binder with all of that information. She didn't even remember still having it or working on it. But there it was, years later and it pops up right after I talk about it. So similar to the day that I got lost on backroads I grew up on only to accidentally end up on the road we first met...and then there was a meteor shower on that exact same road. The universe is always the loudest when it wants you to listen.
We talked for a while longer and I told her that I am serious that I will get better and I only want her to have the better version of me. I want my last I love you to be hers, I want her to be my last hug, I want the kiss on the neck she gave me to be my last and her grab of my belly saying " I love this" to be the last.
She has made so much progress since I destroyed her, I honestly look up to her. She is amazing. She is happy with herself and is doing some great things. I know during our relationship, it wasn't the healthiest but that was 99% my fault as I refused to get the help I needed. I can see that now and fully admit it. I am working on that. I still have fight in me, I still have love for her. I want to be the better person and give her the world she deserves. Its selfish I know.... but I know that the love we had was something you can't just find. It was some powerful stuff and could change the world.
I ended up staying up a lot after that talk last night just thinking about it. Today has been a lot of the same. I just feel a void in my chest... like my life is missing her. I just wish I could be held by her and cry it all out.

My boyfriend and I have been in a bad place for a week almost 2 weeks. I’ve been communicating with him about needing more initiative, and for him to be more emotionally available and supportive of me. I would bring up concerns and get dismissed, messages ignored, not talked to for a few days… and it would cause me to shut down. I feel really unheard as I tell him my feelings and he responds dryly in person and over text. The last times we hung out ended badly in us fighting about me needing to feel more loved and me being brought to tears.
The last time he planned a date for me and took me out was April 2nd. I shouldn’t have to tell him how to treat me but I have for the last 7 months. He told me we don’t even have a title yet… but it’s coming?
We went on one trip between then but the night before I started talking about how I felt neglected and I got dismissed so I blew up and told him if he keeps treating me poorly I will leave, he said “let’s just end it then, I can’t take it anymore” simply because I was drained. The next day he pretended like nothing happened and was more distant with me. Fast forward a few days I’m still communicating to him how horribly these situations were lately and that I deserve action with apologies.
He says he’ll take me out to dinner tomorrow after work at 8pm. Fast forward to today 1pm and he said he has to cancel our plans because he has to help his friend move, even though he just told me we had plans for today the day before. “Dinner and a movie”. He said let’s move it to Wednesday which is 4 days away…. He said he will be with his friend overnight until Monday night.
I’m really disappointed as I feel like emotionally I’m not a priority to be taken care of.
Advice?

So this girl (22f) was in one of my (25m) university classes 2 years ago, and I immediately thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, just absolutely gorgeous. Didn't think much of it because I was in a relationship at the time (which I ended a couple years later) and then when I was single again I decided I had nothing to lose with following & messaging this girl from my class on instagram. We had a ton in common, i'm very passionate about mountaineering & photography and she was very into hiking, she was a very talented athlete / played on the university team where I also played on university team, we were both into painting, running & working out, and also into videogames. It felt like we were the perfect match for each other. Our first date went really well, it was so easy to talk to each other and there was instant chemistry. She had such a strong joyfulness in her that was so infectious. But at the end of the date, she said she needed a bit of time to think about if she's ready to go on more dates because she had just recently gotten out of a 3-month relationship a month back and a relationship before that one that ended terribly. I thought that was a fine idea and appreciated her taking time to make sure she's ready, and I had also just ended a 3 year relationship (which i told her about and had lost feelings for my ex quite a while before I broke up with her). I let her be for a few weeks, then messaged her again to see if she would be interested in a second date. Our second date was the best date of my life, we met up early in the morning and went hiking to a nice view, shared really deep things about ourselves and felt like we already had such a deep connection. I've been in a 1.5 year relationship, a 3 year relationship, but have never felt something that felt as right and comfortable as I did with this girl. We then afterwards went to my favourite thai restaurant (she ended up skipping one of her classes because she wanted to keep spending time with me), and then eventually went back to my place and played mario and cards, and one thing lead to another and she slept over at my house (10/10 never felt so much chem), and then I made her breakfast in the morning. Our second date was over 24 hours long and I just felt like I was on top of the world with her, and could tell she felt the same. She said that she feels so safe and comfortable with me, and couldn't get tired of spending time with me even after 24 hours straight together. We decided we were going to take things really slow in terms of putting a label on us, so we continued going on dates and hanging out almost every day for about 4 weeks. She was the most encouraging person I had ever met, very often telling me she cared about me and how great of a man I am, how thoughtful I am, how attractive I am and that she really appreciates me. She said she had never been treated so well before. I bought her flowers and chocolate and would drop off food for her while she was studying. She actually cried of joy once when I wrote her a really nice card with some flowers (the exact types she said she liked) and chocolate, and was so unbelievably appreciative. She would bring me donuts and coffee while i was working sometimes, and bring ingredients over to cook dinners and we had many sleepovers together. Everything was going amazing, I had never been treated so well by a girl and it felt so easy to put into the relationship everything I could, it just felt so right and healthy. But then, she started having some mental issues, sobbing in front of me about issues with her best friend / roommate becoming distant & cold to her, issues with her crazy ex of 2 year relationship (who cheated on her with 2 underage girls and got in trouble with police for it). The pedophile ex was leaving bible verses about forgiveness and flowers on her car and shit, and kept appearing where she was on campus. I wanted to go talk to him and tell him off but the girl said I was the only person in her life not connected to drama with him and she wanted to keep it that way. A couple of her friends had continued being friends with her ex which made her feel very betrayed, and seemingly everyone in her campus life was connected to him one way or another, and she said I felt like an escape from that traumatic situation. And on top of that, she was very stressed out by her heavy course-load. She was also supposed to be finding a place off-campus to live the next year with her best friend, but they were having issues in their friendship. She started coming over less and not answering texts as often and felt very different from her normal self and she started going to counselling too. I was as supportive as I could possibly be and she was so appreciative of me, but I could tell she was struggling. I would be there while she would cry and vent and listen and talk her through it all, calm her down. She said that she feels so much better when she's with me, but feels so bad that she's relying on me. Then she started bringing up a few times that she wants to talk about "what we are", so one day when we were having a picnic at a park she brings it up and I say some really nice things and that I really want to become official when she's ready. She says that she wants me to make it a special moment when I ask her to be official and she seems very happy and excited about it all. Then, from this point on, she becomes very scarce, taking a whole day to answer texts sometimes, only being able to hang out about once or twice a week for short periods. One night when she was over, she asked, "how do you have so much to give in this relationship? You're amazing. I wish so badly I could give the same but I'm struggling mentally right now and so stressed about school and other things. I'm scared of hurting you because of how I am right now." I assured her that I fully understand that there's periods where one can give more than the other, and I just want to be there to help her through what she's going through.
She also was supposed to be back with her parents for the summer after school ended, 4 hours away from where I live, as she had summer work lined up there, which we already talked about and were okay doing mostly long distance until she's back in september. We wouldn't be able to see each other often though because she worked on weekends, and i work mon-fri.
At the end of march, she went home to visit parents for 4 days to get away from everything causing her stress. I didn't hear much from her while she was gone, but when she came back, she asked if we could talk. She drove over, and said some things "i've been very distant for the last while and I am really sorry, you deserve so much better. I like you and you have all the qualities I want in a man. I feel frustrated that I can't give in the relationship right now because of my mental struggles. You have been so thoughtful and encouraging and giving so much, and I appreciate it so much, and I usually can give a lot myself in a relationship. I feel guilty that I am relying on you so much for my wellbeing right now. I think I need to be single and spend time getting myself out of these mental struggles on my own without relying on someone else. The next girl you end up with is going to be so lucky to have you"
I told her some things like "I feel really bad about what you are going through, but I don't want another girl, I just want to be there to help you through and make this relationship work. You have made me feel so special, I finally felt like I found someone who treats me so well. But if this is what's best for you, I am not going to try to change your mind. I will be sad, but I will be okay. I am not mad at you and I will not hold anything against you. Don't doubt in yourself, I know you are going to excel finishing off the semester, you are so intelligent and hard-working. In these hard times is when you will learn the most about yourself and I know you will get out of this rut at some point and have gained so much wisdom through it all."
She then teary-eyed said "thank you for everything you have done for me. You have been so mature and understanding through everything. You are truly amazing and so intelligent and I appreciate all the encouragement and support you have given me, it has helped me so much."
I then said,"do you think we could try again in the future when you are feeling better, after summer when you're back?"
She said "i don't know. I don't want you to be waiting for me."
I said "I won't be hung up on you. But send me a text if you are feeling better in the new semester."
She said "okay" with a smile on her face.
We hugged and said our goodbyes. It's been a month now, I haven't messaged her but think about her often, throughout every day. I miss her tremendously, but I am still able to have fun in life and hanging out with friends, working out and following passions. So I'm glad I'm not totally messed up, I just simply miss her a lot. We still follow each other on social media and she watches all my stories, almost instantly after I post them seemingly when previously she was rarely on her phone, which likely means absolutely nothing but. I'm trying to kill the hope that is still lingering in me for my own mental wellbeing, but can't help myself but think about trying to reach out to her in 4 months when she's back to see how she's doing and if we can try again. She said when she was breaking up with me that she likes me and I have all the qualities she wants in a man, so I feel like I have a chance still if the stars align... but I am also open to other options and meeting other girls when I am healed up. But damn do I miss her.
Do you think she simply wasn't interested in me anymore and her reason for breaking up was a cover-up? Or do you think she simply had way too much going on in her life causing mental issues, and she just needed to escape everything and reset, build herself back up to normal while spending time back with her parents 4 hours away for the summer.

So this is my First ever Reddit Post and english is not my native language. So i met a girl at the gym around 4 months ago. We had a Great time, mutual interests, same humor and everything. We have been chatting the whole day(normally every 5-30min) she was always sending me reels and asked if we can go to the gym together. Then after about a month she agreed that we go for a walk with my dog and I gave her a rose. Do to the fact that it was valentines day. She was happy about it and she went home afterwards. After she went home she Send me a 6min Audio and told me it was going to fast and that everything was to much. I thought to myself, fine and after a short respond from my side i went into a 2 week no contact(i mean i thought she doesnt want me). After the 2 weeks i was a bit drunk and i texted her a short message with: the situation is Kinda shitty at the moment. And she was like yeah and after that we had alot of Workouts in the gym together and Everything seemed fine. After around a month we had intense contact and almost saw each other Daily in the gym. Then i asked her if we could meet up and she told me that she needs more time because her exes have cheated on her and stalked her at her House. I walked away and told her that i wish her the best and that if she is ready she can will find someone and that i want a real relationship and if she is not ready i don’t think that it’s good if we still have contact. She agreed and was sad about it. After a week we saw each other at the gym and she came to me and inniated contact again. Asked me how Everything was going, asked if i will go to the gym tommorow and all that stuff. Then she Texted me again and we had the Same situation then before. 2 weeks later i talked to her again and told her that i cant do this anymore because i was starting to get a real uncomfty feeling with Everything. We had a big Argument and we kinda ended everything on bad terms. She still stalked my Social Media over her best friends account and with Fake accounts(i exposed one of them in the first no contact Phase).
Yesterday i saw her at the gym and we always go at the Same time. She looked at me and even stud before me but i didnt Talk to her. She then only did 2 exercises and left the gym. Today she was there again at the gym but with a new guy she even came in his car with him. Even though she didnt want me to Pick her up when we went to a other gym one day.
And now i feel really bad that she had to Show me her new guy, even though she knew that i was there. I ignored her always in the last weeks in the gym and she was always acting very different then in the time of out Workouts. Even friends of mine told me she was very insecure and nervous in the gym.
I know that she is Single and that she can do what she wants but why does she stalk me with fake accounts and why is she acting so weird?

Hello, I want to tell you a bit about my relationship story, if any of you relate or have any advice, perspective or anything I would gladly appreciate it! I also just want to provide some entretainment for ya'll as a way to cope. Thanks for reading:)
So I met this person (I'll call her "R") in around May last year. I had just ended a relationship with a long term girlfriend the year previous, and also having some failed dates afterwards. As a way to move on I started attending art shows and galleries, artists meetups in which I could meet new people and just overall be more social. This is where I met R. We were aware of each other beforehand, we just never got to "talk" until a mutual friend introduced us. Nowadays I see these as the good times. Life just felt better. It wasn't love at first sight, she was a somewhat akward, emotionally restrained and dorky person (I mean as kindly as I can) This is all something I wasn't used to, but I didn't let that detour my interest in her. There's just something about pationate artists that makes them endlessly captivating... We were both very eager to get to meet each other, and it really felt like we were taking things slow and calm, for a while. Hung out, went to cafés together, we happened to live nearby so we enjoyed a lot of calm walks. She was fairly quiet, but I just enjoyed soaking in her company. It felt right, it really did.
Turns out she was dating another person during this whole time. Enter "S" For some context, we both live in a small impoverished country, life's not bad but we are far from rich. This person is someone she met in one of her travels to Europe and so, at the time, it was a long distance relationship. I found out about this months into knowing her. I guess she felt somewhat guilty because she opened up about on the first day we ver held hands. R described how the relationship was failing and she was meaning to end it. I believed her, I was patient, understanding and I didn't mind. After all, we weren't techincally in a realtionship so why would I fret?
But of course, things ended up progressing. Things became more intimate between the both of us. I started visiting her regularly and this is where I actually and completely fell in love with her. The intimacy brought up a softer, kinder, more attentive side to her. She talked to me all about her interests, we went through her childhood photos together, cooked together and I got to know her family a bit. I visited her almost every week before going to class (We were both uni students). In retrospective, those months were the calmest I've ever felt.
Time is a bit foggy for me now, but it I would guess it was the week in which we kissed for the first time that I said "Hey, I just feel that if there was a right time to date, it would be now" She neither agreed or disagreed. I was okay with it. Maybe I brought it up too soon, I tought.
Imagine how I felt when she broke down the news to me. S was visiting our little tropical country, all the way up from europe for a videogame tournament. And being that he didn't know anyone else here, S would be staying at "R's" house. If you guessed I was angry, horrified, jelous, betrayed or whatever else, well I'm sorry to say you are wrong. I can see I acted a bit like a pushover at this point. Not only didn't I say anything, but I also provided full support and understanding in the situation. "Yeah, S already bought the tickets and he doesn't want to refund them, I understand" I said patiently. "Okay so he will be staying at your house for half a month? Alright, no issue with that" I'm now fully aware I'm also responsible for encouraging this behavior.
At the time, I learned to become as least troublesome as possible for her. And when he eventually came around, I stopped visiting, stopped uploading photos with her. All at her request. I learned to not complain or question at all. Nowadays i'm stuck between how I brough this own to myself and also her having some manipulative tendencies. It might be a bit of both, but i've always struggled at pointing fingers.
Still, there was something deeply wrong and embarrasing about this situation. I talked it out with friends and they all adviced me to dump her. Of course I didn't. We still had about half a year to go at this point.
Eventually this dude "S" left and I never brought up the topic again. She eventually told me they broke up, but, and would be deeply affected by it. I suppose she got over it. Still, it felt They would usually go like this: I would ask a question, she would answer in an ambiguous and obtuse way, I would press further, and at the end of it all, I would end up far more confused than before. These conversations usually ended when I felt dizzy and confused from all the semantics. Needless to say it was all very tiring and it went on for months and months. I would bring her over and my family will keep asking me if we were dating. i couldn't give them a straight answer.
During all this, we also had a lot of good times together. Things I still think about and deeply miss. I won't dwell on that but we became close friends, art collaborators, each other's comfort. We were always down for each other, when she was sick I would go visit her. She would pick me up from uni and said how she didn't mind at all, as she enjoyed my company a lot. I felt small and protected around her. It's weird I know. We would attend the same art events together and act like boyfriend and girlfriend in front of our friend group. She's this tomboy-ish, shy type person but let out her soft side around me. A fact that made me feel very special. I miss that a lot, too.
We made plans for long and short term, talked constantly. It really felt like the real deal, but it wasn't. The confusing conversations about the nature of our relationship were still as constant and tiring. I ended up not trusting her on giving me a yes or a no, ever. I ended up being okay with it all, but deep down I grew in resentment. I even went on some dates that never builded up to anything. This was my way to get back at her, but she still was the main character in my life. I was always, always there for her.
Things didn't reach a boiling point or anything. I was never argumentative with her, just genuenly curious on why was she doing this to our relationship, why wouldn't she just commit. I'll say this as unceremoniously as it felt at the time. I'ts january now, we had some great holidays together, with each other's family. We had this one call, the usual conversation. She eventually reached a point in which she said something among the lines of "Well I guess there's nothing stopping us from having a relationship. If it did were to happen, would you mind it happening over the phone?" I said no, and she replied "Well I guess that's it, we're dating now" I still can't understand this, but this moment felt empty. I didn't feel I earned it, or that it was special. But I knew it meant something, we were dating now.
Perhaps i've been painting myself as a bit of a victim until now, and even though it felt like it, this is the point I did very wrong. I just assumed the relationship didn't feel "real" And I was very unsatisfied for various reasons, most of them stemming from her personality. Perhaps this was unfair of me, I now think I don't understand how to truly love someone. It seemed she was commited to me, but at this point I was so exhausted I couldn't do the same.
Things dragged out, I dated her until I couldn't. I couldn't see a future with her anymore, I didn't know if I could even trust her. I still can't explain the mess of feelings I had at the time, but it felt as if I needed to escape, break off. I reverted to my old habits, I started talking to someone else. Let's call her "A" "A" caught my eye at the end of the year party at my university, she seemed like a fun, outgoing person and I ended up messaging her. We hit it off right away.
Long story short. I broke up with "R" with full intent to date "A" and "R" was heartbroken, absolutely hearbroken. She couldn't understand why I would do such a thing to her, and I did an awful job at explaining why. I was too afraid to anger her. Again, I take accountability for this and regret it.
She begged me, she reasoned with me, called me. I was over it, I felt unsatisfied and drained, didn't feel like myself. But I decided I should break things as soon as possible, as to not make them more painful and unfair for her. So a couple days after valentine's, I did so.
I started going out with "A" and had a great honeymoon period, had a lot of fun hanging out, sharing interests. At first "R" texted me, and I always replied back and was as understanding as I could be, but I always set the limit as to not meet each other. I don't know what to think about it anymore. Perhaps I was too dismissive. She needed me, but I was unavailable.
Things were a fog for the following two months after or breakup with "R"
I went out with "A" a lot, I didn't think about my past relationship at all. If you know anything about rebound relatinoships you might know where I'm going with this.
Two months pass and then, the smallest trigger hit me like a whole truck. "R" was my girlfriend, how did things end up so suddenly? What did it all meant? I felt like I did awful by not giving in to her offers to get back togehter, I felt I was blinded. I missed her a lot, I felt like i loved her and fucked it up. Couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, I was highly anxious, cried every day. I just missed her. I still do.
As you can tell, this leaves me no room to be a true partner to "A". This is something she doesn't deserve.
Three months in and I can sense how my shortcomings caused all of this. I failed both relationships. Nowadays I have convinced myself I truly love "R" but was too stuck up and blind to actually appreciate the way she loved me back. I still have this deep need to reach out and talk things out, but I also feel time is running out. This keeps me in a constant anxious state. I count the weeks with my fingers. One, two, three, four. How long was it the last time we talked? Is it too late now? would she hate it if I texted her? Does she still feel the same? Is she dating someone new?
Needless to say this compulsion took over my life for this past half a month, and of course my relationship whith "A" deteriorated. I stopped being as attentive to her, I started to dial back on my affection towards her and she noticed, she brought it up and I apologized, but still haven't given any reasons. She really is a sweet and understanding girl, but she also has a strong personality, she doesn't allow much BS in her life, and so she confronts things head on. I'm aware I should do the responsible thing and break up.
This past weeks i've been reaching out to friends, talking the situation out and also booked some theraphy appointments. I really need some help to sort things out. Im almost ashamed to admit this but deep down I feel the need to get back together with "R" I feel I became addicted to the challenge of our relationship, the rewards and the trials. "A" doesn't deserve this at all, of course. But i'm weak. I still can't build up the courage to break things off when she has given me no reason at all. This is how i've coped so far: I plan to bring up the topic on my first session of theraphy (That's tomorrow as the time I'm writting this) to get some guidance on how to break things off with "A" as I know, independently if I end up back in my old relationship or not, I'm in no position to date her, and it wouldn't be fair to lead her on. I know this will hurt the both of us too.
I know I'm not acting rationally but I figured I talked openly about it. I still have deep feelings for my ex and plan to talk to her about it before it is too late for the both of us. Everyone has adviced me to not to this at all, they've told me that "R" didn't respect me or my boundaries. I understand that, but I can't feel it as deeply as the need to explain myself, hear her out and just overall ammend things with her.
Again, this is were i'm at now. We're about two weeks from what would've been the aninversary of the first time "R" and I talked. Im delulu, I plan on texting her that very day for what I can only call spiritual reasons, but also to allow me to get some theraphy sessions in first.
I'f she's down to talk, I will. If she isn't I would at least not live with that regret forever. Maybe she's dating someone new, as she did with her last boyfriend and then me. I don't know. But that's my plan until now.
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TL;DR: I stayed in a long, confusing situationship for about a year in which my boundaries were not respected. Ended up dating a short while, broke it off, dated someone new and now I feel stuck, regretting everything. I'm aware none of this is okay.
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P.S, If any of you were invested enough to read until this point, I thank you a lot! Perhaps you are in a similar situation, or have been before, so I hope reading this has helped you gain some neutral perspective to your own situation, or just serve as harmless entretainment. I thank you for hearing me out.
I'm also aware I could come off as self pitying and frustrating to the reader, given my actions and apparent patterns of behavior. Still I thank you for reading and encourage you express your honest opinion if you feel inclined to do so. Just keep it respectful of course.
Again, thank you all for reading:) This has been very helpful to me so I'm happy I did it anyways. Have a wonderful day.

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,158,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
When Phoebe steps up to the podium, her heart wavers for a moment.
Neil's twisting of reality, and his manipulation of the masses has truly gone far beyond what she could accomplish.
In her eyes, only one word describes the man seated behind her.
Shameless!
It doesn't take her much effort to deduce that Neil must have decided to marry Corporal Hurent on the spot in order to obtain political brownie points. Having spoken to Jason several times over the last several weeks, she's long known about Neil and Linda's only recently budded romance, and that the two of them haven't even been particularly serious in their courtship attempts.
They aren't enjoying some youthful whirlwind romance. They've barely even held hands!
The idea that Neil would use Linda as a political prop sickens Phoebe. She feels a momentary urge to vomit out of pure disgust, but holds that desire in, stabilizing herself to face the crowd once more.
She could call Neil out, but what would that accomplish? Many people wouldn't believe her, and even if they did, it would seem like an even cheaper political ploy than what Neil did. It would only serve to harm humanity's interests in the long run by planting seeds of distrust.
Phoebe softly sighs.
She'll have to take the high road, even if he goes low.
"Well, hello again, everyone." Phoebe says slowly. "I'd like to first offer my congratulations to Neil and Linda on their engagement. I'm pleased to see that they will be starting a family together. Neil is certainly correct that humanity needs to focus on reproducing and getting our numbers up..."
She pauses for half a beat.
"...though, I do wonder about something. How are people supposed to raise a family together if our species is on a perpetual path of making enemies, dredging up ancient hatred, and otherwise doing everything we can to foment turmoil among our non-human peers? Please take it from a mother like me; raising a family is hard enough when your living situation is unstable. And losing a child can irreparably break a piece of your soul away."
Neil maintains his smile, but inside, he feels more than a little angry by her implication. After all, he knows well the pain of losing a family, even more than she does.
"Humanity needs a bigger population. A MUCH bigger population." Phoebe continues. "A hundred times bigger would still be insignificant in the scheme of the Milky Way. The Volgrim Technopaths alone would still outnumber us a hundred to one, to say nothing of the Demons! But I disagree with this idea that humans loving non-humans is a terrible thing. Who is to say that any form of love is wrong? I would rather a man lie with another man than have them lash out and try to hurt one another! Love is always good, and we humans would do well to focus more on it!"
Some of the people in the audience raise an eyebrow. To these sorts, Phoebe's speech once again comes off as naive and idealistic.
Luckily, she immediately addresses that in her next statement.
"Of course, Neil is also right about the fact that we are in a war, and thus we cannot necessarily live perfect, quaint little lives. The Plague could attack Tarus II tomorrow, and that would be a terrible tragedy, to say the least. We must be ready and willing to battle to the death with those who would cause us harm, and that fact is not in dispute."
She crosses her arms, looking somewhat annoyed.
"You know, I've noticed a certain theme underlying all of Neil's words. He speaks of Jason rather nastily, as if my husband were a buffoon who constantly fails over and over again while failing to improve as a man, and as a leader. I take offense to this implication because in a roundabout way, it implies I am stupid for believing in him. Nothing could be further from the truth!"
"Jason has been hard at work of late. He has come up with several incredible new forms of technology, warfare tactics, and holistic improvements to our species that we haven't told you all about yet. He has been testing them for viability, and many appear to be quite promising."
Phoebe looks at various random people in the crowd, holding her gaze on each one for a second or two before moving on. This effect makes it seem as if she is looking at specific individuals, making them feel special.
"Humanity is Flawed..." Phoebe says slowly, causing the hairs to stand up on the back of Neil's neck. "That has been the case since the Archangel Uzziel first uplifted us from the DNA of our simian ancestors. From the very beginning, she placed invisible shackles on our power at the behest of Archangel Raphael..."
Dammit! Neil thinks. She waited until she had the final retort to bring out the information about the Flaw! I thought she might not even mention it publicly for fear of the news getting out! Are she and Jason truly so unafraid of our enemies knowing all of our advancements?!
While Neil rages internally, Phoebe continues.
"The Human Flaw is a mysterious condition. Jason and I were uncertain of the effects that would occur if we cleansed it, and we didn't want to get anyone's hope's up in the event that doing so didn't work. But, I assure you, fixing Humanity's Flaw HAS resulted in an incredible benefit to our species. We're still uncovering all the after-effects, but so far the results have been nothing short of wondrous!"
...
Inside the Changeling Bunker, hidden deep beneath the Fortress of Retribution's upper plateau.
A handful of Changelings hurriedly speak into communication devices as they watch the broadcast. One of those happens to be the Sixth-Class Settler, Informer Jin, who has taken command of the situation ever since their superior Changeling officer's disappearance. After Mephisto's attack on Tarus II, Operative Duugo disappeared, and nobody knows where they went.
Jin hurriedly collects all the information they can find about the Human Flaw as they prepare to transmit a data burst to Volgarius, synchronized with the random fluctuations in Tarus II's atmospheric static so nobody will be the wiser.
Just before Jin is ready to transmit, a female voice speaks in his head.
[Operative Jin. I have already informed the Founders of this matter.]
Jin sits up slightly in their chair. They recognize the voice as belonging to the High Psion known as Creator Demila.
You have? Jin thinks, allowing their mind to be read.
[Yes. Do not risk a data burst needlessly. I am observing Tarus II from a hundred kilometers above the upper atmosphere. I have known about the Human Flaw for longer than you can imagine, as well as the Wordsmith's repairing of it some time ago. I am in talks with the Founders as to what measures we should take to mitigate the situation.]
This one contemplates and comprehends. Jin acknowledges, lowering their hands as they decide to go along with what Demila says. As the highest ranking Volgrim in the area, she is naturally to be deferred to on matters such as these.
[Delete that log you were going to make as well.] Demila adds. [It would be best if we do not leave any traces for the humans to find. We are not certain if and when they might uncover your base of operations.]
A sensible plan. This one will do as you say. Jin says, before reaching into the files and deleting Phoebe's statements about the Human Flaw.
Satisfied, Demila retracts her Psionic Sense.
She remains levitating in the Void while listening to the speech on the planet below, an expression of worry playing upon her face.
[This is a dangerous game.] Demila says to herself. [It could cost the Volgrim Empire dearly...]
The voice of Desire whispers seductively inside her mind.
Every gamble is dangerous, Demila dearest. Desire says. If you want to climb to the peak of power, you have to be willing to break a few rules. Otherwise, with your... lacking foundation... you will never achieve it.
Demila glowers at that thought. [If I fail to ascend after paying this price, that would be truly miserable.]
...
Phoebe continues her speech, growing more excited as she speaks.
"Fixing the Human Flaw is more significant than you all know! We first discovered that it was repairable as a result of our brave men and women who don T-REX suits and protect our civilization every day. Several amazing individuals, such as Lieutenant Samuel Baker, Private Ashley McCarthy, and others have worn the Power Gloves and become capable of manipulating mana when assuming the forms of other species. It was through these transformations that we discovered they were harnessing far more magical might in their base human forms than they should have!"
Samuel Baker also listens from his seat in the audience. His eyes widen as he hears this news.
"The Flaw was, in essence, a hard limit on the height any human could ascend." Phoebe explains. "But thanks to Jason, we have released the limiters on all of our human brothers and sisters. We've been carefully observing all of you ever since we fixed your Flaws, and there are some surprising takeaways! As mentioned before, Samuel Baker can now wield the powers of a male fairy, while Ashley McCarthy can transform into a powerful Orc at will, even without the use of her Power Glove! Others are sure to gain new, previously unseen powers as time progresses!"
Private Ashley cringes inside as she hears her deepest fear become exposed. Oh god, now every guy is going to know that I can transform into an ugly orc! I'll never get married!
Phoebe continues to speak. "We are still not entirely certain what effects will occur to humanity now that our Flaw is gone, but we are expecting an extreme uptick in metaphysical abilities. To explain it succinctly... every human now has the potential to become uplifted to the same level of power as the Wordsmiths! You are all capable of becoming mighty Heroes!"
This time, her words have a major effect. Until this moment, nobody in the crowd quite understood the significance of fixing the Flaw.
What would it do, allow them to become fairies? Orcs?
That didn't sound particularly appealing.
Sure, they might be able to wield more power on the battlefield. But if they had to turn into a whole other species, would they even be 'human' anymore?
However, now that they realize they could climb to the same peak as the Wordsmiths, this excites them greatly!
The crowd goes wild!
Who wouldn't want to be able to conjure any phenomena they desired with a single word? Who wouldn't want to ensure their own safety in a chaotic galaxy?!
Cheers roar throughout the crowd as people stand and applaud Phoebe.
"Incredible!"
"Thank you, First Wordsmith!"
"Thank you, Miss Hiro!"
"Humanity will conquer the universe!"
Phoebe smiles at everyone, waving politely as she waits for them to calm down. Before long, the roaring crowd loses some momentum, and they return to their seats.
The atmosphere of the debate changes permanently though, as people realize the Wordsmith has not been remaining idle. If humanity were to obtain just one more powerful Hero at the level of the Wordsmiths, who knows how much further their species could be uplifted? From that perspective, healing the Flaw is a tremendous merit that could never be repaid.
"As I said before," Phoebe continues, "my husband and I expect to observe many strange metaphysical phenomena occurring as time passes. If any of you spontaneously start controlling flames, or become weirdly adept at brewing tea, or anything else that seems out of the ordinary, I would advise you to seek me out or someone else in the administrative sector. We need to document all the changes so we can find out the full extent of healing Humanity's Flaw. In the coming months, Jason and I will release a detailed report on our findings so that all humans can benefit from our research."
Phoebe pauses for a moment.
She clears her throat and assumes a much more serious expression.
"There is one last side-effect of curing the Flaw." She says. "It's only hypothesized at the moment, but we believe it may be of even greater significance than granting every human the chance to become a Hero..."
The audience falls silent. Everyone listens with rapt attention.
What could be even crazier than becoming a Hero?!
...................................
Elsewhere, on Tarus II, Belial and Rosalia hurry back to the Western Hospital atop the Upper Plateau.
Within a minute, they race into the hospital and down a hallway, where they find one of the human nurses standing beside a hospital bed, while Kiari thrashes around on it, rubbing her head and massaging her chest.
"Aargh!" Kiari cries. "Hurts! Oh devils, it hurrrts!"
"Kiari!" Belial exclaims, quickly darting to her side. "Where does it hurt?! I'm here to help!"
"Everywhere..." Kiari whines. "H-head, chest, stomach, even m-my butt! It all hurts! Feels... feels like there's a parasite eating me alive! Aaaugh!"
"A parasite?" Belial asks with a frown.
Rosalia's heart skips a beat, but she says nothing, only watching anxiously as an invisible question mark seems to coalesce above Belial's head.
"I faintly remember... didn't that one Emperor back then use parasites?" Belial mumbles to herself. "He implanted them in countless demons... but he's been dead for eons. It can't be him."
She quickly shakes her head, then returns her attention to Kiari. "Here, let me inspect you with my magic..."
Belial transmits a general purpose healing pulse into Kiari's body, greatly easing her pain.
After less than ten seconds, her eyes widen in shock.
"What! How... how is this even possible?" Belial gasps.
"Did you find the problem?" Rosalia asks, suddenly feeling nervous. "It's not some sort of a parasite... is it?"
"Well. Depending on... how you define a parasite... it could be called that." Belial mutters to Rosalia.
She turns to look at Kiari, who has calmed down somewhat thanks to the pain-reducing power of Belial's magic.
"Kiari. I don't know how this is possible but... somehow..."
She pauses.
"...you've become pregnant!"
Kiari doesn't immediately react. She looks at Belial in confusion.
"What? Pregnant? No... that isn't possible. Only Broodmothers can bear children. How could I...?"
"I don't know." Belial says helplessly. "I was under the impression demonesses didn't even have wombs. Somehow, in some way... a miracle has occurred."
Kiari looks at Belial for a few seconds, and the realization dawns on her that the Emperor of Passion is telling the truth.
The impossible has happened.
Kiari's eyes turn moist. She tentatively touches her belly, a look of awe on her face.
"I'm... I'm going to be a mother?"
...................................
"Through our experimentation, we have made a shocking discovery." Phoebe says, continuing from before. "The human genome is exceptionally powerful. It is a force of nature none of us knew could exist. The Human Flaw did not merely limit our ability to wield magic... it also limited our biology itself."
Her expression becomes focused.
"The human genome is frighteningly potent. It can overpower other genomes in ways my husband and I have only begun to discover. Our research has concluded that in the event of a cross-species mating attempt, if the human should impregnate or become impregnated by a non-human... the resulting child will have a 95% chance of being human when born."
Neil's eyes flicker with shock. This news completely catches him off-guard. Never did he imagine that the Hiros were holding back such a secret!
Revealing it now completely changes the dynamic of their debate!
"That isn't all." Phoebe continues. "As you are all aware, the human species is the shortest-lived of all Sentients. Haven't you always wondered why we humans barely make it to 100 years of age while the demons and various monster species are effectively immortal, or at least live far longer than us?"
She shakes her head.
"You might be thinking that fixing the Flaw will make our species immortal. No. It will not. But we have finally uncovered the reason for why we live such short lives. And the answer is unbelievable."
Phoebe pauses to build anticipation. She looks up at the sky, as if peering at the Psion hovering in the upper stratosphere, then she looks back down at her fellow humans.
"As it turns out, the human ability to assimilate in its natural form far eclipses the ability of any other Sentient species. Not just the monsters, not just the demons, but even the Volgrim too. With the flaw fixed, many of you will sudden come into possession of vastly swifter minds, bodies that can be trained at speeds far eclipsing your previous performance, and superhuman abilities we cannot even begin to comprehend!"
Phoebe stands up straighter than before, maintaining a proud posture.
"Neil was right when he said we should become fruitful and multiply our population! What he did NOT know is that we humans no longer need to stick strictly to ourselves! I imagine that soon, VERY soon, a wave of pregnant monsters and demons will begin appearing all across Tarus II! In fact, I'd bet good money many are already pregnant as I speak!"
...
The impact of Phoebe's words this time far eclipse everything she's previously said.
All across Tarus II, various succubi, various female monsters, and even a few female goblins gasp as they hear her words.
"Pregnant?" One succubi asks. "I... I've been with several human men recently! There's no way I'm pregnant, right??"
"This is great!" Another succubus chirps. "I've always been jealous of human women for getting to raise their own kids. Maybe I'll be a mother soon myself!"
A female Harpie covers her mouth with her wings as she blushes toward her human mate. "Th-that's why, for the past few days, I've been feeling..."
...
"Jason and I had a child not long after we met." Phoebe continues. "At the time, it all felt like things moved quickly, but now I know why. It's because Heroes like Jason innately lack the Human Flaw. They are powerful and effective reproducers, and soon all the men and women of our species will be like him. Repopulation will not be a problem so long as we stick together!"
Phoebe finally reaches the conclusion of her speech.
"That is why I must reject Neil's notion that humans and demons cannot intermingle. If we want to restore humanity's greatness, then our demon allies will be able to help us more than we imagined! We must stick together as one people! Humans, monsters, and demons alike! Together, we can create a better future not just for humanity, but for the entirety of the Milky Way! We can defeat the Plague, then spread love and peace across the cosmos!"
"Now, my fellow humans... who's with me?!"
Phoebe raises her fist in the air. In unison, nearly the entire theater of people join her!
Everyone rises from their seats, and a huge cheer erupts all across human-controlled space!
Not just the humans, but the monsters and demons as well! All of them feel well-represented, and as if they have not been excluded by the First Wordsmith and his wife. Unlike Neil, who seems to only spread disorder among species, Phoebe truly seems to have everyone's interests at heart, and that continues to make her more universally likable than her opponent.
As Phoebe stands in place, waiting for the crowd to finish their cheering, Neil slowly stands up. His eyelids flicker with annoyance as he realizes he has been played by the Wordsmith's Wife. Even with Hope's help, he did not realize the full extent of what fixing the Human Flaw could accomplish.
Now, he will have to change his strategy on the fly.
He approaches the podium to stand side-by-side with Phoebe, shooting her an emotionless glance that doesn't give away his inner thoughts.
"Good speech." He mutters.
"Thank you." Phoebe says, beaming a triumphant smile back at him.
The second phase of the debate will soon begin...

So this girl (22f) was in one of my (25m) university classes 2 years ago, and I immediately thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, just absolutely gorgeous. Didn't think much of it because I was in a relationship at the time (which I ended a couple years later) and then when I was single again I decided I had nothing to lose with following & messaging this girl from my class on instagram. We had a ton in common, i'm very passionate about mountaineering & photography and she was very into hiking, she was a very talented athlete / played on the university team where I also played on university team, we were both into painting, running & working out, and also into videogames. It felt like we were the perfect match for each other. Our first date went really well, it was so easy to talk to each other and there was instant chemistry. She had such a strong joyfulness in her that was so infectious. But at the end of the date, she said she needed a bit of time to think about if she's ready to go on more dates because she had just recently gotten out of a 3-month relationship a month back and a relationship before that one that ended terribly. I thought that was a fine idea and appreciated her taking time to make sure she's ready, and I had also just ended a 3 year relationship (which i told her about and had lost feelings for my ex quite a while before I broke up with her). I let her be for a few weeks, then messaged her again to see if she would be interested in a second date. Our second date was the best date of my life, we met up early in the morning and went hiking to a nice view, shared really deep things about ourselves and felt like we already had such a deep connection. I've been in a 1.5 year relationship, a 3 year relationship, but have never felt something that felt as right and comfortable as I did with this girl. We then afterwards went to my favourite thai restaurant (she ended up skipping one of her classes because she wanted to keep spending time with me), and then eventually went back to my place and played mario and cards, and one thing lead to another and she slept over at my house (10/10 never felt so much chem), and then I made her breakfast in the morning. Our second date was over 24 hours long and I just felt like I was on top of the world with her, and could tell she felt the same. She said that she feels so safe and comfortable with me, and couldn't get tired of spending time with me even after 24 hours straight together. We decided we were going to take things really slow in terms of putting a label on us, so we continued going on dates and hanging out almost every day for about 4 weeks. She was the most encouraging person I had ever met, very often telling me she cared about me and how great of a man I am, how thoughtful I am, how attractive I am and that she really appreciates me. She said she had never been treated so well before. I bought her flowers and chocolate and would drop off food for her while she was studying. She actually cried of joy once when I wrote her a really nice card with some flowers (the exact types she said she liked) and chocolate, and was so unbelievably appreciative. She would bring me donuts and coffee while i was working sometimes, and bring ingredients over to cook dinners and we had many sleepovers together. Everything was going amazing, I had never been treated so well by a girl and it felt so easy to put into the relationship everything I could, it just felt so right and healthy. But then, she started having some mental issues, sobbing in front of me about issues with her best friend / roommate becoming distant & cold to her, issues with her crazy ex of 2 year relationship (who cheated on her with 2 underage girls and got in trouble with police for it). The pedophile ex was leaving bible verses about forgiveness and flowers on her car and shit, and kept appearing where she was on campus. I wanted to go talk to him and tell him off but the girl said I was the only person in her life not connected to drama with him and she wanted to keep it that way. A couple of her friends had continued being friends with her ex which made her feel very betrayed, and seemingly everyone in her campus life was connected to him one way or another, and she said I felt like an escape from that traumatic situation. And on top of that, she was very stressed out by her heavy course-load. She was also supposed to be finding a place off-campus to live the next year with her best friend, but they were having issues in their friendship. She started coming over less and not answering texts as often and felt very different from her normal self and she started going to counselling too. I was as supportive as I could possibly be and she was so appreciative of me, but I could tell she was struggling. I would be there while she would cry and vent and listen and talk her through it all, calm her down. She said that she feels so much better when she's with me, but feels so bad that she's relying on me. Then she started bringing up a few times that she wants to talk about "what we are", so one day when we were having a picnic at a park she brings it up and I say some really nice things and that I really want to become official when she's ready. She says that she wants me to make it a special moment when I ask her to be official and she seems very happy and excited about it all. Then, from this point on, she becomes very scarce, taking a whole day to answer texts sometimes, only being able to hang out about once or twice a week for short periods. One night when she was over, she asked, "how do you have so much to give in this relationship? You're amazing. I wish so badly I could give the same but I'm struggling mentally right now and so stressed about school and other things. I'm scared of hurting you because of how I am right now." I assured her that I fully understand that there's periods where one can give more than the other, and I just want to be there to help her through what she's going through.
She also was supposed to be back with her parents for the summer after school ended, 4 hours away from where I live, as she had summer work lined up there, which we already talked about and were okay doing mostly long distance until she's back in september. We wouldn't be able to see each other often though because she worked on weekends, and i work mon-fri.
At the end of march, she went home to visit parents for 4 days to get away from everything causing her stress. I didn't hear much from her while she was gone, but when she came back, she asked if we could talk. She drove over, and said some things "i've been very distant for the last while and I am really sorry, you deserve so much better. I like you and you have all the qualities I want in a man. I feel frustrated that I can't give in the relationship right now because of my mental struggles. You have been so thoughtful and encouraging and giving so much, and I appreciate it so much, and I usually can give a lot myself in a relationship. I feel guilty that I am relying on you so much for my wellbeing right now. I think I need to be single and spend time getting myself out of these mental struggles on my own without relying on someone else. The next girl you end up with is going to be so lucky to have you"
I told her some things like "I feel really bad about what you are going through, but I don't want another girl, I just want to be there to help you through and make this relationship work. You have made me feel so special, I finally felt like I found someone who treats me so well. But if this is what's best for you, I am not going to try to change your mind. I will be sad, but I will be okay. I am not mad at you and I will not hold anything against you. Don't doubt in yourself, I know you are going to excel finishing off the semester, you are so intelligent and hard-working. In these hard times is when you will learn the most about yourself and I know you will get out of this rut at some point and have gained so much wisdom through it all."
She then teary-eyed said "thank you for everything you have done for me. You have been so mature and understanding through everything. You are truly amazing and so intelligent and I appreciate all the encouragement and support you have given me, it has helped me so much."
I then said,"do you think we could try again in the future when you are feeling better, after summer when you're back?"
She said "i don't know. I don't want you to be waiting for me."
I said "I won't be hung up on you. But send me a text if you are feeling better in the new semester."
She said "okay" with a smile on her face.
We hugged and said our goodbyes. It's been a month now, I haven't messaged her but think about her often, throughout every day. I miss her tremendously, but I am still able to have fun in life and hanging out with friends, working out and following passions. So I'm glad I'm not totally messed up, I just simply miss her a lot. We still follow each other on social media and she watches all my stories, almost instantly after I post them seemingly when previously she was rarely on her phone, which likely means absolutely nothing but. I'm trying to kill the hope that is still lingering in me for my own mental wellbeing, but can't help myself but think about trying to reach out to her in 4 months when she's back to see how she's doing and if we can try again. She said when she was breaking up with me that she likes me and I have all the qualities she wants in a man, so I feel like I have a chance still if the stars align... but I am also open to other options and meeting other girls when I am healed up. But damn do I miss her.
Do you think she simply wasn't interested in me anymore and her reason for breaking up was a cover-up? Or do you think she simply had way too much going on in her life causing mental issues, and she just needed to escape everything and reset, build herself back up to normal while spending time back with her parents 4 hours away for the summer.

So I have a friend, who I shall refer to as Sarah (that's not her real name) and another i shall name Karly (that's also not her real name).
​
Karly is best friends with Sarah, and Sarah often spends time at Karly's house. since Karly has a bunch of siblings, Sarah helps out with the brothers too. when I first met Sarah, she was fairly nice, but something felt off. you see, my mother went through hell and back and because so gifted me with the oh so powerful gift of something i like to call "Vibe-Check". if i feel like somethings off about the person, their Vibe-check report will be at stake. and in this case, Sarah was at risk of not passing the vibe check.
​
you see, we are high school at this time, so smoking is kind of common amongst the students. when I used to sit with Sarah at lunch (we had a section where we could eat outside) she would often smoke, or in this case, use a vape. I didn't mind it since she wouldn't try to force me to smoke or anything and it's her life, she can do what she wants. that is until one day she says she'll stop smoking. again, fine by me, it's her life. but, a few days later, I go over to Karly's house and we're chilling in her room when Karly and I get up to go get some snacks. Karly uses the restroom really quickly, and so I head back to the room by myself, snacks in hand.
​
now a thing about Karly's place is that she is the eldest out of all her brothers, and two of her brothers are toddlers and would often walk into Karly's room when they are left to play.
​
anyways, I walk in and Sarah is Vaping with the windows closed and the door cracked open. I was confused, since not even a few days ago she said she stopped smoking. she said she just needed to get the edge off because of her family. (quick side note, she had no family problems. I know this because of my mothers coworker, which will later be explained in the story AND I have went over there before.) I then quickly ask her to put it away because of the toddlers and the fact that none of the windows were open. she does and that was the end of that.
​
I would've brushed it off if it wasn't for something that happened that made me so ticked off I can't look at Sarah the same.
​
so a year after that, I was sitting inside at a lunch table and peacefully eating my sandwich, when Karly comes towards my table with her lunch, looking visibly upset. I put down my lunch and ask what's wrong, and Karly explains that Sarah was in the hospital for liver failure and told Karly she had a 75% chance of dying. Karly breaks down and I try my best to comfort her, trying to reassure Sarah that she will be alright. again, my make-shift Spidey senses were starting to tingle, and i sensed something wasn't right.
​
now my mother at the time worked with Sarah's older sister, Ray (that's not her real name) at a coffee shop. when I came home that day and explained to my mother what happened, my mother said that was weird, since Sarah visited the coffee shop that day, looking completely fine. confused, I asked for more details and my mother informed me Sarah was indeed fine, and that Ray just had a liver biopsy.
​
you can imagine how ticked off i was.
​
not only did Sarah lie about being on the edge of death, but she worried Karly to the point of her breaking down.
​
so I texted Sarah and asked her how she was feeling (this was two days after she told Karly about her "liver damage"). this was the following message.
​
Me: hey, Sarah, how was your day?
Sarah: hey OP, it was fine. yours?
Me: it was decent. hey, I heard from Karly you were in the hospital for something to do with your liver. are you ok?
Sarah: yeah, I'm fine.
Me: good, good. when did you get out?
Sarah: a day ago.
​
.... yeah. I was beyond ticked. Karly was one of my best friends, and Sarah is taking advantage of her kindness and empathy? nuh uh. I went off, but I won't say what I said cause I used... VERY colorful language.
​
after that, Sarah acted like nothing happened. she still smokes and makes up small lies that don't even matter. Karly is still friends with Sarah, and I can't look at Sarah the same. I still can't forgive her and even if i had to, i can't. she hurt one of my dearest friends and until I see some change I find it hard to even think of her as the same sweet person I thought. next month is Karly's B-Day party and Sarah is invited along with me being invited as well. I am seriously on the fence about going or not because Karly is seriously one of my dearest friends. if I don't go, will i be the jerk? or have I been the jerk all along? what should i do?
​