While Israel-Palestine drama is basically cheating as far as this subreddit is concerned, this drama is unique as the freeing of hostages is objectively good news. People were kidnapped by Hamas during the October attacks and have been held in secret locations since. Some have died, some have been killed deliberately and by accident, but this is the first time that this many hostages have been freed in one go. In particular, the woman hostage is familiar to those who have been following the conflict as the girl who was snatched on a Motorcycle in the kidnap footage (Noa Argamani). The biggest issue with the operation to rescue them was that it incurred lots of casualties, as the hostages were being held in a civilian camp.
The hostage situation has caused mounting pressure on Israeli leadership, and the liberation of hostages goes a long way in calming and reassuring the Israeli people, whose leadership is becoming increasingly unpopular both internally and across the world.
Not everyone is pleased at the news. The raid itself has a significant casualty pool even if some of those were terrorists. While we don't know the exact figure, rumours say over 90 people have been killed in the raid. Israel's actions in the conflict have also been extremely controversial, with many accusing Israel of conducting ethnic cleansing or genocide under the guise of fighting a terrorist organisation. Whether earned or not, some see Israel as the 'bad guy' in the conflict.
Was the hostage rescue 'worth' the casualties? Did Hamas treat them well? Is it 'appropriate' to celebrate hostages being freed when Israel is killing people? Is this a good or bad thing? Will freeing hostages allow Israel to do worse things? Does Reddit support Hamas? Is it hypocrisy when Israel holds many prisoners without trialing them? Will this victory cause Israel to double down on it's extreme actions?
----- Pics ----- (A Father embracing her daughter who was rescued from captivity after 250 days) Locked. 76% upvoted.
Wasn't this girl who got taken by a motorcycle?
Watch how pro-terrorist will try to spin this beautiful reunion into something horrifying justifying her kidnapping. If you justify the murder, gang rape, torture, and kidnapping of kids, teenagers, and civillians including women and elderly, youre on the wrong side.
Strawman much? Literally no one is justifying any of the kidnappings. You’re making up arguments in your head to get mad about.
Hamas shouldn't have captured/killed/raped 300 innocent civilians from multiple nations of the world
Already seen a lot of people angry about this
Did people just want her to die or something?
Happy shes free and safe, lets hope to see the day when the Palestinians hostages are free and safe too.
How does someone that's been captive for 250 days by the worst group of people in the world have no scars, no bruises, clear healthy skin, and doesn't look like they've lost a pound that whole time??
----- Global_News_Hub ----- (55 civilians killed in refugee camp, 4 hostages saved: Report)
Zionists doing what they do best. Killing civilians and finding reasons for it later or play victim.
Originally, the Zionists didn't even know there were hostages there. They just wanted to kill civilians.
Epic levels of cope
55 Arab Lives are not important to Zionists. They are animals to Israelis.
Maybe Hamas shouldn’t hide their hostages in refugee camps? It’s almost like they want their civilians to die to gain international sympathy
Despicable! The IDF should let Hamas kidnap, rape, torture, and murder without any consequences!! How dare they rescue the very few surviving hostages
----- MadeMeSmile ----- (Footage of hostage reuniting with family)
Israel killed over 200 palestinians today. This is not a day for smiles
She looks very healty. Thats how hostages should look like at the end. Not like the ones israel and russians are holding. We clearly can see who are the real terrorists. Good she made it back like this and is able to smile
And isnotreal killed 210 to “rescue” her
Saved four and killed 150 Palestinian civilians. What a heroes
Makes me sad, not smile: 1200 upvotes after 6 hours. The state of mind of Reddit users.
Big mistake to sort by controversial - what the heck is wrong with some of you?
And you really trust Hamas?
More than "israel"
As much as one should be happy about it, Palestinians continue to be under a Genocide. Israel has Palestinian hostages 26 times more than what Hamas has Israeli hostages. Israel has dropped bombs on Gaza more than what were dropped in World War II.
The entire kidnapping was absolutely awful on every level. What Israel is doing right now is absolutely awful on every level I’m happy that she is back safe with her family. All things can be true at the same time
What kind of shitty, hateful comments, especially on such a wholesome group.
----- IsraelPalestine -----
Cool, I wish that all hostages get released from the captivity of Hamas. It’s a big shame that Netanyahu is refusing any ceasefire and is continuing this war, and I hope that we eventually get a ceasefire so that all the hostages can return home.
Ahhh when success is refusing a deal to release all hostages because your adversary is evil and your response is checks notes using aid vehicles as troop convoys (a crime you've accused Hamas of) to rescue four hostages and in the process kill two hundred people, thus showing that Palestinian civilian life has lesser value than Israeli Nothing like committing repeated war crimes to show you're the good guys, right? It's a good thing US taxpayers are bankrolling THIS as opposed to dealing with inflation or healthcare. Seriously, what blackmail does Bibi have on Biden?
Great news for the families. But the pictures of the hostages post rescue (not the one above) are very telling. - basically Hamas are kinder, gentler hostage takers than Israel
Genuinely good news for the hostages and their families. I'm happy to hear they were found in good health. Unfortunately this will send the message that the current IDF strategy is worth it, and many more people will die as a result. Small victories I guess.
Up to 200 people killed on that operation, lots of innocent Palestinians. Local hospital was overwhelmed with insured and killed people.
----- InternationalNews ----- (IDF rescues 4 Gaza hostages: Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv)
So we're now at what? 7k dead Palestinians per hostage?
Get yourself ready for propaganda interview videos...
oh it's already in full force, saving 4 hostages is now being used to justify the killing of hundreds. Since we know these ppl don't think Palestinians are humans, they are going to not care one bit about the 47 innocent civilians (so far, more injured as well) killed in this "special operation". Israel will 100% use this to further try and justify killing more people in Rafah and probably to refuse the ceasefire deal on the table right now.
So, now we'll have four Mossad agents posing as freed hostages telling us horror stories of their brutal treatment. "They gang raped my severed baby head!"
There’s video of Noa being abducted on Oct. 7.

I have recently evolved my beliefs in the last 5-6 years where I no longer consider myself religious, in regards to religious beliefs while also just considering myself spiritual.
I do not follow a title of what I am or anything, but believe in my soul that it's important to do meaningful celebrations and traditions that align with my lifestyle, values, personal beliefs in order to honor my personhood and a healthy balance of ensuring I don't self-abandon myself.
I don't want to put myself into a box ever again, so I just focus on being intuned with myself.
I now think that life is just way too short to do stuff just because that's how you were raised or was taught to do.
I've overcome a lot of religious abuse as well as the mindset in which I was raised and that of my origin family. Some of my most traumatic life experiences happened on the account of my 'upbringing', the beliefs I was raised to believe, a result of religious abuse and generational trauma, where those dogmatic scriptures, beliefs and texts led me to continually go down roads that did not protect me for the simple fact that they pushed 'self-sacrifice' and 'religious-pleasing lifestyles' that do not compliment, protect, and support positive outcomes for women, and sometimes children. I was taught to just do it because that's what the religion inspires, or what the social constructs say to do.
It did not help that I just didn't know any better-I've let go the regret of this innocent ignorance and grief that it initially brought on. Looking back, I cringe at the decisions, choices, and 'enduring' I had survived from that awful upbringing-I now recognize that as, the 'hidden abuse' for a good internal family image-that I too was not aware of until recently, and just the disgusting dysfunctional family dynamic that has revealed itself since I've started to slash those generational curses.
I was abused by one parent growing up by the way, and told the other who did nothing but 'took ME to my extended family's church'. They never stopped it, protected me or stood up for me. Now, much later in adulthood I'm realizing that both of them were abusive, just in different ways and I understand my psycho-emotional disconnect from them and my origin family in general because I spoke up when it happened, even later in early adulthood and I never realized the pattern of describing me as 'dramatic' or continually trying to treat me like a child despite my very grown-up adult age, were and is their way of trying to force suppression of my voice, independence, growth, healness, and strength.
My other siblings are dismissive and become extremely argumentative or defensive of our 'loving parents' with any mention of how we grew up, or verbally attack me/talk about me to other family members like I'm the one with the issues with any effort I put forth to ask questions of why and to hold them accountable, or to just disassociate with an image I know is false, have my own life and live truly as a loving and peaceful person, or even just enforce the boundaries that I need that provide safety and continual psycho, emotional, mental, and antimanipulative protection.
I've finally realized that my growth, healness, counseling and the completion of my adult therapy program was and is a threat to the fake image they've all created after all these years. I did not tell them that I've done the work and have finally woke up from this reality due to therapy, because they don't know my current life business and just speculate and make up rumors and assumptions about me and what I have going on or why I'm 'acting' the way I'm 'acting' as truth, without ever even trying to even talk to me or not just assumes someone's continual triangulation is even the truth.
I am at peace, extremely successful and have overcome many things that would typically break the average person. Any reinforcement of boundaries, standing up for myself or attempt to distance myself from my parents since realizing how f'd up they did me when this was happening-even with my forgiving them for this throughout my life.
However, the older I get, when they continue to display the same patterns that were present during the abuse, now, including the thought of why did I even allow them a relationship with me in my life as an adult-because I get so disgusted with even the thought I'd ever allow a child to be abused by my spouse and let alone, stay married to them for decades afterwards. I can't believe I invited them to my wedding and we were the 'loving' bride's side...why was I so like "this is my family and we love each other, we're a close happy family" in my adulthood so long still? Until I woke up? There's so much I've since resolved with my therapist and have done the work to heal from-these are just questions to share the process I went through for insight. Also---It's really pathetic when I think about how different of a compassionate and truly loving person that I've become. I couldn't even fathom allowing abuse in my life or anything even remotely close to it or especially to be done to a CHILD...but here's more of how all my realizations have led me to where I am now:
I am SO glad that I am the VERY manifestation of 'WHEN you know BETTER, you DO better'...oh how the magicalness and bravery of individuals like Maya Angelou, Terrance Howard, and other past/currently alive ascended masters, who did and are leaving the breadcrumbs that nourish the souls of humanity on Earth today... The awakening and true freedom of thought and consciousness of myself has not only changed, but has elevated my existence, and my life.
I now experience the divine nature of love and revelation on a spiritual level that has brought abundance to me in every way and at every level.
I've done so much work, healing, therapy, service, reflection and growth, that the peace I feel daily, is what I never imagined happiness would be like.
To purely love and evolve as I truly am and meant to be, it's frustrating when the one group who we're taught is supposed to 'really' be your people, have been everything but that.
In the last 4 years, my life before now had been turned upside-down. In retrospect from now, I see why, as it had catapulted me into the healed, peaceful and abundant life that I have now.
...But, when everything started to happen, I really THOUGHT they (my family of origin) were there for me. I went to them for guidance and advice-I hadn't awakened to my newfound wisdom-filled reality at this point yet-and they appeared caring, so I thought...
I went to them because I thought they were the only people in my life by this point, who truly loved me 'unconditionally'. Much happened. I took some of their advice in the very beginning, but at the same time I started to remember who the ... I am...and it was on and popping from there, Baby!
From the multiple crises that I'd found myself in all those years ago: I went to therapy, did counseling, shadow work and started reparenting my inner child. I journaled and started to meditate and the answers flowed through me. I allowed the plan for my life to take shape and one after another, I started to solve my problems, so gracefully, all while growing, healing, and finding the peace that I had in my life before these many situations developed. However, it was on a whole other level, an intrinsic peace that scaffolded into a snowball of peace in every area I've ever struggled.
In the last year though, I have survived what I would consider my dark night of the soul and I feel remembered, like, renewed into the person I always had been, but wasn't aware of until now.
I now have strong boundaries that not only protect me, but they also hold me accountable to gracefully standing up for myself, my own personhood, my values, my beliefs, and that which keep me committed to the lessons I learned so painfully over these last few years, just from the 'not knowing any better' and...whew...religion, patriarchy, and so much more of how I was raised that pain-wrenchingly just set me up for failure in this life, if I never had made a change.
I'm SO happy I learned about just how all these constructs and societal blockages were NOT for my flourishing in life, on my own. Finally, the realization.
The more healed, awakened, and spiritual I became, the more I realized the family system that I was raised in, saw me as a threat. Looking back, so much of what I went through and was done to me was beyond messed up and downright wrong and abusive.
So now, there's this awkwardness of not knowing the true extent of the abuse in how I was raised beyond what I can remember...but what I do remember was jail-worthy and I remember calling out that the parent who was doing it deserved jailtime, but I was bullied, threatened with homelessness and I was a child. I didn't know about all the resources available or what I could do besides tell my other parent. 😪
...I did try to call out the obvious stuff as I got older, but I didn't understand that I was covertly bullied and gaslit when I tried to stand up originally...I was always told I need to 'forgive and forget'...and what would ... do? And... 'as a .... we are here to love thy neighbor...' bluh blue bluh...-My whole life, I didn't realize that I was the family scapegoat until 2024.
No matter how much I tried with the things I knew were outwardly morally wrong then, it wasn't until therapy that anyone in addition to myself validated my experiences; that abuse is abuse, every last form of it, and it doesn't matter in what context it happens: religious or political and about 20 other different forms, is not okay...
-So back to the awkwardness of having this lifelong 'close family' that I once thought was so strong and healthy, loving, both parents still together and 'in love', all 8 siblings with 'decent' relationships (not really, they're all really toxic, invisibly debted with that unseen abuse like financial-emotional-mental- cheating/sexual-behind closed doors-whats stays in this house type dysfunction that I'm sure I haven't seen because-behind closed doors-the same trifling household we were raised in), my whole life...UNTIL I LITERALLY woke up within the last year to REALIZE how JACKED UP they were and are. Thinking back to all the times I was not supported or protected, I was the one in the family, out of all 10 who was ever truly genuine, purely intentioned, loved unconditionally...and had no complex with CONTROL...just, it was just me...
Ask me how I know...
The very situations I've found myself in these last 6 years, when I deconstructed from all things religious and political or anti-dignity, when I started to stand up against things without fear, that were not okay, or for the true safety and benefit of humanity of living beings...EVERYTHING started to crumble and I BECAME public energy number one in my origin family. At first it was covert while they 'mistakenly forgot my boundaries' or 'didn't know what I'm doing now'...or the 'assuming and then making up their own thing and spreading the lie-behind my back"...
Also, any attempt to speak up and honor the abuse and neglect in childhood that I've overcome and have healed from and ask simple acknowledgment for from my parents, turns into excessive triangulation bringing everyone into the mix (again, in the shadows without my knowledge and behind my back), to point out my downfalls I literally just overcome and healed from these last 4 years, and then continue making up lies about me, spreading false rumors to extended family I don't engage with, don't have a relationship with, or whom I've cut off for being too toxic never changing... making more false grandiose accusations, saying I've talked about or down about people, made claims that I'm better than everyone, that it's all about me...etc...literally because all I did was reiterate my boundaries I've set, called people out for it, who have done toxic things to me. This is in addition to being accused of being all kinds of things because I've 'distanced' myself (from people who are not kind to me and who talk about me behind my back and have called me cruel names for calling them out on the toxic behavior they display towards me for being my own person and holding my ground on my own decisions as a full 30+ year old adult with my own family).
-I literally have a ~8+ minute voice-mail of an origin family member talking to someone about the hardships I've survived in the last 6 years because they unknowingly butt-dailed me last month and I received it and haven't confronted them yet, because I know it'll be a waste of time).
They have everyone sharing lies about me between the family, calling me after not hearing from them for months and trying to start arguments over nonexistent issues we've never had, taking a statement out of context and championing as a 'see see see she's doing this or that to me when they are the one calling me out of the blue (after already having done previous things to me that I yet again addressed and was ignored about, never chaning the behavior or apologizing) and trying to start stuff with me while I was minding my own business...
...all this from a recent holiday that I no longer celebrate that they're fully aware of.
They know I'm no longer religious, I have different beliefs and values now and instead of respecting it, they spread rumors, accusations, lies, unproven opinions, attempting various forms of triangulation to target me.
What makes it worse is that my relationship with my parents are so strained. They both took part in the abuse I suffered as a child. Being that I thought I had a really good relationship with one of them until this recent realization (I realized recently that they both were guilty, not just the one who committed it, the other always acted like they didn't know-but they did and admitted it recently). No say strained is an understatement honestly, but I had trying to at least be LC because of their relationship with my own family I've had since adulthood.
However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to even be around their religious talk and 'fake I love all my neighbors, I practice the daily religious routines everyday and read the text daily I'm so devout' act...
On the outside they look like they are just the epitome of devout faith individuals and they are living in according to what religious dogma aim for, all while secretly knowing what they did and allowed in our household-all my memories are very clear to this day, especially since I've awakened.
First Xmas was an issue even though that was a boundary for me. I suggested they were welcomed to celebrate the winter solstice with me, they declined, and I respected that. I offered a nice dinner the week beforehand as an alternative.
Then it was Easter, I declined (as I've reminded them that I hold different beliefs and values now which have really cultivated my lifestyle being different from theirs now, and reminded them that it is not difficult for me to respect their beliefs and values; that I expect the same level of respect from them). As an alternative, since they too were interested in celebrating for a totally different holiday/celebration, as I honor the spring solstice, I suggested a nice lunch on a regular unanchored day to any meaning, and to drive to the country and have a day of exploration where we could end with a dessert picnic on a rolling hill in the place I mentioned. They declined.
Since fully coming out the spiritual closet, most of my origin family has either lied about their communication service being interrupted, they have to work-most don't have jobs, or that they are so busy in their schedules, but are on social media all day-secretly being judgemental talking about people in general (strangers on the internet) who are in very difficult life/hard personal situations where they judge them based on the patriarchal and religious dogma we were raised in. It's really sad to me I have no more interest in engaging with negative people.
But what's really pathetic is they make up rumors and lies about me and start drama for my having my own separate lifestyle now everytime a national political holiday (tied to some form of historical trauma) or a religious holiday comes around as they (mentally try to) attack me because I didn't celebrate or 'honor' them-all while not knowing I have proof of every last one of them talking about me badly behind my back with lies and/or spreading rumors about me that aren't true. Literally.
The last straw was the most recent holiday, not calling or contacting them because I refuse to have or remind them for the 1,000,000th time about that boundary and standing up for my beliefs-it's so exhausting.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to live around positive, encouraging and accepting people who live by love and honoring everyone's humanity no matter their religion, gender, sex, background, status, etc...and just being kind to people in general, as long as they're not murdering or harming others (outside of self defense, like TRUE self-defense and not the kind cruel people try to use as a cover to inflict harm), everyone has a right to believe in and have the values that make them feel safe and whole.
Long story short, I know I am not the AH for standing my ground and protecting my personhood and that NO ONE on earth is entitled to what I believe, value, or what I choose to celebrate or not.
*I'd like to add a note that I have done especially deep, caring, loving, and acknowledgingly beautiful actions throughout every year my whole entire life and not just since this recent change in these last few years, like 12-20 times a year.
I no longer try to keep explaining or trying to defend why I'm defending myself against disrespect and people who are not gentle towards me like I've been with them throughout my life, always there, always the one to support.
I just do not care anymore, if I have to be along or start my (chosen) family this time around, I will. I just despise drama and toxicity. I will not let it permeate into the peaceful life I've fault to build.
(Thank you if you've made it this far)
-The Recently Realized Family Scapegoat and origin family generational curse-breaker

My labour didn't go well I had a hemorrhage.
A little about my family situation.
I have 2 sets of parents and my husband.
I am the only child between my parents - they have other children whom were never in contact with me.
My Dad has stopped talking to me, after he left my Mum.
My Mum after being pregnant with my first child made me realise what a cruel person she is. I understand she is old, has health problems and her partner my father left her. But I can't stand how she treats me after 30 or so years. I just can't continue.
Comments with first child "I won't stop shouting at you, because it'll strengthen you for labour" "I don't care if you die in a fire...you need to do xyz for me"
After this comment below I distanced myself with my Mum. "How dare you steal what I had, the 2 children a husband and a house, you stole my life from me and now are living it"
My husband is a Mama's boy. He's cheated on me. Never stands up for me. But he cooks, cleans the house, provides income - so I want to try until I find a job. I also cook and clean and I have savings which I use to provide income from.
My husband's parents I invited them to our house, cooked batch food, they didn't like it because it wasn't fresh. My MIL got me to cook 5 different breakfasts and after I finished she said she is fasting cause she has gas. My FIL hinted why I didn't abort my baby since she has a rare skin disorder. My MIL found it funny to heat stroke my baby by forcing me to stay in park - then my FIL wanted to go sight seeing and was upset with my baby crying all night. My MIL secretly took photos and videos of my toddler when I confronted her - she and FIL said that they can share and send photos to who ever they want - I had a huge panic attack and got my husband to delete them. - they wanted to show pictures to my BIL and his wife who have had a miscarriage and find it difficult to have children...
I had a best friend she never talks anymore I'm guessing she got arranged married.
What I want: In essence I have 0 people right now in my life. I need to survive for my children. How should I care for myself in my situation. Right now going out is very hard with one toddler and a baby who has sunlight sensitivity. But I will try to join groups etc. But before I do that how do I help myself.
Thanks

Sorry if this is a long post! I tried to squeeze in every detail para fair also. I really just need to get it off my chest. Please be kind to her as well kasi she's a really great person and doesn't deserve hate.
My ex (26F) and I (23F) have been together for almost 3 years and we broke up a month ago, reason for our break up is our circumstance. Hindi pa sya out sa family nya pero she's capable na kasi to live on her own if ever man hindi sya maaccept. Stable na kasi sya in all aspects. While on the other hand, na out ako sa family ko kasi they discovered our relationship dahil sa nag snitch sa amin. I was born and raised on a Christian family so pinaghiwalay nila kami nung na discover nila about us (this was one year ago).
We still secretly dated and still together even after ma discover ng family ko yung relationship namin. I fought for her still kahit patago bcs of how much I love her and she did the same. She was someone who loved me so much, and would do everything for me before. It was unconditional love na nag ooverflow din with the people around me kasi my friends can also see yung efforts nya for me and how much she loved me.
For the past 2 years of being together still she did everything for me, she loved me genuinely, wrote me songs, travelled almost every week just to see me for hours, wala syang pagkukulang sakin kahit LDR kami hanggang sa dumating sa point na parang sobrang nasanay nalang ako na ginagawa nya all those things for me na di ko namamalayan na to-took for granted ko na.
I thought I was doing my best at that time to love her with everything that I'm capable of as of the moment. My parents are very strict also to the point na every time I'm out with my friends or someone I need to take photos for proof lol. (They are over protective bcs I'm the bunso and baby pa tingin nila sakin lol) I've already talked to them about this, na adult na ako. Don't get me wrong, I grew up in a household na hindi toxic, lumaki ako with love and no trauma naman at all kaya hindi ko rin sila fully masisisi bakit hindi nila kami matanggap bcs of their beliefs. Madali lang sana iwanan kung puro trauma natanggap ko all my life but no, I know I was loved and cherished by them too and I'm so grateful for that.
My ex already wants to settle down with me, marry me and everything but I wasn't ready. Feeling ko I still have a lot to explore with myself, career, and in all aspects. Although sya na rin talaga nakikita ko sa future ko, I wasn't ready for it yet and sya ready na kasi stable na sya with everything. Until we had the talk na parang sino mas pipiliin ko, family ko or sya? I never thought that day would come na ganung choices na need kong piliin. Umaasa pa rin kasi ako na maybe someday we'll get both, na matatanggap pa rin kami no matter what. I really don't know how to answer kasi I love her so much but I love my family too. My fam also made it clear to me na they'll parang cut me off if ever sya piliin ko. Until parang na over na yung conversation na yun and di nalang muna namin pinagusapan.
Fast forward, a month ago. We had a talk again wherein we broke up na mutually bcs we said we need to work on ourselves first. We said that it's not a goodbye but more on see you later. We loved each other so much that we had to let each other go. 2 weeks after the break up I was just feeling fine, hurt but getting through and she's not. Her friends are telling me kung gaano na sya hindi nakakakain and puro inom nalang because of what happened to us. We were still talking from time to time during those 2 weeks just asking how's each other and all. (Even saying our I love you's still lol)
Until such time na parang in one snap everything just changed. Naging friends sya sa mga lesbians also na mga 30s na, then I discovered na she was talking to a girl na bigla. Doon nag sync in sakin lahat na break na kami, wala na sya sakin. For 2 weeks I was doing fine, then nung nalaman ko yun parang nabasag yung mundo ko. (There was no cheating involved, she didn't know the girl until 2 weeks after we broke up, I know this bcs we're all in one company lol)
I can't eat or sleep at all so I decided to travel sa kanila to ask kasi hindi ko talaga matanggap yung thought na parang sobrang bilis nya akong palitan. Then when I asked her, she said sorry, gusto nalang din daw talaga nya mag move forward sa life nya, yung na realize nya daw over the past 2 weeks ayaw nya na daw maging malungkot, ayaw nya na daw bumalik sa dati nung sirang sira sya (She became alcoholic at that time nung first relationship nya). Feeling ko avoidant kasi sya with the things that are happening.
She apologized kung mabilis pero sa past few days daw na nag ttalk sila she saw potential daw sa girl (34F), she saw what she's willing to offer daw na hindi ko kaya maibigay sa kanya. Although getting to know stage palang naman daw sila, but she also admitted na may nangyari na sa kanila. I was shattered, bcs I did my best to fight for us. Hindi ko maisip kung rebound nya lang ba to fill the void or talagang totoo na she really saw potential sa girl. I told her baka love bombing lang yun and all but she said no. Even her friends suddenly saw how quickly she changed, she turned into this ice cold queen na parang hindi na sya yun and it felt like I'm the one to blame kasi the pain that I've cause her made her change.
Even after all this happened, I still insisted to stay at her place for a week. I just really want to understand and parang sa sobrang sakit kinailangan ko to atleast gain myself back para pagbalik ko sa amin medyo clear na ako bcs I wasn't really functioning well. During my stay there, I witnessed how her and the new girl are talking, literally like same as we were staring before. (Sobrang brutal diba and martyr ko for insisting on staying there kahit alam kong masasaktan lang din ako lol). I really can't understand pa rin how it's possible or sobrang avoidant nya lang ba talaga to feel the pain of our break up or talagang naka move on na sya talaga. Sobrang sakit pero narealize ko na 2 years syang nagtitiis sa pain na nabibigay ko sa kanya ng di ko namamalayan so parang na jjustify ko pa sa head ko na deserve nya to be happy also? Also weird bcs during those times I was staying there we were still kissing from time to time.... I told her to tell the girl na nandun ako and that we're doing some stuff too but she said she can't kasi mawawala daw yung girl?? Sobrang different nya bigla from the person that I love before kasi alam kong hindi talaga sya capable of lying and all, which leads me again to the pain na she's feeling kaya she's doing these things? Sabi nya naman sasabihin nya rin daw eventually hahanap lang daw sya ng timing.. Parang sobrang bigla kaming naging toxic nung dulo just bcs of our break up.
I know how messed up it was na nung ending but our love was really beautiful, witness all the people around us and it just pains me to see how it ended. Even after our last day together we still agreed na parking lang kami, explore lang kami things and who knows once we're both ready we'll end up together pa rin. Now, I'm still in so much pain from the break up and she seems like she's doing fine na, hindi ko pa rin matanggap na parang sya okay tapos ako hindi pa rin haha. Hindi ko alam kung ako ba yung nag hheal ng tama kasi naffeel ko yung pain and sobrang avoidant nya na di pa rin nya niddeal pain ng break up namin or baka sadyang naka move on nalang talaga sya.
Ahhhhh I know how brutal and how bad this sounds sa kanya just because of this story but I swear she's really a great person. I think yung too much pain talaga nagpa cause sa kanya to do stuff na she's not doing before :/ It's so complicated and I just really want to get through.. and I'm so mindblowned by the fact that after everything that happened I still want her back in my life.

Edit: DO NOT message me a simple hi or hello, with no information about you, Put some effort in to your message like i have, come on. Day+Attempt#205
Hello everyone, Thank you for taking the time to read, I know its long, I know - I know. But its worth the read, Trust me. I appreciate you immensely.
Here's a bit about me,
My name is Jay, I live on the East coast of the US. I'm looking for love - like everyone else on here.., but you may not believe or even be doubtful that I've never had a GF before with me being 26, but its true. I'm simply just not willing to "be with" just anyone and I'm very picky. I want us to be a match, more than just have similar things in common.
One thing I have always been told is that I'm a "Real Catch, I'd be extremely lucky to have someone like you" - WELL THEN TAKE ME. I'M FREE. LOL.
About me:
Physically -
~I'm a semi-tall guy, around 5'10.
~I'm thin but muscular.
~I have dirty blonde/ brown hair.
~Changing colored eyes.
~A voice nice enough to melt all your safeguards and get right into your heart and weak spots.
~I do not have any tattoos or piercings. Though I would like to get some eventually.
If you'd like to see a picture of me just ask and I'll show you - IF I may see you as well, I simply just don't want a picture of me out there for anyone to see.
-If there's anything else you'd like to know just ask.
Otherwise -
~I do have 3 pet bunnies I would be more than happy to show you, they are extremely cute.
~I'm a very honest and down to earth guy.
~I'm very patient and easy going.
~I'm very curious and inquisitive. I will try to ask everything I can to learn all about you haha.
~I'm Very VERY Kind & Caring, I will probably ask how you are feeling a bajillion times a day, simply out of care for you.
~I can get pretty clingy, and will always want your attention and to be talking with you. If i have someone im interested in i wont want to talk to anyone else🤷‍♂️
~I'm very trustworthy - you can confide in me, and entrust your deepest secrets and I wont tell a soul.
~I'm a HUGE hopeless romantic, im old fashioned and will always try to impress you.
- I'm, a BIG softie even though I may look a smol bit intimidating, but I'd do just about anything to see you smile or laugh. And yes.., I do mean anything.
~I'm a big goof - I will get up to some silly shenanigans ALL the time, I will crack dumb jokes and send you memes and tik toks just to make you happy, even if its from across the room I'd wait to see your reaction lol.
~I'm extremely loyal, and would never even think of cheating.
~I will cook for you, and clean up too, even around the house, I'm very self productive and don't ask for much. Just don't forget to kiss the cook.
~I'd also love to just cuddle up and watch a movie or read a book together, anything to get us closer. Id try to take you out on dates whenever possible haha. I have a million SUPER romantic date ideas I have but have never had anyone interested enough in me to take out. Here's your chance ;)
~I will always want to share stuff I find interesting with you, and try to share every moment of every day with you. I'm not looking for someone who can only talk for a small amount of time, I want someone who's willing to put in all the effort I put into them back into me, it goes both ways. If I'm "with" someone you are my TOP priority nobody and nothing else would be. You would be the only person I'd truly want to talk to, so rest assured I would NEVER cheat, even more so because no one is interested in me - Hence why I'm here hahaha.
I'm sure there is more to me than this snippet but I cant think of more at the moment haha, so get to know me and find out more about me.
Some of my interests are: Engineering- I'm a nerd. I admit it. I love being technical and hands on, I love building things. All kinds of things, from furniture, machinery, and reverse engineering anything I find. I love learning how things work and trying to improve things.
Music - I prefer music with a very fast pace, or with some very meaningful lyrics I can relate to. I love to sing along to music and songs that have a deep meaning behind it I can sympathize with makes it all the better. Some bands I like are: Bad Omens, Beartooth, Demon Hunter, MIW, I9K - The list goes on. I'm a bit of a metalhead unfortunately.
TV Shows & Movies - I love watching shows, and I'd love to stream some shows and have some E-dates with you, to get to know you, or if you are close to me, maybe we could do it in person. Some shows I like or more of the Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Comedy, Action, stuff like: National Treasure, Halo, BattleBots, Rick and Morty, AHS, Anything Marvel or DC, The Witcher, Wednesday, The Sandman, The Magicians, The Umbrella Academy, ETC.
Gaming - Yes yes I know, Basic guy likes basic stuff. But gaming has been a thing for me since forever. I know most of you wont care or want to hear that, but I'll leave out the specifics on this part unless you are interested in that, MEGA Bonus points if you are.
Here's a lists of Cons to dating me-
~I'm not Ryan Reynolds. Disappointing, I know.
~I will fight you on what goes on pizza lol.
~I'm not rich.., Yet.
~I can't pronounce Worcestershire.
~I'm slightly forgetful, but with good reasoning.
~(Not really a con but- some might disagree) I still have ALL of my firsts, Do with that what you will c:
~I've got an endless pile of love and affection and no one to give it to! What a dilemma! Help me fix it?
Other than that I'll save the rest for a bit more of getting to know each other.
Here's a bit of what I'm looking in you:
~Preferably someone with lots of free time, and loves to chit chat. I'm seriously not interested in getting 1 message a day. Though I understand people get busy, I personally am not willing to try to learn about you and form something with 7 responses a week. Effort gets reciprocated and I appreciate the time you put in me.
~Physically: -I’m not personally attracted to anyone who’s “curvy/ chubby”, I apologize. Not a shallow thing, I just dont have the attraction chemical in my brain for that, I’m sorry. -If you’re shorter than me, thats a plus to me. -I love dimples, if you have those when you smile, bonus points 😊 - I’m not sure what else to put.., but as for nsfw wise find out😂
~I'm a sucker for a different accent other than American, and if you have an Posh English accent you have already won my heart.
~I'm also only really looking for someone within the ages of 18-35. I don't want anyone old enough to be my mom lol.
~I'd prefer (But not a must) people NOT on the other side of the world, as other time zones SUCK. I don't expect to find anyone who also has never had a boyfriend either, but that would be a real plus. I also don't mind a LDR, but I don't want that forever. But it gives us time to get to know each other.
But as for attributes I'm looking for in you:
~Someone who is above all else very very Loyal and would never cheat.
~Someone who is Honest, and will tell me the truth over a little white lie.
~Someone who is Kind & Caring, who'd constantly check on me, and accept me for who I am & help me improve day to day.
~Someone who is trustworthy, and I can count on to keep my secrets safe, or even just help me remember things.., I do tend to be somewhat forgetful.
~Someone who is very Patient and wants to see me succeed and will help me do so, just like I would help you. Even if its small day to day things, I would appreciate your company ANY time.
~I want a partner who is Affectionate, can reciprocate, and loves to snuggle and talk about their day, and what their interests are, and what makes them happy.
~Someone who can admit they get clingy or overprotective is a bonus.
~A partner with good communication is key, if something wrong we have to be able to talk about it.
~A partner who likes to game with me or at least watch me play would be a plus but not a requirement.
~Someone with a good sense of humor and like to joke around, I am a big goof after all and I love to joke around. Sending memes is always appreciated and good to cheer people up too!
~I'd prefer someone with the same music taste, but not a requirement, Plus if you wouldn't mind if I send you love songs occasionally that's a bonus, or sending me some back haha.
~Being willing to voice call is a must, Texting forever is not the way to go. I have to know what your voice is like haha, later on we can video call if you are comfortable with that. I prefer chatting on Discord because Reddit messages of any kind I'm sure you know are unreliable and sucky in general. So please send me your discord if you have one :)
~I would LOVE to see picture of your pets if you have any. Bonus points if it includes your beautiful self haha.
I'm sure there is more I'm looking for but I cant think of it right now haha, I will have to edit this when I think of it.
Please tell me about you as an opener! I told you a good bit about me, now its your turn haha.
Tell me some things like -
~What's your name?
~Where are you from?
~How old are you?
~What are your hobbies / interests?
~What about my post interested you?
~Where is my TV Remote?!
~Selfie? Pet pics?
~Hit me with your best joke or meme :)
~What's your favorite candy?
I'd LOVE to get to know you, and see where things go.
But yeah, I know it was long I'm sorry haha. Send me a message and lets get to know each other! :)

Hello. I (18f) and my older sister (20f) discovered deleted texts to seggsworkers on our dads phone, as well as nsfw pictures, back in January. This came as a shock, as they have always seems like newlyweds, even though they have been married for 20 years. Our mother seems oblivious, and we also snooped though her devices, and it does not look like she is cheating. We decided to keep it to ourselves, and not tell our mom, since I am soon finishing school, and have many exams coming up as week as some post-graduation parties. My sister is also travelling for 3 months, but with her coming home at the end of June, as well as me finishing high school by that time, we can't keep it a secret to our mom any longer. In the time, that my sister has been away, I have regularly looked through my fathers phone, and he still cheats. He also spends a lot every time, and we are not rich. I have taken pictures of many of the messages as evidence. Our dad is a very intense man and works in high-stress and physically hard jobs (think police), and the fact, that we looked though his phone, makes us therefore reluctant to tell our dad first. But we don't know, how/if we should tell our mother first, so that she hears it from her children instead of her husband himself. Advice?

Hello. I (18f) and my older sister (20f) discovered deleted texts to seggsworkers on our dads phone, as well as nsfw pictures, back in January. This came as a shock, as they have always seems like newlyweds, even though they have been married for 20 years. Our mother seems oblivious, and we also snooped though her devices, and it does not look like she is cheating. We decided to keep it to ourselves, and not tell our mom, since I am soon finishing school, and have many exams coming up as week as some post-graduation parties. My sister is also travelling for 3 months, but with her coming home at the end of June, as well as me finishing high school by that time, we can't keep it a secret to our mom any longer. In the time, that my sister has been away, I have regularly looked through my fathers phone, and he still cheats. He also spends a lot every time, and we are not rich. I have taken pictures of many of the messages as evidence. Our dad is a very intense man and works in high-stress and physically hard jobs (think police), and the fact, that we looked though his phone, makes us therefore reluctant to tell our dad first. But we don't know, how/if we should tell our mother first, so that she hears it from her children instead of her husband himself. Advice?

This is my first Reddit post, but I just had another dream about the only women I’ve ever really loved and I hate myself even more than usual. ps. Sorry in advance for the absolute novel I just wrote. Background: In Junior high school I fell in love with a girl (Junior high love, obviously not that big a deal back then). I don’t remember much about our relationship back then but from what I do remember it was great. I broke up with her for some dumbass reason right before the start of highschool and wound up moving away a while later.
Fast forward to senior year of highschool we reconnect over Snapchat, I lived a couple hundred miles away, but she took my heart back in less than a week. I’d still thought about her occasionally the years passed, but I never thought I’d ever actually see or speak to her again. My family comes to town to visit my mother and sister who were still in town and I take her out. We laugh, talk and hangout for hours and wind up sharing a first kiss and doing… other stuff that I sincerely regret doing in retrospect. Dated for around 2 months and then the quarantine started, so I seize the opportunity to move down here and finish highschool online so I could be with her. Obviously we broke up otherwise I wouldn’t be posting on here. I think we were together 6 months total, and during that 6 months I was happy for the first time in as long as I can remember. I looked forward to waking up and I had hope that my nihilistic outlook on life was whack, looked forward to spending my life with her one day. And from what she said I thought she felt the same.
Anyway it wasn’t a clean break, she never spoke to me again but she hates me. I tried so hard to be interesting and entertaining and spontaneous but it’s what drove her away from what I can tell. Such an easy thing to fix, since from what I can tell most of the shit that drove her away I was doing deliberately trying to make sure she wouldn’t get bored or cheat or something (all my insecurities, nothing to do with who she was). Outside of that stuff I still didn’t deserve her honestly. It was earned, I was a piece of shit and had been since highschool. I damn sure didn’t know how to have a normal relationship. I could go into detail but my intel is dodgy at best and I’m having enough trouble trying to piece it all together as is. Pretty much everything I know, I learned from mutual friends after the fact and it’s unlikely anyone will read this far to begin with, but she didn’t even know whether I actually loved her or if I just wanted her body.
We broke up March of 2020, don’t know how I remember… I just do. The following years held a lot of drama, a major wake up call and a lot of self reflection/hatred. I still dream about her. I’ve tried hard to stop thinking about her because it hurts and there’s nothing I’ll ever be able to do to mend the damage I’ve done or tell her how I feel/have always felt, and if I could she’d probably think I was insane for not having moved on, but I can’t change my fucking dreams.
In this one we were engaged and at a family reunion of some sort, and I wound up beating the fuck out of her fucking scum of a father. (Won’t tell you about him, it’s not my business to share) Despite me doing that, and even though she was angry at me, she loved me. Last thing she said before I woke up was “It was so hard trying not to love you” and she hugged me. I can literally still feel her hugging me.
Anyway, I dunno what I’m doing here. I dunno what heartbreak is gonna do but I have never told anybody the full story and even though she probably is a completely different person who hasn’t had a thought about me in years (especially not a positive one). I wish more than anything that I could tell her how much I still love her, a third chance is all I need. But despite knowing how ridiculous it is, and knowing it’ll never happen in a fuckin million years. I still feel stuck in this piece of shit town secretly hoping she’ll call me or something… and I hate myself for it.
Anyway that’s it, “signing off” or whatever they say. If you read all this shit thanks, feel free to comment or whatever.

Hi! I start by saying that I love and trust my boyfriend completely. We've been together for 2 years now. We live in different cities, 3h drive. We meet 2-3 times a month, but text almost every half hour and both are still very in love with each other (maybe even more than before). It's my first real relationship and I've never felt so happy in my life.
In the past I've been hurt (emotionally) by a few guys - they told me I'm theirs only and then later I found out that they secretly sent pics and flirty texts with many other guys (and went to gay bars and found people there etc etc, you all know the basic cheating thing...)
My boyfriend is a cute nerd, a bit shy and doesn't go out much. Now he's starting going out with work friends (girls) and to gay clubs to dance and have a drink. We have Snapchat live location ON (he suggested that so I wouldn't worry). That's all fine, I'm glad he's socializing.
But since I've been hurt in the past and an emotional guy then now I've become quite jealous and a big overthinker... What if my bf is actually sexting with other guys he found at a gay club or what if he's secretly on Grindr, what if there's one dude who knows how to charm etcetc. I feel so stupid...
Now a few days ago he went to sleep and forgot his phone unlocked. Now I'm a jerk for doing this next thing but... I checked his phone. No Grindr, no dating apps. On Messenger there were chats with family and friends. Same with Snapchat. Until... I found that he was texting two guys time to time (they're gay, I saw both of them on Grindr years ago) on Instagram, reacting to their storys (which is fine) but then also sending them some gay memes/content (ex: Romeo & Liam playing around on Insta, some top-bottom jokes) and the other way around. And I scrolled up and saw this message from one of the guys to my boyfriend: "I know you're in a relationship. But if u ever wanna fool around, u can turn to me." My bf replied: noted, but I have a boyfriend (and no more messages that day/night). I also found that same guy replying to a hot gay joke my bf sent him: "You know how I feel about you, I would drool" or something. And a few weird things like that as well. But they also chatted about some video game and some random normal stuff, nothing flirty.
I asked my boyfriend in the morning who is that guy and if they're talking on Insta (didn't tell him I looked through his dm's...). He said that this dude has tried hitting on him but my bf told him to calm down and stop. Which was all true. So basically my boyfriend told me that yes there is this guy and they don't meet irl and text few times a month (but actually few times a week, very little conversation tho, but still enough to make lose my mind...).
So now I'm really broken... My overthinking has gone worse. I'm scared when he's going out in the future. I... I don't know 😣 I can't ask him to stop texting people, I don't want to be that controlling toxic boyfriend. I'm afraid of losing him and you know what they say: "If you keep thinking about something it might eventually happen if you think enough..." It scares me...
What should I do, how should I control my thoughts, should I ask my bf something? I beg for advice, please, how can I calm myself down?
TL;DR;: This is a sample summary of the TLDR rule, all things are bold. Is this going the right way?.

Hi!
I start by saying that I love and trust my boyfriend completely. We've been together for 2 years now. We live in different cities, 3h drive. We meet 2-3 times a month, but text almost every half hour and both are still very in love with each other (maybe even more than before). It's my first real relationship and I've never felt so happy in my life.
In the past I've been hurt (emotionally) by a few guys - they told me I'm theirs only and then later I found out that they secretly sent pics and flirty texts with many other guys (and went to gay bars and found people there etc etc, you all know the basic cheating thing...)
My boyfriend is a cute nerd, a bit shy and doesn't go out much. Now he's starting going out with work friends (girls) and to gay clubs to dance and have a drink. We have Snapchat live location ON (he suggested that so I wouldn't worry). That's all fine, I'm glad he's socializing.
But since I've been hurt in the past and an emotional guy then now I've become quite jealous and a big overthinker... What if my bf is actually sexting with other guys he found at a gay club or what if he's secretly on Grindr, what if there's one dude who knows how to charm etcetc. I feel so stupid...
Now a few days ago he went to sleep and forgot his phone unlocked. Now I'm a jerk for doing this next thing but... I checked his phone. No Grindr, no dating apps. On Messenger there were chats with family and friends. Same with Snapchat. Until... I found that he was texting two guys time to time (they're gay, I saw both of them on Grindr years ago) on Instagram, reacting to their storys (which is fine) but then also sending them some gay memes/content (ex: Romeo & Liam playing around on Insta, some top-bottom jokes) and the other way around. And I scrolled up and saw this message from one of the guys to my boyfriend: "I know you're in a relationship. But if u ever wanna fool around, u can turn to me." My bf replied: noted, but I have a boyfriend (and no more messages that day/night). I also found that same guy replying to a hot gay joke my bf sent him: "You know how I feel about you, I would drool" or something. And a few weird things like that as well. But they also chatted about some video game and some random normal stuff, nothing flirty.
I asked my boyfriend in the morning who is that guy and if they're talking on Insta (didn't tell him I looked through his dm's...). He said that this dude has tried hitting on him but my bf told him to calm down and stop. Which was all true. So basically my boyfriend told me that yes there is this guy and they don't meet irl and text few times a month (but actually few times a week, very little conversation tho, but still enough to make lose my mind...).
So now I'm really broken... My overthinking has gone worse. I'm scared when he's going out in the future. I... I don't know 😣 I can't ask him to stop texting people, I don't want to be that controlling toxic boyfriend. I'm afraid of losing him and you know what they say: "If you keep thinking about something it might eventually happen if you think enough..." It scares me...
What should I do, how should I control my thoughts, should I ask my bf something? I beg for advice, please, how can I calm myself down?
TL;DR;: This is a sample summary of the TLDR rule, all things are bold. Is this going the right way?.

Hi! I start by saying that I love and trust my boyfriend completely. We've been together for 2 years now. We live in different cities, 3h drive. We meet 2-3 times a month, but text almost every half hour and both are still very in love with each other (maybe even more than before). It's my first real relationship and I've never felt so happy in my life.
In the past I've been hurt (emotionally) by a few guys - they told me I'm theirs only and then later I found out that they secretly sent pics and flirty texts with many other guys (and went to gay bars and found people there etc etc, you all know the basic cheating thing...)
My boyfriend is a cute nerd, a bit shy and doesn't go out much. Now he's starting going out with work friends (girls) and to gay clubs to dance and have a drink. We have Snapchat live location ON (he suggested that so I wouldn't worry). That's all fine, I'm glad he's socializing.
But since I've been hurt in the past and an emotional guy then now I've become quite jealous and a big overthinker... What if my bf is actually sexting with other guys he found at a gay club or what if he's secretly on Grindr, what if there's one dude who knows how to charm etcetc. I feel so stupid...
Now a few days ago he went to sleep and forgot his phone unlocked. Now I'm a jerk for doing this next thing but... I checked his phone. No Grindr, no dating apps. On Messenger there were chats with family and friends. Same with Snapchat. Until... I found that he was texting two guys time to time (they're gay, I saw both of them on Grindr years ago) on Instagram, reacting to their storys (which is fine) but then also sending them some gay memes/content (ex: Romeo & Liam playing around on Insta, some top-bottom jokes) and the other way around. And I scrolled up and saw this message from one of the guys to my boyfriend: "I know you're in a relationship. But if u ever wanna fool around, u can turn to me." My bf replied: noted, but I have a boyfriend (and no more messages that day/night). I also found that same guy replying to a hot gay joke my bf sent him: "You know how I feel about you, I would drool" or something. And a few weird things like that as well. But they also chatted about some video game and some random normal stuff, nothing flirty.
I asked my boyfriend in the morning who is that guy and if they're talking on Insta (didn't tell him I looked through his dm's...). He said that this dude has tried hitting on him but my bf told him to calm down and stop. Which was all true. So basically my boyfriend told me that yes there is this guy and they don't meet irl and text few times a month (but actually few times a week, very little conversation tho, but still enough to make lose my mind...).
So now I'm really broken... My overthinking has gone worse. I'm scared when he's going out in the future. I... I don't know 😣 I can't ask him to stop texting people, I don't want to be that controlling toxic boyfriend. I'm afraid of losing him and you know what they say: "If you keep thinking about something it might eventually happen if you think enough..." It scares me...
What should I do, how should I control my thoughts, should I ask my bf something? I beg for advice, please, how can I calm myself down?
TL;DR;: This is a sample summary of the TLDR rule, all things are bold. Is this going the right way?.

Backstory: I was close friends with a girl, let’s call her Emma, for a considerable number of years. She had always been a bit manipulative and had a vast history of short-term flings with guys, but my family liked her. I, 17f, am relatively self reserved and had never experienced a relationship before. One summer I returned from an abroad trip and she announced that she had a new guy to “rebound” from her ex boyfriend (Tom) of a couple months. She invited me to meet him. He was an attractive guy, let’s call him Jake, and him and I got along pretty well. I asked her if it was okay to get his Snapchat and she agreed. Main story: As Emma and Jake started to grow closer, Jake became suspicious of her cheating. As a good friend I didn’t know what to do, as she was already bragging about Tom being interested in her again. One evening I get a call from Jake asking me to tell him Emma’s Life360 location as she’s been very dry over text and barely responded to his messages. He also said it was starting to negatively impact his mental health and he didn’t know how long he could cope. I looked at Emma’s location and instantly knew it was Tom’s house. I had no idea what to do, but knew the morally right thing would be to be honest to Jake. I called Emma, who told me that she was seeing Tom in secret and for me to not report back to Jake as she still wanted him in case “things went wrong”. It didn’t sit right with me knowing Jake was in such a state, and seeing Snapchat videos of Emma cuddling with Tom and looking so smug. I told him the location and Emma came clean, ending things with Jake so she could return to her ex. Emma made it clear that Jake was never her boyfriend, she was never in love with him and he was simply a “quick rebound”. Fast forward two months and Jake and I had been messaging a while as friends. We bounced off each other’s humour and shared very similar morals. One evening he asked me if I fancied meeting his friends, and I said sure. I distanced from Emma after she said some nasty words to my sister, and thought it would be fun. I didn’t realise it would end in kissing Jake at the end of the night. His friends were teasing him and making it obvious he liked me, and I couldn’t deny my attraction towards him. We continued to meet until he asked me to be his girlfriend, and soon later we confessed our love for one another. I felt guilty, but had comfort in the fact that Emma told me she never loved him and he didn’t mean anything to her. A mutual friend between Emma and Jake noted that I was Jake‘s girlfriend and proceeded to tell Emma. Despite Emma still being in a healthy, long-lasting relationship with Tom, she proceeded to message family members, including my sister, saying that I need “psychiatric help” because I’m “f****d in the head” for getting with Jake. She said I should have “taken her feelings into account” and she felt “incredibly hurt” because she allegedly felt such an attraction to Jake when she was with him. She messaged my friends telling them to avoid me because I’m “dangerous” and I’m “going insane”, and tried to tell me that the only reason Jake is with me is because he’s still in love with her and “needed a rebound”, so it’s not “real love” which I perceived as a little arrogant. She also tried to tell me that Jake was flirting with her and head-over-heels in love with her, would get back with her in a heartbeat and HE told her we were dating, not the mutual friend. Jake and I both knew this wasn’t the case, and I had confirmation from all of our friends saying it wasn’t Jake that told Emma. After Tom recently broke up with Emma, she is trying to make out that she is suddenly in love with Jake “again” and wishes to get back with him, and if I was a “good friend”, I would break up with Jake so that she could get back with him and finally “take it seriously”. So- AITA? Fast forward- Jake and I split up due to him cheating on me with another girl. Their short relationship soon ended and our friend group decided to meet up after I finished colllege. Jake turns up, and brings Emma with him. He announces that they are back together. Of course this is a strange feeling, and seeing Emma purposely kissing him/publicly showing affection all whilst giving me an evil eye was an unpleasant experience. She also body shamed me multiple times and continued to ask my other friends (who I met through Jake) why they were friends with a “fake friend” like me, all while I was there. My family tells me to leave the group, but they are the only friends I have and since Emma has rejoined the group things have changed. Any advice on this subject would be appreciated ❤️

Backstory: I was close friends with a girl, let’s call her Emma, for a considerable number of years. She had always been a bit manipulative and had a vast history of short-term flings with guys, but my family liked her. I, 17f, am relatively self reserved and had never experienced a relationship before. One summer I returned from an abroad trip and she announced that she had a new guy to “rebound” from her ex boyfriend (Tom) of a couple months. She invited me to meet him. He was an attractive guy, let’s call him Jake, and him and I got along pretty well. I asked her if it was okay to get his Snapchat and she agreed. Main story: As Emma and Jake started to grow closer, Jake became suspicious of her cheating. As a good friend I didn’t know what to do, as she was already bragging about Tom being interested in her again. One evening I get a call from Jake asking me to tell him Emma’s Life360 location as she’s been very dry over text and barely responded to his messages. He also said it was starting to negatively impact his mental health and he didn’t know how long he could cope. I looked at Emma’s location and instantly knew it was Tom’s house. I had no idea what to do, but knew the morally right thing would be to be honest to Jake. I called Emma, who told me that she was seeing Tom in secret and for me to not report back to Jake as she still wanted him in case “things went wrong”. It didn’t sit right with me knowing Jake was in such a state, and seeing Snapchat videos of Emma cuddling with Tom and looking so smug. I told him the location and Emma came clean, ending things with Jake so she could return to her ex. Emma made it clear that Jake was never her boyfriend, she was never in love with him and he was simply a “quick rebound”. Fast forward two months and Jake and I had been messaging a while as friends. We bounced off each other’s humour and shared very similar morals. One evening he asked me if I fancied meeting his friends, and I said sure. I distanced from Emma after she said some nasty words to my sister, and thought it would be fun. I didn’t realise it would end in kissing Jake at the end of the night. His friends were teasing him and making it obvious he liked me, and I couldn’t deny my attraction towards him. We continued to meet until he asked me to be his girlfriend, and soon later we confessed our love for one another. I felt guilty, but had comfort in the fact that Emma told me she never loved him and he didn’t mean anything to her. A mutual friend between Emma and Jake noted that I was Jake‘s girlfriend and proceeded to tell Emma. Despite Emma still being in a healthy, long-lasting relationship with Tom, she proceeded to message family members, including my sister, saying that I need “psychiatric help” because I’m “f****d in the head” for getting with Jake. She said I should have “taken her feelings into account” and she felt “incredibly hurt” because she allegedly felt such an attraction to Jake when she was with him. She messaged my friends telling them to avoid me because I’m “dangerous” and I’m “going insane”, and tried to tell me that the only reason Jake is with me is because he’s still in love with her and “needed a rebound”, so it’s not “real love” which I perceived as a little arrogant. She also tried to tell me that Jake was flirting with her and head-over-heels in love with her, would get back with her in a heartbeat and HE told her we were dating, not the mutual friend. Jake and I both knew this wasn’t the case, and I had confirmation from all of our friends saying it wasn’t Jake that told Emma. After Tom recently broke up with Emma, she is trying to make out that she is suddenly in love with Jake “again” and wishes to get back with him, and if I was a “good friend”, I would break up with Jake so that she could get back with him and finally “take it seriously”. So- AITA? Fast forward- Jake and I split up due to him cheating on me with another girl. Their short relationship soon ended and our friend group decided to meet up after I finished colllege. Jake turns up, and brings Emma with him. He announces that they are back together. Of course this is a strange feeling, and seeing Emma purposely kissing him/publicly showing affection all whilst giving me an evil eye was an unpleasant experience. She also body shamed me multiple times and continued to ask my other friends (who I met through Jake) why they were friends with a “fake friend” like me, all while I was there. My family tells me to leave the group, but they are the only friends I have but since Emma has rejoined the group things have changed. Any advice on this subject would be appreciated ❤️

Dear Muslim Redditors,
Throwaway for obvious reasons.
Also, I know I could have left bits out, but I think it's important to be transparent about where I have fallen short and been bad.
I met my husband six years ago, and we got married after a year of being together. He had some red flags that I was aware of, but I cared about him too much to stop myself from marrying him. He's had a hard life; he is from a refugee camp (but grew up in the States), and his parents divorced when he was 10. As a result, he saw some very toxic marriage behavior whilst growing up. However, he managed to still go on to do good things with his life and the support of his mom, like getting a decent job.
When I met him, he didn't really have many friends except for some guys who were really terrible. They made fun of him, but most of all, they were into drinking, clubbing, etc. My husband is an introvert and went out with them once every 3-4 months. But that's it, he was super isolated. After he met me, he repented and wanted to lead a good Muslim life with me.
When he met me, he was really into me, and we saw each other all the time. He was kind (with food), handsome, loved spending time with me (and vice versa), and he put me first. His red flags at the time were that he was REALLY jealous/tried to control what I wore even though I am relatively modest. When he was upset, he also swore and shouted at me. He constantly feared I would cheat on him (he's been cheated on before) and would accuse me of looking at guys. I read a lot about psychology, so I think he might have borderline personality disorder. He is also afraid of abandonment.
In our first year of marriage, I got my dream contract job in Texas (we are from New Jersey) and he moved there for me. The salary was very low, but the experience was really valuable. So he mostly paid all the bills (I told him once the six-month contract was up, I'd live with his mom for a year to help us both save money). I was also really busy with this job, so I didn't cook much. Also, as a new bride, I didn't know how to cook. During those times, he would get super angry at me and be rude, swear, and just be horrible.
I am not great at getting bullied, so when he was being verbally abusive and angry, I would react terribly. I've locked him in the bathroom, and I've kicked him (not hard, like to push him away from me because he was trying to touch me) and pushed him off the bed. I know I shouldn't have done those things, and I know I should have just divorced him, but something about being called a btch, prck, c*nt just felt REALLY horrendous. I just can't handle that happening to me. He has also pushed me back, and frequently said to me you need to be hit to be taught a lesson "as a joke". But he does play fight with me rough. So I know it's not a joke. I've told him to stop and he doesn't, and says why am I being dramatic.
P.S. For the record, when he stopped verbally abusing me I never did anything violent towards him again. I never ever hit him hard (the kick was to push him away from me, and when I pushed him off the bed it was also to get him away from me whilst he was talking to me in a disgusting way. I know I am not a physical abuser, because we have gotten into normal arguments and I haven't reacted badly. I just reacted like that to being abused myself.
Anyways, we broke up over this behavior from him, and he apologized and said he wouldn't do it again, and he genuinely stopped for three years. He also stopped accusing me of cheating on him, and I felt safe enough to start having a family with him, so I got pregnant. The verbal abuse has completely stopped, but now I have normal people issues, and something happened yesterday that was not normal.
During pregnancy, I had hyperemesis. If anyone knows what that is, it basically completely destroys your body and soul. I threw up more than 15 times an hour and lost 10kg in 1.5 months. I couldn't consume anything, even water. The stomach pain was horrendous. Women who have had cancer and hyperemesis (may Allah grant them patience) have said hyperemesis was worse than chemotherapy. I couldn't walk for 5 months, had to take medication, didn't leave the house, and was physically and emotionally crushed. I only felt okay at 7 months, but by then, I had developed anemia and breathing problems.
However, during pregnancy, my husband was also great to me. He took me to every single one of my IV drip appointments and scans. He got me whatever food I needed (crushed fruit was all I could eat) and looked after me.
After I gave birth, one week later, it was Arabic Mother's Day. I was getting flowers for his mom and my mom and I said to myself, oh yeah, I'm an Arabic mother now. He gave me a dirty look and said you're not expecting anything, are you? I didn't because I had just remembered myself, but I said what's wrong with that? And he said, "what have you done to deserve to call yourself a mother?" I started crying because after everything I've been through, how can he think like this? I am staying with my mom, so he thinks I'm being pampered since I'm not living with my mother-in-law anymore.
After that, things started taking a turn for the worse. We're staying at our parents to save money and buy a house. Alhamdulillah, we managed to actually buy a house from living with in-laws. Also, to be able to buy a house, I have only had 2 weeks of maternity leave 😢. My husband had six weeks of paternity leave and only helped the first two weeks. When I went back to work, my mom and I mostly looked after the baby. He wouldn't even look after him while I had Teams meetings, and he was just sitting on the bed watching YouTube enjoying his paternity leave.
After paternity leave finished, he's mostly been at the new house fixing it. He's been asking me for money to help pay our new house bills/renovations, and I'm refusing. We initially agreed on a 70/30 split, but he has barely helped me with the baby, and he has also not been supportive AT ALL to help me while I make the difficult transition of working with a NEWBORN baby.
He also recently betrayed me and my family by telling his mom and sister our family secret about my brother in law. I have genuinely never felt so betrayed and angry. I no longer have empathy for him. I am rude; I tell him he is not a man for asking me for money, and to leave me alone.
For Eid, he gives his family money, his mom, sister, and the kids, and I was like lol, don't I get an Eid present? Then he went into a rant about why I couldn't be one of those wives who holds her man down and helps him give Eid money to the kids, etc. I was like, is your sister a kid? Why, as the mother of your child, am I not worthy of a present? FYI he never buys me gifts.
Last week, I was moving heavy boxes and asked him for help. He ignored me and carried on watching YouTube (I am 2 months postpartum and have a pelvic floor problem as a result). So I told him, if I ever cheat on you, remember this moment. I know I shouldn't have said that, but I just wanted to hurt him the way he's hurt me after giving birth. Nothing else hurts his feelings.
For the record, I had never dated anyone before meeting him, and I was a virgin when I got married. I had literally never had ONE boyfriend. I also had a lot of potentials that all the other girls liked—sons of ministers, ambassadors, and good potentials. But I rejected them because I wanted someone who grew up humbly like me. I thought since he was raised by a single mom too (my mom is a widow), we would understand each other's struggles in this world.
Yesterday he came home, and I was feeding my baby. He said, "open your phone" aggressively. I said no (he doesn't let me go through his phone - however, I know he's not cheating, he doesn't really go out much), and he grabbed my finger and tried to press it on the phone. My mom was downstairs talking to the plumber fixing our drain. I said get off, you're hurting me. He grabbed my hand and aggressively kept trying to get me to open the phone. I have red hand marks on my wrist. My baby was screaming at this point and crying. He still wouldn't stop. Everyone came upstairs to ask what was wrong with my baby.
I said to him calmly in private for the sake of my baby and mom, if I open the phone, will you leave the house? He said yes. So I opened it and let him go through it. Luckily, my mom came, and I gave her the baby and took the phone. I would never cheat on anyone; that's not me.
He has never approached me calmly and asked how I'm doing postpartum after having a difficult pregnancy and going back to work. He never comforts me. He blames me for all his problems in life.
Before pregnancy, I was so responsive to all his emotional needs and anything else he wanted. I just feel completely neglected. He was good to me at the start and has some good things about him. We have had mostly good times, the above is 3% of the time. But I am fed up, and I don't think I can see him the same after how aggressive he was around my baby and how he hurt my hand.
Thanks for reading this far. Your advice is really appreciated.

I was chatting with my stepmother a couple of days ago, and the conversation rolled around to family secrets, like how some of my aunts were very cold to me growing up, because my mom had cheated on my dad with his best friend, and served him divorce papers while he was in the hospital after breaking his neck in a car accident. (There's a whole backstory, and I think he was drunk, but I had already known part of this.) My mom said the only way they would get back together was if they could have another child, so I was adopted shortly after. Again, there's a lot more to this, but that's the main topic that started the topic of secrets. Note: both of my parents have passed away.
We started talking about my brother, briefly, because I know that they hate each other. She mentioned something about the fact he's been sleeping with a married woman for decades, and that one of her kids is actually his. Okay, I knew about the affair, he told me himself. Then she said that she thinks he is still getting information about the family, probably from a particular cousin. When we were teens, she, I, and another cousin were incredibly close and did everything together. We also used a lot of substances. I've been clean for 20 years now, she struggles, but has turned her life around for the most part, getting her kids back, and settling down. Our other cousin lost her fight with addiction and died about 16 years ago. My brother is 14 years older than me. He wasn't ever really involved with our shenanigans, although I know he is also an alcoholic, and was using back then.
I wound up going off the deep end mentally in my late teens, becoming homeless, and hitchhiking to another state. I told my stepmom that I know they were always kind of close, despite the age difference, but I thought they had gotten closer after I left. My stepmom then tells me "well, it's been speculated that they were intimate, when she was young, and vulnerable."
I admit, I had heard it once before, but I did ask my cousin if it was true and she completely denied it. After the comment about the fact she was vulnerable, I realize that it's possible he assaulted her through drug or alcohol use, or just groomed her. I hadn't really thought about it like that before and now I just feel sick. She might not even remember, she doesn't remember a lot from that time period due to the drugs.
I'm not going to say anything, especially not to anyone in my family. My brother has always been an asshole, inheriting the worst parts of our dad's alcoholism, but I never thought him capable of something like this. Fuck.
I tried to attach a screenshot of the message for proof, but I guess pics aren't allowed here.

The Sword of Chronos

Prologue
In the timeless expanse of the cosmos, where universes drift like countless specks of dust in a sunbeam, a god named Chronos reigned supreme. Unlike other deities, Chronos possessed a unique weapon—a sword forged from the essence of time itself. This blade, known as the Temporal Blade, could slice through the fabric of reality, enabling its wielder to traverse dimensions and alternate universes.
Chronos, weary of his eternal life and the immense responsibilities it carried, conceived a plan to relinquish his power. He decided to pass on the Temporal Blade and his godly abilities to a mortal worthy of such a mantle. To this end, he devised a competition, comprising seven challenges, each more daunting than the last. The winner would inherit the sword and the god's extraordinary abilities.

Chapter 1: The Call

In a humble village on Earth, lived a young man named Elian. Known for his courage and kind heart, Elian was a blacksmith's apprentice. Despite his modest upbringing, he harbored dreams of adventures beyond the mundane reality of his life.
One fateful night, as Elian worked late at the forge, a blinding light enveloped him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a vast, celestial hall. At the center stood a majestic figure with a luminous presence.
"Welcome, Elian," the figure intoned, his voice echoing through the hall. "I am Chronos, the god of time. I have chosen you, among others, to compete for my powers and the Temporal Blade."
Elian, though stunned, managed to ask, "Why me?"
Chronos smiled. "Because your heart is pure, and your courage is unmatched. The challenges ahead will test you beyond your limits. Should you succeed, you will wield powers beyond your imagination."

Chapter 2: The Competitors

Elian wasn't alone in this grand hall. Six other individuals from various realms stood around him. Each had been chosen for their unique qualities and strengths:

1. Liora: A fierce warrior princess from the desert realm of Aridia, known for her unmatched combat skills.
2. Finn: A clever thief from the shadowy streets of Nocturna, whose agility and cunning were legendary.
3. Arin: A gentle healer from the lush forests of Eldoria, with a deep connection to nature.
4. Kara: A sorceress from the mystical land of Zephyria, with command over elemental magic.
5. Ragnar: A formidable Viking chieftain from the icy fjords of Norrland, known for his brute strength.
6. Nyx: A mysterious assassin from the twilight world of Umbra, shrouded in secrecy and silence.

Chapter 3: The First Challenge - The Labyrinth of Echoes

Chronos led the competitors to the first challenge, a sprawling labyrinth that seemed to twist and turn in impossible ways. "This is the Labyrinth of Echoes," Chronos explained. "Within its walls, you will face your deepest fears and confront reflections of your past. Only by overcoming these trials will you find the exit."
Elian entered the labyrinth, his heart pounding. The walls seemed alive, whispering his darkest secrets and fears. He saw visions of his past—his parents' death, his struggles, and his failures. Yet, as he faced these specters, he remembered Chronos's words about courage.
Drawing strength from within, Elian confronted each fear head-on. His resolve grew with every step, and eventually, he found the exit. To his relief, he wasn't the first to emerge; Liora, Finn, and Arin were already there. Moments later, the others joined them, each bearing marks of their internal battles.

Chapter 4: The Second Challenge - The Bridge of Despair

The second challenge took place on a narrow bridge suspended over an abyss. Chronos appeared before them, his expression grave. "This is the Bridge of Despair. To cross it, you must confront a vision of your future—a future in which you fail. Only by accepting this potential outcome can you proceed."
As Elian stepped onto the bridge, a harrowing vision engulfed him. He saw himself standing before his village, defeated and broken, his dreams shattered. Despair threatened to consume him, but he remembered the courage that had carried him through the labyrinth.
With great effort, Elian accepted the vision. He understood that failure was a possibility, but it didn't define him. As he reached the other side, he saw that the others were already there, each having faced their own visions.

Chapter 5: The Third Challenge - The Mirror of Truth

The third challenge brought the competitors to a vast chamber filled with mirrors. "This is the Mirror of Truth," Chronos said. "It shows your true self, stripped of all illusions. To move forward, you must accept what you see."
Elian gazed into the mirror, his reflection gradually changing to reveal his deepest flaws and insecurities. He saw his fears of inadequacy and his struggles with self-doubt. Tears filled his eyes, but he didn't look away. Accepting his flaws, he embraced the image before him.
As Elian stepped away from the mirror, he saw the others emerging from their reflections, each looking more resolved. They were growing stronger with every challenge.

Chapter 6: The Fourth Challenge - The River of Memories

The next challenge led them to a tranquil river flowing through a serene valley. "This is the River of Memories," Chronos explained. "You must cross it, but as you do, you will relive your most painful memories. Only by accepting these memories can you reach the other side."
Elian stepped into the river, and instantly, memories flooded his mind—his parents' deaths, his struggles as an orphan, and the moments of despair that had shaped his life. Pain washed over him, but he understood that these memories were part of who he was.
With each step, the burden lightened, and by the time he reached the other side, he felt a profound sense of peace. The others crossed the river as well, their expressions a mixture of pain and acceptance.

Chapter 7: The Fifth Challenge - The Mountain of Resolve

The fifth challenge took the competitors to the base of a towering mountain. "This is the Mountain of Resolve," Chronos said. "To reach the summit, you must push beyond your physical and mental limits. Only those with unyielding determination will succeed."
Elian began the ascent, the path steep and treacherous. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, and his mind wavered under the strain. Yet, he remembered his dreams of adventure and the hope that had brought him this far.
Drawing strength from within, Elian pushed forward, one step at a time. Hours passed, and just as he thought he could go no further, he reached the summit. The others arrived shortly after, their faces etched with exhaustion but also a fierce determination.

Chapter 8: The Sixth Challenge - The Field of Unity

The sixth challenge unfolded in a vast field, where Chronos awaited them. "This is the Field of Unity," he said. "To succeed, you must work together. This challenge will test your ability to cooperate and trust each other."
The competitors faced a series of obstacles that required their combined efforts. Elian, with his blacksmith skills, crafted tools to help them navigate the challenges. Liora and Ragnar used their strength to move boulders, while Finn and Nyx utilized their agility to scout ahead. Kara and Arin provided support with their magic and healing abilities.
Through their combined efforts, they overcame each obstacle, forging bonds of trust and camaraderie. By the time they completed the challenge, they had become a cohesive team.

Chapter 9: The Seventh Challenge - The Final Confrontation

The final challenge took place in a grand arena, where Chronos stood at the center, holding the Temporal Blade. "This is the ultimate test," he declared. "To prove yourself worthy of my powers, you must face me in combat. Only one of you can emerge victorious."
The competitors knew this would be their greatest trial. Elian, despite the friendships he had forged, steeled himself for the battle ahead. One by one, they faced Chronos, each showcasing their unique skills and abilities.
When it was Elian's turn, he felt a surge of determination. He fought with all his might, drawing on everything he had learned from the previous challenges. His strikes were precise, his movements fluid. Chronos, impressed by Elian's growth and spirit, pushed him to his limits.
As the battle reached its climax, Elian managed to disarm Chronos, the Temporal Blade falling at his feet. He stood before the god, breathless but victorious.

Epilogue

Chronos smiled, a look of pride in his eyes. "You have proven yourself worthy, Elian. The Temporal Blade and my powers are yours."
As Elian took the sword, a surge of energy coursed through him. He felt his perception of time expand, his senses heightened. He knew he was now capable of traversing dimensions and altering reality itself.
The other competitors, though disappointed, congratulated Elian. They had come to respect and admire him through their shared trials.
Chronos, now free from his burdens, looked at Elian with a sense of fulfillment. "Use these powers wisely, Elian. Remember the lessons you have learned and the friends you have made."
Elian nodded, the weight of his new responsibilities sinking in. As he prepared to step into his new role, he knew that his adventures were just beginning. With the Temporal Blade in hand, he was ready to explore the infinite possibilities of the multiverse, bringing hope and justice wherever he went.
And so, Elian, the blacksmith's apprentice turned god, embarked on a journey across time and space, his heart filled with courage and determination, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
4oThe Sword of Chronos

Prologue

In the timeless expanse of the cosmos, where universes drift like countless specks of dust in a sunbeam, a god named Chronos reigned supreme. Unlike other deities, Chronos possessed a unique weapon—a sword forged from the essence of time itself. This blade, known as the Temporal Blade, could slice through the fabric of reality, enabling its wielder to traverse dimensions and alternate universes.
Chronos, weary of his eternal life and the immense responsibilities it carried, conceived a plan to relinquish his power. He decided to pass on the Temporal Blade and his godly abilities to a mortal worthy of such a mantle. To this end, he devised a competition, comprising seven challenges, each more daunting than the last. The winner would inherit the sword and the god's extraordinary abilities.

Chapter 1: The Call

In a humble village on Earth, lived a young man named Elian. Known for his courage and kind heart, Elian was a blacksmith's apprentice. Despite his modest upbringing, he harbored dreams of adventures beyond the mundane reality of his life.
One fateful night, as Elian worked late at the forge, a blinding light enveloped him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a vast, celestial hall. At the center stood a majestic figure with a luminous presence.
"Welcome, Elian," the figure intoned, his voice echoing through the hall. "I am Chronos, the god of time. I have chosen you, among others, to compete for my powers and the Temporal Blade."
Elian, though stunned, managed to ask, "Why me?"
Chronos smiled. "Because your heart is pure, and your courage is unmatched. The challenges ahead will test you beyond your limits. Should you succeed, you will wield powers beyond your imagination."

Chapter 2: The Competitors

Elian wasn't alone in this grand hall. Six other individuals from various realms stood around him. Each had been chosen for their unique qualities and strengths:

1. Liora: A fierce warrior princess from the desert realm of Aridia, known for her unmatched combat skills.
2. Finn: A clever thief from the shadowy streets of Nocturna, whose agility and cunning were legendary.
3. Arin: A gentle healer from the lush forests of Eldoria, with a deep connection to nature.
4. Kara: A sorceress from the mystical land of Zephyria, with command over elemental magic.
5. Ragnar: A formidable Viking chieftain from the icy fjords of Norrland, known for his brute strength.
6. Nyx: A mysterious assassin from the twilight world of Umbra, shrouded in secrecy and silence.

Chapter 3: The First Challenge - The Labyrinth of Echoes

Chronos led the competitors to the first challenge, a sprawling labyrinth that seemed to twist and turn in impossible ways. "This is the Labyrinth of Echoes," Chronos explained. "Within its walls, you will face your deepest fears and confront reflections of your past. Only by overcoming these trials will you find the exit."
Elian entered the labyrinth, his heart pounding. The walls seemed alive, whispering his darkest secrets and fears. He saw visions of his past—his parents' death, his struggles, and his failures. Yet, as he faced these specters, he remembered Chronos's words about courage.
Drawing strength from within, Elian confronted each fear head-on. His resolve grew with every step, and eventually, he found the exit. To his relief, he wasn't the first to emerge; Liora, Finn, and Arin were already there. Moments later, the others joined them, each bearing marks of their internal battles.

Chapter 4: The Second Challenge - The Bridge of Despair

The second challenge took place on a narrow bridge suspended over an abyss. Chronos appeared before them, his expression grave. "This is the Bridge of Despair. To cross it, you must confront a vision of your future—a future in which you fail. Only by accepting this potential outcome can you proceed."
As Elian stepped onto the bridge, a harrowing vision engulfed him. He saw himself standing before his village, defeated and broken, his dreams shattered. Despair threatened to consume him, but he remembered the courage that had carried him through the labyrinth.
With great effort, Elian accepted the vision. He understood that failure was a possibility, but it didn't define him. As he reached the other side, he saw that the others were already there, each having faced their own visions.

Chapter 5: The Third Challenge - The Mirror of Truth

The third challenge brought the competitors to a vast chamber filled with mirrors. "This is the Mirror of Truth," Chronos said. "It shows your true self, stripped of all illusions. To move forward, you must accept what you see."
Elian gazed into the mirror, his reflection gradually changing to reveal his deepest flaws and insecurities. He saw his fears of inadequacy and his struggles with self-doubt. Tears filled his eyes, but he didn't look away. Accepting his flaws, he embraced the image before him.
As Elian stepped away from the mirror, he saw the others emerging from their reflections, each looking more resolved. They were growing stronger with every challenge.

Chapter 6: The Fourth Challenge - The River of Memories

The next challenge led them to a tranquil river flowing through a serene valley. "This is the River of Memories," Chronos explained. "You must cross it, but as you do, you will relive your most painful memories. Only by accepting these memories can you reach the other side."
Elian stepped into the river, and instantly, memories flooded his mind—his parents' deaths, his struggles as an orphan, and the moments of despair that had shaped his life. Pain washed over him, but he understood that these memories were part of who he was.
With each step, the burden lightened, and by the time he reached the other side, he felt a profound sense of peace. The others crossed the river as well, their expressions a mixture of pain and acceptance.

Chapter 7: The Fifth Challenge - The Mountain of Resolve

The fifth challenge took the competitors to the base of a towering mountain. "This is the Mountain of Resolve," Chronos said. "To reach the summit, you must push beyond your physical and mental limits. Only those with unyielding determination will succeed."
Elian began the ascent, the path steep and treacherous. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, and his mind wavered under the strain. Yet, he remembered his dreams of adventure and the hope that had brought him this far.
Drawing strength from within, Elian pushed forward, one step at a time. Hours passed, and just as he thought he could go no further, he reached the summit. The others arrived shortly after, their faces etched with exhaustion but also a fierce determination.

Chapter 8: The Sixth Challenge - The Field of Unity

The sixth challenge unfolded in a vast field, where Chronos awaited them. "This is the Field of Unity," he said. "To succeed, you must work together. This challenge will test your ability to cooperate and trust each other."
The competitors faced a series of obstacles that required their combined efforts. Elian, with his blacksmith skills, crafted tools to help them navigate the challenges. Liora and Ragnar used their strength to move boulders, while Finn and Nyx utilized their agility to scout ahead. Kara and Arin provided support with their magic and healing abilities.
Through their combined efforts, they overcame each obstacle, forging bonds of trust and camaraderie. By the time they completed the challenge, they had become a cohesive team.

Chapter 9: The Seventh Challenge - The Final Confrontation

The final challenge took place in a grand arena, where Chronos stood at the center, holding the Temporal Blade. "This is the ultimate test," he declared. "To prove yourself worthy of my powers, you must face me in combat. Only one of you can emerge victorious."
The competitors knew this would be their greatest trial. Elian, despite the friendships he had forged, steeled himself for the battle ahead. One by one, they faced Chronos, each showcasing their unique skills and abilities.
When it was Elian's turn, he felt a surge of determination. He fought with all his might, drawing on everything he had learned from the previous challenges. His strikes were precise, his movements fluid. Chronos, impressed by Elian's growth and spirit, pushed him to his limits.
As the battle reached its climax, Elian managed to disarm Chronos, the Temporal Blade falling at his feet. He stood before the god, breathless but victorious.

Epilogue

Chronos smiled, a look of pride in his eyes. "You have proven yourself worthy, Elian. The Temporal Blade and my powers are yours."
As Elian took the sword, a surge of energy coursed through him. He felt his perception of time expand, his senses heightened. He knew he was now capable of traversing dimensions and altering reality itself.
The other competitors, though disappointed, congratulated Elian. They had come to respect and admire him through their shared trials.
Chronos, now free from his burdens, looked at Elian with a sense of fulfillment. "Use these powers wisely, Elian. Remember the lessons you have learned and the friends you have made."
Elian nodded, the weight of his new responsibilities sinking in. As he prepared to step into his new role, he knew that his adventures were just beginning. With the Temporal Blade in hand, he was ready to explore the infinite possibilities of the multiverse, bringing hope and justice wherever he went.
And so, Elian, the blacksmith's apprentice turned god, embarked on a journey across time and space, his heart filled with courage and determination, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
PART 2

This will be my first post in this group after reading oh so many. It’s been one year since our EXPLOSIVE d-day.. but our first d-day was really short into the relationship but it didn’t seem to be a problem and he said it was fixed.
The next d-day was at 14 weeks pregnant. I found a secret tumblr via his email.. “you hit 100 posts” so I was like awe he never told me he had a tumblr when I searched it up it gave me a warning… low and behold all these posts of naked women with nasty captions he had made.. his pfp was his (you know what) pic he had sent me! That same day earlier I found corn he had watched that day right after telling me he had to get off the phone. I confronted him and he cried so much thinking I was going to leave and admitted to having an addiction.. but I was pregnant, scared, and I thought we could get through it. He promised this and that, deleted twitter, tumblr, and said he finally seen what he had in front of him.
4 years go by. In these 4 years I rebuilt my trust with him but our relationship was rocky. He treated me differently after our child was born. He was a closed off man, terrible communicator, and always acted like I wanted too much attention. I literally have a list of things I could go on about. We were living with my mom and finally moved out. Things were okay. He worked all the time, late even when he didn’t have to.
May 28th 2023 One day I just randomly woke up and just turned, stared at him while he was awake.. I “scared” him, hell I scared myself idk why I did it. I grabbed his phone and he grabbed it quickly deleting whatever was on it.. but he forgot about the google activity.. that’s when I seen it.. he had been watching it while at work.. in the bathroom. He would look for videos in the morning before work and go have fun in the bathroom at work.
He even looked at my FRIEND that is a s worker. Multiple videos. I was crushed. I gave him the goods all the time.. but I noticed a lack of goods on his part but he would blame it on being tired. He claims he relapsed around new years of 2023 and it had only been for those 5 months.. idk about that. What hurts even more is he used my twitter as a gateway. He didn’t even have a twitter and was going to the site via mine and looking at who I followed.
He cried and begged like literally on his knees hollering PLEASE DONT GO! But pretty much said the same thing all those years ago. He has said “I thought about telling you the truth, I was really about to” I decided to stay as we have children.
Let me tell you this man did a 180. He’s been the BEST man, being the man I wanted a long time ago, being the best father as well.. lots of passionate sex.. but I can’t seem to shake the feelings I have. I wonder some days if my situation is even that bad to leave.. as he’s told me (during his bad days) when I said I wanted to be treated better “I could beat you and cheat on you but I don’t.” I’ve seen so many worse circumstances than mine.. and I have doubts about leaving but I’m also scared to spend another 4 years to get hurt again.. is it too late to leave? I just think of the 1000s of women he’s looked at and wonder if I’m even valuable.. or just an object to him.

I have known about my uncle cheating on his wife for years now. His wife and kids knew about this too, they have caught him cheating a few years back as well, but decided to give him a chance. I was told that they have reservations and still doubts him a lot of times.
One day, my cousin asked me if my mom asked my uncle to run for some errands some other time ago. I told them that I have already helped her with those, and didnt ask anybody else for help. Apparently, around that time, they told me that my uncle went away to do some "errands" for my mom. I quickly declined about it and we didnt know about any other errands for him to come over. My cousin started to have doubts, and I told them if I heard anything from my uncle, I'll let them know ASAP.
My aunt have some doubts with us as well, especially with my mom, because my uncle uses my mom's name as his reason to go out a lot. My cousin also told me there are a couple of times where he'd go home super late and the only thing they know was he was "helping my mom". - I told my mom about this, and she has no idea that he's using her as an excuse, she rarely calls my uncle.
It lead me to ask my dad about it, if he knows any more. He told me he has his suspicions, and some of what he knows were only assumptions based on what he observed. My dad caught my uncle talking to a different woman. It wasnt his wife, but he said they seemed suspiciously close. He confronted my uncle about it, but was only shrugged off by saying they are "friends". My dad also mentioned that there was one time, my uncle asked for help to book a flight. My dad was the one who was helping him, and he mentioned about my uncle getting an extra ticket for a supposedly solo trip. My dad confronted him about it, but didnt say anything further. He asked if it was for my aunt, my uncle was only giving excuses; that it was for a "friend" he met a few years ago. My dad declined and told him let them book for themselves instead. He happened to mention about that friend, and he told him to stop it already.
These things that my dad told me, I told to my aunt and my cousins. I do not want to be an enabler either, and I want them to know these as well. I was thanked by them, and they told me they'll confront my uncle about these things. It ended in a huge fight. A really huge family fight.
The same day that I finally told them about these things was also the day my mother's side of the family turned against me. My grandfather shouted at me for "telling a secret", and some of my uncles deduced me as someone who indulges in gossip. I was even told to beg for forgiveness to my aunt and cousins for telling that. They want me to be the one who says sorry. My whole family was hated as well, for keeping me in and for not doing anything about my uncle's family. They have been blaming me for ruining their family, and for straining my mom's relationships with her parents and siblings. They never blamed my uncle for cheating. My grandfather even told me, that his family wouldve been at peace if I kept my mouth shut.
I do not want my own family to be used as an excuse for cheating ever again. I do not know if I shouldve stayed quiet or if I shouldve done it differently or if I shouldve done nothing at all. But this whole cycle was tiring enough. AITA?

Long story short. I got pregnant 6 months into a relationship. Barely knew the guy. We are still technically together. I live with my mom, he lives on his own. We’ve been on and off. So many things have happened but I get tired of thinking about it and explaining it. All I’m going to say is that he has put a dent on my car door because he kicked it while I was pregnant because his ex said something I didn’t like. And…he has extreme problem with smoking that I do not like and expects me to listen to him despite of his bad decision making and intuitive thoughts. I use to do way much better in life before I got trapped and he is using my son to control me. I fear that if I don’t leave him he will use my son against me and my son is only 6 months.. he doesn’t deserve it. Weird because I still love him after all of this. There are so many details but this is ONLY the TIP of the ICEBERG. WHAT CONCERNS ME IS THE WOMAN WHO GOT PREGNANT BEFORE ME. this was way before I met him…. So tell me why I have no idea where she is…she just disappeared?!? Onto where??? She apparently from what he told me abandoned her son to be with some guy and moved out of state and never returned…. He apparently called the cops because he didn’t know where she went….was on and off with her at the moment and cheated. Apparently had her location and she turned it off for good and there was no sign of her anywhere…he said she left a note…his mom said she told her but kept it a secret from her son….from what his friends girlfriend told me she was super protective of her son didn’t let him out of her sight and very very quiet and shy. I thought… okay that happens sometimes so the last month I was pregnant I went to visit his parents( they are weird as well) so I asked where is she…and they took that too seriously stating I don’t need to know and I’m just concerned because I didn’t know what I gotten myself into… also I rather focus on my son than adopt his… I wasn’t ready to be a mom of 2. This is my first son and I rather put most of my attention on him. Now I’m not saying forget the other child but first time parents should understand me…. So I mention to his mom why doesn’t she pay child support this entire time….. after I mentioned that apparently they reached out to her for paying child support and my thought exactly is why hasn’t she paid before….? Also, they expect me to take care of his son like he is my responsibility and state the first mother( I’m the second) is very responsible because she now pays from a distance? What the hell. I finally found her Instagram and she only has 89 followers and her profile picture looks heavily edited…. I look at who she’s following…they told me she moved out of state, chose to live with a guy closer to her culture…why are a lot of her followers people from who she knew when she lived in the state ( I see these people live in the same area as us). Something is just extremely eery about all this and it scares me… we also would order food from the restaurant they used to work at together all the workers are looking at me with disgust!!!! Like what did I do wrong…i was pregnant too. They would ask him how he was doing then asked about her in front of me and asked where she was and how she was doing…mind you she apparently left when her child was around 3 I believe. That child was 5 and a half at the time. And when people ask them, he says something dumb like oh she moved to Connecticut or she moved to Georgia…basically it wouldn’t be the same answer… I tried looking her up to see if there is a missing persons report. Nothing. She’s either extremely under the radar or something terrible happened or both. I’m honestly so worried. Excuse my grammar, I am venting and I am not worried about how proper my sentences look at the moment. Another thing I’d like to mention. During my pregnancy, my closest friend had a dream I died and he was the one that hurt me. My mom said she had a bad dream and he was in it… he was cutting my nails while I was laying on the table… I have no idea what that means. I absolutely love this man ( he’s got some good qualities as well… I know it’s crazy). He’s never hurt me physically but I do see he has some tendencies and he is controlling. Anything triggers his madness making it hard to come to a conclusion because he wants things his way. I don’t want to lose my child. I’m even afraid to file for child support because I can’t stand the thought of him being with my son alone and he’s made me worry about filing for it which I hate because my son needs all the benefits he can get. Can anyone give me peace of mind?

I don’t hate you, hate is a strong word
anytime I speak: you talk too much. You’re so annoying
I love you
You’re low value and replaceable. Get the fuck out so I can get a new pussy in here
I love you
whispers in my ear when I sleep: TOU SUMB FAT BITCH. I FUCKING HATE YOU
I love you
left on read for 3 days while he’s been actively replying to his buddies and texting with his family
I love you
proceeds to avoid me at every opportunity possible, and when I ask to hang out he sleeps
I love you
secretly looks at OF girls online and when confronted lies to me about it and then gets mad that I am sad and calls me insecure
I love you
threatens to cheat on me because I won’t be his slave and just let him run my life*
I love you
NO YOU FUCKING DON’T
He makes me cry all the fucking time and falls asleep to my cries.
He’s never ever sorry and never apologizes for anything.
I’m the one who committed a crime because I have fucking emotions.
I want Justice. I want reparations for how bad he ruined my life and all the years he stole from me.
I HATE HIM SO MUCH

We still live together, and the reason for our divorce has been nothing related to infidelity or cheating. My wife (36) and I (24) It has been a rough time past three months. She was married before me, and this same situation is happening now. She has already started seeing another guy, which she denies. She won’t tell me where goes, who she goes out with.
Everytime she stays for overnight, she tells me she’s with her bestfriend but I know it’s not true.
After she comes back home, if I’m ignoring and trying to emotionally move on from this because I cannot take this disrespect. I have been nothing but loving and caring towards through this difficult time.
I have trying to better myself as a husband and every way she has wanted me to. Yes in the end it’s her decision whether she wants to stay with the new me and I have given her the space to take that choice.
She would reassure me that she doesn’t want anyone else, that she wants to focus on herself and so on.
I have had a rough time. We’ve been in a relationship for the past 4 years, 2 years married.
I was really invested in this relationship, and I was always with her. Doing everything from her. But every time, things were going well in our relationship smoothly if I was doing the things she wanted to. We would have sex only when she wanted, never when I initiate it. I had meet a certain level of expectation from her to get it. And in less than a year I got burned out. I could no longer serve her the same way. Because no matter how good or how much I tried to make her happy, there would always be some kind of excuse for her to not give me that love and affection.
She has withheld sex for the past 8 months and 3 months ago she broke the divorce news. And in these 2 years I have not complained even once, i had been constantly trying to do everything she asks and make her happy. But nothing changed, she would curse at me, tell me do I need to give you a medal for anything good you do? Should I give you a trophy? Like these things really hurt me, she would promise to give me the attention and affection at the end of the day, but something always comes up and i end up having to wait all the time.
It was constantly me chasing her, but still I loved her and treated her with respect. I waited patiently. I would try to initiate too. But she would repelled by me if I ever try to initiate, we would have an amazing time, it’s like she goes crazy when she wants to initate. Like she would eat me. She wants to chase me. And I had to keep on doing everything she asks me to so she can decide to chase her.
Even through all this dynamic, I still did all of that. But doing that constantly for 2 years, after my 1st year I was burned out. I was always home waiting for that affection. Eventually I stopped seeing my friends, my family, anything I loved doing. I stopped. For the past 4 years, i had no connection to my life. Only her family, her friends and the things she would enjoy doing. That I would go along with her. I guess you get how that would go. I was like her pet. Driving her around to places she wanted to go, help her with her work, everything in life. I was there.
Despite all that, I have stayed true to her. Loyal to her. Didn’t even look or talk to another girl once.
And now at this point, the reason for this divorce is entirely my fault? I know my mistakes, but she has none. She feels like she was perfect in this relationship. I have never criticized her for treating me this way. Never raised my voice even once at her.
But whenever she gets upset she would curse at me, call bad names, hit me ( yeah she would hit me too but being a guy it didn’t really hurt) and I excused all of that because she was upset and that’s why she is hitting me. I would try to get close to her and console her but she would threaten sometimes to stab me or hit me down there.
Yeah a lot of shit that i was tolerating. There were many issues with trust too, her talking to her exes. Which I clearly told her is a big issue for me, that I needed total honesty from her. But she could never stop talking to them. All they ever had to do was send her a text and they will give a conversation out of that. So that really hurt me. We almost broke up2 times before we go married. We took space too. In the end she had done nothing wrong, I had to suck it up. She couldn’t unfollow them or not talk to them because they wished her well and she didnt want any bad blood or drama. But it was an issue just having a girl on my followers list, it was issue that make her feel really insecure to see my likes on other girls posts before she met me. I unfollowed all of them, so I could make her feel secure. To show my loyalty to her.
In the end after all the reassurances from her, she has been secretly seeing another guy. ( just yesterday I saw them on the road together) she doesn’t know that I saw her. And from the past 3 months she has been having overnights, going out dressed up constantly. And if I ask her anything regarding that she would tell me to fuck off, bitch, I don’t owe you anything. You don’t need to know anything that’s going on. It’s none of your business.
But at the end of the day she comes back home all normal, still expects care from me, to touch her while she sleeps, to massage her. To give her food, to help her around the house. She has literally eveything taken care of. I have been constantly trying to do things, to be a better husband, to reconcile, but this is how she has been treating me. Everything stays good if i let her do her own thing, not question her at all. And as long as I serve her . Emotionally it still hurts so much.
After all the effort and love I have given her, the respect I have been giving her during this time too. She has no respect for me, it hurts a lot. I want to move on, i wish I didn’t feel these things. I genuinely love and care for her. To see her with another man, her treating me like this. It’s honestly pushing me to the point of no return. My life feels like it’s done, i’m divorced. I’m getting cheated on. I have no respect in my marriage. She could just move on as if I’m nothing to her after everything I did for her. I tolerated and accepted her in every way. I fought against my own principle regarding cheating and my stand against that. I would’ve left the day I knew she was talking and still connecting with her exes. I don’t mind them texting her, i could give less of a fuck about them. But my pride and honor would be my wife or girlfriend not responding to them, telling me first hand about it. Not hide it from me. Or at least her not being the one to check up on them. But it was happening both ways, because she cared about them and it was platonic.
I feel like lashing out at her, call her out and tell her about seeing her with this guy, i have been holding all of this inside me, i haven’t said a word to her. And I have been ignoring her, just giving straight answers. She keeps trying to get my attention, trying to talk to me, make me laugh. Make me do things for her. And that just makes me even more angrier and hurt. Her acting like everything is normal. She has no remorse or any emotion on her face. She just looks like she’s living her best life right now. I don’t stay home as much, i have started seeing my friends too and I try to spend as much time as I can with them. But whenever I come back home, sitting with my own thoughts, her not being home late at night, i’m sitting around. Taking care of the house, our pets, while she is out there. I honestly at this point feel helpless, trying to numb myself out. Believe that she is not the woman I thought I knew. She was just an idea an expectation in my head. But it hurts so bad..

Throw away as it's a late night over thinking session that I need advice on from an outside perspective. As stated in the title, it has not happened at this time but I am mentally preping for if it does.
For all the context I think is needed, I 28m am in love (as much as one can be without exploring the romantic angle) with my 29f best friend.
We've been friends for over 6 years and I've been up front with my feelings from the get go. There is no secret about this, to the point her sister calls me her "not boyfriend, boyfriend" openly. These feelings are not reciprocated, nor do I ever expect them to be. I've dated other people during this period. I can confidently state I never agreed to a relationship if I felt I'd leave them for her had her feelings "magically" changed. I can also state that our friendship played no factor in why those relationship ended.
I believe that if she ever dated anyone, the reverse would be true and I'm emotionally smart and strong enough to not try anything stupid. I have no regrets, I already shot my shot. I believe in a normal reciprocated loving relationship I can just befriend the partner without complications and if we drift away, partner driven or not, I'll adjust accordingly.
For the hypothetical in question. She consistently states that her ideal partner is someone rich so she no longer has to work. We're America, late stage capitalism sucks, get your bag, I get it. The concerning part for me is that she states that she doesn't need to love them, just wants tbe bag as well as some further less than ideal situations ie. "Pumping out babies" for them despite repeatedly telling me show does not want them otherwise. This is partially a joke, but I do firmly believe she would take the opportunity if offered. Again, get your bag if that gets you peace.
From a friend who has feelings standpoint, would I be an asshole for not wanting to stay friends if they got into a relationship like that? I think that would be too much emotionally for me to handle as well as I feel like I could easily end up in a scenario where the partner thought it was real / emotional cheating with me. I don't want to feel responsible for that.
I'd also don't want to abandon my friend to what, I'd personally, view as a shitty life even if money wasn't an issue.
More importantly, is it worth bringing this up to her? I genuinely believe that this is a realistic premise but also don't want to just give her what feels like a them or me ultimatum when she's been clear with her goals from the git go.
Help