Something to say to a guy to make him say your so cute

I feel so stupid but I have literal meltdowns when I lose things. Like material items
Right now I’m triggered because I remembered a bag of things I left at a sexual partners house I begged him to please not throw it out he has a habit of just tossing things when he gets in his feelings or upset he was telling me and reassuring me the things were safe. There was maybe 100-200$ worth of stuff in there nothing major. But he ended up doing what I feared and now I’m literally in tears because I don’t don’t remember exactly what was in there. I’ve tried to write down as much as I can remember but there will be items that I won’t ever remember were in there. I don’t have a great memory.
And I’m crying because it gives me unbearable anxiety what if something important was in there? What if there’s something someone who died gave me and I’ll never find it cause it was in there?
I know they were just things and reason says I should just make peace with it but I can’t I feel so stressed out. I’ll never know and it literally makes me cry and hurt inside.
I’m almost 30 for fucks sake why am I crying over toys.

Hey all, I just wanted some insight of what I should do. About 1 week ago me (27m) and my now ex (28f) broke up. We only dated for a hot minute, 1 month. We were in constant contact daily (she wanted me to keep intouch especially if I was at work). And everyother day we were together in person. We met through work I'm a firefighter, she's in law enforcement. When we were together she'd tell me things that she's said she had either never opened up about. But how easy it was to open up with me. Everything was going great. She liked my no bs about the future. We agreed what both of our intentions were LTR with marriage and kids etc. Like I said, all was going great.
One day she wanted me to meet her best friend (30f). I agreed, we went to the best friends house together. The friend had a kid that kept going around hitting the women (8m) and I stopped him. Basically saying that behavior isn't tolerated and I'm not going to allow it. I then told him to apologize, which he did. All else was going well. By my 3rd drink I said it was going to be my last one. But I seen my gf and her friend opened another bottle of wine so I had another 2 beers. Later in the night my gf told me she wanted to spend the night so she could watch her best friends son soccer game in the am. It's not what I wanted, but thinking all was well I went along with it. We kissed, I left.
After I got home I texted her saying I had a good time and enjoyed her company. I also apologized if she felt like I shouldn't of driven because I drank 2 more beers 5 total in 5 hours than I said I would. She said she had a good time too and enjoyed my company. She ignored the part that I mentioned about alcohol.
Fast forward, next day. I'm at work, she's more cold and distant. It takes her significantly longer to get back to me than normal. And she doesn't want to talk about yesterday. Eventually I get super anxious feeling something is off and message her saying "I know something is bothering you, we've had conversations in the past and both agreed that if this is the case we would hash it out so we don't hold it against one another. So we can either communicate like adults like we've agreed. Or throw in the towel (figure of speech)."
She ended up replying immediately saying that I immediately went to "throwing in the towel " and how I must not care about her or our relationship. So being what I said she wanted to break up, because screw me.
Me regretting my choice of words tried to backtrack saying that's not what I meant. She said I was right something is bothering her from last night but she didn't want to have this conversation with me being that I'm at work. And hoped I would do the same if she was because she has a gun on her hip.
She said she noticed two things yesterday she didn't like. 1. I talked to much about work. 2. Drinking more than I said I would (this bothered her because of her past of getting a dui). She then said because of those two things she didn't want a relationship anymore with me. Because "That's your personality, and I don't want you to change because of me. I want you to change because of you". I said I'd change because I wanted too. She wouldn't listen. She said she was too mad at me to continue our relationship and that we're done.
Later that day I reached out, she agreed to let this go. But was still being cold and distant, less available. Canceling all of our future plans and having excuses.
So, I reached out again telling her how much I like her and how I absolutely adore and & love her (I've said this in the past and she said she feels the exact same way. Just feels too soon to say it back).
She then says she needs space, isn't ready for a relationship, that someone like me hurt her before. That we're on separate paths right now and she doesn't want me anymore. She ended the conversation saying we'll talk about this at a later date. But she wants time to focus on herself.
The next day I noticed she recorded or FaceTimed my snap story and then unfriended me on snap.
We've been on NC for the last week. I genuinely do want her back. I don't know what I should do, or say. Or if I should at all.. It hurts and sucks. Looking for what you all think of this. What I should of done differently. Thank you for your time!
tdlr relationship ended after a poor choice of words

Anblitonoimz has four or five tongues, four mouths & five or em.
Th's firstsnd mouth urinaes fortso does "Coffee of a lifetime" Hes sputters, slurping up a cup of that good mud. "Splots dreams in thirty of our microwaves".
Ambipzonnzi doesn't cipher. "Let 's get born & roll down the hill, We get born & roll down the hill" His fourth one shoots ,in south-east yardings
"yearlong coffee beans, coffee plant. papa nu guineaa. Honduras. Lofty without a saddle". a third mouth wisses out sorta westishly through heavy phlegm
He twists to explore "Learn to drive, learn to walk. Crawl from town to town Babe. Crawl on all four wheel & kKaww like a Bird" anbipozond's mouth smacks on
"No point in crying over spillt milk"
"You keep saying that!". his northeast mote swirls in southwestard recounts
Eeps
from elswhere "Every auction is just the loudest, Heather". else now mutters a funnel with propose. "houses are birds with fourty wheels on a similar day". Insteebchlo raises his hand with a smile eager to answer the daily question. he starts to wave as he catches the attensions.
Noesteeblichavl has houses for heads, he sstarts jittering. "Your eyes are windows, someone needs to clean your windows. Your house is a head. Clean your windows off annd surprise the neighbors dog!" ... "hello"
"you're not driving to my off-grid parasite with that attitude". Ampliurpoznenzi shuffles his gums ,Crawling down the asphalt road on his hands & knees proudly. He might think he is an entrepreneur for a while or aprehend himselgf as an connoisseur forwhile.
"oh drink gasoline lika subaru" oensteeblih tweeks
"I've an appotite to put my teeth to the curb!" Ambeplerznz snaps & gnashes at houses
his foldy gob norths "One step at a time! Learn to crawl, Learn to walk, Buy some land babe, heyhow does much a hotel cost hahh".
"CAWWW" Apmliurpozoenzi's mouth makes a bird noise. having a bite yer own ear off & spit it at the coroner day.
"I think you will drink gasoline like my aunties subaru" houses heads repeats.
"Bvrruuuummmm" Ampliurpoznenzi's mouth does the car noise now. He's going somewhere, past the speed limit ,another four kilometers & he is gonna need his diaper change. Better get his wallet ready.
"You slurp gasoline, like ants in a subaru" Noesteeblo 'peats. Amblurdozinnzi pops into more civilized bucket. the house curls into a smile now. "look at youu!, you've become such a confident driver now!".
"C'mon, don't be so hard on yourself" Abemlurdozonz mremarks vaclantly. "So I could wear your face? Is it losing it's grisps on reality in here or me?"
Nostlible smeoes to him "Bro you okay?"
.....
"Ye get born into like machine & fall through like pachinko scottlander" . "Offered five things strange for new emergant traditions"
"Third tape recorder to the rotting egg translates the scripture, we're all just pachinko machines rolling down a hill arn't we?"
sorta just sautering around, peaking in through all the windows in the neighborhood, he's a freak tapping on the glass. Abmlorznonza is trying to climb into the garbage disposal, he wants to become ground beef or he wants to arrive to a wedding.
"Hey Do ies Yoeur Reaelity Okaey?". he mutters himself
Abamorbzonenz's large nose covers the porch in snot. He is smashed in through the windows. everything covered in snot. Dissassembles Th' Constructiom. "everything is covered in snot!!" He complains! "I SAID SEASAW. I SAID". Seasaw
...
"Highly Functional we are. Violences with the earthly gravitations ,Maneuvers to gnaw your tongue away at the glory hole ssir". Houses for heads whispers easy to his parole officer
.....
Ablimurzozna is inside the building, meeting all the wacky charicatures, really looking for something to snack on
"snooze on the cheesblock wiyhth a thousant feet of square areah". Zimberly's gonna need to fester up if she's gonna make it out of here alive.
-"come into my villa? withyer 6,000 foot long arms? I'll teach you the mannerisms" she stand combative with a toaster under her arm, holding the plug in her other hand.
The kitchen fatefuly occupied, Ablimzundz rushes square around & through down hallway, he drips the sweat "round nor square corners, I'm deduction points" his bin echoes offa chair in the passing.
... "I'm not just a petting zoo, I'm also a boarding school for chiropractory on the week-ends". Chochizialule snides from a toilet room "I pay money here"
Ambliuoznenzai screams, he begins to shrivel up & become hairy. "lettuce beef union, where did you go? lettuce beef onion. ".
"Let Us ..decode your one dimensoinal braine". presences Noestivbyuchevlo
another charicature interrups "I PLACED THE EYE INSIDE OF TJE HEAD & THE HEAD ON TOP OF THE BODY". Martin chimes over the loudspeaker. feeling like an eyeball inside of the tube today. just like all other days. an irreversible sense of time "I think I'll industrial my furnishments enjoy & pass out" He obviously has the plans.
"Do Not Touch Me". the subaru won't calm down.
"ellen my knuckle jelly is swearing. Juxtapose penguin my knuckle. Whatever fucking. My justice system swears at me."
Garvezetozald nouts at he,
"I can't relax. I'm on chameleon because my eyes move on their own. Indipendently from one anobther. " Amprulpozanzi won't shut up or he wouldn't
Nestavloblica tries to comprehend or understand "Autism is also a bell of god? Hey! Slow Down! Howhy are you aging so rapidly , in this metal bucket over here?"
Ampeliuropoznnz's wheels berate" DONN'T TOUCH MEE. I SAAID DONN'T TOUCHH MEE". He revs it!
"Hold it! Give your skin prison!" Windows for eyes shudders urgently. "Take me to your northern hemisphere! okay? okay?!"
Theres multiples of them
"No you No youKnow what You know you could Use?" they all say in unison
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Ambluboznecviblo screams in whemchever direction heis headed ?
windows for nostrils speaks out loud "wel A well balanced curriculum would be dandy for starters".
Garvezetozald escorts ambinzopnonzor back to the pave "aluminum foil, very shiny in your bank deposit you know, But don't listen to me. Why would I fucking say anything ". He grumbles the offput as retreating it back inside.
ambilurbonznenance isnot having it. He's murking off in the anger pavement shoes. "Don't change the subject, I know you're hiding things from me".
Ambilerbeentsli "shiny aluminum foil heaps in my bank deposit". out of a different mouth or head after that whatever it said
.............................
intrusion layering dish. splattered withe batter. "Undetermined. loosely your own imagines, or yourself into they inretrospective periphany? who are you defying here? I did I hear (that right)?"
"I said build your little hhouse outthere, and& record yourf fairy shit, I stabbed you really hard with the fork" sends the not know says "yeah buddy, nascar teeth better be stoppin in to be stoppin tobe takina pittstop stop inn" Heaps he "STOP IT ,STOPP STIP. STOP IN THEs PIT FOR A STOP NOWW"
"are you been taking all oyour supplements skin-jaw pirate attorney?". eyuunNoesteblijhavwl Creoaks to the fiend
Pramblestabhon starts talk about lands all sorts and Louis Vuitton" We drop him off atthe nearest station
Scubs scenfen fenhinit. The cold touch of a stranger.
"Shd diedent mean to sdo that withe her subaru" "make the fuzzy worls ceawl owt but were notbhgoana takklk to you. Beat toyojar head with thea hmmm
The dufuzzys crawl out of the brain spot "COFFEEE AND TORTILLA CHIPS" Ambliubyonzunzi blares. He is crying the tears. "COFFEEE AND TORTILLA CHIPS" A second mouth of he shouts as well joins in.
"eyebrows, eyebrows jaws & toes, heavy finger-slips. uprightnowyou. Our gene pool is speaking~ (????) & having remained focused on the road this whole time"
...
"ofcourse We want gimberly to fall asleep at the wheel, make it look like it was an accident" Ampliunornzi agrees with himself "We want this we want that we want nothing more for ourselves" He's done & settled but restless & jiving. He keeps on driving, he worrys somedaybody will cut his brakes for him.
"No I think You betetetetter get onto bed on time " Noestelevblilpo bleyowabs abashed "sleep onfor more decades?, crawl on this earth, listen to the musics of the centuries?" nietstravlo attemptates their reconciel
Ampliupzinzunzi agleams unto the sedatiea. relloxed . enloungicated Dormitoitory. Parked something or other an a benchpt he rwests "If we don't chop uff all of the limbs then don'T throW uP on TimE." it complains. something seperate &.. he produces a small thermos from his (cupholder)
Ambliornuunzi Takes another sip of this coffee. He rolls the liquid around his tongue & swishes it in his mouth before hes swellow. "Brazil, Ecuador" He feels the longitude, He feeles the latitude, the coordinates of the bean. "South america, central america, yeah, You can taste it". The bitter wash is guzzled before it's swallowe. Amiburzobowenzanzha Licks it's teeth and gums. Functional piss distillery. With gusto he announce "Brazil, we need go to Brrazziill eyah". starts he runningh & He trips & smashes one of his mouths into the curb, If had he a tongue from there off bitten would it have been but lucky him, only smashing his teeth to scream & writhe.

First my question: is it legal/ethical for a lawyer to pressure their client in a contingency fee arrangement to make a decision based on the attorney's own costs? If not, what can I do about it?
As the title says, I am being represented by a personal injury lawyer by contingency fee. My claim is against a company that has filed a motion for arbitration. My lawyer has suggested a deal he wants to propose to the defendant's counsel: let's go to mediation, and if that fails, we'll go to arbitration, thereby waiving my right to a trial.
The memo the defendant filed claims that I agreed to arbitration, however it's clear to me that this won't hold water if we make it to court*. When I ask my lawyer about this, he said:
"Mediation is the least expensive way to get your claim resolved. Arbitration is like a trial but in front of an arbitrator and as such dates are certain and it’s easier to put your case on….so it too is less expensive."
What I want to reply is "More expensive for you!" But I am unsure how this will go over.
*In Berman v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC. the Ninth Circuit held that a usecustomeperson has to affirmatively consent to arbitration through a clickwrap agreement and that a browserwrap agreement is not sufficient. The fact pattern in my case is nearly identical.
More info that may or may not be relevant: Generally speaking, I'm quite unhappy with the lawyer.

• He didn't tell me that he'd filed a complaint in superior court - I only found out when I called him 3 months later to ask for an update.
• At that point, he passed me off to someone else (a trial attorney who I'd never met) who is handling my case now, however he never mentioned that would be a possibility prior to signing. He's informed me that he will not take the case back.
• The trial attorney is not great. He calls me the wrong name regularly, he cannot explain to me why I should waive my right to a trial other than his own costs or speed.
• The trial attorney also called me one day after speaking with the defendant's counsel, saying we were going to have a problem proving fault and asked if I had any photos. When I reminded him that the company sent me an email confirming my account (and thereby proving fault) he asked me to send it to him again and said he'd take it from there.
• The trial attorney also forgot that I'd already had surgery to resolve my injury when speaking with the opposing counsel.

I get attorney's have tons of files they work on, but this seems pretty bad.

I genuinely need some kind of advice from anyone about what I can do or anything when it comes to my faith in God.
For context I’ve been a Christian ever since I was a kid. There were other times where I struggled with faith but managed to get through it. But now it’s worse than ever to be honest.
As some examples, I’ve been praying to God almost every day for him to change something in my life or give me a nice Christian friend who has some things in common with me. The reason I pray for these two things almost every day is because it’s what I want and as well they’re things I really need in my life to be honest, things I struggle with or haven’t had in a very long time. I don’t see why it’s wrong to be praying for these kinds of things.
But it’s like no matter what I do or how many times I pray none of it has happened, it’s been almost a year now. It’s causing me to lose the most of my faith because I feel like he isn’t listening to me or that he just doesn’t care for some reason, I don’t know why but it just makes me sad and feel like he doesn’t want anything good for me.
The other thing is I’ve been getting this really terrible temptations to turn to other things, which I don’t actually want to, but the temptation is there and I think it’s mainly because as I said I feel like he’s just not there for me at all, but either way I don’t like it because it’s not how I want to live the only issue is it’s really hard to resist and I pray to God he would help me with it but nothing improves. I know it says in the Bible that “you aren’t tempted anything you can’t handle” basically, but idk… also, I’ve had a hard experience with some mental health struggles which caused me a lot of doubt in God too.
I don’t know if maybe I’m praying wrong or asking for the wrong things, or if maybe my faith is just somehow too weak to make any actual difference..
I just in general feel like he isn’t there for me and it makes me sad and disappointed, and kind of depressed because of course I want him to be there and actually help me with the things I struggle with for once. It’s caused me to lose so much faith in him and it’s barely hanging on by a thread every day to be honest. Any advice or words would be helpful. Thanks.

For context, I'm 17 and autistic, my mom and dad divorced when I was in about first grade, and my dad found a new girlfriend in second grade. I've always had indifferent feelings towards her because she would always make comments about my mom saying things like how she didn't have a real job, she was a subsitute teacher, and more recently she stated how she's always not really liked her because she would still have my dad buy me toiletries. Some of her exact words being she hates poor people because they just let the government pay for all their stuff while she has to work hard to make a lot of money for the family.
It's always been a struggle because how I was raised there was always drama and fighting everywhere I guess I sort of developed a more antisocial attitude more around just my dad and step mom. And my step mom really hates this about me because she doesn't feel appreiciated for how much she does for me. Which I will admit I am wrong for this on some level, but growing up my sister and mom have always never had a properly good opinion of her and I guess it sort of rubbed off on me. Top it off with her hot headed emotional attitude and need to always be right, it's never been something that's made me feel comfortable to be more open. Especially when just up until a few months ago there was so much fighting between her and my dad, which she said was mainly about us, my little sister and me.
My mom currently is unemployed as she takes care of her new kid (who's about to go to school) with my step dad, and about 3 weeks ago my mom bassically stated how she didn't want to pay for anything for me (in reference to things like band fees for school, not basic living stuff). I wasn't able to hear the whole conversation my mom and dad had but that's the ghist of what was said. This furiously angered my step mom because she's the one who helps my dad take care of me (money wise and her time). Since that happened she's started making snarky comments about my mom specifcally mentioning how she doesn't pay the bills and doesn't want to take care of me. And about yesterday it got too much to handle and I told my mom all the things she had been saying about her, she called my dad and had a civil discussion with him about these comments. After they hung up I went into my room because I know something was about to go down. Not just a few minutes later she stormed into my room yelling trying to settle her points, and I started going into a panic attack while my dad tried to comfort me and calm down her rage. After this she yelled some more obscene things about my mom calling her worthless and drove off to her friends house.
After this, I got calmed down and chatted with my dad for a little. After about maybe a few hours she came back more calm and we all chatted about things that were wrong. Most of it was all the stuff I just talked about, me being not appreciative and my mom not wanting to help pay for things. I'm just scared of what's going to happen I don't want to be in this situation I can't help but know I put myself in. There's too much hate and negativaty and I just want it all to go away.
TL:DR Step mom angry because I don't show I'm appreciative of all the money she spends on me and all the time she's put into doing stuff for me. While the whole time I've known her she's hated my real mom for being poor and not working as hard as her. Huge arguments and fights are happening and I don't want to be in this mess I may have started.

my boyfriend keeps being disrespectful towards me I (F22) been with my boyfriend (M21) for a year now and as of lately it’s been rocky. If you look at the second previous post on my profile this is not the first time something like this has occurred so let me describe what happened this time. So i’m at my boyfriend’s house and his mother was throwing a mother’s day party. When I came I bought his mom a beautiful flower bouquet and some balloons and heartfelt card and also a min cake. She loved it and went downstairs to chill. We’re down there for a good hour and a half and he’s cuddling/ laying on me. So this new ice spice song came on and I showed it to him. When I showed him the song I said that I personally didn’t like it and that she isn’t that great of an artist. He instantly started defending her which caused us to go into a full on debate on ice spice and other female artists who are more talented and don’t get the same recognition as her. It was like he was nearly brained washed trying to defend her. (He was laying fully down on the couch with his head on my upper legs and I had my hand on his chest)
He kept trying to debate with me on my person option until it got to the point of where I checked fully out of the conversation and stopped replying. This enraged him and he threw my arm away from him and a really rude way. After he did this it hurt my feelings so i moved my legs so that his head would be laying on the couch. After I moved his head he kept trying to forcefully make me put my leg back but i refused because of how rude he was acting and then I continued to be on tiktok like we were before this big debate started. Then he snatched my phone away from me (if you read the previous post he did this before but the last time he turned off the tv while i was watching it and as a result i picked up my phone which he snatched out my hand and went away with it )
This time I tried to remain unbothered and this went on for a while too. Mind you after he snatched my phone he picked up his phone and started playing it. So after acting unbothered i snatched my phone back from him and tried to get back to what we were doing before, which was being on our phones. After I got my phone back he said “well if you’re just going to be on your phone you might as well..” and I said “go home ?” and he said yea (I honestly thought he was joking and was going to say jk or something) but when I noticed he was serious I got up and collected my belongings and went upstairs he was leading me out (side note: his mom catered food for the party and I wasn’t hungry when I first got there so they told me to pack a to go plate for later which I did) As I get up stairs I grab my purse and say goodbye to everyone and that “(my boyfriend name) is running me out of here” in like a joking manner.
Then I circle back to grab the plate that I had made then he snatched the plate out of my hand and kept me walking out the door. As I was walking out I wished everyone a happy mother’s day again and hugged his mom (she was at the front door) and kept walking down the stairs and then his mom asked him “aren’t you going to walk her out ?” and and he said “no” and slammed the door. That absolutely crushed me, I couldn’t believe how hurtful he was being to me. So I just got into my car and as I was putting my seatbelt on he appeared saying that his mom “made him” walk me out and I replied “thanks” then he asked if i was mad at him to which i replied “no” (I just couldn’t believe he would even ask me this as if he couldn’t see how upset I was)
At this point im over the disrespect, the first time this happened we talked about it and he made a promise that he was going to work on it. I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore I don’t want to be with someone like that. He’s normally a very sweet and caring person idk why he has these sudden switches sometimes but it honestly is starting to take a toll on me.
I blocked him after I got home because of how upset he made me feel and he keeps reaching on different socials blaming me for the whole situation ! With a mix of saying he was sorry and that i am the rude one and that he doesn’t understand why im “doing all of this” im honestly tore between my feelings and my moral values :/ (This was a long story so I appreciated anyone who made it this far)
TLDR; i’m over my boyfriend’s constant disrespect towards me and not sure what i should do next

SOOOO let me start off with, the reason I'm confused is bc it doesn't make any sense. SO A Month ago I had a Retreat RC with a tooth on top ( endo did the retreat) then I had a tooth pulled that already had a root canal/crown just last week ( last Wednesday), it was also a back top tooth#2, I have been doing salt Walter rinses amd finished my Antibiotics on Saturday. ( it was my 3rd round of Abx my 1st round Amixocillin 7 days was 2 weeks before my Retreat bc my dentist said it may have been a sinus infection bc xrays showed NO INFECTION, went to Endo he started the Retreat with a drain and put Medicine in and sealed it up put me on my (2nd Round Antibiotics ) Keflex for 7 days, then 3 weeks later went back to finish up Retreat root canal, everything went awesome, but he let me know that my back top tooth #2 which had crown/rootcanal was loose and had a crack he could see on the x ray but I had already had a bad taste coming from it which I had already told my dentist, and he said it looked fine and it was probably from the one that was being retreated which he had said that it didn't have any infection ( it was infected based on what endo said, but My Dentist informed me that Endos can see more bc of their equipment, although my Dentist done a xRay that went all away around my head and he had stated he could see everything) so I had called my Dentist to make an appointment to have crown took off to look at it, but then with rge Money adding up so quickly I said let's pull it bc Endo said by what he saw it probably needed pulled and he was correct, it was decayed pretty bad, it's been less than a week it was pulled, but before they pulled it 4 days before I was put on a (3rd round of Abx Amoxicillin 9 days, [it was for 10 days but dropped my bottle and 3 of my pills got soaked] ) went had #2 extracted so far so good, THEN THIS MORNING HAPPENS!!!! Getting to my question, so sorry.
So I brushed my teeth and I have been noticing that bottom tooth # 30 which has also had a root canal with a crown just a couple years ago by my Dentist, has been sensitive and been told that is normal and since I have had the top extraction just 5 days ago I have noticed it is sore maybe from the pressure of biting on guaze trying to get bleeding to stop from the extraction ( I was bleeding for 8 Hrs pretty heavy)I'm not sure, ANYWAY then I noticed a hard Bump that was the color of my skin it was just a Hard bump with NO white on it like a pimple, but it was hard so I called my Dentist they said to come in at 12PM only 3 hrs away, so I was in the car before going in and I pulled the side of my mouth to look at it and pulled tight and then I tasted a salty taste,, ( the pressure from pulling the skin to look at it must have popped it) didn't see anything but BUMP GOT SMALLER, as I'm walking into my Dentist, x ray was done with a visual exam , ( no tapping of teeth or cold/hot sensitivity test just visual and xRay) was glaced at for maybe 10 seconds when I showed him where a very tiny bump remained (bc my dumb butt had to look at it and mess with it before he looked at it, so it popped amd went down quickly)and he gets up takes gloves off and said no sign of infection , so I asked what it was and the taste I explained to him once again, he said IDK I see nothing, he then says maybe a Mucosa Gland but not sure bc nothing is there, I asked if he could see where it was leaking, he said no signs of infection, I remind him I was told the same when I did have infection when he sentt me to the endo. So I felt embarrassed and so stupid and felt so small bc I felt he just didn't believe me bc his tone, didn't even explain anything to me, so abt 6 hrs later it's coming back slowly, amd I called my detist office again to let them know the bump is returning amd sometimes I taste a salty taste,the office staff called me back amd said he said he could put me on anorher round of antibiotics( 4th round) just in case it is an infection or gum boil, or it may just be a mucosa cyst ( i thought cyst didnt drain?)I reminded them I had just finished a 9 day ABX ( my 3rd round) not even 48 hrs ago, then I told her I wanted to ask him questions bc I never had a " Abcess/ Gum Boil/Mucosa Cyst, but he literally was in that room with me MAYBE 1.5 MINUTES, she asked me what would I need to know, I then changed the subject amd asked what should I do going foward, Their Amswer since I'm" denying" My 4th round of Antibiotics within a month and a half was to see if it keeps coming back, maybe wait a month or so, touch base if any significant change and go from there. I asked if maybe I should go to an oral surgeon for them to glance at it. I was told no , I couldn't get a referral let's just wait and see, I explained to them if IF it's an infection I would take my 4th round of Antibiotics but he said it wasn't an infection this morning , amd I asked twice as he was walking out if he was sure it wasn't t an infection, he stated NO It isn't, then while walking down the hall I asked him one more time if he was sure it wasn't an infection he said NO, if it was am abcess it would show up on xray. He then stated real loud NOTHING NOTHING Is there and IF something Appears call us, I felt so small. But I did call, and I still have NO ANSWERS after paying $110.00 today for NOTHING!!!! I also have Crohns so being on alot of Antibiotics cam really mess me up, amd ir it's truly not an infection you don't need an Antibiotic, or so I thought. So I said and explained all that, to ask, is it possible to have a "Gum boil" without any infection? The hard Bump is not right under tooth #30, it's more over we're #29 ( but #29 is gone just empty space) so it's way down on gums Like where your inside cheeks go down and meet ur gums, I hope I'm explaining that right, anyway again it's not right up under tooth #30 I would say if #29 was there it would be under that tooth all the way down past gums where gums meets ur cheeks. ( when I'm home I may be able to get a picture to explain better) but again #30 has been sore and hurting off and on since extraction again I thought it was from me bitting down on that guaze all those hrs, I had alot of pressure on them, but before that I had explained to them that it was sensitive to sweets, amd some colds was told it was normal, so again here are my questions!!
What could it be if it isn't infection?
Should I get a 2nd opinion?
If it's an abcess , are abcess hard to leak out, does it take alot to pop am abcess? ( again there was no white pimple looking bump or any blood or pus that leaked out it was just clear n salty, amd the color of bump was the color of my gums)?
How fast do abcess fill back up if it's an infection amd would it hurt and could u see where it leaked or popped fluid from? Would it look like a sore after it pops? ( mine hasn't filled all the way up as it was this morning but i can tell it's coming back, it's slow.
Should I take another 4th round of Antibiotics without knowing it's a true infection?
I have spent $2,800 in the past Month and half, and I'm so scared I'm gonna have to lose another tooth bc I can't afford another Retreat, and I'm scared my dentist doesn't really care or maybe just doesn't know, but being told to wait it out, if it's am abcess wouldn't that be dangerous? I hope I explained amd to anyone that cares to explain anything to me abt what you think my Dentist is thinking please explain to me bc I don't even know. All I l ow to do, is wait and see what happens. And was told to try to wait atleast a month. THANKS and GOD BLESS!!!!

I may be the A-H and a bit Petty, but at least I got away from a toxic "friend".
Fair Warning, this is going to be a LONG post, but I will try to dilute it as much as possible.
About 12 years ago I left the world of retail (of which I have MANY stories) to begin a career in childcare. Some people prefer different titles, Nanny, Babysitter, Parents' Helper, Childcare Provider, etc. To be honest each of those titles are suitable in different situations.
The first family that I Nannied for went on for about 4 years, and then on again off again for another year. Through this family, I met "Wendy" and her family. Wendy went out of her way to be friendly with me, and would often ask me to babysit her kids (B5 and G1).
At one point, I had moved on to working with another family for a few months. Sadly, that ended due to the parents getting a divorce, and they moved further away.
Wendy found out that I was unemployed and asked that I Nanny for her kids. She was also pregnant with her 3rd at the time. I agreed at a slightly discounted rate because we were "friends". I realized too late that that was a HUGE mistake on my part.
Wendy's live in boyfriend "Cole" also had 3 kids from a previous relationship. B15, G8, and G6 lived with their mother. Yes, am aware of the closeness in age of Wendy and Cole' B5 and his G6. I chose to keep my mouth shut.
Now prepare yourselves for the Rollercoaster of emotions I dealt with with this family.
Initially, both Wendy and Cole were employed. I would come over 5 days a week for 8 to 10 hour days, depending upon whether Wendy got home on time. Here is where my discounted rate bit me in the butt.... $300 a week was still complained about. Wendy asked that I not leave Cole alone with their kids because he basically ignored them and refused to change diapers. I felt pretty icky about that, but agreed. Now I lived 45 minutes away without traffic. I would often leave my house early in anticipation of possible traffic. If I arrived early, I wasn't allowed in until she our alloted time of 7am. I didn't have a key, and would often be left waiting on the porch an extra 15 minutes past our time. If I knew I was too early, I parked around the corner and ate breakfast. Wendy and Cole both got very irritated if I wasn't their door precisely at 7 am. It was a headache that I chose to avoid.
Over the first month, I realized that G2 was emotionally abused by Wendy. She constantly said to or in front of the child how much she hated dealing with the wild child. How she wished G2 was more well behaved like B5. She even wrote unkind things on Facebook, asking someone to take her on the weekend while I was off.
This took a toll on poor G2, obviously. She would get violent with me first thing in the mornings : Hitting, kicking, biting, pulling my hair, throwing things at me, or what ever popped into her mind. Eventually, once Wendy left for work G2 would calm down and become an absolute delight.
When B5 started school, Wendy took a new job that allowed her to work from home at times. Those were not fun days! I asked if I could bring G2 to my house where I have an outdoor play area, a playroom, plenty of kid movies, crafts, books, music, and local playgrounds. At first the car rides were torture with G2 screaming bloody murder for at least half of the 45 minute drive. When she got used to the new routine, those drives became pleasant. Her violent tendencies disappeared when we were spending the days at my home. The drawback was that I also had to drive her home in time to get B5 off the bus.
During school breaks, I also had B5, and if they were visiting G8 and G6. B15 stayed at Wendy's house and just did his own thing. If you thought G2 was torture in toddler form, these two girls would have made Nanny McPhee grow a few more moles, a hunch back, and closed feet.
B5 would get a little bored, being that he was the only boy that was understandable. I purchased an array of boy friendlier toys to entertain him. I already had a lot of girl friendly toys either purchased or gifted from the first family that I had worked with. Of course I had plenty of gender neutral items too.
Wendy and Cole didn't give 2 sh*ts and a shave if the kids watched TV all day, went out to a playground or museum, or were driven 2 hours away, as long as I got them home on time. I easily spent an entire paycheck on activities, gas, food (which they didn't pack), and toys over 2 weeks watching all 4 kids. By the by, when asked for additional money when I did have all 4, Wendy not so politely informed me that the kids are entertain each other, so my job should be easier with all 4.
My husband and I discussed a few times whether I should look for something else. Inevitably the people pleaser in me actually felt guilty even considering it. Yup, I was apparently a glutton for punishment. Gratefully, my income was just extra, for an nice meal out occasionally, gifts for birthdays and holiday, extra hobbies, and basic groceries.
Just before Wendy gave birth to their new baby, she became unemployed. Logically, one would think this was my easy out. NOPE!! I became more of a Mother's Helper / Nanny. At this point Wendy and Cole were beginning to look for a larger house to rent. I did more walk through than I can count. She even asked me to tour a couple without her, and to bring G2 and B5 so she could get her nails done and take a nap. (Seriously, I toured houses on her list without her!)
As we spent more and more time together, I began to learn FAR FAR more about her bedroom life than I could ever desire. G2 and I spent much less time in the peace of my home, and way too much in Wendy's company. G2's behavior began to deteriorate slowly, causing Wendy to lose her temper with her far too easily. This completely broke my heart. I TRIED to redirect them both, and expressed my concern to Wendy. Of course, she then turned her anger towards me.
Wendy would openly discuss her theories about Cole in front of her kids. She claimed that he was cheating on her with his ex because he would shower immediately after seeing her to pick up or drop off the kids. He often made those drives directly after work though. Maybe he was cheating, maybe not. I honestly don't know.
Wendy also enjoyed gossiping about absolutely anybody. The parents of the first family that worked with were having marital issues. This was a favorite topic of hers. Wendy told me about every unkind word her mother uttered in her direction. The apple obviously didn't fall far from the tree here. I was told lots of personal information about people I didn't know. The gossip made me very uncomfortable. I told her that I would prefer we not discuss the lives of people who weren't around to speak on their own behalf. This fell on deaf ears.
I became quite used to her disapproval of my loose fitting jeans and T-shirts. Working with kids, I found my favorite cartoon prints were just as possible with my tiny charges. I NEVER wear makeup or heels because I simply don't want to. My dresses always have leggings under them because it make me feel less vulnerable. I never wear shorts or above the knee skirts/dresses. That's a ME thing, not religious or cultural. I find my "uniform" of choice is ideal for working with kids. Wendy informed me more than once that it embarrassed her to be seen in public with me. She often insisted that I wear something of hers if we had to go anywhere.
My husband enjoys photography, particularly long exposure which is done at night. He has a lot of photography friends of both genders, but his best friend is a female. He also enjoys concerts and kayaking, often with an ex from high school. (He graduated in 1997). I trust my husband and have no problem with him spending time with his friends. Enter Wendy's whispers of accusations. She often "jokingly" accused him of cheating on me with these female friends. I don't enjoy concerts, crowds, or being out late; so I support his doing with people who do. At least I know he with someone if something happens. I have bad knees, which make getting in and out of a kayak difficult. Why should that stop him? Again, I told her that I trust him and that I don't appreciate her accusations joke or not. This annoyed her because she doesn't trust Cole.
I know these are major red flag issues. I know how toxic being subjected to these comments is. I also know how difficult it would be on their kids if I left too soon. I knew they needed someone who wasn't emotionally cruel. I stayed for them.
My husband and I spent 2 of our weekends helping them pack and move to house that ended up 15 minutes from us. We were thanked by words, but that was the extent of the gratitude. Wendy's mother looked after the kids while we helped them move. This was complained about because I was already paid to watch the kids during the week. Insert eye roll here!! Her mom felt my husband should be willing to help them move while I watched the kids on the weekend for no extra pay. Either way, we were doing them a HUGE favor to begin with.
A family that I had briefly Nannied for prior to working for Wendy asked if I could help out every other Saturday. The dad (Nice Guy) traveled a lot for work leaving the Mom (Angelface) home alone with the kids. She just needed a day to run errands, work out, and just have time to herself. Angelface is one of the kindest women on this planet. When I did Nanny for them (2 days a week), she was in tears when she had to let me go. They couldn't justify the outgoing money at the time. She referred me to several friends. I am legitimately friend with this family, and still babysit sporadically.
Through a random discussion, I told Wendy about working with Angelface on every other Saturday. She began to tell me what to charge, how many hours to work, and what days to leave open for her just in case. Insert headache inducing eyerolls!
One Friday, Wendy's cousin arrived for a weekend visit with her baby. Wendy told me that because it was a holiday weekend I would not be needed until Tuesday. I double checked via text, and she confirmed that she and Cole were taking the kids to the beach with her cousin. Monday morning I got a call from a passed off Wendy asking where I am. I reminded her that she had told me that they would not need me. I even took a screen shot of our text. She said that Cole had decided to work Monday anyway so she was alone with HER kids. This pissed me off, so I lied. I told her that I was out of town with my mom and wouldn't be home until 5 or 6 pm. She went on about how much of an inconvenience it was to her, and I should have checked before going out of town. For the second time, I sent her a screenshot of my text verifying that I wasn't needed Monday. She abruptly ended the call saying to just be sure to be on time Tuesday. I had NEVER been late, but opted to mention that as we hung up.
Over time we worked out a new arrangement where I brought now G3 to my house 2 days a week, and we stayed there 3 days a week. I helped with cleaning, errands, helped with the new baby (NB), etc. Mostly, I was Wendy's sounding board. She continued to accuse Cole of cheating, wasting money, and even beating her.
My husband and I offered to let her and the kids stay with us, but she declined. Wendy even told me that since she was so sure Cole was cheating, she was going to find herself a side boyfriend to cheat with. I tried to talk her out of it, to no avail. Sadly, she spoke openly about her new boyfriend in fron of G3. During one of her rants I learned that my pay came from him selling drugs. GULP!!
While cleaning out the couch one day, I came across a loaded gun kept in the couch console thing, along with baggies of pills, "dried plants", and white powder. This completely freaked me out. 2 small children and a soon to be crawling baby sat and played on and around that couch. I STRONGLY considered calling Child Pretective Services and the police. I quickly realized that if I did, they would know it was me. I regret it, but I feared their possible retaliation towards us.
Shortly after finding these thing Cole quit his job. For several months while I worked for them, they were both unemployed. Again, I thought it was an easy out. NOPE AGAIN! For another 3 months, they insisted that they couldn't take care of the house and kids without my help. Very often, I arrived to find now B6 fending for himself for breakfast and getting ready for school. He was told to wake up and unlock the door for me, but they went back to sleep. I was expected to keep the baby from crying, and to keep G3 quiet and entertained until they came downstairs. I often chose to simply take both to my house so we could play naturally. We had a crib, so this wasn't a problem for NB. G3 would just nap on the couch or my bed. When out of school B6 preferred this too. This really should have told Wendy and Cole something about their kids, but of course not.
FINALLY, I was informed after about a year of working for them, they could no longer justify paying me. At this point, I had often considered quitting anyway. I mainly stayed because my heart broke for the kids. However, based on her gossipy and judgmental nature ... not to mention my little 3 day weekend fail; I was concerned about what kind of reference Wendy would provide if I chose to quit.
So in 2019, I found myself happily unemployed. The timing here worked out beautifully because Angelface knew neighbors due to have their first baby in 2020. I ended up working for this lovely family until August of 2023. The mom (Joy) and the Dad (Mr. Cool) were such a relief to my entire mental and physical health. We became friends as well, and over time I told them about Wendy. Between Joy, Angelface, Mr. Cool, Nice Guy, my husband, and family I began to realize just hoe toxic Wendy really was to my mental health. My husband never liked her but understood my feelings towards the kids.
For almost a year Wendy would randomly call or FaceTime me .... more often than not while drunk. She would rave about how much she and the kids missed me. We would get together for a meal, and she had me over for a couple birthday parties for the kids. I found myself almost always being the only sober adult watching the kids as the adults partied. Wendy often went back to her gossiping, trash talking, and "jokes" about my husband spending time with women. She would offer underhanded compliments. "It's so nice to see you wearing a dress instead of those tacky T-shirts." You get the drift. She even INFORMED me that since her neighbor was pregnant I could quit my job with Joy and Mr. Cool. She had told her neighbor that I would work for her now, and since they were next door, I would watch her own kids too. I shut that down saying that I was quite happy working with Joy and Mr. Cool. I even lied about what they paid thinking it would detur her further. NOPE yet again. She said that I should quit anyway so her life would be easier with me around. Once more, I told her that wasn't going to happen.
AT LONG LAST, I am coming to the end of my tortuous endurment with Wendy.
A week later, she called and asked if I had quit yet. I said that I had no intention of leaving an "$800" a week job. (Not even close to that with my 3 day a week job, but she didn't need to know the truth.) She told me to let her know when I quit, then changed the subject towards gossiping about that first family and their problems. I told her that I don't feel comfortable gossiping about people who can't speak for themselves. That pissed her off, so she turned it on me again. She said of course I don't want to talk about them since my husband was cheating on me with 2 different women. I angrily corrected her. She has no reason to think my husband is cheating, and I trust him and our friends. Just because she thinks her boyfriend cheats, and she cheats, that doesn't mean everybody does. She then said we could talk when I calmed down and after I quit my job.
After hanging up, I proceeded to block Wendy on everything! Facebook, phone calls, texting, face timing, Instagram, and even Snapchat (which I hadn't used in over a year). I also blocked her mom, and any body that had been friendly simply because Wendy knew them and wanted me to have their information too. I gave her no warning at all. I was beyond passed off, and refused to be talked out of my very gratifying decision.
I told my husband, family, and friends that was now free of Wendy. Not a single person tried to tell me to make ammends. The only guilt that I feel is towards those poor kids. For once though, I put myself first. Joy and Angelface were both extremely supportive when I told them that I had Ghosted Wendy. Both even mentioned how proud they were of me for FINALLY truly stand-up for myself. They were NOT fans of Wendy!!!
I never ended up quitting my job with Joy and Mr. Cool inorder to babysit Wendy's neighbor. I also continued to babysit for Angelface and Nice Guy.
About 7 or 8 months ago, I ran into Wendy at a playground between our two homes. She was with now G5 and B2. I had Joy and Mr. Cool's daughter with me. I was polite, almost obscenely so. I was friendly towards the kids, who were stand off-ish. I offered to let Little Miss play with them, but they weren't interested. Little Miss wanted to do her own thing, so off we went to play. We left after only 15 minutes because Little Miss said "that lady" is scaring her.
That night, my husband got a Facebook message from Wendy. She described my cruelty towards her kids by ignoring them. She said that it was so hateful that I blocked her on everything after all she had done for us. This message went on and on. My husband left it unread for months before my morbid curiosity caused me to open the silly thing. We never responded, but instead he finally bl9cked her too.
Ok, if you read that bloody novel of a post, you are a ROCK STAR!! I don't have any regrets towards my eventual choice, except towards the kids. It breaks my heart knowing what kind of parents they are enduring. I often regret not calling CPS, but there isn't a shadow of doubt that would have retaliated .... most likely violently.
I did eventually get back in contact with that very first Nanny family. They had indeed broken up, but both are happier and healthier now. I warned them that Wendy enjoyed gossiping and spreading rumors about them. Neither were surprised, and both had broken contact with Wendy long ago. They supported my choice to break ties with her as well. Shocking, right!?!
I no longer work full time for Joy and Mr. Cool, as they wanted Little Miss to get used to being around more kids before starting school. I do still sporadically babysit for them and Angelface and Nice Guy though. The two couples have referred me to several other families in the neighborhood, so I stay pretty busy with much more sane individuals.
Maybe I was an A-Hole, and petty. I'm cool with being thought of that way towards Wendy. At least now, I have much kinder people in my life.
EDITED/UPDATE: It has come to my attention that some may feel unfulfilled on the petty revenge side. For this former doormat, removing myself as her very cheap childcare was my revenge. I realize that many may not feel it was enough, but at the time, it was a MAJOR achievement for me. I had worked 8 to 10 hours a day for 5 days a week to receive $300.
When "invited" to parties, I ended up providing free childcare while the other adults got drunk. I don't like the taste of alcohol or the feeling of being buzzed or drunk, so I don't partake. I feared what would happen to the ignored kids, so I found myself watching them.
I never had a lot of friends, so for a long time, I truly thought Wendy was my friend. It took conversations with my husband, my mom, Angelface, Joy, and others for me to see the reality of my situation.
Some may say this post is in fact gossiping about her. To a point, yes I will agree. I did change everybody's names though.
Ultimately, I have always questioned whether or not I was fair or did the right thing by Ghosting and blocking Wendy. I often second guess my choice; especially when thinking about those kids.
I have tried to be more alert about the people around me since this experience. I do still find myself being too nice and accepting of some ways in which I am treated. I have tried to build more boundaries though.

The ideas of morality that society perpetuates are subjective, internally contradictory, and so controversial that most people cannot even agree on what is moral or not. There are also double standards and privileges involved with certain groups being able to do things that others are not allowed to, and truisms that are just completely taboo even to question, despite other countries doing things differently. Other laws are very shortsighted and even naive which is shown once they are implemented and the actual tangible effects compared to the ideas behind them show how disconnected they become to reality. Other forms of morality come from religion so anyone not practicing the religion can immediately discard those. So looking at how western society has formed a kind of cargo cult around morality Where the people do not know why their moral ideas and philosophies are effective in practice, it shows us the importance of legitimately understanding the cause and effect of our actions on other people and on the community.
Instead of just inheriting ideas of good and bad from other people or the mainstream society, you need to understand the consequences of any action you take. You need to think about how the consequences of an action would harm or help another person and if there is any real effect on anyone else. In a society where everything is illegal, this is the only logical way to think. We can also see how certain things that are illegal in our society (Or cause police to murder you) are things that are detrimental to the people that make the laws such as protesting, being poor, sedition, etc. Obviously it gets tiring to always think about this, but it becomes a necessity at certain times. On top of the harm or help of understanding morality, you also have to think about conflicting groups and how they have a larger impact on society. Helping police might get some liberals to throw flowers at you, but then you would be contributing to the police state whether anyone says it to your face or not. Billionaires use tax loopholes to not pay any taxes, but they fall to the floor and need CPR if you tell them that’s a bad thing to do since it is legal even at the expense of the working class. Even soldiers have a fit when you tell them their career path is wrong because they are oppressing foreign countries through overt military force.
Another thing you must do to determine morality is to apply logic consistently. If you argue with a zionist about whether Israel is doing something right, they will make tons of excuses that sound ridiculous, but they believe it wholeheartedly and cannot have their minds changed because their arguments are only used to justify their emotions. If you decide something is special and exempt from morality, you are likely to become a criminal. This kind of thinking is why modern reactionaries cannot be reasoned with. They believe whatever country is “Chosen by God” or “Based on ideas of freedom” and therefore they never stop to question the ethics of anything they are doing or even if their enemies have a valid point. Even smaller groups can foment this mentality and it gets cults to do some very bad and extreme things. The person who thinks like this probably has a part of their brain shut down, and will never escape the fate of being morally bankrupt.
When you develop a logical cause and effect morality when you think about who benefits or is harmed from your actions (If applicable) you begin to realize just how absurd some modern rules and regulations are. The prohibitions on gay marriage or trans people using bathrooms, the bans on books, the bans on women’s reproductive rights, etc. all come from horrible reasoning. The only reason these things are done is because there are enough people who also follow these thought patterns. Determine your own morality and discard anything that does not make sense.

So I'll just start by saying I'm in an emotionally/mentally abusive relationship with a narcissist or someone with ALOT (of narcissistic tendencies) -I don't want anyone to get mad at me for diagnosing him - but I'm 99.9999% sure he is. Anyway, I got back with my ex. We were together for a year and a half, broke up for about a year, and got back together in March. Well it's already bad, we argue at the very least once a week or he berates me and goes on a rage bender for very miniscule things. For example, he will start yelling at me if i accidentally missed a turn from the freeway or if I'm driving too slow. The first time he and I were together he never got physically violent with me, just verbally abusive. This time around I'm worried he may become violent. On 2 occasions he has snatched me up by my hair while we were argueing. The thing is, and idk if this is a trauma response, but I'm ashamed to say that when he did this it aroused me. Also, when I watch movies or hear stories about men that are physically abusive it also arouses me. It makes me feel like I'm crazy, I don't understand it. Why would something so horrible arouse me. I'm worried that because of this I may stay in a relationship with him if it escalates and he does get physically abusive.

36 y/o Female, around 165 lbs
I’m basically looking for any advice possible
About a year ago I started having some pain in my right shoulder area. Initially, I assumed it was muscle pain, but after about a month of constant pain no matter what I did (massage, ibuprofen, etc) I realized something else was likely going on
My husband and I were in the process of moving across a few states, so I didn’t actually talk to a doctor about it until about six months after the pain started when it was to the point I was in tears, and went to urgent care. They told me to use lidocaine patches and sent me to sports medicine
Sports medicine had me do physical therapy, and ordered an MRI of my cervical spine, which showed a herniated disc with mild spinal stenosis in c5-c6 and a herniated disc with moderate-severe spinal stenosis in c6-c7. The MRI was ordered because I had started to experience a constant painfully cold feeling down my right arm
Sports medicine sent me to a neurosurgeon who was awful, so I’ll skip that guy. But then my doctor (who personally knew how awful the other guy was) sent me to a different neurosurgeon
The new neurosurgeon is great, but said he can’t see any nerve compression on the MRI. He did make a note in my chart that says I have weakness in my right hand, and increased reflex in my right leg. He’s referring me to pain management, but I can’t see them until the end of July. Im so tired of being in pain, it seems hopelessly far away. He also ordered an EMG, but they haven’t scheduled it yet
I should also mention I’ve already had a cervical epidural which was zero help, dry needling (no help) and I’ve been on oral steroids and muscle relaxers. The steroids helped a little bit, but they were short term. I also use lidocaine patches daily, and sometimes I’m probably using it too often, but I’m desperate. I’m also still taking ibuprofen
If this isn’t nerve pain from the discs, what else could it be? And could the MRI have possibly missed a pinched nerve? Things just keep getting worse as time goes by, I’m now have trouble with my thumb and index finger going numb and feeling really stiff. I’m so worried they’re never going to find an answer and I’m just going to live in pain for the rest of my life
Thank you for reading

Hey Courtney and anyone who decides to read my story, I have a little experience that I thought people might find interesting involving a dream I once had. I'll just set up some background information before jumping into the story.
When I was five, my little brother died of SIDs or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at seven weeks old. Every year since his death, my mom makes a point to celebrate his birthday and for a lack of a better word, his death day. She always made a point to allow my sister and me to have a place to talk about him because our dad never let us. But, unlike my sister who was nine when he died, I didn't have many memories of him. The only one I could recall was the day he died which I don't like to think about.
This story happened when I was eighteen or so, after we celebrated his birthday. My mom and sister talked all day about their favorite memories of him in the short time we had him in our lives. I, on the other hand, sat there in self pity thinking about how shitty I felt for not remembering him. The day went on like any other day and by the end of it, I was ready for bed. I fell asleep quickly and that's where the real story starts.
I'm going to put this out there but I'm not one to remember dreams ever and if I do, they're very weird and strange. But, this one wasn't. It was quite normal actually. Dream me woke up and went on to get dressed and ready like any other day. From my room upstairs, I could hear my little brother, who was born after the death of the other brother and who we will call Henry for the sake of his privacy, chatting away downstairs but I never heard anyone talking back. But, dream me didn't seem to be weirded out by this and I just continued my morning routine.
Once I was ready, I headed down the stairs and took a right into our kitchen to get something for breakfast. When I turned into the kitchen I saw Henry sitting at the table talking away to some random kid, who looked to be thirteen or fourteen, that I had never seen before. I wasn't afraid of this random teen, in fact, I seemed to know him because I continued on with going to make breakfast. As I made myself breakfast, I felt eyes on me and Henry stopped talking all of a sudden. I turned to look back to the kitchen table where they sat and found the teen looking at me.
This was the first time that I got a good look at him. He looked like me, well a bit like me. He looked like me if I looked more like my dad. The same brown hair and green eyes. As I looked at the teen, he gave me a smile and said "It's okay." I was confused. I thought okay weirdo and went back to making breakfast. And as if he was reading my mind he continued, "It's okay that you don't remember me because we will be together again someday." That's when I woke up with tears streaming down my face.
I can't say 100% that it was my little brother but he would have been the same age as the boy in my dream. Part of me tried to rationalize it. Maybe it could have been my subconscious but I choose to think he came to visit me and tell me that everything was okay. I've only had one other dream like this and in that dream I was a mother to a little boy with sandy blonde hair. Flashforward a few years and now I'm the mother of a little boy with sandy blonde hair. This is why I fully believe my brother did come to visit me and reassure me that it was okay that I didn't remember him fully. But, I would like to know what he meant by "we will be together again someday".

Hi so I (19M) currently live with my mom and my stepdad in an apartment. The thing is that my mom is very mentally unstable and often takes it out and me and my stepdad (poor guy lowkey). Like im super grateful for everything shes done for me and i love her but i cannot live with her any longer. The most recent argument was about me and my sister (27F) going to my dad’s marriage ceremony. She was yelling in my face at 11am talking about “you’re fake” “you dont love me” “you always liked your dad better” “get the fuck outta my house” and yada yada. She threatened to kick me and my cat out, to take away the car (which i paid over half for), to be removed off the will and yet pretends like nothing happened a couple hours later. That or she’ll literally block me when we live together like what? To make a long story short, due to these circumstances, ive been thinking about moving out for a while now. Right now im working full time but i recently just reenrolled for a fall semester at a local community college but im kinda fucked. Right now working full time, I could afford to get a place on my own but when i start school, i wouldnt be able to afford it. My crossroads rn are either 1. Stay and be miserable, save as much as I can until i find a roommate or a housing situation? 2. Postpone school again to focus on maintaining my independence and ensuring that i can pay for rent, insurance, bills etc etc. 3. Try to do everything at once and find a roommate thats okay with me paying like barely 500 a month once school starts. Or 4. Which i guess would be to just go to a university, dorm, and say im independent and have no else to go? I truly dont know what my best option is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated😓

I'm a bit of a burn out. Loneliness has exhausted me for the past few years and it's about all I can take just to keep going on. I'd really like to meet someone who makes me feel something again. Someone who makes me excited to be alive again. I want to meet someone who makes me beam from dawn to dusk just by their presence in my life.
I'm an internet hermit. I don't go out much, except to take care of my wonderful little corgi dog. He's basically my whole entire world. Don't worry about asking to see him, I was planning on showing him off to you anyway. I'm very proud of him and he's basically my literal son and actual child.
I play a lot of video games. You don't have to, but it'd be cool if you did. We could watch movies together and listen to music together, and just hang out together in Discord calls. I'm looking for someone who wants to spend a lot of time together.
I don't have much of a physical type, except for that I'm only attracted to thin and average girls. I don't mind a few pounds to lose, I've got a few myself (maybe we can motivate each other to live healthier?), but I don't find obesity attractive.
I'm very average myself, so if you're looking for tall and handsome, you'll want to look someplace else, but if you don't mind an average looking internet hermit, maybe I'm the guy for you?

Confused about my future
Hey guys, how y'all doing? Hope everybody's great. So, I need your suggestions and advice but before that, I would like to make a small introduction about myself.
I'm 20M, a third year electronics and communication engineering major from a tier 3/4 college in Central Tamil Nadu, India. Although my major is electronics and communication, I have realized that hardware isn't for me.
My overall performance is very poor at the lab when it comes to core subjects like Digital signal processing, Embedded systems, Analog IC design, MEMS design, etc. I don't have any knowledge in them and I don't like them. I don't think I would survive even a day at any hardware (core-based) companies.
With that, I'm confused about what to do after college? In what field should I develop my skills to secure job opportunities?
For now, I have 3 fields in my mind. UI/UX designing, coding ( coding as in Software developer) and finally, content/copy writer (basically that has to go with writing). I genuinely don't know which one to go with.
Before I go into the specifics of why I have each of the above mentioned fields of interest in my mind, I would like to discuss my future plans as it would be easier for others to give me their suggestions which would match with my long term future goals.
After graduating bachelors, I'm planning to seek a job at any private firm in Chennai or Bangalore. After working here for a few years, I would like to apply for an MBA at any foreign universities. (For now, I'm thinking of applying for Australian/Irish business schools as I have plans of settling in abroad permanently).
I also come from a toxic and abusive family. So before I leave this country, I need to have a job, which would pay me enough to sustain myself in big cities like Chennai/Bangalore, where I wouldn't have to be dependent on my parents for daily/monthly expenses.
Let me go with each field of interest and tell y'all why I have it in my mind.
1) Coding(software developer): Growing up, I treated Computer Science like any other subject. I would just mug-up/memorize concepts and applications without understanding them.
This kept on going until a new CS teacher joined our school. I would pay attention to his classes with utmost interest. I would try to write my own small codes at the CS lab.
Then the COVID came, I passed my 12th exams without even writing them lol. I tried joining the CSE/IT department within engineering but, my dad forced me to join ECE.
In the first semester, all departments share common papers. One among them, was Python. I easily passed the semester final exams because my basic knowledge of the subject was strong, thanks to my school teacher.
However, the long and large programs in the textbooks scared me. Then, in the 3rd semester, we were introduced to the C language paper. Let me tell, it wasn't fun 🤡. Our staff was shit who knew crap about the language, the programs were big and scary.
I genuinely memorized random stuff for my C program exam and that's how I passed the semester final exam (I even had a backlog in it before finally passing the subject for the good)
This killed every single interest that I had for programming.
I would like to take up any online certification course and start to properly learn any programming language that is in demand but, the memories of those long and huge programs still scare me. I wouldn't learn to get into any certification course for the sake of it, I'm ready to genuinely learn about stuff that would be taught.
I'm just scared will I have to deal with those long and huge programs again? (Sorry if I sound over dramatic here).
I reckon that within programming, you have any domains such as web developer, software developer, block chain developer, etc.
There is abundance when it comes to web developers so I don't think one would get any decent pay. That makes me want to learn a programming language which would be apt for software development.
How much would I get paid as a fresher, given I would have completed an internship?
I have heard that even freshers with good resumes could earn a pretty decent amount of money in the initial years of their job in this domain, compared to UI/UX and copy/content writing. Is that so?
How will, the experience of me, working as a software developer look on my resume if I had to apply for a foreign business school in future?
I have a feeling that adding the work experience of being a software engineer wouldn't do me any help for applying to an MBA course.
Correct me if I'm wrong but, aren't all Indian MBA applicants to foreign universities come from engineering backgrounds?
How would I stand out from the rest of the crowd to get chosen for the MBA program at a supposed uni? Shouldn't I be different? My resume should tell a different story from the rest of the candidates, right?
I know that work experience alone isn't something that determines your success in getting into foreign universities, you also need good scores in exams like IELTS and GRE but, wouldn't it be logical to make ourselves look unique as much as possible?
UI/UX designer: Honestly, I didn't know about this until very recently.
So correct me if I'm wrong but, UI/UX designer basically works according to customer reviews. They are responsible for designing the UI of front pages of websites and they design so, according to the reviews by customers.
UI/UX also involves some level of programming but here, creativity matters more than problem solving and logical thinking, both of which are required skill sets in programming.
UI/UX is an artistic domain while programming is a logical domain.
How much would this pay? Will I be able to take care of my own expenses without relying on my parents?
How would an experience of working as a UI/UX designer would play out in me, getting selected for a MBA course at any Aussie/Irish business school?
I have also heard that UI/UX is the fastest growing domain in India while programming/software side is very saturated and lay offs are common in IT industry?
But even if lay offs are common in IT, it's pretty easy for someone, who got fired in one company, to find a job in another one cos there are too many companies in India, right? We can't say the same for lay offs in UI/UX tho.
Another friend of mine told me that with IT, I could find jobs in both Chennai and Bangalore but, the UI/UX based firms are primarily located in Bangalore and I don't have any option as I have in the domain of programming.
3) Content/Copy writing: Ik that content writing and copy writing are two different domains but since both of them involve writing, I decided to club them together.
Ever since my childhood, I always liked to write down stuff, express my thoughts and feelings in words. Matter of fact, coding is only second to writing when it comes to being my favourite activity to do. My vocabulary is somewhat better than most of my college peers.
However, I have heard that copy/content writers get paid peanuts and open AI will virtually replace this entire domain.
With that, I wanna ask about another domain where copy/content writing is required, Project manager?
How much do junior project managers get paid? How prone are they to lay offs?
If I'm not wrong, project management is the base for MBA so, wouldn't it be advantageous for me in future?
So, that's it guys. I have expressed all my doubts and revelations within me. I'm extremely sorry if I ever mentioned anything ignorant in my writeup. I'm also sorry for my poor fluency in English.
Keeping in mind that I don't wanna be dependent on my family for my expenses and I won't stay here for long as I plan to apply for an MBA abroad, give me your best suggestions.
If you have made it this far, thank you so much. I appreciate it 🙏
Tdlr: Confused on what skill to develop before graduating college to secure a job: a) Programming b) UI/UX design c) Copy/content programming?

WHOOO boy, this has been in the back burner on my mind for YEARS.
Context: I am (female) now married to the boyfriend mentioned in the title; he'll be referred to as "Mack."
My friend (male) will be named as "Nick" and is serving in the military (can't say what part as it's too specific).
My husband's High School friend shall be dubbed "Cassie."
At the time of both back story and main event, we were all in our early to mid 20s.
Backstory: I met my military friend, Nick, through a friend in college during a video chat; they were into each other and I had been mentioned as a good friend, so I went over to their dorm and met him then. Nick and I became close friends by having much in common, including anime, and talking on the phone any time he could, late into the night. At one point, I had developed a crush on him, but kept it to myself. The friend who introduced us had already moved on into dating someone else, preferring someone being physically there, but it still felt weird.
After about a year of this, Nick was home on leave and wanted to meet in person for the first time. He lived in the same state as me, though it was a 3 hour drive; it was December and therefore snowy, but I went and stayed the night. It turned out that, according to Nick, he also had a crush on me, even declaring he had started falling in love with me, saying I was even cuter in person. I internally shared the sentiment, although by this point in time, I had accumulated a couple red flags.
After this trip, though, I knew it wouldn't be wise to date him, even though I wanted to give in; it would've been so easy to transition from friends to lovers (lol, fave trope). However, the biggest no-no for me was when Nick said,
"I met this girl Cassie through her uncle at comic con and she's really into me. I don't find her attractive at all, but if you aren't going to date me, I will date her."
My gasters were flabbed and I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a threat, a promise, negging, or all three combined. What I was sure of was how manipulative this was, especially after I near begged him not to date this girl if he didn't even wanna look at her! Nick remained standing on his self-destructive pedestal that if I refused him, he'd go desperate mode and date Cassie instead, because at least SHE made it clear that she was SUPER into him. In the end, I went home disappointed in Nick's choices and feeling much less attracted to him than before.
Main Event: Cut to early spring of the next year; my dating life was still not really going anywhere, and my work was exhausting me. I'd worked basically 10 hour shifts 14 days straight and I was collapsing as I walked. I got a text from Nick (who was still in town and officially dating Cassie), and said he wanted me to meet Cassie's High School best friend, Mack. He swore I would marry this dude and that we were meant to be, which, despite my exhaust-smoke-addled brain, seemed to be an outrageous claim. He said he's meeting Mack later that afternoon and said I should hop by after work (I was easily a 45 minute drive from my work to the restaurant).
By this point I had gotten confirmation that this other guy I was crushing on wasn't looking for a steady relationship, let alone with me, and I thought, "Why the heckity heck not?" So I went home, got dressed in something casual and cute, and went off to meet in a blind date with this dude Mack... It was so awkward. (That's another fun story all on its own ;))
Fast forward to later in the year, around fall. Mack and I were hanging out and were texting with Cassie, whom I didn't really like in the end, because she was so aggressive; there's extravert, then there's THIS. I thought she was attractive and nice, and clearly cared for her friends, so I wasn't sure why Nick didn't (read: refused to) like her... Other than her rather loud straightforwardness bordering on uncomfortable to be with her in public. But he maintained that he was going to date her (and even marry her, maybe!!). Dude was leading her on, no bueno.
By this point, I was getting tired of Cassie's clear jealousy of me being his best friend (although I wouldn't have considering us being so after December, I still knew him rather well, and that made her feel threatened). I'd gotten to my breaking point of her complaining about why he doesn't kiss her or go down on her or really put anything out like she does. I knew he could do any of those things if he wanted to, even if he was a more reserved person than her.
She surprised him by flying over to Virginia where he had a near-empty apartment, really only having a futon and a table from the pics I saw. It was then and there that they finally did the do, of which I wish she didn't give me details about; knowing what I know of his feelings and attractions (or lack thereof) towards her, it was just painful to hear and I felt sympathy for her. And probably pity, let's be honest. Nobody should go through that.
So I did an a-hole thing and called Nick to ask him about his and Cassie's communication issues that Cassie told Mack and I about. He seemed both amused and furious that she was speaking to us so openly about their relationship problems, enough for me to tell him how uncomfortable I was with it and how she complains about their communication issues. (Yes, I am the a-hole for this, I'm aware; I hated and still hate confrontation and I didn't feel safe around Cassie to tell her as much myself.) He actually called her right after I spoke to him on the phone, and I was freaking out; I didn't think he was going to confront her right then about everything! I'd made it worse!!
About a couple hours later, Cassie sent Mack and I what looked like a limerick-style friendship breakup text, stating how we broke her trust and stuff. Well, it was me, not Mack, but I guess package deal and all that.
(I can only laugh at my naivete now.) I thought what I did was better than trying to tell her that Nick really didn't like her, not that she would believe me anyway and chalk it up to jealousy. (Girl, no, I had an opportunity and I said nay nay for a reason!) In the end, what I did was not good; still, years later, I wonder if there was a way I could've told her that he was basically just using her as a backup because I refused to date him. Am I the a-hole for not telling Cassie that Nick was really not into her?
After Story:
Nick and Cassie ended up getting married about a year or so after this all happened. Mack and I found out on Facebook, as I was no longer was friends with Nick or Cassie, and Mack wasn't friends with Cassie anymore because of me. The groom still looked as miserable in the pics as he did when they were first dating, but dashing, while the bride was beautiful, blushing and ecstatic. They may or may not have any children, I don't know. I got rid of my Facebook after it had been hacked into, so I haven't stalked anyone. And I kinda don't want to, so there's that.
Mack and I were happily married two years after this debacle and are now trying for a baby! We dated on and off during those two years, but after our small, final break, we realized we really do love each other and we're meant to be! I guess Nick was right about one thing, and truly hope he's learning to love Cassie... And not buying anything from the scammer overtaking my Facebook!
END

Link to original nosleep post:
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1bgxwgm/i_found_a_set_of_blank_cassette_tapes_at_the_junk/
Growing up as a young kid in the late 1980s, I was always terrified by the stories I'd hear of people who'd go to the grocery store, take a hike in the woods, or even a trip to a crowded beach, and would disappear, never to be seen again.
Whenever I'd see their faces memorialized on the back of milk cartons, their last photographs forever immortalized in the macabre medium of ink on cardboard, it would send shivers down my spine.
But the truth is, by the mid 1990s, I had overcome my fears, too preoccupied by the distractions of an adolescent life.
That is, until one day, in 1996, when, at the age of fourteen, a mere freshman in high school, during my weekly pilgrimage to the junk store, I made a discovery in the cassette pile that would change my life forever.
"You're still listening to tapes?" My best friend Jess asked, rolling her eyes, a nerd in the truest sense. "Get with it, dude. CDs are the future. Higher dynamic range, superior sound quality. It's not even a question."
"Yeah, yeah." I replied, ignoring her criticism, as I rummaged through the store's now mound of cassettes, its collection having significantly accumulated since the dawn of the compact disc just a few years prior.
"Look at that thing. It just looks... not cool." My friend Mike added, as he pointed to my cassette player, which was clipped onto my belt, its black plastic headphones draped around my neck. "I swear, if you wear that to school, and the football team asks, I'm denying that we're friends."
Somewhere between elementary school and high school, he'd been converted to an athlete and, by association, became popular. But I didn't care about being cool. Or acting cool. Or dressing cool. I just liked what I liked, and to me, cassettes were functional, and cheap. And that, to me, was really cool.
"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never-" I began to say to them, before something caught my eye at the bottom of the box.
It was a stack of eight homemade cassette tapes, each with a number scribbled onto it, bundled together by a flimsy old rubber band, that looked like it would break at any moment.
There was just something about them. Something so nondescript, so unapologetic, so mysterious, that I felt compelled to buy them, without even knowing what was recorded onto their magnetic tape.
"What are you guys doing later?" I asked Jess and Mike, as we left the store, and began our walk home, the ocean's waves showering us with mist, as they crashed along the seawall of our small South Shore town.
"First game of the season tonight." Mike replied, "Wouldn't miss it."
"You should check it out. Even I'm watching," Jess added, "We signed Walker in the draft. I just have a feeling about this season."
"No thanks." I declined, "I just can't get into sports. Despite my blue collar dad's continued attempts to convert me."
"Your loss." Mike replied, as we parted ways, each of us heading off in different directions.
—
Later that night, I was lying in bed, fantasizing about a world where Jess confessed her undying love for me, when I suddenly remembered that I'd bought the cassette tapes earlier that day.
So, I found the one labeled "1," popped it into my cassette player, and hit the rewind button.
After a minute, I heard it stop, and pressed play...
CLICK.
...Expecting to hear some grunge, britpop, or maybe even ska music. But what came out of the speakers was something... else.
"If you're listening to this..." A man said, his ominous voice crackling over the magnetic tape, "...You've found my instructions on where to find the bodies in the marsh."
What the heck? I thought to myself, nearly spitting out my soda. This must be some kind of prank. But for some reason, I couldn't stop listening.
"Bodies that, if discovered in the correct order, will provide clues to who I am. And why I did what I did."
Okay, maybe it's some sort of audio game? Like a detective thing, Yes, that must be it.
"As this is the first cassette in the set of eight, for this tape I'll be providing step by step instructions on how to find the first body. So, when you're ready, please proceed to the marshes on 139, where the bend of the road meets the sharp turn sign. You'll want to pause the tape now, until you get there."
CLICK.
I did just as he instructed, and paused the tape.
139. That's an actual street, not far away. Wait a minute. Could this be... real?
I wasted no time, picking up the plastic rotary telephone that I'd begged my parents to let me keep in my room, and called Jess' house.
"What the heck, dude!" She answered, "You just booted me offline. I've been downloading this song all day, and it was at 95%."
"Sorry," I replied, "But there's something I need to tell you."
I proceeded to tell her about the tape, and its instructions, and asked her to skip school with me the next day, to accompany me on my search for the bodies. Naturally, she laughed off the request, citing a presentation she had to give at school the next day, but offered up going right then and there.
"At night? Are you crazy?" I asked.
"I mean it's not real. So what's the worst that could happen?" She reasoned.
"Okay, let me call Mike."
I would have bet a million dollars that Mike would have declined the invite, and called me an idiot for even entertaining the idea, but when he picked up the phone, he was so upset that the boys in green, as he called them, had lost, that he jumped at the chance to get out of the house.
"Really?" I replied.
"Yeah, I can't listen to my old man make up excuses for them anymore. It's much too early in the season."
—
About an hour later, Jess, Mike, and I met at the marshes on 139, where the bend of the road meets the sharp turn sign, just as the narrator, as I'll call him, had described.
"Where to now, genius?" Mike asked, gesturing to the immense stretch of marshland that lay before us. A stretch of marshland that was so expansive, in fact, that our town was even named for it.
"One second." I said, before putting on my headphones and pressing play on the cassette player.
CLICK.
"If you're listening now, it means you made it to the starting point. Next, you'll want to turn to the marsh, and scan the horizon for an old scarecrow. Once you find it, walk across the top of the marsh, careful not to fall into its trenches, until you reach the scarecrow. Until then, pause the tape."
Once again, I did just as he instructed, and paused the tape, before returning my headphones to my neck, and looking off into the distance.
Sure enough, about a football field's distance away, was the scarecrow, its body illuminated by the moonlight, its arms open wide, as if calling us over to join it.
"Follow me." I said to my friends.
—
A few minutes later, I was trudging through the grassy surface of the marshlands, my flashlight in hand, as Jess and Mike lagged behind me, bantering away as usual.
"It's up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left, A, B, and start." Mike said.
"No, you idiot, it's up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and start." Jess corrected.
"Will you two shut up already?" I called out, as I forged ahead, too annoyed to look back at them.
"You know what, Tyler? I'm really starting to worry about you, dude." Mike said.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" I replied, rolling my eyes.
"You're really changing. Hanging out at the comic book store. Listening to metal. And worst of all, wearing those flannels around your waist."
I stopped in my tracks, and turned back to him.
"Me change? Dude, I saw you bullying Shea in the locker room, with the other football players."
"So what? The kid deserved it."
"Did he? Why?"
"For being a nerd. That's why. And you know what?"
"What?"
"Maybe you deserve to be bullied too."
I dropped my flashlight and stormed over to him, before we both locked eyes, fists clenched.
That's when we heard Jess, call back to us from up ahead.
"Hey guys..." She said.
We both looked over to her.
Jess simply pointed a few feet away, where we saw...
...A giant scarecrow, towering above the marsh, its wooden body barely keeping it standing, nearly all of its hay having fallen off.
—
CLICK.
"If you're listening now, it means you made it to the scarecrow. Next, you'll want to look out at the Y-shaped ravine before you, separating you from two different patches of marsh. Jump to the one on the left, take about five steps, and dig there. That's where you'll find the first body, and a clue. After you find it, you'll want to switch to the second tape."
CLICK.
I relayed the recording to my friends, who had very different reactions.
"I'm not jumping-" Jess said.
"Stand back." Mike interrupted, as he took a few steps back, crouched down, ran...
...And cleared the ravine, his boots splashing into the muddy marsh on the other side.
Jess and I simply looked at each other, then over at Mike, then down at the ravine, and finally back at each other.
—
A few minutes later, Jess was helping me up from the ravine, she too, having just crawled up from it after falling in.
Meanwhile, Mike was laughing so hard at us, that he stumbled backwards and tripped over something.
Seeing that Mike, too, was now covered in mud, Jess and I joined in on the laughter, and before we knew it, all three of us were all uncontrollably howling under the moonlight, all three of us, dirt caked onto all of our clothes.
But then Mike stopped laughing.
"Hey guys..." He said.
Jess and I looked over at him.
"...What the heck is that?" He continued, pointing to an object that was protruding from the marsh.
I turned on my flashlight, shined it onto the object, and was shocked to find...
...A human hand, long decomposed, its digits collapsed into the mud, its wrist bones sticking up through the grass.
Jess screamed at the top of her lungs.
Mike, having just stood up, fell back to the ground, his eyes wide in horror.
And I, I took it the worst of all, immediately turning to the ravine and gagging into it, as if that was the polite place to do it.
"But wait," Jess began, "That means..."
"...They're real. The tapes are real. And there are seven more bodies out here." I muttered, my body beginning to tremble.
"Cool." Jess said, before taking a closer look.
"We've gotta go tell someone. The cops. Let's get out of here." I said, still in shock.
"Are you kidding, dude? We have a once in a lifetime chance here, to find these bodies. Now let's find the clue and play the other tape." Mike said, his voice excited, but his body shaking.
"He does have a point, as disgusting as it is." Jess added.
"You can't be serious?" I yelled out to them both.
"Hey, you're the one that found the tapes. And wanted to come out here." Jess replied.
"The way I see it, there's only one way to decide." Mike called out.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked.
"We vote." He said, with a smile.
—
A few minutes later, Mike and Jess were digging through the mud, searching for the clue, as I watched on in horror, switched tape "1" for tape "2", and pressed play.
CLICK.

I remember the first time I heard it.
I was leaning back on my couch, watching TV, all alone in my house, just like any other night…
…When I heard a cough.
COUGH. COUGH.
But not just any cough.
A woman's cough.
And not just any woman's cough.
My wife's.
The only catch was, she had been missing at the time, having disappeared a few months prior, after a trip to the store, never to be found, and presumed... the worst thing that could be presumed.
So I did what seemed to make sense at the time, and chalked the sound up to a phantom laugh.
But not a phantom like a ghost. I didn't think she haunted the house or anything.
It was more like, the way people who lost limbs still felt them. So too, did I still feel my wife's presence in the house. Or so I rationalized.
But then a few months later… it happened again.
COUGH. COUGH.
And then a year after that… yet again.
COUGH. COUGH.
It happened enough times, between the years that my wife had disappeared, and the fifth anniversary of her disappearance, that I began to grow... afraid of it.
So I blocked it out.
Until one day, when I just so happened to be sitting on the floor, back to the wall, drinking away my sorrows, and wondering why she, of all people, had to disappear, I heard the sound again.
COUGH. COUGH.
But this time, it was... different.
This time, I felt a subtle reverberation, and heard what sounded like a hollow echo.
I immediately stood up, turned around slowly, and looked at the wall.
It was in that moment, that something crossed my mind.... that had never crossed it before.
What if the sound wasn't coming from inside the house, but between its walls?
It was such a disturbing thought, that my hands and body began shaking violently.
If the sound was coming from a place that I hadn't searched yet, then it might be real.
And if it was real…
…Then who knows what horrors lay behind the walls.
But how could she even survive in such a place? I wondered.
I found out the next day, when I visited a contractor, who had helped us renovate a couple of the rooms in the house, when we had first bought it, years before.
"I’ve been hearing noises inside the walls. And I have reason to believe that a very large animal might be living in there.” I explained to him nervously, unable to tell him what I really thought. “Is there enough space, for someone - I mean something, to live comfortably in there?”
"Well, let me see.” He said, as he rummaged through his files, pulling out the original floor plans to my house, and laying them out on the table.
He stood there, studying the blueprint for a minute, before finally pointing to it. “Honestly, yeah, there’s more than enough space in there.”
Sure enough, when I looked down at where he was pointing, I saw a huge pocket of empty space between the rooms, almost as large as the rooms themselves.
“You want me to recommend you a good exterminator?” He offered, “My buddy’s solid, and pretty cheap too.”
“No, I'm okay.” I declined, before gesturing to the plans. “Mind if I take these with me?"
But before he could even reply, I had snatched them off the table, hopped in my car, and peeled off.
As I sped home, a million, terrible, thoughts raced through my mind.
Has she really been alive, inside the house, this whole time? Why would she be in there? What is she capable of? Is my life at risk? Should I go in there?
My first instinct was to smash through the walls, and confront her, but when I finally got back, I chickened out, and instead, tried, once again, to block the whole thing out of my mind.
But the thought of her living inside the walls of my home, while I went about my day, continued to haunt me, and I eventually built up the courage to go in.
Remembering an area of flooring in the ceiling of the basement, that had rotted away, and connected to the very area that the contractor had pointed to in the floor plans, I went down to the cellar, grabbed my ladder, and crawled up into the space between the walls.
And what I saw on the other side… was terrifying.
Scattered everywhere, were the abandoned possessions of someone who had clearly been living in there for years. The place was littered with everything from empty cans of food, to old water bottles, to clothes and books, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.
But the strangest thing of all… was the sheer number of peep holes that I found, poked through the walls into my living room, kitchen, and bedroom, that I clearly hadn't seen from the other side.
I then turned the corner into the next "room," and saw what looked like a trap door to the backyard, that she must have used sparingly over the years, likely whenever I left the house, to scavenge for food and water.
And when I finally got to the last "room," I found...
...My wife. Sitting there in a tattered dress, head down, reading a book, her back to me.
"Eventually, I conjured up enough courage to say something. "Honey!"
But just as I feared, she did not greet me with a warm embrace.
Instead, she immediately whipped around and screamed, “You!”
That’s when I saw her face, for the first time in five years. A face that now looked much older, and much more emaciated, from what must have been long periods of starvation.
"Honey, it's ok! It's just me! I just want you to know that I love you." I tried to reassure her.
But she wasn’t reassured.
"You? Love me? How dare you say those words!"
"What are you talking about? I've been mourning you for years.”
"That's what you call it?"
“Honey, what are you doing in here?”
"I needed to know."
"Needed to know what?"
"Whether you actually loved me. Whether you'd miss me when I was gone."
“And I did. I cried for a year straight.”
"Yeah, and what about her?"
"Her?"
"The woman. That you brought home that night. Into our house?"
"Dear, you had been gone for a year. And I didn't even enjoy it. I was sad, and lonely, and trying to-"
"Move on?"
"Yes! It's what people do when their partners are gone. It’s horrible, but they eventually have to."
“Leave me! Or you'll regret coming in here."
"But honey. I'll do anything."
"Then show me."
"Show you?"
"Go back to the house. And show me you still long for me.” She commanded, before warning, “And if you ever bring another woman here for a night, it’ll be your last.”
And so, I returned to the house, afraid of what she might do, and at the same time too afraid to leave, while she stayed inside its walls, to continue watching me, day and night.
Still to this day, whenever I hear the sound of her coughing, from behind the walls…
COUGH. COUGH.
...It sends shivers down my spine, and I wonder... when she might decide to emerge, and what she might do to me when she emerges.

I live with two of my friends and we've been roommates for over two years. I've been friends with both of them for 10+ years. One of them (let's call him john, a gay man, who I considered to be like a brother to me) recently got into a relationship (they've been dating for 2 months, but talking for about 5) and he's been acting completely different ever since they met.
We will be actively laughing and talking, when all of a sudden, he will completely disengage and go unresponsive because his bf (28m) texted him. He will not wait a few seconds to answer my question before texting his bf back, and the second he realizes his bf is available, he stops being interested in anything anyone else has to say. It's like a switch flips -- he just shrugs and says he doesn't care about whatever we were talking about.
John also will not make plans with us because he "MIGHT make plans with his bf" for that day. We do hang out occasionally, but ONLY when his bf is at work or otherwise unavailable. Even then, at least once whenever we're together, john will go walk to visit his bf at the gas station where he works, and come back an hour later, and then leave again the second his bf gets out of work. This happens Every. Single. Time.
His personality has also changed. He only engages in conversations regarding himself or his boyfriend. He has become very vain to the point he makes fun of us for not being in a relationship, but gets mad when we point out he didn't exactly hit the lottery with a broke, car-less, Harry Potter millenial (which is mean, yes, but It's still annoying to me that he can dish it but not take it).
I feel like I could compartmentalize and deal with it if he was at least a good roommate. But he's not. He is TERRIBLE with communication. if I say something he doesn't like, he will avoid me until I drop the issue. He owes me and our other roommate 100s of dollars from rent/other bills he couldn't pay. He does not clean unless we ask him to, and complains when we do ask for help. He does not feed our cats. He mooches constantly off of meals/ingredients we have without ever intending to return the favor. Last week, he bought a bunch of ingredients to bake his bf a pie for their 2 month anniversary, but can't afford to pay me for the power bill due tomorrow.
I understand new relationship jitters...but this seems obsessive. That being said, I don't have a lot of relationship experience so idk if this is just normal? We recently signed another lease and none of us are in the financial position to leave. I do feel as if I can deal with the situation for now, but I don't want to continue living together after our this. Should I bring it up and give him notice? If so, how and when? Or should I just keep quiet and dip when the lease is up? (I dont really want to leave him broke and unable to afford a place to live, which I fear is what would happen if I didn't tell him in advance).

Guys I went on a hinge date with this really cute guy. I think it went pretty well, we shared food, tried each other's drinks and laughed the whole time.
He was a complete gentleman, opened the door for me, didn't let me pay half, and asked me if i wanted to get coffee the next day.
He texted me the next day saying that he couldn't make it, but would like to workout together sometime, I said yes but he never replied.
It's been two days. Did I get ghosted? Should I text him again? Or would I seem too pushy.

Hi! Call me V for now, I'm 23, an engineering student in Philly, originally from northern NJ. tbh, my luck hasn't been very good these past few weeks with a bunch of my critical stuff breaking at the same time, so maybe someone here can be the good luck that I need?
I'm a natural baritone/bass in speaking voice, example here. 5'10", 235lb or somewhere thereabouts, South Asian/European heritage, bisexual. Fairly light skin tone, and you can see my face here. I've got a slightly stocky build, perfect for cuddles and late night snuggling. My chest doubles as a convenient pillow when needed. I'm finishing up my bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing Technology currently, I've been at my current school for almost 5 years, and I should be graduating in 2026 if everything goes to plan.
I like to say that I'm kind of a creme brulee as a person. I have a shell, but once that shell's cracked, I'm as sweet as can be on the inside. I've been called a loverboy before, and I can't say that's wrong. I'm fiercely loyal to my partner, and I am also a decent baker, so maybe I can bake you some of my own cookies one day! I've been a car guy since I was a tiny young boy, to be frank one of my dream cars is a C2 Corvette drop-top with an LS or LT swap. I deal a lot with tech as a hobby, everything from building my own systems to doing high-end commissioned system builds for private clients. I do have a specialty in small form factor systems, being that I have one on my desk right now in a Terra case.
My music taste is pretty varied. My main library on Amazon Music has people like Post Malone, The Weeknd, Florida Georgia Line, plenty of Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X, Avicii, Marshmello, Billy Joel, Elton John, & S3RL. I even listen to a good amount of Sabaton when I'm in the mood for some power metal. My biggest pastime though is photography. Living in Philly taught me how to do night urban photography really well, and I pride myself on my work. I'd be more than happy to share some of my shots if you're into that. The downside of this is that I use my mirrorless Sony as a webcam because I can't stand the crappy quality of typical webcams. I also do mountain biking, hiking, and camping when I get the time and when my damn bike doesn't break.
I love doing random dates. Stuff like a trip to Ikea and pretending we have a home to shop for, doing a tour of parks in the city, going to a hobby shop and having fun for a few hours, movie nights with snacks we found on allrecipes, stuff like that. I'll do a restaurant date without issue, I guess I'm just more of a nontraditional guy.
My ideal partner would be someone kind, loving, understanding, and open. I to have a fair bit of the 'tism, in addition to a few other things, so having someone who's understanding of those things would be a huge plus. I am bisexual, though as of late the guys that I've talked to haven't been very good people. I'm looking primarily for a woman here, but I guess femboys & femme-leaning guys are welcome too. I have always had a soft spot for the girls that love going hiking and camping with me, and especially ones that also know their way around power tools.
I'm hoping there's someone out there that's wanting something real, in-person and genuine. I've done posts on the normal r4r subs and haven't seen much luck. Maybe there's someone here? Shoot me a DM if I've interested you at all. Let's talk!
For the guys that will inevitably ask, I physically can't bottom, sorry!