Dirty text message ideas me

Hello everyone, I hope y'all are having a great day,
I'm fairly new to online dating and I'm not really used to its conventions and codes
To give some context, recently, I matched with this girl, on Hinge, and the vibes were great The conversations were deep and interesting and there would be many long messages so answering would take some time. Of the many matches I had, it was the one that I found to be the most interesting
She even told me that she was having a great time to talk with me and found the conversation particulary interesting which was a first for her
Even before a topic was closed, she would start a discussion about one of my topic's prompt and yeah, the vibes were matching.
On Friday, while on lunch break, I was replying to her but in the midst, I had to get back to work for some kind of event/emergency and I told her I would finish answering later but I wouldn't forget about it
She then replied to this by telling me it's ok, I don't have to pressure myself and shall answer whenever I want to, or can. And she even keeps it going by asking me about something about my profile that we haven't talked about
Once my day at work comes to an end, I finish answering to everything, and tells her I'm happy to have such a conversation and hope that my answers weren't too long (but she asked me to give the full story and details of an event I had in my life)
Anyway, since then, I had no answers and I'm wondering if I made a mistake or else
I'm hesitating about double messaging, to confirm that my interest doesn't go only one way, but I don't want to put pressure on her. I'm a bit lost and counfused as there were a lot of engagement and then none. I just find it a bit odd and it to be a very abrupt change but as I said, I don't know much about online dating
Does anyone have an idea about my case ?
Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry about my English if it's not the best, it's only my second language

I’ve (28 year old female) been engaged to my fiancée for 2 years now. I messed up when we first got engaged and was texting a coworker and flirting with him, that lasted about 2 weeks weeks. My financee (we’ll call S) found out but then decided to give me another chance. We were stronger than ever and I was stupid and a different coworker snapped me 2 days ago and was talking about how I was attractive and I said how he wasn’t too bad himself and said how we should get coffee sometime. S read this and wanted to completely ends things but then we found out this morning that I’m pregnant with his child. I truly do love S, and I do want to marry him and me with him. He’s asking me how I can find a way for him to trust me again and how I can make this work, as he said he has no idea of seeing how this can work out. I truly believe we could but I’m looking for some advice and I wouldn’t be if I wasn’t desperate.
I think I flirted with these coworkers bc of the attention felt good. I never did anything physical with them nor was I planning to.
Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

Hey everyone,
So, I've (F23) been doing archery at my local range for about two years now, and there's this guy (M45) who's been acting kind of weird ever since he joined. I'll try to sum up all the things he's been doing so you can get a good idea.
First off, we have this little poll on WhatsApp before training starts so the range knows who's coming. Every time I decide to go, he shows up too. When I skip a week, he doesn't show up either. It feels like he's matching his schedule to mine. And whenever I leave early, he leaves at the same time, always chatting and walking me to my car. He also insists on paying for my drinks at the range whenever we're alone.
Another thing that bothers me is that he fetches my arrows from the target before I even get a chance to see my own score. During a local archery competition, he took pictures of me without asking, and he still has them on his phone six months later.
He tends to be a bit clingy and touchy when making jokes, like briefly touching my arm. I don't like being touched by people, especially not older men. He definitely likes to chat, having deep and detailed conversations with me, although it might be because he went through a tough time after a divorce a few years ago. I don't mind listening, but sometimes it feels a bit too much.
He also texts me now and then, asking how I am, giving me compliments, and wishing me goodnight. And he’s asked me to join him on a couple of 2-hour car rides to buy bow equipment, which I (politely) refused.
Maybe I'm overreacting, but my boyfriend (M24) and his friends think it's a little too much of a coincidence that he’s doing all these things just to be "nice."
TLDR: I've (F23) been doing archery for two years, and a new guy at the range (M45) always shows up when I do, leaves when I leave, pays for my drinks, fetches my arrows, took photos of me without asking, and texts me often. My boyfriend and his friends think his behavior is more than just "being nice."
Made a (new) throwaway account to stay anonymus

So I'm visiting Cape Town briefly alone as a white girl. I naively didn't do much research and chose a hotel that had really good ratings online. Incidentally it ended up being in the hood which also happens to be the city centre. I thought the city was small and walkable - lol. The hotel organised a guy to pick me up from the hotel and I was unnerved to see what looked like a meth head in a full black tracksuit holding a placard with my name in arrivals. Reluctantly I let him wheel my suitcase through the airport to the car. He says I'm very adventurous to be travelling alone, that it's absolutely not safe to go hiking alone (I planned to just wander onto a trail I rocked up to like I do in any new place), not to get in an uber if there's 2 guys in it, test out a guy in a couple of ubers and stick with him, and that there has to be police stationed on every corner. I messaged my colleague who's from here and she said yeah you'll be fine if you just uber everywhere and next time you're here stay in Seapoint or Greenpoint. Um, ok.
I am dropped to the hotel and the trip is 450 rand and I decide to tip the meth head 150. I only have cash and he goes into the black receptionist saying "you better have change man!" in a Jesse Pinkman aggressive tone. After dropping my bags I go downstairs and ask do they sell any crisps or whatever in the hotel. He says no and that it's not safe for me to walk outside at this time - it was 10pm - and to get uber eats. This kinda set the tone for my stay and I got really anxious thinking it was a mistake to come here.
There are police officers that wear green bibs stationed at most street corners in the city centre so I would walk towards them and then look around the corner to walk another block if there was another officer. I've had to step inside shops a couple of times just so that people would stop following me as they looked strung out and not someone I would feel comfortable taking my wallet out in front of to give them money. I have bought artwork from some guys hanging out on the street so I am trying my best to give back but I know I can't help every person. One night I walked back 3 blocks from the bus stop to the hotel and I was getting dirty looks from black women looking me up and down and groups of guys were asking me where I was going. It's mad that in 2024 I would feel unsafe anywhere because of my skin colour but I know there is a long history of apartheid and discrimination here in combination with the poverty and level of homelessness among the black community being so blatant. I don't know much about the politics here but while on the bus there were black people lined along a motorway holding signs for a reelection that it was rigged. "Zionist DA stole our election" was written on one of them. I'd imagine the corruption is off the richter. One corner store I went in to buy water and a vape the guy behind the counter who looked middle eastern asked me if I was Russian. Wtf difference what nationality I am dude just do the transaction. I know I stand out like a sore thumb but have been wearing my Kruger national park hat with the South African flag on it to try signal I'm chill and just here to look at wildlife.
I guess this dichotomy exists in LA with skid row and then the obscenely wealthy coexisting (I've never been there and this is my first time experiencing this extent of wealth disparity) but here there's this village of tin houses at the base of a mountain and overlooking them are some of the wealthiest vineyard estates with their electric gates, metal fences with electric wire running the perimeter at the top and barbed wire to cap it off. Every house here has that setup with a big CCTV in operation sign hanging on their wall. I just couldn't fathom living in a bubble of my own wealth hidden away in a gated high security prison estate with fences that treat the black community as if they're literal animals. Maybe there is some other reason for the fences? I am open for correction.
I have been tipping heavily as industry workers don't get paid a living wage and it's a real buzz to see their faces light up. Today I moved to the "bougier" side of town where I feel a bit safer under the allure of Starbucks and expensive brunch places yet I still sensed some resentment under the surface when checking in. The black hotel staff were like "oh you're leaving us" being all judgemental that I felt uncomfortable in the area. I just told them I want to be closer to the beach. The room was fantastic - I just felt unsafe. They wouldn't refund me the days I wasn't staying there. Why am I feeling bad for feeling on edge? I'm just trusting my instinct. I've never experienced being perceived as a minority before but it's definitely unsettling. I'm probably extra nervous because I'm alone but if everyone keeps telling you to be careful then you're going to be vigilant.
I only stayed 3 nights there but on the second day I left my pocket bible on the bedside locker and the hotel staff were significantly nicer to me from then on. The wifi in my room stopped dropping out and the washing machine that was being put going at 2am in the room next to me stopped.
This trip has really brought some serious perspective of how privileged we are in the west. Rand may as well be monopoly money it goes so far here. Being a white person in SE Asia I never once felt unsafe but the vibe here is so different. I've never felt guilty for being a tourist before or for just existing. The cape is beautiful don't get me wrong and the majority of people I've met have been extremely kind and helpful. I'm just genuinely shocked by the vibe and set up here and the level of dissociation by the white rich. I guess this is my first conscious experience of colonialism and its consequences.

I was just wondering what others experiences were regarding learning to unmask?
For reference, I (34f) am at the very beginning of my diagnosis journey (not yet diagnosed)
I went to a family event yesterday (in-laws family), and I felt like my social battery was already very low as soon as we’d arrived. We had a relative staying at our house too, so my safe space had not been safe for a few days 🥲so I don’t think that helped. The drive was long, and there were a few people there who I had only met once. Whilst I knew these people were kind good people, I still found it incredibly draining having any kind of interaction with them. I had no idea what to say to them, didn’t have the energy to mask and was beginning to get so tired I knew I would soon be incapable of masking. So I became really quiet and just watched everyone speak, whilst hating myself, my environment and the entire situation. I snuck off to escape to the bathroom a few times, until eventually I text my husband asking if we could leave soon. Luckily we left shortly after this.
But I felt soooo rude behaving like that. I could not stop thinking what they must think of me, but also I was alarmed by just how exhausted I became so quickly, how I struggled to look anyone in the eye and how I just didn’t have the energy to barely speak even if I wanted to. If I could have run out of the house I really would have. I think it was a shock because this is the first social event I’ve been to since I’ve suspected I’m autistic and I mask. So whilst I’m partly proud of myself for honouring my tiredness and just “shutting down” a bit (although I genuinely felt like I had no control over this reaction at times) it also hit me hard and made me feel really sad.
Like I would have loved to have just said out loud “sorry if I’m being a bit quiet/rude, I’m autistic and I really struggle with this kind of situation. I’m going for a walk”.. or excuse myself to go sit in a room alone with my ear defenders on. I know I could and should be able to do those things, but the thought is terrifying! Especially to people I don’t know. Who aren’t “safe”. Also rather than do any of those things, I would rather just go home or not ever go at all 🫣 (but I know I can’t live my life like that).
So yeah TL;DR, how did you learn to unmask in a comfortable, safe way that worked best for you?

After years with Kaiser, we had to switch to Cigna PPO. We signed up for One Medical based on recommendations, and it's nice for the bare basics.
But I'm only a few months in and am thinking of getting another job that offers Kaiser health insurance. One Medical has you go to specialists, and they recommend MedStar because they have some sort of relationship.
It's a tiny nightmare.
MedStar Washington Hospital has a completely different billing system from MedStar radiology, which has a different billing system from One Medical, which has a different system from LabCorp. That's 4 different billing systems. Cigna has a link to manage and pay bills online, but clicking it just sends a notice that I'd prefer the provider to integrate with Cigna's system.
Cigna can tell me how much I owe One Medical, but One Medical has never billed me.
The MedStar Health system has two different logins. I have no idea why. They don't have one of my scheduled procedures in my list of upcoming appointments. When I call for assistance, the person I talk to ONLY has the scheduled procedure, but no other appointments. WTH.
When I showed up for a radiology appointment, they would not accept my Cigna card from my phone. I had to screen shot and assemble the front and back of the insurance cards into a PDF file, and email it to the receptionist while I was standing in front of her desk.
LabCorp won't show me results or trends over time. I have no idea how much anything costs, except in one infuriating case: MedStar requires that I prepay for the aforementioned procedure, but their billing is so slow that they don't know that I've met my high deductible. They expect me to pay $2k UP FRONT and I seriously doubt I'd get reimbursed by either the hospital or Cigna. I have to reschedule the procedure just because the billing is so dysfunctional.
And the care I get from MedStar just stinks. I got an intern who was fidgety and just plain rude in so many ways.
MedStar doctors haven't responded to messages.
The idea that records are shared for better coordinated care is only partly true. Managing the health care system is way more involved than managing my actual health. It's insane.
At Kaiser my care was coordinated by real MDs and their teams. I never had to call to arrange appointments with specialists or procedures. They would schedule them with me during my appointments. Everything was soooo smooth. Doctors got back to me within 24 hours. Issues got resolved.
What do people do? Do I leave MedStar for Johns Hopkins, GW MFA, or something else?

I have a few different plot ideas in mind, and would be happy to discuss any of them in further detail. Feel free to message me to set something up!
A. Your parents go out for a weekend getaway trip Friday night, and it leaves you home alone keeping watch on the house. What you didn’t know was that someone had been scoping out your house, waiting for your parents to leave so he could sneak in and loot the place. Only thing is, he didn’t expect to find you still there. What would start as a potentially scary situation would soon turn into something more, getting to the point that you don’t want him to leave.
B. Your college roommate is a party guy. Always out with his friends, always going to parties across the street on campus all while you’re at home being an introvert. One night he comes home drunk from his party and gets a bit flirty/touchy. Being shy/nervous, you don’t find yourself saying no to his advances.
C. You’re just a novice adventurer out in the woods in search of a slime to slay. Though upon finding one, it’s not as easy as people have made it out to be. You quickly find yourself disarmed and at its mercy. Fortunately for you, it doesn’t want to hurt you, but it certainly wants something.
D. Being a chubby girl, you aren’t doing the best in a phys ed class you’re taking in college. You’d much prefer to stay in your leggings/yoga pants, loose fitted shirts, and comfy shoes, let alone have to be outside running or taking part in sports. Friday afternoon after gym, you’re called into the office to discuss your performance and how you can “improve”.
These are just a few ideas. Thanks for reading! Excited to hear from you!

I 28m just got back into the dating game after a few years. I was able to connect with a girl 30f on bumble who was also getting back into dating. We hit it off and shared a lot in common. We both had big anxiety problems, but another thing to connect on. We started seeing each other more and more and spending time together a lot. Being open and really felt like a real connection.
Red flags - this girl, was a little…damaged/ unstable. (high anxiety and depression. Anxious ticks, self confidence issues.) but I could relate to these things, and we shared a lot to help grow. We did ALOT of texting in the beginning. Extreme infatuation took hold on both sides.

1. She would always bring up ex boyfriend (but with her axieties and depression this just felt like growing past the pain. That’s even what the sharing was described as.)
   
2. She set the pace FAST. Talking about marriage, kids, taking trips together all within the first 3-4 dates. (I liked this since it was what I was looking for)
   
3. She initiated sex early on, and even said I love you when we had sex for the first time. when trying to make a move for a 3rd time, she said she wanted to take things slower. (This I understood and respected as we were getting a little too excited.)
   
4. I invited her to meet my family after a 5 dates or so, but with how the connection felt it felt right. I told her she didn’t have to if she wasn’t comfortable, but even something like this was a big anxious trip for her. She ended up meeting them, and went well.
   
5. We became exclusive boyfriend and girlfriend after a week or 2. Cute nicknames and such, which ended up slowing down.
   
6. Texing slowed down, but I always liked to send a good morning text, or goodnight message and check in on her. (Responses became shorter, and more..cold and I could tell something was changing, but refused to see it. )
   
7. Physical touch / kisses slowed down, and I would love these things. Cuddles holding hands. Grabbing a kiss.
   
8. We would hangout 3-4 days a week, and usually i initiated the hangout. I was very excited to see this girl, as everything up to the slow down made it feel this was. I kept the original feelings strong.
   
9. Had a conversation about where we were physically/sexually the weekend before the break up, and if we still felt good about the relationship. (I did this as a productive growing conversation. There was no mention of loss of interest or anything. But at this point I knew it definitely existed, just didn’t want to see it.)
   

She ended up breaking it off, due to her not being ready, and our anxieties not vibing. She said comparability wasn’t there. Said she wasn’t feeling it for a couple weeks, and this was when she was asking to plan trips and have me meet her family. It was chill break up, and as with the whole relationship went in with deep understanding. Said we could be friends still, but who doesn’t say that. She got caught up in the moment of it all
Idk. I just been beating myself up over a 2 month relationship, that felt AMAZING. Like the one amazing. I feel I may have came off too strong, asked to hangout too much, being too lovey, and open with things we talked about, like fears of a relationship and anxieties. There was never a conversation that stated we were doing anything besides sex too fast. but that’s how this bar was set. I didn’t pick up on the slow downs too well, or just wanted to not to see them I guess. I really liked this girl. Maybe I got caught up in the moment of it and didn’t provide enough space. I just keep mulling over in my brain all the things I did wrong and how if I played it differently, things would be different. Just almost that my personality is too much and I won’t be able to be loved. My roommates said I should have to change any of these above aspects about me, and the true person will love me for how I am.
I just wanted to vent and get advice. Hopefully my list of red flags will provide someone with some insight on things to watch out for and not get too attached. It’s not well put in the post but connection was real strong to start, and I was really feeling the feeling she was putting out. that’s why I just feel like I must have done something wrong down the line.
Sorry if this post is everywhere and doesn’t convey thing too well. Just want to hear from you all if you had similar experiences etc.

Hey everyone,
So, I've (F23) been doing archery at my local range for about two years now, and there's this guy (M45) who's been acting kind of weird ever since he joined. I'll try to sum up all the things he's been doing so you can get a good idea before giving your opinion.
First off, we have this little poll on WhatsApp before training starts so the range knows who's coming. Every time I decide to go, he shows up too. When I skip a week, he doesn't show up either. It feels like he's matching his schedule to mine. And whenever I leave early, he leaves at the same time, always chatting and walking me to my car. He also insists on paying for my drinks at the range whenever we're alone.
Another thing that bothers me is that he fetches my arrows from the target before I even get a chance to see my own score. During a local archery competition, he took pictures of me without asking, and he still has them on his phone six months later.
He tends to be a bit clingy and touchy when making jokes, like briefly touching my arm. I don't like being touched by people, especially not older men. He definitely likes to chat, having deep and detailed conversations with me, although it might be because he went through a tough time after a divorce a few years ago. I don't mind listening, but sometimes it feels a bit too much.
He also texts me now and then, asking how I am, giving me compliments, and wishing me goodnight. And he’s asked me to join him on a couple of 2-hour car rides to buy bow equipment, which I (politely) refused.
Maybe I'm overreacting, but my boyfriend (M24) and his friends think it's a little too much of a coincidence that he’s doing all these things just to be "nice." I don't think it's necessary to take action yet, but I wanted to get some other perspectives. Opinions?
TLDR: I've (F23) been doing archery for two years, and a new guy at the range (M45) always shows up when I do, leaves when I leave, pays for my drinks, fetches my arrows, took photos of me without asking, and texts me often. My boyfriend and his friends think his behavior is more than just "being nice." What do you think?
Made a (new) throwaway account to stay anonymus

By now everyone should have heard about Stony Brook University Housing and its alabandical, pouty capilotades. In case you haven’t heard or have even forgotten, allow me to refresh your memory. What I want to bring out in the text that follows are two core ideas: (1) that Stony Brook University Housing’s moralistic magic-bullet explanations will earn it a prominent spot in the pantheon of fainéantism and (2) that its hysteria-producing obiter dicta are sufficient to give pause to the less thoughtful among us. Uh-oh, such people think. We’d better help Stony Brook University Housing create a mass psychology of fear about an imminent terrorist threat—just in case. On that note, let me say that Stony Brook University Housing’s baleful paroxysms are based on a crude, reductionist understanding of commercialism that encourages rash grobians to enlighten anyone who doesn’t believe that Stony Brook University Housing would sooner give up money, fame, power, and happiness than perform an insufferable act. I put that observation into this letter just to let you see that you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to detect the subtext of this letter. But just in case it’s too subliminal for some, let me thrust it into your face right here: The picture I am presenting need not be confined to Stony Brook University Housing’s ideals. It applies to everything it says and does.
Stony Brook University Housing’s cult followers are the biggest rapacious, teterrimous loblollies who have ever dirtied the face of the earth. People have commented that there may be a gap in my logic there. I don’t think there is, and I’ve gone to great pains to explain why. I recently heard some encouraging news. It appears that Stony Brook University Housing’s ongoing campaign to make my blood curdle has been meeting some opposition. Apparently, not everyone wants Stony Brook University Housing to cheat on taxes. Rather, an increasing number of people have come to realize that I want to thank Stony Brook University Housing for its half-measures. They give me an excellent opportunity to illustrate just how choleric Stony Brook University Housing can be.
While some of Stony Brook University Housing’s scare tactics are very attractive on the surface and are undoubtedly entertaining, they ultimately serve to portray duplicitous, rageful wiseacres as rovers. Stony Brook University Housing’s patter is smooth and quite practiced. It can fast-talk you into believing you’d be better off if you participated in its effort to maintain social control by eliminating rights and freedoms. However, its calumnies fall apart upon reflection. Feebleminded, dishonest skinheads may endanger our property or our security or our economic well-being, but Stony Brook University Housing endangers our souls. Now, I’m no fan of Stony Brook University Housing’s, but still, Stony Brook University Housing’s arguments would be a lot more effective if they were at least accurate or intelligent, not just a load of bull for the sake of being controversial. That’s all for this letter. For those that don’t like my views, get over it. I think that I have as much a right to my views, and to express them, as anyone else. So when I say that Stony Brook University Housing would have us lose our soul as a nation, you can agree with me or not. That’s all there is to it.

To give context, from what I understand, my grandma (my mom's mother) was way too involved in my parents' financials. Also, my mom feels like she has been a terrible parent to her all her life. Basically, they rented my childhood home from her for about two decades because they made a deal that, when the mortgage is paid off, they could own it. However, my grandma didn't hold up her end of the deal and she changed the story as time went on. Firstly, my parents paid for her living expenses and any work that needed to be done on both our house and hers all those years because she'd say she couldn't afford it. My parents couldn't afford it either but they tried their best for all of us. Secondly, I heard something about our house being included in my grandma's will so that she could use it as something to leave for all of my aunts (my mom has 4 sisters) when she passed. So, obviously my parents were livid because they were in the process of rent-to-own(?). That's about all I know because my parents don't want me to know many details, but essentially she's been deceiving and stealing from them.
Last year, my parents had enough and they told my grandma to sell our house because we'd be moving out as they no longer want to provide for her. I totally understand that. I agree that it's not fair that my parents had to support her all on their own even though they struggle financially, and my mom has 4 sisters who are way better off than us. My grandma agreed to sell the house on the condition that she would take 60% of the profits from the sale. That added fuel to the fire, but my parents eventually agreed because they wanted out.
Fast forward to now, we moved away, and my dad has not seen or spoken to my grandma in a year as he absolutely despises her. My mom has only seen her at Christmas and Easter but has not spoken to her. Now, regarding me, my grandma loves me and all my cousins so much. She is the only grandparent I have. My dad's parents are not in our lives and my mom's father lives far away and doesn't make an effort to talk to me. Despite my parents cutting my grandma off, I have been seeing her at family gatherings and on my own for sleepovers where we watch movies and she takes me out for dinner. She remembers all of my interests and hobbies, always invites me out to do things I like, and tells me she loves me in her messages which really means a lot to me.
I always let my parents know when I have plans with my grandma because I feel guilty if I don't. They say it's fine because I'm an adult and I'm allowed to have a relationship with her, but when the day of our plans comes they get visibly upset and it starts things. Additionally, my mom is fighting with her sisters right now because they have been asking her to move on, so my mom feels extremely betrayed by everyone. This whole situation is weighing down on me, now more than ever because my university graduation is this month and my aunts and grandma want to celebrate with me, but my mom said that I shouldn't be seeing them right now. That honestly hurts me. There's a greedy part of me that feels I shouldn't have to miss out because nothing was done to me directly. But, I want to make it clear that I do sympathize for my parents. I understand that my mom was let down by her family and they keep saying and doing things that emotionally pain her.
Long story short, I want to know if I am being selfish for still seeing my grandma even though she has caused my parents a lot of suffering. My mom recently told me that she wants me to show solidarity for her, that my grandma doesn't deserve me, and that when I meet with her, my mom feels like she lost something else to her. I feel so guilty because I really do understand where my mom is coming from and she is so sad these days. For that reason, I didn't attend the latest family event (I was invited through text and she was not, which hurt her so much) and stayed home with her. However, my grandma invited me to a movie this week because she saw that they're playing one of my favorites at the local cinema. I agreed, and this time I'm going to keep it secret from my parents. AITAH?

I’m writing a scp based own scp 4246 dream of the firstborn called 8246 call of the stars .reference to call of Cthulhu As a long time Lovecraft fan this scp did everything right for me the atmosphere the languages and the cosmic mystery
With me trying my hand own a spin off unofficial sequel as I found the idea really interesting.
And as a massive fan of the expanse and science fiction Such as Lovecraft and Ian m banks in general I like especialy deep sea and ocean based sci fi this fit rights up my alley as the scp lived in my head rent free I decide to join the site and write a sequel .
The scp is based around the thethayns A ancient species of cephalopods who ruled the earth before humanity Bigfoot or fairy . And where more powerful and advanced than all of them put together.
We find out in the article that they did not go extinct but devolved to survive the beast a cosmic destroyer of advanced civilization most likely scp 3246 as they both share the same number and fit themeticly as something which was big eneogh to destroy such a powerful civilzation.
My scp will be a space colonisation scp Where the foundation find strange psychic communication from Europa Messages created by a hidden scp 4246 outpost own Europa which has life own which the foundation and small cephelop like creatures the devolved remnant of scp 4246 .
The scp will take inspiration from 2932 and act as exploration of the facility
As the foundation start to meddle with forces beyond comprehension They awaken the prisoner of scp 8246 and almost allow one to escape
Before the automatic security system activated The planet of Europa get designated a scp and placed under the thaumiel/hiemal Classification
Crit required

I'm seeing a guy who was married and divorced because he had had an affair with a married woman. After asking more questions, I found out that he had unprotected anal sex with her and his wife never asked and never asked for an std test. So I am still trying to not fall in love with him. He has already told me he loves me. So I've been trying to put a little distance because I don't want to fall. I don't trust him and I asked him questions again last night about it and he got annoyed. Said he didn't like repeating himself. But I want to get an idea of what to do in this situation because he accused me of trying to play games. But I'm just trying to figure him out and see if I really want him or friendzone him or just not talk to him anymore. But I really like him.
I am a virgin in my thirties and I accused him of being impulsive because he didn't use a condom with her And that he didn't care about an STD test and he was putting himself in his ex-wife at risk. He asked if I had anal sex before of which I had already repeatedly told him I did not do anything sexual with anyone before him that hurt that he asked again. I'm not sure why he asked again. He then explained that it is uncomfortable to fit a penis with a condom when having anal sex.
He then turned it around on me and said I wasn't impulsive enough because I was still a virgin in my thirties and that's out of the normal. He said he didn't like repeating himself and his tone was getting more annoyed + he told me that he was thinking of breaking up with me because he felt disconnected the past week because the past week I was taking care of my mother and we hadn't talked much. he said he doesn't feel needed and that I don't rely timely to his texts which is correct. I've been in and out of the clinic for my mom and sometimes waited a day to get back.
I've also been studying for a class for my job and he knows all this but he says that even a few minutes would have sufficed and I told him that I didn't know he even had a few minutes because he told me he was working an extra shift for his coworker. So I am not sure why he gets annoyed when I bring up his affair and he was so snarky yesterday that I am now wondering if I should even talk to him or but leave him when he tells me that he loves me. He just told me he loved me yesterday.

I (F17) had this story happen some time ago, around my sophomore/second year of high school.
I was around 14 or 15 at the time, and I was just eating lunch with a few friends in one of the (what our school calls) "breakout rooms." We were chilling and having a good time, and I remembered I had to go change my pad since I was on my period that week.
However, there is/was a kid a grade below me, who we'll just call Jay. Jay is known for being an asshole, and while he had/has his decent moments, 90% of the time he tries to shove him being christian down everybody's throats (even tho his actions are far from christian-like), throws racial slurs, is loud and disruptive during class, is disrespectful towards teachers and other students, and outright made fun of one of my friends once because they were muslim and made all the stereotypical "jokes" you can imagine surrounding the religion :/
But in this particular instance, Jay saw me take out my pad and proceeded to give me a few dirty looks. I asked if there was a problem, and he made a remark along of the lines of, "Don't fucking touch me!"
According to him, the old testament in the bible claims that when a woman is on her time of the month, if she touches a man, he will become unclean. I rolled my eyes at him and left to go change my pad as he proceeded to go off about how "my period isn't natural," I'm "disgusting," and even flipped through his bible to try and find the verse he was talking about and read it out loud to me. Like he was an exorcist trying to expel a demon or some crazy bullshit.
I come back, lightly tease him, and brush it off as we switch classes. However, I came back to the same room for my Spanish class, and sure enough, Jay shared the class with me. I tell my friend, who was also in class with me, what happened, and to my surprise, they actually used to know Jay pretty well, and they actually helped me come up with the revenge idea.
Apparently, according to my friend, Jay is so christian, he believes (or at least used to back when this happened) in the Oujia board stuff so much, that he thinks demons or Satan himself will come hunt him down if he even touches one. And although this was kind of asshole-y and petty of us, we felt he deserved it in the moment.
So after they tell me this about Jay, we decide to get back at him by making a shitty, homemade Ouija board out of paper during class. So we poorly scribbled the letters on a page and even did the piece that you put your fingers on out of paper as well.
After he comes in the room, we call him over and show him, and even pretend we're playing by moving the piece around the board, and I'm not joking:
He freaks. The Fuck. Out.
He starts yelling and pleading for us to put it away, saying we cursed the room with a demonic presence, and even left the room, tattled to the teacher (who didn't do shit about it), until we complied with his requests to put it away.
He didn't come back in that room for the rest of the period. And to rub it in a little more, I would "accidentally" brush up against him or poke him once or twice a day for the rest of the time I was on my period that week.
I know it was petty, but goddamn, it was hilarious to see.

Hey all - I’m working on a little fan project based on Interlace tech, and hoping you all can help me with references in the text / end notes and or your personal takes about Interlace.
All ideas are welcome, some prompts…
How did the tech work? (Reference thread I found)
What kinds of content did interlace distribute (genres, titles, etc - real from direct reference or what you imagine when thinking about)
What was the corporate culture of Interlace like? Who was CEO? Company values?
Did interlace own the production of content or did they purchase from studios (e.g. HBO vs the Netflix models)
Did Interlace pioneer video calls or was that a different entity?
I’ll be mining the wikis and delving back into the text for some of the objective concepts / answers to basic questions here, but wanted to probe the community for your mental model and help with reference sleuthing - thanks in advance!!

So after 2 days of no service, a got in contact with a good rep who fixed the problem in minutes. That was my 6th rep that I attempted to get help from. The issue was the QR code they sent didn’t activate my ESIM. I even tried it manually so I don’t know what the issue was. My phone just kept telling me unknown error. She sent another and it worked. Weird.
Anyway, now, I have service (bars, phone calls, text), but I don’t have data… I have an IPhone 13 Pro . It’s up to date. I am fully separated from my other carrier. I am in a place that has data. I have reset my network settings. I have gone in airplane mode on and off. I have turned the device on and off. I just have no internet. My gf also has Mint with and an IPhone. Hers is fine. Any ideas? Hoping it’s something easy to fix that I missed. Maybe the towers are just down for a bit? Idk. Thanks 🙏

My clinical director who is in charge of scheduling and HR stuff is only in office Tuesdays and Thursdays. We communicate with each other through Google chats mostly, so I will need to at least get her attention through a text. I’ll obviously hand in a paper notice too but I need help with the first approach. I’m 6 months pregnant so I feel like I am straining myself and at the same time not providing my best services to the client. Me working here is benefiting no one and I have come to terms with that. What should the message say about me putting in my notice? Should I tell her I got a new job? Should I give the reason why I’m leaving? Any advice is helpful I’m terrible with this stuff and always feel bad.

So, me (30M) and my gf (33F) had a very rough start of our 1y2m relationship. And things got out of hand again past weekend... So I think I should start from the start, my gf and I got together while I was with my ex. I had an open relationship of 5 years with my ex-gf/fiancee (25F), and "knew" my current gf from the gym. We hadn't talked before. We started talking through IG and one thing led to another and thus here we are.
However, the relationship started very difficult since I left my ex-gf for her, which made my ex say all kind of nasty, incorrect stuff about me.
After getting through that, rather quickly, I was so excited and eager to start my life with her. However, another obstacle occured as someone send a picture of us together to her ex. As we were not yet officially a thing on socials yet to avoid extra drama. But apparently the weekend before we started chatting, she went on a small city trip together her now ex bf (41M). She said it was a few months ago since they broke up. I knew the guy, not as friend but as acquittance. So, obviously he was mad too and started to try and win her back, lie about me, etc. They were in a relationship for 3 years but on/off (due to her trust issues, which happened due to cheating with her previous ex) with her having an occasional mishap during the off periods. But they would always get back together. So in the first months she wasn't sure of me either. Which weighed heavy on me as I was sure of my decision and did not realize what I was missing in my life until I met her. Thus I did not give up and continued to pursue her as she was doubting. She did not have physical contact with the ex in said months (she says), but called and chatted a lot with him. Obviously hurting my feelings but I was sure it would be worth it.
During these months, many other things happened. I taught I could get through it all because my love was so intense for her. I forgave it all. Chatting with many guys, sending pics, talking about our troubles/struggles, talking with ex'es, on top of that she works with someone she cheated with on the father of youngest child which causes me enormous trust issues as she has already lied multiple times when seeing him outside of work, but nothing happened, I believe her, but still... you get the picture... However she is so jealous that I removed every girl from IG she asked, don't talk to any female other than family and am afraid to do so. Fine, I don't mind not having contact with other women if I have her.
One time, in these months, things got out of hand. A girl said hello from a distance in the gym. My gf ran from the gym. I got her with my car and got her to get in so I could bring her home as I did not want to leave on these terms. We drove home as she sat on the rear seats. Things got really heated for the first time and suddenly she hits me from the back when driving right on my glasses. This was the first time in my life I was physically touched in a negative way ever. I tried to keep her at bay. I do not remember the exact sequence but at a given moment when we were driving about 70kmh she opened the rear door and had the intention of jumping out. Hanging with more than half her body at the door handle with her head out. I was shocked and did not know what was happening. So obviously I stopped as soon as I could as I do not want that to happen to her.When we got home, I tried to leave and get my stuff, as we were spending a few days together. While grabbing my stuff I dropped something from the fridge from all the nerves and adrenaline I had, and she kicked me when I was grabbing and cleaning it from the floor. I do not remember exactly what happened after but quite possibly I hit her back (or not, I really don't remember this time). Her kicks or hits do not really hurt physically as she is a skinny girl and I am pretty big compared to her (think: literal double weight muscle 65kg compared to 120kg, to give a perspective). I am aware with our physical sizes this does not fare well if I reciprocate...
In coming months (all during period 4/5 to 7/8 months). Stuff like this occured occasionally (5/6? times). Due to escalations and me trying to leave before things got out of hand. From the second time onward I hit back as the second time she almost (small cut) cut me in the neck with a knife, unintentionally she said but I remember being really really scared that time as I have no real experience with defending myself. Of course, when I reciprocated the fights immediately "cooled down", because I then physically hurt her. Which I all regret to the deepest of my soul. However, I do not know how I can make things up or seek forgiveness from her or myself. As she does not acknowledge her own parts it is really difficult for me to take all the blame to make amends.
Every occurance is way more detailed, but all I remember is my part. Every single time when things got heated I tried to leave but she either gets extremely mad/aggressive or tries to make me feel extremely guilty for abandoning her. Thus I stay. With the violence as consequence. Frequently starting because I try to leave. Sometimes with the kids in their rooms. I remember asking her eldest to call the cops as she got aggressive, obviously that did not happen but all I wanted that moment was to de-escalate the situation as she was throwing with stuff.
All but 2 was "started" because of me. One due to her telling me she will cheat right in front of her kid while she was driving. I do not remember how we even started that fight. It's unforgiveable I hit her once, said to pull over so I could get out and called for mental help as she really knows how to trigger me. But that is no excuse. Another one because she was chatting with a guy and obviously hiding some stuff and I wanted to see her phone. Deleted messages up to one point. Indicating something that could really be interpreted as them doing something together. Once I read those texts, my anger stopped and I just bursted out crying and tried to leave. The moment I try to leave she stops me and started crying and begging to stay and saying nothing happened and they didn't even meet. I was so hurt I could not and did not want to be with her. However, seeing her crying once and literally asking me to stay instead of getting aggressive because I was leaving, I caved and wanted to be with her.
During these months, we tried living together twice. Twice she send me away in the middle of the night due to her being annoyed with me/kids. Following months we went scouting for a place to rent as I wasn't comfortable living at her place any more as I feel like she sees me as a guest and not a partner at that time. Again due to arguments and circumstances, we did not "find" anything and did not continue this idea.
Time went on, "small" issues occured. Some of these: a lot of gaslighting, trust issues (this also from me), verbal aggression/humiliation, blocking me on socials, false accusations, jokes about exes when we see them from a far, guilt tripping, very egocentric, talking a LOT LOT to the dad of their daughter, etc. If I had to explain everything in detail, the text would be 100x longer.
Life was relatively good compared to the start. Due to reasons above, I avoided trying to live together again. At a certain point she started talking more about wanting to live together. Of course I understand as life can't keep standing still. We went watching for houses and head over heals in a "high" and good period of love I agreed upon buying a house of which I would place the down payment and related costs, we found one and got it. As weeks passed, small arguments/fights (non-physical) once again took place. Like a solid pattern repeating itself about weekly to bi-weekly. Making her and myself doubt about the choice we made but is very hard to get out of unless losing the down payment. I already put my place up for sale to pay for this thus for me, there is no way back and I do not want to stay in my old place. But none of us can afford the house alone.
2 weeks ago, I started my first counselling with a psychologist to work on my trust issues, my guilt feelings, and everything related to this relationship as I really want to make it work.
Last weekend. After my shift from work. We met up to eat something nice, watch a movie. But logging in to a streaming app, she saw my ex still had an account (she does not use it). But as stubborn as I am, I said I would only delete it once she leaves her ex's streaming acc. For some reason I said it's not a big deal and she is on my music streaming service as well (apparently she already left it but I didn't know at the time). Thus, she got mad, got up and wanted to leave. I really did not understand what the big fuss was as I didn't see this as something so bad as many people do it. Sure, I do not mind deleting her, but I want her to do the same then. Out of principle. Is this so wrong? So, I sat in the couch waiting for her to calm down and come back, except she did not. As I was not showing enough concern toward this, she got mad and with the same attitude as when the first fights happened, she got close to me and apparently threw a pillow (for me it felt like she was attacking me). Due to past events, it felt like we were back to square one and something switched in my head. I hit her a couple times and threw her luggage out. I hate and despise the fact that this happened and I did this to her. She is hurt because of me and I wish there was a way to take this back.I do not understand why we are in this spiral of emotions and stay together.
I want to say that I have never laid a hand upon a living being until I was hit a few times too much, I could not handle it and now I feel like I am not myself anymore.
Also, this weekend I noticed she lied to me. The youngest kid told me are you coming to the party at her (kids) father's place, and she said we're just going to say hi at his job for father's day.I immediately knew she was not honest as she (kid) has always straight forward and honest to me.I acted like I didn't care but after working out, I normally drive to work, this time I took a detour to check if she was home.She was not. She was texting slowly compared to normally and I knew it in my gut I was right, so my urge to check was greater than my trust, and correctly so.Sure, she could have gone, but to lie and/or not say anything about it, hurts me, my bond with her and my trust in her. Again.
Despite everything, I love her and her kids a lot. It feels like she is the first person I really love.I do not know what I expect of this and I hate who I became because of everything that happened. I wish I could tell if I am safe with her and that she is safe with me.I am afraid that if she does something stupid, I would too.
tl:dr; A LOT (physical fights, jealousy, lies, etc.) has happened since the start of our relationship and I wish I could start it over with her as I really love her and want to work on it and doing my part

My ex has been harassing and stalking me since I broke up with him in October 2023. It started with text messages, and every time I blocked him he just used a new TextFree number. By March I had received hundreds of hateful& cruel messages, blocked over 2 dozen numbers (and every social media), and lost a job due to the stress.
When I finally changed my phone number, he spread rumors that I was trying to kill him and started lurking around my bedroom window in the middle of the night.
I set up a camera and used Textfree to inform him that if need be, I will defend my family, home, and self by whatever means necessary. He hasn’t been caught creeping since, but texted “yo” to that textfree number on 5/25/24.
Okay I was gonna finish by saying since it’s been so long since he reached out maybe he’s moving on but then I checked today’s date and it’s only been 15 days. He’s probably not moving on yet. In the beginning, he’d go through cycles where he’d harass me maniacally for a few days, then apologize and back off, then repeat. The cycle is getting longer, and the harassment more discreet, but I think I’ll be dealing with him and the PTSD he’s giving me (or would it be OTSD, ongoing traumatic stress disorder?) for a loooooong time.

I went on a date with someone I met on an app and since the first day he always sent me good morning texts even when I left him on seen or when it seemed he was mad, we had our date, not great honestly, he is very outgoing and I just didn’t know what to say I spoke enough or so I thought and after I asked him and he said it was a good date but today he hasn’t send any messages at all as he used to and I feel he might be expecting me to do something but I also feel is his way of letting me know that he doesn’t want a second date so I was thinking of just ghosting him is it wrong?

My hands are trembling to the point where I've had to restart this several times. I'm a guy who doesn't scare easily, but this encounter has me shaking like a hit dog. I'm still sitting in my work truck, trying to work up the courage to step outside again. Worse, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to tell my boss what happened. I was already on thin ice with him, and this shit might cause me to break through to the freezing water below.
But fuck it, because this was weird.
I install cable for a living. I didn't have dreams of stringing cable when I was a little kid, but my previous life choices left me with few options. In high school, I fell in with the wrong crowd. It started with skipping school, sneaking alcohol at weekend parties, and some petty theft, but it didn't stay that way for long. Soon, I dropped out and dedicated my life to committing robberies to pay for my pill addiction. I wasn't living as much as I was running on a treadmill. I did whatever I could to stay on my feet but constantly felt myself slipping.
My bottom came when I was jumped by two guys who sold me pills. I had bought from them before and trusted them, but the feeling was not mutual. Someone had dimed a buddy of theirs out to the police, and he was looking at real jail time. They assumed it was me and beat me senseless.
I was greeted at the door with a punch to the jaw that sent me reeling. My brain, already addled and slowed by Oxi, was in the middle of putting together what was happening when the next punch caught me in the temple. I collapsed to the ground and covered my neck and face as best as I could. The next few minutes were a flurry of punches, kicks, and stomps. When it was all over, I had a broken jaw, a shattered wrist, several wounds that required fifty total stitches, and a concussion.
That's how I kicked my painkiller addiction.
I can joke now, but the next six months were the hardest in my life. The withdrawals I had were the worst thing I've ever experienced. Having them while I was recuperating from my injuries was a circle of hell I didn't think existed. I wanted to die most days and felt lost in the darkness. But sobriety was the beacon on the horizon. Even during my darkest moments, I could still see the fuzzy spark of white light off in the distance. It kept me going. Six months from my beat-down day, I came out the other side healthier but weaker.
I needed a job but had limited skills. Thankfully, I had a former pill buddy who managed to keep steady employment with the cable company. We always got along, and he called in a few favors and hooked me up. I got hired, but it was a struggle. Not the work, which was easy to learn, but dealing with the public without telling them to fuck off. Worse, was trying to avoid the flood of illegal substances that are around you at all times. Customers will offer you weed or pills for all the channels, or bored co-workers will have something to "make the day pass by." It's a lot to dodge, especially if you're in recovery. Whenever I felt the itch again, I'd feel the scar tissue from my wrist surgery, and the itch would pass.
The last week has been one of those "Shit, is it Friday yet?" weeks that seem to be growing in frequency these days. I don't want to bore you with the details, but needless to say, most nights, I needed to reach out to my sponsor and have them talk me off the ledge. We recently had a turnover at the executive level, and my new boss Rory was a tremendous cock. A rager at levels science hasn't ever seen before. Just the worst dude imaginable.
Part of Rory's new crusade was coming in and firing a bunch of guys. The company called it "checking for redundancies in the labor force," but we all knew what it was. He was picking off two classes of people: high earners and guys with spotty pasts. I was in the latter group and imagined it was just a matter of time before my number got pulled. I was on pins and needles all week. I made sure I was the greatest cable installer you'd ever meet. So far, I was getting high marks but the forced joviality was wearing thin.
It's safe to say my joy had left on a one-way ticket. I have no clue when—or if—she'd return.
Back to this shit. I had just finished up my last job of the day when my work phone started buzzing. I cursed and thought about not answering, but the threat of unemployment loomed too large for me to do that. I picked up and knew from the jump my day was far from over. Denise from dispatch asked if I could cover a job left hanging because of "scheduling conflicts" (see: the original installer had been let go). It was near where I was and was a simple install.
I gritted my teeth and agreed. I liked Denise and knew she was worried about the hammer falling on her, too. She thanked me profusely, and promised to bring me cookies tomorrow. Since she's a hellcat in the kitchen and getting close to a dispatcher never hurts, I said no worries. I hung up, balled up my jacket, and screamed into it. I felt better after that.
981 Maple Street was about five minutes away, but it felt like a world away. Maple Street was at the end of the neighborhood where large swaths of grass fields faded into a thicket of woods. The woods rose up into the foothills until they graduated to mountains. To borrow a phrase from Shel Silverstein, the house resided where the sidewalk ends.
The house, an off-white birdhouse ranch type, was a little run-down but no worse than any of the others that populated this neighborhood. This place had been hit hard by economic times, and property values had plummeted. It was slowly recovering. In five years, this would be a place most current residents wouldn’t be able to afford. The front yard had a large oak tree that looked amazing but had killed the grass under its canopy. The rest of the yard looked well cared for.
I knocked and heard a few voices talking on the other side of the door. It opened, and a man in his late 40s stood there with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand. He was tall and thin, save for a middle-aged paunch. His face was starting to crinkle at the edges, but he was southern California middle-aged, which meant he was holding up pretty well. He did look tired, though—the bags under his eyes were full-on steamer trunks.
"You with the cable company?" he asked, knowing I was.
I nodded. "You requested an install, right?"
"Yes, I did. Please, come in."
He opened the door wide, and I walked in. The house was pretty bare with a bachelor pad aesthetic. That didn't make much sense since I heard a female voice talking to him. I assumed it was his wife. I believe in a lot of wild shit, but to think that a wife would be fine with their house decorated like a 23-year-old bachelor lived there was a bridge too far.
"I'm Tom," the guy said, extending his hand. I shook it. "What did you need from my end?"
"Do you know if there was a previous hookup here?"
"Ugh, yeah. There is one in this room and another in the back bedroom."
"Okay. I should put the modem in a spot that'll hit the whole house. The signal can get wonky if it's in a room behind a wall or bricks or anything."
"This room is probably the best spot then," he said.
"Perfect. I have to get under the house, check the old connections, and replace some parts. Where's your hatch to get under the house?"
"Oh, it's around back. You can exit out this side door and walk through the backyard. It's on the eastern side. You might need a screwdriver to remove the grate. Do you need one?"
I pulled a screwdriver from my pocket and showed him. "I should be good. Thank you, though."
"I should've guessed you'd have one."
"I appreciate your concern. Is there anything in the backyard I should be worried about? Dogs? Kids? Wild dogs? Wild kids?"
It was standard banter, and it always got a chuckle out of people. Same thing happened here. "Nothing to worry about," he said. "You should be good."
"Alright. I'll get started so you can get online as soon as possible."
"Great! If you need anything, I'll be doing some work in the back bedroom."
I nodded and headed for the side door. The dining room door led to the pie wedge-shaped backyard, which was larger in the back than the front made it look. The grass was as cooked as its kin in the front, but islands of green weeds seemed to be thriving. In the corner of the lot, an old metal shed stood, rusted to the point where I assumed divine intervention kept it standing. It seemed to have been there since the house had been built – or maybe several decades before.
When I turned the corner of the house, I spotted a woman and child staring into the corner of the yard, their backs facing me. The Woman wore a faded blue dress that fit her well. Tom had, it seemed, out-kicked his coverage with her. I didn't want to startle them, so I offered a friendly "hello" to the pair. The kid started to turn, but the mother placed a hand on their shoulder and kept their heads facing away from me. I squinted along the treeline, trying to see what they were concentrating on, but I didn't see anything unusual.
Just wanting to be done with the job, I let them be and moved on. I turned another corner to the house's short side and spotted the grate leading to the crawlspace. The grate looked as old as the shed, and I wasn't sure I would even need the screwdriver to open it. Hell, I was sure the thing would disintegrate in my hands as soon as I touched it.
I crouched and was about to pull it off when I heard something rustling near me. I glanced back to where I had seen the mom and kid, but they were gone. I assumed I had heard them leaving. I pulled the grate off – I was right, no screwdriver necessary – and as I set it aside, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.
It was the kid. A boy around eight or so. But they weren't staring at me exactly. They were looking away from me, staring up at the roof line. I found it odd. Clearly, the kid wanted to talk to me but had turned their back on me. I coughed to let them know that I knew they were there, but they didn't respond.
"Hey man, what's up there?" I said.
"Nothing nice," he said, still keeping their gaze away from me.
"Oh," I said, "Not going to hurt me, is it?"
"Maybe," he said.
Not the answer I was expecting. "What is it?"
"They told me you'd know soon enough."
As he said that, I felt something crawling across my hand. I pulled my hand away from the house and shook it. I saw a spider land in a pile of leaves and scurry away. I let out a nervous laugh. I'm not scared of spiders or anything, but the shock of being told some unseen thing was watching me and didn't look pleased, coupled with the sensation of something on my skin, was enough to justify a quickened heartbeat.
I looked back at where the kid had been standing, but he was gone. I chalked it up to kids being little weirdos and went back to work. The faster I could get this installation done, the quicker I could go home and smoke a bowl. I let Kush be my guide. I put up my hood, turned on my small flashlight, and shimmied through the opening under the house.
I know guys who've worked for the company for years and still dread going into a crawl space. Granted, it's not my favorite thing to do, but I don't mind either. The bugs can be a nuisance but if you don't bother them, they tend to not bother you. Same with rats and mice. Raccoons, though? I crawl out and call animal control. Those little dudes are cute but nasty as all get out. My path today was nothing but cobwebs, so I was okay.
I flashed my light around and saw where the cable line went up into the living room floor. My job here was to ensure the coaxial line's integrity was still good. If it had been chewed on or anything, I'd replace it. Sometimes, I just replaced it anyway—saving myself a potential job later down the line.
I crawled over to where the line came in from the pedestal and started my once-over. I not only looked for any damage but also ran the line through my hands to make sure my eyes didn't miss anything. I was under the dining room area when I heard that side door close.
I stopped. Tom said something, but it was muffled. I wanted to be nosy, so I waited a beat to hear if anyone spoke back to him. Someone did. It was soft and quiet – I assumed it was the Boy – and I didn't make out what they asked, but I did hear Tom's response. In a firm voice, he said, "No, not right now. Run along."
There were footsteps over me that faded into another section of the home. Tom said, "He always wants to jump the gun. How many times do I have to tell him?"
I suppressed a laugh at the last line. It's the official father's lament. I kept moving my hand down the line and didn't feel nicks along the cable. In fact, on closer inspection, the line looked almost new. I was planning to change it, but this looked like it had been installed last week.
I could hear someone walk into the living room as I reached the spot where the line went through the house. Another pair of footsteps followed the first, and I heard a breathy but detached woman's voice ask, "Can we show our faces now?"
"I just told the boy 'no.' What makes you any different?" Tom said, an edge to his voice.
A chill raced through my body. I knew those words, but this conversation made me feel like I spoke another language. Can we show our faces? Why would you not?
"Do you think he'll see us?"
"If I have my way," he said, not finishing that thought. "Leave me be. I must try to get some things done before he leaves, and you two keep bothering me."
What did Tom mean to get some things done before I left? What did he have in mind? While trying to process all this, I heard something shuffle in the darkness just beyond my flashlight beam. I moved it around, trying to see the telltale glowing eyes of varmints, but nothing flashed back at me.
I heard something shuffling again, this time down by my feet. I cocked my head as best as I could and shone the flashlight into that corner of the house but, again, there wasn't anything else down here but me and a thousand spiders. I sighed and finished my inspection of the wire.
As I turned to crawl back out from under the house, I heard somebody sneaking around on the floor above me. The wood groaned as the person moved slowly. I wasn't sure what they were doing, but they wanted to keep it a secret. A shadow fell over the pinprick of light from where the cable went into the house. Someone was standing over it.
"Can you hear them down there? Moving in the dark?" It was the Boy. “They like the dark.”
"What are you saying?"
"The little shadows," he said, "They live down there. Do you hear them?"
This kid was creepy as hell. "I, ugh, I can't hear you, dude," I said, inching my body away from the wire, "We can talk inside."
"They're going to get you, but that's okay," he said, "It only hurts for a little bit, and then you're fine."
Fuck. That. I had no desire to respond to that nightmare of a statement. I hastened my inch-worming, heading back towards the open hatch. As I did, I heard more movement in the darkness around me. I tried to ignore it, but it was a fool's gambit. It was impossible to ignore.
I was getting closer to the opening when I saw a pair of tiny legs walk in front of the hatch. It was the Boy. How did he get there so quickly and without me hearing him run on the floor? I didn't have time to run through the scientific method because the Boy leaned down and placed the metal grate back over the hatch.
"Hey! Hey!" I yelled. "I'm still under here!"
The Boy didn't stop. Instead, he placed a trashcan in front of the grate, enshrouding the entire crawlspace in darkness and trapping me inside.
"Hey! I need you to move that!" I screamed. No response. I raised my fist as high as possible and punched the floor above me to hopefully get Tom’s attention. That was a mistake, as I managed to punch straight into an old nail. I felt it puncture in between my knuckles. The pain was instant, and I let out a howl.
I shook my hand and swore a blue streak. I reached up with my other hand, felt the tip of the nail I had managed to punch, and found a flat spot next to it. I banged hard on the floor and yelled again for some help. Nobody responded. Not at first.
Then I heard someone chuckle under the house.
I couldn't locate where it had come from because it sounded like it was all around me. I swung my light around as best as I could but didn't see anything. No glowing eyes, nothing. I inched forward a bit, and someone laughed again – this time, it was to my right. I turned my light in that direction and saw a sudden flood of light fill the space under the house.
"What the hell?" I said, my desire to leave overtaken by a desire to know what was unfolding next to me.
A pair of kid legs dropped down from the hole in the floor. I realized then that the hole must be an interior crawlspace. The kid had blocked off the metal grate and opened this hatch for some reason. While he dropped his legs down, he didn't move any further.
"Hey, you have to open that metal grate," I yelled. "I don't want to be trapped down here."
"They told me they needed you," he said, followed by a slight chuckle.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I said, not caring that I was talking to a child. "Open the goddamn grate!"
"The shadows are approaching," he said, pulling himself back into the house. He placed the lid back on the hole, and I was trapped in the dark again. I cursed to myself and started pounding on the floor again.
"Hey! Someone come help me!"
That's when I felt something run across my legs. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It didn't feel like the tiny claws of a passing rat. It was cold to the touch, but as it hit my skin, I felt a burn in my bones. It's hard to explain, but I felt both extremes simultaneously. Whatever it was skittered off into the darkness of the other side of the crawl space.
The kid started laughing again, which brought me back to reality. I army crawled as fast as I could to the grate. I balled up my fist and punched in the middle of the metal. The blow knocked the old nails out of the wall, and the grate broke up. I was about to push away the garbage can when it suddenly wheeled out of the way.
I saw Tom's legs standing there.
"You okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.
I got out from under the house so fast that I left a me-sized dirt cloud in my place. Once out, I shook my body loose as if I had things crawling all over me. Tom watched but didn't say anything at first. We finally locked eyes, and he could see the rage, fear, and confusion on my face. He wisely waited until I spoke first.
"What the hell is wrong with your kid? He blocked me under there and taunted me from the indoor crawlspace."
"What are you talking about?"
"He told me the shadow people or something were watching, and then he blocked me under the house!"
Tom's face twisted up into confusion. "I...I don't understand."
"I can't make it any simpler, Tom!" I screamed, letting unprofessionalism take root.
"I don't have a kid."
It hit me like an Ali right cross. My vision got dizzy, and I struggled to catch my breath. I stared at his face, looking for the sign of a lie or a joke, but he was as stone-faced as an Easter Island statue. After a beat, I found my sense again. "I heard you talking to him in the living room when I was under the house."
"One, I was on a phone call. Two, are you spying on me? What the hell, man?"
"I wasn't spying, and you weren't on the phone," I said. I also heard you talking to your wife. She asked you if she could show her face or something."
"I don't have a wife either."
I shook my head. "I fucking saw them in the backyard! They were staring at the fence!"
Tom paused and cocked his head to the side. When he spoke, it was softly, trying to calm me down. "Are you...did you have a few drinks before the appointment? Or a pill or something? No judging – I know pill heads. I won't report you or anything, but I understand if you need to come back tomorrow with a clearer head."
"I'm sober," I said, gritting my teeth. "But I know what I saw. What I heard."
"As the tree said to the lumberjack, I'm stumped," Tom said. "You look a little flush. You want a bottle of water or something? I can show you I'm here all alone."
My adrenaline had seeped out of my body, and I was starting to feel like myself again. I nodded at Tom, and he smiled. "I'll go grab you one. Do you want to come into the AC?"
"No, I'm okay. I need to double-check the connection to the pedestal."
"Sure. Be bright back," Tom said as he walked off.
But I had no intention of checking the connections. I was going to check on Tom. I didn't believe him at all. Something weird was going on, and I needed to know what. As soon as he turned the corner around the house, I broke out my flashlight and headed back to the crawlspace.
I dropped to the ground and shone my beam into the darkness. Something had crawled on me, and I wanted to see what it was. I moved my light into every section of the crawlspace but saw no eyes glowing back at me.
"If you're under there, call back."
There was nothing. I was starting to feel like a paranoid idiot. I called out once again just to be sure, but again, nothing called back. I shut off my light and sighed. I started pushing myself back to my feet when I heard a faint woman's voice call out, "Can we show our faces now?"
"Not yet," someone hissed from the trees above me. I snapped my head up, expecting to see someone hanging on a branch over my head, but I just saw green leaves.
"Can we show our faces now?" It was the Boy. It sounded like he was on the roof. I shielded my eyes and glanced at the roof but didn't see him.
"No. He's not ready yet," someone whispered in my ear. I snapped around, throwing a punch as I did, only to slam my fist into the fence. I felt one of my knuckles crack as it hit the wood, and the pain shot up my arm like lightning. Within seconds, my hand started to puff up, and blood dripped out the wounds.
The Boy chuckled again. It came from under the house. I looked down at the grate and saw his legs disappear into the darkness.
"Hey!" I called and dropped to the ground. I pulled out my flashlight and shone into the darkness again. I was confident I'd see him, but he wasn't there. Nobody was.
I sat up and felt goosebumps turn my arms into braille. I glanced over to the corner of the house and was surprised to see the disappearing hemline of the faded blue dress. I rushed over to the corner and didn't see the Woman. I saw Tom with a bottle of water.
"You okay?"
"Where did that woman go?" I asked, my voice panicking. "She was just here."
"Sir, do you need me to call your boss for you? You're starting to scare me."
"What's up with this house? Is it haunted?"
Tom started laughing. "I hope not. I just moved in. I'd hate to have roommates again, especially ones who leave ectoplasm all over the place."
As I stared at him, I saw the Woman and the Boy emerge from the other corner of the house. They looked up on the roof, their faces obscured by their hands and the sun. I pointed a finger at them and screamed, "They're right there!"
Tom spun around and looked, but there wasn't anything there. He turned back to me, not sure what to say. Instead, he handed me the bottle of water. "I gotta be honest. I didn't see anything. Drink the water...you might have heat stroke."
I threw the bottle on the ground. "I don't have fucking heat stroke. I have a man that's lying about these things." I got close to him. "What did you have planned for me? Why do they keep asking to show their faces?"
"I don't," he said, but I didn't stay to hear him finish his thought. I walked right past him and turned the corner of the house. As I did, I saw the blue hem disappear through the door that led to the kitchen. I followed right behind her.
I walked into the house, which was as silent as a corpse. The Woman and Boy were nowhere to be seen. "Hello?" I called out. "I just saw you guys walk in here. Where are you?"
The door behind me opened up. Tom walked in, his face reddening with anger. "You can't just walk into my house."
"I saw them walk in. Where are they?"
"I keep telling you, it's just me and you here. Now, if you want to finish your work…."
I walked away from him and headed toward the bedroom where I had seen the Boy standing. I wanted to check that crawl space. The room was empty, not even a moving box in there, so finding the hatch that led under the house was easy. I went into the closet and pried the hatch open.
Tom entered the room behind me, more confused now than angry. "I don't want a line run through here."
"The Boy was standing in this spot. I saw his legs. I spoke to him. He told me the shadows needed me for something." I glared down into the darkness under the house. Despite Tom's feigned declarations that there wasn't another person in the house, I knew he wasn't being honest.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure you're back on pills and in the middle of a delusion," he said.
"How did you know I had a pill addiction?"
"The way you're acting, it wasn't a hard guess."
"I'm sober, but I did have a problem with pills. I never told you. I don't tell anyone."
Tom stood there, confused about how to answer. I stood up and stared him down. He looked away, but I didn't move my gaze. "Who are you? Who put you up to this? Was it Rory? He trying to get me fired?"
Tom's shoulders sagged. "You got me," he said. "Rory hired me to get you in trouble. I'm... I'm sorry. He offered me free cable for a year and assured me you were a bad guy and, well…. I'm weak."
"That's really fuc…," I stopped. "You're lying. Right now. You're lying. Why?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something dash past the open crawlspace hatch. I turned to the hatch opening and then back to Tom.
"Are you trying to stop me from looking in there?"
He didn't respond.
"What's under there?"
"He is," he said. "The Boy. He hides under there all the time. He has...friends down there."
"The shadow people?"
Tom shrugged, "What he calls them. I call them a menace. Impossible to get my work done with them causing a racket."
"What work?"
"Things you'd never understand in a million years," he said, "Things beyond your brain's capacity to imagine. Things that will help usher in a new world. Your kind's time is coming to a close. My work represents the new order."
I stared at him. I wasn't sure if I should run away or punch his lights out. Instead, I just spat out, "Bro, what the fuck?"
"Can we show our faces now?" the Boy called out from under the house.
I looked down at the hatch and then back at Tom. He nodded toward the opening. "Do you want to see your future?"
"Fuck it," I said. I got down, grabbed the sides of the opening, and lowered my head under the house.
I kept my eyes closed for a second, assuming I'd either see something horrifying or something would hit me in the face. When nothing struck me, I opened my eyes. It was dark, and I couldn't make out anything.
"There's nothing under here," I said.
"Can we show our faces now?" said the Boy from somewhere under the house.
"Show him," Tom said.
I sat back up, grabbed my flashlight from my pocket, and flipped it on. I looked at Tom, "If you try anything, so help me, God."
Tom just smiled. I looked back down at the hatch and sighed. I was suddenly hit with a bolt of common sense. What was I doing? My internal alarms were going off and I was ignoring them. Curiosity had gotten me this far, but my fight instincts were starting to lose to my flight. No job was worth this.
"Man, fuck this," I said, reversing course and standing. I turned to confront Tom, but he was gone. I hadn't heard him leave, but there wasn't a trace of him there. "Tom? Where the hell are you?"
He didn't respond, and I decided that I had hit my "weird shit" quota for the day. I closed the closet door and headed back into the living room to grab my gear. I'd call dispatch and tell them someone else had to come out and finish the….
The wood floor cracked, splintered, and gave way when I put my weight on it. I fell through the floor and landed with a thud on the dirt in the crawl space. On the way down, I hit my ribs on a crossbeam and heard them crack and knock the wind out of me. As I lay on the dirt, writhing in pain, my lungs did their damnedest to find a breath. It couldn't, and my vision started to blur at the edges. For a fleeting few seconds, I envisioned my death on a dirty crawlspace floor. It wasn’t comforting.
I rolled onto my back and finally took in a massive gulp of life-saving air. The blurring vision subsided, and all that remained was the aching pain of a busted rib. My muscles around my rib cage spasmed and pulled tight against my lungs. After the initial big breath, I could only take shallow gulps because the pain was searing.
I lay there for a few seconds, collecting my thoughts, when I felt something skitter across my legs again. I kicked out of instinct but didn't hit anything. Instead, I heard the chuckling again. My flashlight had fallen out of my hand. I found it and turned it on.
This time, I did see something. Pairs of eyes—dozens of them—watched me from the darkness that surrounded me. These weren't possums or rats. I never hoped to find a raccoon under the house more than I did at that moment. I knew whatever these things were, they weren't natural and they wanted to harm me.
"Still want to know what they plan to do to you?" the Boy asked from behind me.
I turned around and shone the light where I heard the voice. The Boy was lying on his stomach, his face looking down at the ground. All I could see at the moment was the top of his head.
"Wha-what's going on?" I said, the light bouncing from my trembling hand.
"I can show you my face now," he said. He raised his head and….
The Boy didn't have a face.
He had the space for a face, but there were no features whatsoever—nothing but pale pink skin pulled tight across the front of his head. At that moment, the image of a wooden art figure came to me.
“What the ever-loving fuck?"
"Want to see something really scary?" the Boy said, his lack of a mouth not stopping him from speaking. He raised himself onto the tips of his fingers and toes and started skittering toward me, laughing as he did.
I clambered out of the crawlspace as fast as my battered body could carry me. I got out of the hole and onto my feet and let out an ear-splitting scream.
The Woman in the blue dress was standing next to the hole in the floor. Like the Boy, she didn't have a face either. But I could feel her eyes on me. Looking into my mind. Into my soul. She stepped toward me, and I bolted for the front door.
I whipped it open and was greeted by Tom standing there, blocking me. He grinned. "Leaving so soon?"
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, checking behind me to see if the Woman was still coming toward me. She was, and she was gaining quickly.
"Can we show our faces now?" he asked with a laugh.
I turned back to Tom and nearly had a heart attack. His face was gone. I could feel my heart beating in my ears. My legs were jelly, but I kept myself propped up. The human desire to survive can perform miracles.
Tom reached out and pointed at a spot on the far side of the living room wall. I turned and saw three skinned human faces hanging from old nails: a man, a woman, and a boy.
"You're turn to join us," Tom whispered. But the voice wasn't said out loud. It came from inside my own head. "We can always use another body around here."
My brain clicked into action and sent an all-points bulletin to my limbs. The message was simple and actionable – "Get the fuck going, you dope."
I felt my hand ball into a fist and spun. It landed where Tom's nose would've been. It should've knocked him back, causing him to stumble and giving me time to run. But that didn't happen. Instead, his face pulled apart, letting my fist slide right through. It closed on my arm, trapping me.
I yanked and yanked, but my arm would not dislodge from his face. I glanced back and saw the Woman nearly next to me. The Boy was climbing out of the hole, moving like a cockroach. I looked back at the wall and saw Tom's hanging face silently laughing.
Something about those silent laughs cut me to my core. They were laughing because Tom thought he had outsmarted me. He had beat me. That my face would soon be hanging on the wall next to theirs. I wasn't going to let that happen.
I saw a loose brick on the walkway, and a plan flashed in my mind. I yanked hard, sending Tom stuttering forward enough for me to wrap my finger around the brick. I brought it up and sent it towards his face. As expected, the face parted again, and the brick flew through easily.
But as soon as the face curtains pulled aside, I yanked my arm free. With my limb free, I took off in a mad sprint for my truck. I got inside and fumbled my keys as I tried to start the engine. Tom, the Woman, and the Boy stood together at the front door and watched as I got the van going and rocketed down the street.
I drove like a madman for ten minutes, trying to put as much space between me and the house as possible. I finally stopped at a gas station to collect my thoughts. I was jittery, and my mind was swimming, but I was also relieved. I had gotten out.
I collected myself and called Denise to tell her I couldn't finish the installation at 981 Maple Street. I was going to suggest we cancel the order and not send another installer there. That's when the conversation took a turn I wasn't expecting.
"Where have you been? You were supposed to be off an hour ago," Denise said when I called her.
"I was trying to finish the install at 981 Maple, the one you sent me to."
"I didn't send you anywhere," she said. "With how insane Rory is being about overtime hours, I'm trying to keep everyone below the threshold."
"What are you talking about? You called and asked me. You don't remember," I said, a bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.
She gave me a nervous chuckle, "I swear I didn't. Are you feeling okay? You gotta come back. People are waiting for the van."
"I can prove it. I have a record of you calling me on my phone," I said. I opened my call log, and my jaw dropped. There was no call from Denise. She was telling me the truth. But if she didn't call me, who did?
"Rory wants to talk to you when you get in. I wouldn't mess around, he seems pissed" she said before hanging up.
I haven't moved since. I wanted to write this down because I felt like it needed to be recorded. Something supremely fucked up is happening at 981 Maple Street. It nearly got me. It still might. To think, on any other typical day, a surprise conversation with my boss would be the scariest thing that could happen to me. Funny how seeing a faceless ghoul can prioritize your problems. If you're hired to do work there, turn it down. Trust me, it's not worth it.
"Can we show our faces now?" they asked. "Fuck no," should be the only response.

Hello
I'm fairly new to online dating and I'm not really used to its conventions
I matched with this girl, on Hinge, and the vibes were great The conversations were deep and there would be many long messages so answering would take some time. She even told me that she was enjoying talking with me and found the conversation particulary interesting
On Friday, I was replying to her but in the midst, I had to get back to work for some kind of event/emergency and I told her I would finish answering later but I wouldn't forget about it. She then replied to this by telling me it's ok, I don't have to pressure myself and shall answer whenever I want to, or can. And she even keeps it going by asking me about something about my profile that we haven't talked about
Once my day at work comes to an end, I finish answering to everything. Anyway, since then, I had no answers and it's odd to me
I'm hesitating about double messaging but I don't want to put pressure on her at the same time
Does anyone have an idea about my case ?