Lesson Plans
First Prev
Neya had curled up at his side and gone back to sleep fairly quickly. No such luck for Alex. He had gotten nearly seven hours of what turned out to be restful sleep and was now wide awake with entirely too much to think about.
He really didn’t want to think about any of it just yet. Alex was perfectly aware that he really should be getting his feelings in order, but as far he was concerned it was way down the list of things he wanted to be doing right now. More sleep was at the top, but he already knew that was a nonstarter.
What he needed was a break.
Everything had been happening at an absurd pace since he had come aboard. Some of it was intentional - Eleya had clearly intended to get him to agree to ‘protection’ so he would willingly become part of her plans, pending he passed her test. Carbon’s fury in response, the assassination attempt, finding out what Neya actually was, the incident that was awfully damn close to being an assassination attempt...
His legs stretched involuntarily, still aching but at a more manageable level. He’d give Neya that - she knew her way around muscles.
Alex sighed and threw the covers back, turned the lights on at ten percent. Sitting in the dim light, his mind was restless, eager to jump from one thing to the next. All he wanted to do was fly his little ships - he’d settle for any size ship at this point - and date Carbon. Even with all the Tsla’o weirdness, even dragging Neya and her infatuation along, he supposed, would be all right. The resignation turned to annoyance as he stood and remembered that everything had been put away. Everything. Not a single long strip of the daman remained out, nor was his bag anywhere to be found. He didn’t know what had happened to it.
Alex cast a glance back at Neya before he started rummaging. She was sprawled out with mouth agape, snoring quietly. Her ears aimed in different directions, twitching and swiveling like she was trying to listen to something that kept moving, though they never pointed towards him. Still kind of adorable, and very much asleep.
Top drawer on the dresser was sundries. That bag with the tin of powder and combs, the jar of salve, various grooming implements, the sword Carbon had almost killed her aunt with. The ones below it were largely filled with mostly unidentifiable Tsla’o clothes. Even if he thought he could pull off the shortest shorts in existence, he was sure they were too small.
“Oh, come on.” He muttered to himself as he found the bottom drawer was just accessories he didn’t even recognize.
Back to the bed. Wandering around naked was less daunting today than it had been just a day ago, which was good. Feeling more at home, despite everything. He crouched there by the foot and slid the drawer open as quietly as possible. “Jackpot. Maybe.” It was clearly his clothing, nobody else here was wearing t-shirts. A little more searching found the shorts he’d packed for sleeping in. Actual jackpot, nice.
Once again clothed, it was time for something to drink.
All the cupboards latched, which made sense on a spaceship. The detents holding the drawers closed were pretty significant as well. Two of the overhead cabinets were empty, which was a bit of a shock. Carbon’s worry about him having grown up poor and hungry stood out as strange with all these bare shelves. Though, they had not been expected - how much food did Neya need on hand when she was holding this place down on her own?
It let his mind wander onto the subject of how the Tsla’o handled food distribution, a welcome respite from the more personal matters that had been on hand.
The other two were dry goods in sealed containers or vacuum packed bags, some cleaning supplies, and a full setting of plates, bowls and cups for the four-seat table. Doing the dishes promptly after every meal, it seems. Alex plucked a cup from the tray it was resting on and decided to stick with tap water for the moment. Too early for coffee anyway - not that he expected to be able to find any onboard. Too early for tea, as well.
Next up, something to fill the time. The small stack of books that Neya had collected for him was sitting atop the headboard, next to the sex position manuals that Eleya had given him. They had a black cloth binding, the only markings on the outside being on the spine, labling them as Untranslateable One, Untranslatable Two, and Untranslatable Zeshen, now that he was looking at them with visual translation on.
Not a big surprise that they hadn’t included the title of their Kama Sutra in the language exchanges. That last one was a bit presumptuous, though. Eleya would know how Zeshen work, but to his knowledge Neya was still considering her options when it had been given to him. He grumbled, another thing that immediately struck him as suspicious. Eleya had seemed annoyed she hadn’t been notified of Neya’s acceptance of him, but that could have easily been a front. Zeshen were supposed to be outside of the Empress’ sphere of influence. That was how things had been. Not necessarily how they were now.
Or did she just know Neya well enough to predict that end? Family members were involved in the selection process. Would her station in life lend her more weight, and how would it be used? Was Neya chosen because she would be unwaveringly loyal - and loyal to who?
Alex missed never asking himself questions like this.
Curiosity got the better of him anyway and he slipped the little black book out from the bottom of the stack and flipped it open to find at least half of it was text. Dozens of pages. Translation filtered in and it turned out to be a series of essays about consent. Definitely going to come back around to this as a window into Tsla’o culture at the very least, but it was not exactly the thing he was looking to engage with right now.
He set it back on top of the stack and turned to the ones not tainted by Eleya’s hand. Several thick tomes on the bottom with titles like History of the First Age, Seasons of Schoen: A Historical View of the Heartlands, and 1100: Rise to the Second Age. They looked like college texts. Back in the sickbay he’d have probably loved any one of these. Even just thinking about cracking one open felt like work.
It turned out all the rest were textbooks as well, save for one well worn paperback novel that rested atop the pile. A lone red-furred Tsla’o male clad in more rugged looking pants and a plain brown vest, standing in a knee-high field of jade grasses, snow capped mountains in the background. Temptation of the Harvest Fields. Neya had said it was a semi-accurate historical fiction that included several Zeshen, right out of her own personal collection. Even had her name written on the inside of the cover. The more things change.
Fuck it, he’d read the romance novel. Historical fiction of any accuracy written by aliens was probably as close as he was getting to some actual escapism without poking around the electronics and hoping for the best. Or asking for help, again.
He turned from the stacks and the glint of black screens caught his attention. Speaking of electronics... One of those phones must be his. He picked up the one furthest from where Neya had been laying when she’d put her phone back, rewarded with a brief moment of blindness when the screen came on as his thumb hit a button on the bezel. Belonged to somebody named Alekese Sorenson, apparently. “I’ll be damned.” He was honestly surprised that Sorenson could be translated into written Tsla so smoothly, given how his first name got mangled.
He unlocked it, the circle with a thumbprint in it a pretty clear indication of what needed to be done. Alex returned to the kitchen, scrolling through the applications. Basic stuff, mostly. Mail, messaging, search functions, maps, calendar. He clicked his tongue, not a single game to be found. Sure enough, there was the group message from Carbon. He thought about replying as he eased into a chair, his back towards the little light over the stove.
Alex decided against it. She wanted some quiet time, she should get it. He was a grown up, he could deal with not having someone there with him at every moment. Plus he had no idea what these sounded like when they got a notification, or how to silence it. He might be annoyed with Neya right now, but not enough to be an asshole.
So that was how he spent the next hour, engrossed in what was - if he was being polite - a very tawdry novel. To its credit, the first few chapters actually went into running a farm with what seemed like realistic details that could at least pass for feeling historically accurate. Alex didn’t know anything about running a farm so it was all supposition, but the work aspects of such an endeavor was presented well.
This was not to say that the book forgot what it was. Even through a translator, the prose was floral and laden with what he assumed were euphemisms. Some of them were more obvious. Only one kind of field is getting plowed inside a barn, and the help that the main character had hired were making sure they had plowed every row.
Lots of paragraphs were taken up by describing the male lead - Aena - as he hefted tack for the Rakaro-pulled plow, muscles flexing like taut rope underneath his rich red fur that sparkled in the cold spring sun. That sort of thing. Despite all this physical prowess and stoic exterior, this particular pillar of the community really needed a family to run the farm. Despite that, he had never taken a spouse, or even a lover. Not exactly subtle.
Alex was unlikely to admit that his choice of book did manage to engross him enough to get him to stop reprocessing the last day. Not without a big list of caveats attached to that statement, at least. He was eager to find out what portion of this was actually historical, though. Particularly if the way that Aena was portrayed as an outlier for his running of the farm was accurate - this appeared to be uncommon at the time, but all the female relatives of his that might have taken that role had died tragically before the book started to set him up in this situation.
Across the room Neya stirred, stretching under the covers before sitting bolt upright with a panicked yelp.
“Y’all right?” He’d been affecting a cowboy-esqe voice for Aena in his head, which was likely completely wrong. It was still funny, and it slipped easily into his own speech patterns.
She panted, disoriented as her eyes cast around the room before landing on him, a soft sigh following. Neya grabbed her wireless and started fitting them on, starting to reply as she did. “I had thought everyone was gone. You have moved, but not as far as I had feared.”
“A-yup.” He flipped the page, the next chapter starting in a courtyard. Clearly not on the farm anymore. “Ah jus wasn’t tired after’n we spoke. Figured ah’d get started on all this here reading.”
“Why are you talking like that?” She smoothed her face out, more confused than anything before she spotted what was in his hands. “You are reading my book!”
He cleared his throat, putting aside his bad accent. “Yeah, the setting kind of reminds me of the ‘western’ genre. Slightly industrialized frontier sorta thing. I think that’s about to change, but time will tell.”
“That is about when it takes place, just as industrialization is beginning in the cities.” She stretched again, padding softly to the dresser that her and Carbon seemed to share. “Have you enjoyed it so far?”
“It’s uh...” He had, though probably not from the same point of view of the intended audience. “Not what I normally read, but I think it's an interesting look into your culture. I will need a little help hashing out what’s accurate and what isn’t at some point.”
That was taken well, Neya brightening up as she tucked a bunch of clothes under her arm. “I look forward to doing so. Would you like to use the shower first?”
“Nah, you go on ahead.” He made note of the page and set the book down. If she was up, it was time for some... tea. It would do.
The kettle was in the lower cabinets with the pots and pans, and he had it boiling in no time. The tea pot, on the other hand, was tucked away with the dishes. Everything in with the food was labeled clearly, and he had tea brewing before Neya was even out of the shower. Measurements were approximate, but it looked right from when Carbon had made tea yesterday.
He was, for a moment, proud of this accomplishment. Then the fact this was over a pot of tea caught up with him before he fought back that inner voice. This wasn’t Human tea, despite many similarities. This was his first time making an honest to goodness alien tea. The first pour looked right. Dark amber, as the few times he’d had it served.
It tasted awful. Strikingly bitter, it dried his mouth out with just a little splash of liquid.
“What-” Neya had returned just in time to watch his face implode.
“I made the tea wrong.” Alex coughed in response.
“How could you have made it wrong?” She asked, lifting the cup out of his hand and getting it almost to her mouth before recoiling from it. “It is not wrong, it is incomplete. You did not put the sugar and bicarbonate in?”
Well, that did explain it. “No I did not.”
“I will finish that, if you would like to use the shower?”
Alex agreed and they switched tasks.
It felt good to be clean, and that little scrubby pad he’d pinched from the kitchen the night before did an excellent job of exfoliating everything. Maybe a little too well for daily use. His legs appreciated the heat, their misery ebbing further away. Neya confirmed that all his clothes had ended up in the drawers under the bed, and while it wasn’t the organizational system he would have used, everything was easy enough to locate.
“It looks fine, right? Right?” Alex held his arms out, showing off his outfit to Neya. He’d opted for human clothing today, a black t-shirt over black pants. They would not be getting him back into formal clothing. Ever, if he had his way. “Toss the jacket on over this. Done. Easy.”
“It looks... Strange. Discomforting. The collar is too high and sleeves too low.” She wrinkled her slender muzzle at him, eyebrows pulled low. She may have been holding a slight grudge. Carbon had messaged them while he was in the shower, requesting that he come and dine with her back near Engineering.
“Ah, what do you know.” He sat on the bed and slipped his shoes on. He had expected that Neya would go too, but Carbon had explained there were protocols to be followed when dining with your Zeshen in public. This wasn’t one of those times.
Neya leaned back in her chair, looking away from him with a dismissive flip of her hand. “I have studied fashion and aesthetics extensively for two decades.”
“You’d both have to do that, huh?” Alex muttered under his breath as he seated his heel and pulled the laces tight. Real arch support felt incredible. “Look, I’ll pick something up for you on the way back. Actually, I’ll have Carbon do it because I don’t know where anything is or what you’d like.”
“It is not the same,” she huffed. Despite the act she was putting up, Neya sounded amused by the exchange.
“Then we won’t get anything and she can just get up early tomorrow and make breakfast.” He stood and picked a few stray hairs off his pants. “How’s that sound?”
“Perhaps you should get me something and she can still cook tomorrow. After such a disappointment, it is the least that will sooth my feelings.” Neya smiled wide, having given up the pretense of being put off entirely and slipping back into her normal warm countenance. She picked his phone off the table and held it out to him, “the map is set to take you directly to the restaurant. I do not think Carbon will appreciate it if you dally.”
“No, I don’t think she would either.” Alex tucked it into a pocket and gave her a wave as he closed the door to the foyer. His jacket fit just fine over the t-shirt and he didn’t particularly care if it didn’t show the appropriate amount of neck and shoulder. It’d probably be better anyway, bare skin seemed to unsettle many of the locals.
He slapped the controls and the heavy door started to retract into the wall. He double checked the map - turn left into the hall, proceed forward 112.3 meters - and followed its instructions after the door closed behind him.
He hadn’t made it to the first junction before he heard a shout behind him and rapid footsteps. “Lord Sorenson!”
The first thing he thought was that he was going to get stabbed again. Maybe shot this time. They would have learned from the first try and waited until he was properly alone before giving killing him another go. By the time he had turned his head to look at his impending death, he had realized the voice was fairly familiar. It didn't even sound angry at all, actually, and hadn’t been translated.
“Sir. Are you all right?” Sergeant Zenshen pulled up short of him, surprise turning to concern as she looked him over.
“Yeah.” Alex managed a nervous laugh. The look of terror on his face twisted into a half-crazed smile, heart still pounding in his chest. He was gripping the phone like it could have been used as a weapon, arms shaking from adrenaline. “Can you never, ever run up behind me like that again?”
She was slow to respond, words laced with confusion as she slid a foot back, easing further away from him. “Yes sir, of course. I will not.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was going to be a problem.” Alex exhaled hard, composing himself further. “But yeah, don’t do that again.”
That seemed to settle her well enough. She squared her feet and relaxed, tucking a small black case under her arm. “As I said, it will not happen again. If you have a moment, sir, I do have something to discuss with you.”
“Can you walk while we do that? Carbon’s waiting for me.”
She nodded, dipping close to bow territory. “Of course, my Lord.”
“Good.” He ignored the title as he double checked that he was facing the right way before setting off down the corridor. “Go on, what’s up?”
The Sergeant fell in next to him, footsteps all but silent as she matched his speed. “The Empress appointed me as your military liaison, until you are able to take a command yourself.”
Alex chewed on that for a minute, parsing out exactly what Eleya’s actual intentions might have been. “Why?”
“So that you can be a proper member of the royal family.” There was no ease in her voice, her words sounding more like something she had been coached to say.
That didn’t make this little tidbit of news any easier to digest. “You’re going to be teaching me how to be a... commander?”
“There is no rank for a Prince other than Prince.” She hesitated, conflicted for a moment. “I don't know if the word 'teaching' is correct for what I am supposed to do.”
“Qualify that statement, Sergeant.” He did his best impression of the handful of officers that he’d worked with.
“Permission to speak freely?”
“Yeah, of course.”
A handful of steps went by as she picked her words. “I am here more to keep you from offending anyone important while you are adjusting to your new position, than to train you to do anything.”
“Because you already know how to deal with Humans.” At least, that made sense to him.
She confirmed his assumption with a nod. “It helps. You may find that some will not be as easy to work with, and part of my duty is to ensure everyone’s safety as they adjust.”
“Great.” The corridor widened into a maglev tram stop and he cut across the small plaza to the port side, which ran aft on the loop it took around the ship “That’s great. So that big old target painted on my back is actually for everyone?”
Stana shook her head this time. “That is not entirely correct. Some merely deny your right to command, or to hold a noble title.”
Alex shrugged as the timer clicked by. “So? I think I kind of suck at Prince things. I’d probably be a bad commander too.”
“No. You may be a novice, but you are a Prince. People may think and say what they will.” Her eyes darkened, voice hard and clear as she underscored her point. “But when you tell them to jump, they will ask you how high. Do you understand?”
He straightened, rebuked. “Uh, yeah. I guess I do.”
“You guess?” Not the answer she wanted.
“Yes. I understand.” He panicked just a little bit, not sure exactly what he was getting or what had happened to the pleasant sergeant from last night. The maglev arrived with a soft chime and he hustled inside as soon as the doors opened.
“Good.” She sounded doubtful but eased up, following him into the car. “Did I use that saying correctly?”
“The jump one? Yeah.” Alex sat across from the door, checking the map again to be sure he wouldn’t miss his stop. He had been hoping she’d stay on the platform and that would be that, but as long as she didn’t turn into the drill sergeant again he would deal.
She smiled and chuckled to herself as she sat down next to him. “Excellent. Your military training methods are similar to ours, so I imagine I will be able to bring you up to speed quickly as far as acting the part is concerned. I think it would be wise to continue your training beyond that, so you are fully familiar with a wide aspect of the experiences of those you will command.”
“Sure.” He sighed, feeling a distinct lack of enthusiasm for this endeavor. Alex had more than enough training from learning to be a scoutship pilot. This just sounded like entirely more work than he wanted to be involved in. Though, he didn’t particularly relish the idea of being seen as a slacker or out of touch even if the situation wasn’t one he’d asked for. More allies were better. “That sounds good. If I am gonna do this, I will need to be learning, and not just how to avoid offending someone.”
Stana handed him the package she had been carrying, gesturing for him to open it. “I feel much more comfortable giving you these, knowing that you are willing.”
Alex untied the thin cords that held the bundle closed, surprised at the weight of it as he set it in his lap and unrolled the flaps. A pair of gloves gleamed back at him, silver plate trimmed with gold and set on dark brown leather. “Nice. A little anachronistic, but nice. What do they mean?”
“The gauntlets for a noble’s armor.” Stana intimated he should try them on. “The Empress wanted you to have them now, if you were willing, even though they are unfinished.”
“What’s missing?” He turned them over and then slipped one on, unable to find any sort of indication it needed work. The leather was snug and stiff, no doubt cut to his measurements so it would be his size when it was broken in. The leather ran halfway up his forearm laced to the wrist, the metal plate bolted to the back of the glove extended past his knuckles, nearly to the first joint of his fingers. He made a fist, the protective metal clearly meant to cut should he punch someone while wearing it.
The soldier that had attacked him had been wearing something similar - that explained how he’d done so much damage to Tashen so fast.
“They need your family insignia and you do not currently have one. An appointment has been made this afternoon for you and the Princess to see a designer about that.”
“Huh. Well, all right. Let Neya know and she’ll give us the details.” Alex slid the gloves back into their wrap as the maglev decelerated, springing to his feet when the doors chimed and opened. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t think either of us wants me to be late for this appointment.”
 
First Prev
*****
Just a couple of days of boring nothing happening, that's all he needs.
Art pile: Carbon reference sheet by Tyo_Dem

Trigger warning as par the usual
I have found myself in a cycle of the same type of problems even though I’ve tried to create safeguards to keep them from happening. I’m so tired of it. I know my crippling loneliness was a big weakness that landed me in my current situation because I’m a fucking moron that didn’t want to stay in isolation and wanted to be with someone but I was also an idiot for not realizing that I don’t get to have good people in my life and the only thing life seems to want to tell me I deserve is some sort of abuse and/or use. In this case it was both. I was just an object of affection from a desire out of mania and then happened to be buyers remorse but rather than having admit that since I gave him something he wanted I was just in a one-sided relationship that drained the life out of me that I couldn’t get out of since I was financially tied down by a car loan and working a job that I couldn’t afford to live on my own with that loan. I got rug pulled after that loan… Everything seemed like it would be okay until that loan. Then came the gun waving at traffic with road rage, screaming at my dogs because he refuse to buy a shelf for his figures, flip flopping with me between me being the best thing in the world to having talk to people and them saying I’m horrible and god awful and the worst thing every. Not to mention the not being able to sleep. Fighting to not eat because I needed to sleep since I worked nights… Fighting to just get sleep and not only sleep for an hour so I could be functional at work… just so many things lead me from being a functional person with depression I could cope with and suicidal attempts I actually felt regret for… I avidly remember what that was like feeling that will to live and wanting to go on and keep going and feeling hopeful for life. I also remember slowly feeling that die and the amount of times I’ve had to have a gun fought out of my hands because I just couldn’t keep going with my life going downhill and having to go back to where I am now.
Why don’t you try to make a change. You know that would be great if I could have some better people in my life. I don’t the person I have to depend on is the same person who put me in this mental state. “Why would he help you?” Guilt. I helped him through one surgery but also through being shot in a sensitive area and didn’t leave with the threat of him possibly not being able to perform (make of that what you will). This is his way of giving back. He’s not really much of a caretaker since I’ve had to do things that have been against doctors orders and have the chance of prolonging my healing because I can walk and that means I’m healed enough to function doesn’t matter if it hurts or if it feels like something in my back is moving which I feel that a lot lately. However I tried to make a change I tried to make friends to get a social support structure. You know what I ended up with another person who wanted a transactional friendship where I had to give them something to be my friend and it cost me months of extreme joint pain (with a semi clutch trust me it’s miserable) and giving him $1,400 because he didn’t have medical insurance and he kept hounding me about getting Quest bills and making me feel like shit because the condom slipped off… Suffice to say I was clean before him and I ended up with an STI afterwards. I still tried to make friends afterwards but no matter what the status quo seemed to just be people who wanted something transactional. No I couldn’t look for friends while I was married. Someone was extremely insecure so I basically had to be isolated once again and the one friend I had did try to help but I lost her for a completely different reason that was quite painful but I think it was eventually coming. I struggled a lot in high school with gender dysphoria, at the time I didn’t know what it was so I tried to vent to people about how I felt she was one of the people I would vent to, I would get blown off but when I had gotten to a point of figuring out what the problem was she told me she knew. That hurt. It hurt a lot. I could handle her ignoring me when she got a boyfriend and ignoring me ever summer break even when I would text first. I could handle her telling me she didn’t reciprocate my feelings which is very fair. I could handle walking five miles (I have exercise induced allergies so that kind of walking can easily cause me to break out in a small amount of hives on top of asthma) at the ass crack of dawn just to watch a five minute conversation because she was anxious about it. However that was what crossed a line for me. So when I say that hurt I mean that hurt.
I don’t like trying to sell myself just to get a friend. However I don’t think I’m someone that can even get a friend anymore. I think life and fate is just telling me that I all I deserve are garbage people and garbage treatment. I also just don’t deserve things even if I work hard for them. I don’t deserve to be treated like a person. I don’t deserve to be treated well. I don’t deserve to have a stable living environment. I don’t deserve to have any sort of stability. I don’t deserve to keep my pets for their entire life I just get to keep them for only so long and have to shake both their life and mine since their the only family I have. It’s not even like I asked for a lot out of a relationship… I just wanted to feel like I mattered and to be understood. I wanted to grow more as a person and be able to work more on my trauma. I wanted to be able to live a quality life with my mental disorders and not have to take a cocktail of medications if I didn’t need to. However that was all too much to ask. For him he could only care the way he wanted to care which was just with his wallet and time. With others it’s with their time, sex, and half assed rose tinted glasses cliche “life isn’t that bad” type of speech. That kind of shit I tend to be able to talk circles around especially since I didn’t get the best start. You get molested as a toddler that kind of crap tends to alter your world view on a lot of shit.
“I mean you could make a go fund me” And say what I jumped off a bridge because I can’t get away from my emotionally abusive ex oh please would you help me financially detach myself from this man. I need a whole lot more than that. I’d probably have to leave the city and possibly the state if that’s the freakin’ case. My credit is so garbage because of him I can’t get another house and I have three dogs and a cat. You can’t rent with that many pets. Either that I just going off the grid for awhile and even that would be hard because my work would like me back at some point this year and with no income I can’t just not go back. Plus I have to get my medical done for my medical card in August. “Why stay around him then” My dogs. Not having friends makes having a job where I’m gone 12-14 hours nearly every day a bit hard. Because I don’t have a fence that can keep them in they’re just in my garage the whole time because I don’t have any other options and I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to find a house. I had to go house hunting during VID and that was incredibly hard working 70 hours a week most weeks so I only had one day I could go see houses since most were gone by the time I could go see them. That house was the only one in my budget that wasn’t too bad. The fence wasn’t the best but it was all I was going to get as par the usual however I did lose one of my dogs because of that fence not being the best. All of them had gotten out and one was hit. That drove my depression really down hill since I was already struggling that just drove me into a hell I can’t crawl out of… my psych thinks therapy will help but the only thing that kept me going and helped me pull myself out the last time was the hope that I could be with someone that would care for me the way I need, understand me, where I feel like I matter, who I could grow with, and so on. That was a life goal and it’s dead. I have no motivation for it and the desire isn’t there.
I keep wondering if it will get better or if I’m just going to keep trying to take my life until I succeed because with the way things are going besides my pets who I’ll probably have to revoke there’s nothing to live for.

“I'm sorry, I need you to repeat that.” A hologram of a hooded figure said, moving the hood to the side as they stared up at the four armed, weasel-like Wellian pirate. “I could have sworn you said, you raided a Human orphanage that sat at the edge of their systems and made off with the young to hold as hostages…..” The figure continued, an odd sort of calm tone in their voice.
“Yeup. Got a bunch of good ones, too. Couple actual human young along with a few galkans, which ‘ll fetch a-”
“Put them back. For the love of the fabric of reality, put them the FECK back before whoever runs the orphanage decides to come for ALL of us!” the figure interrupted, tone no longer calm, but panicked, jabbing a finger at the captain, even as the surrounding crews glanced at one another in confusion, short of the first mate, who was in the brig at the back of the bridge for vehemently disagreeing with such a line of action, and now sat with said young, and only shook their head from underneath the gaggle of children sleeping on his body.
“Already too late, lads. Ah warned ya, but ye didn't want ta listen.” The hammerheadded alien sighed, simply setting back, wincing as a few of his bruises twinged as it rubbed against the little ones, but bit back a curse. “An’ now ye be reapen’ yer deserts.” He said as alarms screeched suddenly, waking the children up, many Of the downy covered galkan heads popping up in alarm, spinning about. “shhh, little uns’. Just yer caretakers coming ta get ye back.” The shark like pirate said, rubbing the galkans heads, making them chirp lowly, and settle back down with the others again, chattering softly.
“Cap'n! Ship to our aft! Looks like an old Hauler type.” One of the sensor officers spoke, catching everyone's attention, and confused the hammerhead for a moment.
An image of the aging, former cargo vessel appeared on the holoscreen, burning towards them with a vengeance. She was beaten and battered, clearly having been put lovingly back together with care over her who knew how many decades in the Black, designed like an old seafaring container ship. MAC turrets replaced her cargo containers on her deck, flanking a massive cannon, raised odd her deck, aimed directly at them, while nose and keel were more heavily armored then a normal. Her hull sprouted more turrets to her fore and aft, with broadside cannons in-between them, aimed outwards,while the eerie glow of whatever engines she now bore glowed behind her, pushing her forward in a steady pursuit.
“Sir, we be out of the turrets firin’ minimum effective range, but we can't do anythin’ about her main cannon.” One of the officers said, eyeing the cannon dubiously. “Not like they'll fire on us anyways. Got hostages, don’ we?” they said as they smirked…. Only for it to fade at the Aquarian shaking his head amongst the little ones. One of the children poked their head up and giggled like a little menace.
“Unca B brought Fleur ” they giggled, making one of the other officers freeze, and slowly turn to face them… noticeably, this officer was a Ka'ri, and had agreed to this as a act of revenge…… but now sported a pale complexion on their body, their massive, cycloptic eye's iris shrunk to a pinprick.
“The Fleur?…..?” they said slowly, before spinning around, hands flying across the console-
“Sir! Massive energy spike in the vessels energy output, engines increasing heat output, they actually gonna'-” the officers report went silent as the screen showed the worn vessel rock as the main cannon fired silently into the black, a pointed shell rocketing towards them at near lightspeed.
“helm’ adjust course. It's a low speed MAC, jus’ let it pass. Dumb humies” the captain smirked, as the ship shuddered, RCS Engines strafing them up….
And then they saw fire erupt from the ‘shell’ zipping towards them, realigning to still hit them, and was closing distance at a rapid pace.
“Sah! Transmission from the ship!” One of the Vox officers called out, as a screen flickered….
And revealed a brute of a man, squished into a chair with a crash harness overtop him and his armor, rolling a cigar between his lips with a frown of disdain. A bandana kept his hair neat underneath, while a thick beard with faint, white stripes in it adorned his face, his thick, bushy eyebrows bent down in a scowl. After taking a draw from the cigar, the human pulled it from his mouth and spoke. “This is Captain Brutus of th’ Fleur De Cadavre. Yeh morons got ten seconds tah hand over me nieces and nephews before me brother an’ I come in there and give the lot of yeh a pummelin’.” Came the deep, bear like voice of the man, even as he flicked the ash forming on the end of his cigar into a tray on the arm.
“......... Feck.” The hologram near the pirate captain whispered quietly, staring at the same screen the captain was.
“and what's a human Pirate got with a bunch of cast offs and nobodies?” The wellian growled back, narrowing his eyes at the brute of a human staring back, even as the room the man sat in seemed to shake, lights flickering.
Nearby, the helmsman on the wellian pirates ship cursed viciously, and pulled hard on the controls, the ships artificial gravity systems fighting to keep the rapid velocity change from affecting the organic occupants.
“that bunch o’ ‘cast offs and nobodies’, as yeh called ‘em,” the brute said, as a slow grin spread across his face, revealing a metal tooth in his grill, “happen ta be me Brothers adopted family, makin’ ‘em ME family. May not agree with me straight laced brother on much, but somthin’ we both agree on is yeh don't touch our family, Stoat brain. So ah'd best be ready tah hand em back, unharmed.”
The transmission cut out, just as the sensor operator yelled.
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
the entire ship shook, waking up the other kids, while the ones who had been awake giggled playfully. “Unca B's maaaaaad” one giggled.
/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz/
Several pirates surrounded the spike like projectile that had punched a hole in their ship, splitting the deck apart. The back half, just before the engine on it, thankfully had a flange and had sealed the air in. What worried them most, though, was the hatch on the side, opened up, showing signs of literally being forced through the deck that should have, by rights, kept it shut.
“Kriffing….. the Thall was in this thing?” One said as they inched closer to the ruined marks on the floor.
“No clue.” Another said as they slowly walked closer to the thing and peeked inside. “Huh.” They mumbled. “Only one crash harness is up, all the others are still down…wait, the pilot's one is up too…..”
“Ya don't say” a deep voice said behind them, right before a massive, metal covered fist appeared where their head HAD been, the pirate themselves now embedded in the opposite wall.
“Now the real fun begins” the towering human smirked, rolling his shoulders as he calmly lit a fresh cigar he pulled from a pouch on his armor, “ain't that right?” He asked a smaller figure, who was lighting their own corn husk pipe, and gave a grin up at the other.
“Yep. Let's go and say hello” said a lighter, more bubbly voice, though it had a raspy edge to it, like someone who was used to belting out orders and having them followed to the dot.
/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz/
“Oim one tough Gazookus, which hates all palookas, what ain't be on the up an’ the square-” an eerie, jovial shanty rang out through the corridor, much to the huddling pirates horror, the words distorted either by a speech impediment, or likely the corn husk pipe in the singer's mouth.
“Sonoffa-kriffing-Thall, we should have never gone to that station! Just what in the seven rings of torment did the captain piss off this time!?” One pirate whispered, poking their head out of the corridor.
A light down the hall suddenly had a silhouette of a human, wearing a officers cap and a pipe pass through it, forcing them to duck back down into the cupboard.
“so oi biffs and oi buffs ‘em, and ALWAYS out rough's ‘em-” the voice continued, before trailing off quieter down the hall, making the pirates sigh with relief.
“Thank the void he didn't turn down the hall, there's no way he wouldn't have found us.” Another pirate whispered softly, leaning against the wall.
“BUT NONE OF ‘EM GETS NOWHERE!”
Twin fists punch through the bulkhead besides them, ripping a hole through the wall, right as a wiry form grabs the pirate that had been against the wall and snaps them in half like a toothpick, throwing them to the side, the sound of a hissing piston heard, just before a punch is thrown, and the faint light in the cupboard showed a piston, jutting out of the elbow area along the back of the bulky forearm slamming forward with the blow, helping drive the fist through his opponents chest-
/zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz/
The bridge was, understandably, in a tizzy, officers sprinting left and right, barking orders, and getting worrying reports from the lower decks.
Outside the ship, the Fleur De Cadavre kept pace, like some sort of horrific specter hounding them, her cannons tracking them closely, not letting go them once, keeping them locked in, even if the main cannon was no longer aimed at them.
“Sir! Multiple injuries on the lower decks, blunt injuries, broken bones, snapped limbs by the sounds of it!” One officer called out as another ran up, panting.
The officer in question looked terrible, armor beaten and tattered, dented in various places by what looked like a fist, though oddly, it looked like the armor was twisted around said fist mark.
“Sir! We can't stop them and getting close is virtual suicide!” they said as they tried to pull themselves together as the captain wellian snarled, pulling out a small, black vial, and began to load it into his armor.
“All this for a bunch of cast offs.” He snarled under his breath as multiple troopers Surrounded the doorway that had just slammed shut, the sound of pneumatic locks hissing shut.
BOOM
A massive fist suddenly appeared in the door on one side-
BOOM another fist, similar sized, but set lower, and a different shape, appeared on the other side, forcing the door off its rails, even as the metal.tried to hold firm-
BANG!
the doors flew off their hinges as a duo of laughter rang out, one deep and harsh, the other lighter, more jovial, though a chaotic tone accompanied it
“A guh-guh-guh-guh!”
And stepping of the shadows was the hulking form of Dread Privateer Bluto the Terrible, his trademark smirk on his face….
And at his side was the smaller, laughing form of a wiry human, one eye unable to see thanks to a deformity on one side of his face, the result of countless fistfight he had likely gotten in and rumored to have one, his corn husk pipe angled in the air as he grinned widely, though his working eye panned about the room, locking onto each of the soldiers and pirates, noting their position….
All while he tore the lid off a can of a green, leafy food with his bulky hands, calmly tipping it back, before swallowing, smirking.
“So,” Former Commodore Frank ‘Popeye’ Fiegel said, as the synthetic skin on his bulky lower arms separated along his wrists, his fists beginning to spin as capacitors in his arms whined loudly. “Who's da Palookas ahm pummelin’ tahday?” He said with a vicious grin

Hi everyone. First off, I'm kind of annoyed and angry as fuck right now so I apologise if this story is all over the place and is confusing to read. (Fake names will be used)
Here's a little contex first: My family consists of my Dad (47M), my Mom (45F), my brother, Alex (21M) and me, Amber (17F). I'm born in Canada but my family shifted to Singapore when I was about 6 months old since my dad got a great job offer there. My dad's second older brother also got an offer there so he moved with his family as well.
Okay first let me explain my dad's family tree so it doesn't get confusing. My dad has three brothers. The eldest brother (Bob, 52M) has a wife (Karen, 49F) two daughters (Emily, 24F and Erica, 18F) and a son (Aiden, 17M). The second eldest brother (Paul, 49M) (also the family that moved to Singapore with us) has a wife (Michelle, 45F) and two sons (Jaden, 20M and Matt, 18M). Then comes my dad and at last his youngest brother (Mike, 45M). He has a wife (Laura, 44F), two daughters (Mia, 12F and Jane, 7F) and a son (Jake, 6M). My grandfather passed away (R.I.P) when I was 12 and everyone was heartbroken to say the least. He was really the gem and glue of our family. My grandmother is still alive.
Now that the family tree is out of the way, let's get back to the story.
I lived in Singapore until I was 15. I had amazing friends and my life was just really peaceful there. I was really close to Paul's family and their kids because we were all around the same age. We also lived together for a few years before separating since my brother got admitted to a different primary school so we had to shift half an hour away from them. We were (and still are) inseparable and I love them to death. They are the best brothers I could ever ask for. Obviously there were times where they all ganged up on me to prank me since I was their only sister and the youngest. I still remember when we were younger and used to pretend we were youtubers. We used to record those videos on my mom's phone and I still have those videos. Okay, sorry for getting distracted I just wanted to share some sweet memories.
We used to visit my mom and dad's family once a year and flew over to Canada and I always had a great time with my cousins and relatives. I was and am still a shy kid so I didn't really talk much to the adults there other than small talk like how my studies are going. However, I was the complete opposite with my cousins. I was loud as fuck and was always hyper and excited about everything (please excuse me I was just a kid lol). I was especially close to Bob's family (my dad's eldest brother). Karen was always sweet to me and always praised me for whatever she could. I was also close with my cousins. Emily is seven years older than me but nonetheless I was also close to her too. One thing I didn't like about her at the time was how she always used to rant all her relationship and friendship problems to me which was a little weird because I was literally 10 lol.
15 years of my life was spent in Singapore until one day my parents broke the news to me: We're going to move back to Canada. My brother and I were obviously not happy about this at all because how can you drop news like this and expect us to be fine with it. They said that since my grandmother (dad's mom) is getting older, they want to be closer to her. Basically they wanted to be close to their family. My brother and I couldn't really argue with that so we just reluctantly agreed. It was really sad, having to leave my life behind. Paul's family was not moving though, they would be staying in Singapore so I was going to miss them too.
Two months later, we moved to Canada. My dad didn't move with us and said he will move a year later when his boss tells him to. So it was just my mom, my brother and me. We moved in with my dad's youngest brother, Mike's family who were living with my grandma. It was a pretty big house but it wasn't enough for 9 people. In the end, I had to share a room with Mia (12F) and Jane (7F). I wasn't complaining and was really understanding with everything because it's hard for everyone. I didn't want to complain to my parents because there wasn't anything that they can do about it. My mom and grandmother shared a room. And my brother and Jake (6M) shared a room. However, there was one empty room. I asked my grandmother if me or my brother could use it but she strictly denied and said it was for my father only. I said that my dad will only visit once a month for a few days, and he can use to room then, and in the meantime my brother or me can use it. She denied again and said that we would get the room dirty which doesn't even make sense because we were about 15 and 18 at the time and knew how to take care of ourselves. I didn't fight it and just agreed. This should've been the first red flag (you'll see why later in the story.) (BTW Bob's family lives a few houses down.)
It was really hard adjusting to the life here in Canada but I just kept it to myself. I eventually enrolled in a highschool that my other cousins attended and I guess here is where Aiden and I fall out. We were in a lot of the same classes and he always acted like he doesn't know who I am at school which kind of hurt. It's like he was embarrassed that I was his cousin or something. Anyway, I made new friends quickly and found a group of friends where it was the four of us. They were (still are) my bestest friends. I'm always thankful for them. The syllabus was different but it wasn't really a problem for me since the syllabus in Singapore was much tougher and I had already learnt most of the stuff in my previous year.
Anyway, I felt really bad for my mom because she always had to do all the work in the house. Laura (Mike's wife) was always at work since she has a pretty demanding job but when she was at home she always helped my mother as much as she could with the chores. The house was pretty big so it was really daunting to clean the whole house every single day. On top of that she had to take care of my grandmother. My grandmother was a fucking nightmare. She tortured my mother and made her do everything. My mom had to cook different meals for my grandmother. She demanded that my mother cook her the most lavish meals. So this just doubled the work for my mom. I always try to help out with the housework after my school and extra activities and so does my brother. Mia was just an annoying spoiled fucking brat who was like a minion of my grandmother so she never helped. She also just made more of a mess along with her younger annoying as fuck siblings. My mom got tired and tried telling my dad about it but my dad ignored it and said she was overexaggerating because his mother would never do something like that. My grandmother also fed my dad millions of lies like my mother didn't take care of her or that she never cooks for her which were all lies. This caused fights between my mom and dad over the phone and results in my mom crying herself to sleep. Despite all this, my mom treated my grandmother with nothing but kindness and respect. Thinking about this just makes me cry because my mother is honestly the strongest person I know and I love her so much. I did try to help her as much as I could. Also, my brother and I had lots of difficulty studying at home because the kids would always be yelling and screaming and crying all the time. So, on the weekends, my brother and I used to study in the library and our mom used to join us sometimes since she likes to read books (which my grandma had a problem with). In the free time that I had, I used to visit Bob's family but I quickly realised they weren't that great either. Karen (whom I used to love) was still the same but she used to cause more problems between my grandma and my mom. I was also doing better in school than Aiden so she got jealous and gave me lots of backhanded compliments infront of my face but used to curse me out behind my back to Michelle (the aunt still in Singapore). I overheard her telling my mom about it. My mom was furious but there wasn't anything she could do. Aiden's sisters were no different either. So I wasn't close to their family anymore. I was so angry and confused because everyone turned out to be different than what I had made them out to be. My dad moved in finally about a year later (2023). I used to be really close to my dad and was definitely a daddy's girl before he started fighting with my mom over my grandma. I still love him but I can't say that I'm as close to him now as I once was. My brother moved away for college so I felt even more lonely now. I also had zero privacy at home though I was literally a teenager. Mia, ever so the annoying fucking brat, always went through my makeup and my clothes and when she was angry at me, she would destroy some of my favourite products and my favourite clothes. I don't care how old she is, fuck that little bitch. Idk if her parents failed to teach her anything or if she is just simply ignorant.
Anyway, we lived like this for a year more until my mom and I finally convinced my dad to move into a different home but he had two conditions. One is that we live only a few houses away (like Bob's family) and two is that we take my grandma with us. My mom and i hated the conditions because we just wanted to be far away from all those people but we agreed anyway because that's better than nothing.
We couldn't find a nice house in the same street (thank god) but we found one five minutes away (by walk). We moved in after new years and it was great. I finally had my own room and privacy and space to myself. I also could study with no distractions which is really important since the last two years are the important years of high school. My brother also visited a lot more which made me happier. My grandma still stayed the same.
Now onto what happened. We were having a family reunion. Lots of my relatives from out of town came and I swear I've never seen some of them before. Alot of my grandmother's friends attended as well. It was a pretty big event and my uncle, Bob, rented out a function hall for this. Paul's family also flew down from Singapore as well so I was over the moon. I was having a nice time with my brother, Jaden and Matt. My brother had brought his girlfriend, Leah, along too which I was really excited about because we're really close. He used to bring her back home whenever he used to visit and that's how we became so close. She's so beautiful and kindhearted and I'm so happy that my brother has found someone like her. BTW I told them about Aiden and his sisters so they don't really talk much with them anymore either. Obviously they threw a tantrum and blamed me for ruining their relationship though i never "restricted" Jaden or Matt from talking to them and they did it on their own account. I don't know why they made such a big fuss about it because they weren't that close to Jaden or Matt tbh. Anyway, let's continue. I was sitting at a table with my brothers and Leah and we were just joking around and having fun until my grandmother called me over to her table. I didn't think much of it and went over to her table where all her friends, and a boy who looked around my age was sitting. I was confused because why the hell would a guy be sitting with a bunch of old ladies. Anyway, she introduced me to her friends and I just smiled politely at them. They made small talk and I only just gave a few small replies. Then, my grandmother introduced the boy as Xavier, her friend's grandson. He smiled awkwardly and I did the same. He looked very bored and uninterested and I could tell that he was forced to come lol. Then suddenly, my grandmother nudged me towards him and winked at me, then turned to giggle with her friends. I instantly realised what she was implying and I got so mad. She knew that I had a boyfriend of a whole god damn year. She noticed that I hadn't moved an inch and she laughed like it was so hilarious and said, "Oh come on, don't be so shy. Go on, talk to him. He won't bite." Then she giggled again. This made me mad as hell so I told her really loudly that I already have a boyfriend. I left immediately after that. She was embarrassed for sure in front of her friends and I was satisfied. The night goes on and we have dinner. After dinner, I'm on my phone scrolling on instagram alone (since I was waiting for my brothers and Leah to finish their meals), until I feel a liquid running down my hair, then my dress. I turn around and see my grandmother holding an empty glass with a smirk on her face. She had poured red wine all over my hair and my dress. Keep in mind I was wearing a very light blue gown. I was shocked because I didn't know that she would steep so low and confused because why would such an old woman be drinking wine. I was angry obviously and I started yelling at her. I stood up from my seat and stated yelling at her like crazy. I think I was just releasing the pent up frustration from the last two years of her torture. She started "crying" and it was attracting alot of attention from the guest and my parents quickly rushed over to see the problem. My grandma explained to them that she "accidentally" poured wine all over my dress. I told them that it wasn't true and she purposely poured it on my dress. I could see that my mom definitely believed me but my dad wasn't buying it. He yelled at me for yelling at his mom which made me scoff and roll my eyes. After he was done, I told them, "Fuck you both," then I turned towards my grandmother and said, "I hope you burn in hell when your time comes, which isn't far from now." This made her cry even harder and my dad just got angrier at me. He told my brother (who also came a few minutes after my parents) to take me home and gave him his keys. My brother took me home and Leah, Jaden and Matt accompanied me as well. I just started crying in the car on the way home because I was just so tired of her. Leah held me and comforted me. I told them the entire story and my brothers said that they were proud of me and never thought that their little sister is brave enough to curse at her grandmother and father which just made me laugh a little. I probably looked like a maniac, crying and laughing at the same time. Anyway, I got home and took a shower. I checked my phone and saw tons of missed calls and texts from family and others. I switched off my phone and just went to sleep. The next morning was a mess. My dad an grandma teamed up against me and were scolding me and yelling at me for being so disrespectful. They want me to apologize to her to which I said, "Over my dead body," which made them angrier. I got up in the middle and locked myself in my room. BTW, Leah was staying with us in my room so she was there too. She just continued being a sweetheart and comforted me again. I could hear my grandma saying something along the lines that my mother had spoiled me too much and never taught me how to respect others. This was when my brother started yelling at her. This was a shock since my brother is a chill guy and never shouts or yells. I couldn't hear much but I heard him basically telling her to shut up and all this was happening because of her. My dad yelled at him too of course. My mom was trying to calm everyone down and she succeeded in doing so for my father (btw i explained everything to my mom after I woke up in the morning and she told me that I did the right thing standing up for myself but i could have used a little less harsher words). A few seconds of silence pass and I hear my brother's door slam. I was happy that he defended me but felt guilty that he got yelled at by my dad because if me. Leah and I went over to his room and he was on his phone. I apologised to him and he said that it's not my fault and I shouldn't be apologising. We talked for awhile and then I left him and Leah alone cause I felt like I was with Leah more than he was lol. A few hours passed and I was studying when my dad knocked and came inside my room. I thought that he finally realised that he's wrong and he's come to apologize but I was stupid for even expecting that. He stood cross-armed and stood infront of me. He straight up started talking and told me very calmly that he was embarrassed to have a daughter like me. He told me what I said to them was very out of pocket and he said he hates me for saying something so rude to his mother. He was embarrassed to have me as his daughter because I ruined the family's reputation infront of everybody. Then he left and I started crying again because what the fuck was that. Nobody likes hearing that from their dad. I started feeling guilty and thought if what I said was too much. So now, I'm here. Help me, reddit. Should I apologise? AITA for cursing at my grandmother when she purposely spilled wine all over me? I apologise for the extremely long post. I didn't know which parts to cut out and which were irrelevant do just typed out everything. I'm also sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I wrote this in a hurry.

“Mister Vermeil?” Katie called, raising her hand. “I think I saw a man with a gun outside.”
There is no combination of words more perfectly calibrated to turn a teacher’s blood to ice.
The horror only settled deeper in my chest when I watched my kids go crowding around the windows, chattering excitedly amongst themselves like a shooting star was going by. “I don’t see him! Where is he?” “Oh, he’s right there, behind the tree!” “What’s he look like? What’s he doing?”
I couldn’t see a thing out there, myself. The thick, oppressive blanket of mountain fog that always settled on this school made visibility low in the best of times. All I could see was that endless ocean of trees disappearing into that vast backdrop of white. But I trusted my students, and took their reports dead seriously. “Get down!” I finally shouted once I’d worked out the knot in my throat. “Get down under the windows! Don’t let him see you!”
It was the first time I’d raised my voice at these kids, and that scared them more than the man outside. The room was a cacophony of squeaking chairs and shoved desks as they rushed to huddle under the windows. All the while, my heart was pounding in my ears as I scrambled to pull the velcro straps over every window that would release the safety shutters.
Every instant, I felt certain some homicidal maniac was about to take my head off with a .308 Winchester. I wasn’t even just scared to die. I was scared of my students being forced to witness something like that.
But I got lucky — or maybe he had mercy.
The only way to reach the headmistress’ personal phone was an old-school red telephone sat on my desk, with a bit of tape reading ‘FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY’. She’d always been very particular that she be called instead of the police in times like these. All I had to do was punch in *66, and she picked up in an instant.
I’m embarrassed to imagine what I must’ve sounded like. The incomprehensible verbal diarrhea of a man who’d never dealt with a situation more deadly that a bicycle crash or a high fever. But luckily, she seemed to parce together exactly what I was getting at. And her stoic, commanding tone silenced my babbling in an instant.
“It will be dealt with.”
Sirens. Sirens started blaring all over school like it was about to be leveled by a tornado, or maybe nuclear armageddon. Under the din, my students all frantically whispered to eachother, trying to guess at what was going on. ’He’s a hunter,’ was the consensus. That almost calmed me down. If he was just some hunter after the elk and mule deer up here in the Rockies, then no biggie, right? But for some reason, the word ‘hunter’ seemed to strike the kids with terror.
Outside, I heard the screech of tires and two rear doors being slammed open. My curiosity peaked. I’d seen that black van labeled ‘SECURITY’ parked in the lot, but never gotten a glimpse inside. Despite all my better judgment, I couldn’t resist the tiniest peek under the corner of a shutter.
Out of the van poured two individuals dressed less like school security guards, and more like the sort of shadowy government agents you’d see in movies: black suits, shades and earpieces fitting their perfect combovers. I think what I saw them do next was the moment that forever changed me — forever shattered my delusion that the universe is ultimately a rational and orderly place.
The two guards checked off their equipment, dropped to all fours, and broke into a sprint.
Under other circumstances, it would have been laughable. As it was, it stole my breath away. They ran not even like primates would, but with the exact speed and style of wolves — they must’ve been going fifteen miles per hour minimum. Human bodies just don’t work that way. We can’t twist our bodies in such a way to allow ourselves to full-bore gallop at that kind of speed. Our joints weren’t meant to bend in those directions.
They disappeared into the forest like hunting dogs let loose upon the scent of prey. I jumped, and a gasp spread across the room as a gunshot erupted in those woods. And then another. Two shots total, echoing down the foggy valleys of the mountain, scaring away the crows. Then came the long silence as I held my breath, waiting to see if the nightmare was all over, or just beginning.
And then the screaming began.
It started as a rumbling murder, one I couldn’t place. Then it acquired peaks and troughs, reaching pitches that managed to strain my ears. At its height, it almost seemed louder than the gunshots had been. It was a man’s voice, at least at first — but then it devolved into something that didn’t sound human at all. Like his vocal chords had been ripped into, and the only sounds he could still produce was to bay like a dying animal.
Yet somehow, even that didn’t horrify me as much as my student’s reactions. They seemed… relieved. Even laughing amongst themselves, as if this proved we were out of danger. The screams dulled, the sirens disappeared, and my students returned to their seats, staring at me as if expecting me to continue the lesson.
It was all so surreal, like something out of a dream. Never before in my life have I been surrounded by people, yet felt so utterly alone.
I tried not to break down in front of my own students. But unlike my class, I couldn’t just move past what had happened, like it’d all been no big deal. So, like a sleepwalking man acting on instinct, I did the first thing I could think of: I called the headmistress again.
Her tone was flat, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “Vermeil.”
I wanted to scream at her, but words failed me. I was panting like a dog. “I… I need…” I took a drink of water with a shaky hand. “I need to know what that… what that was.”
“Mister Vermeil, this phone is only to be used in the case of emergencies—“
“Emergency!? This isn’t an emergency!? There was a shootout outside my classroom! Where’s the police? The press?”
“They’re not coming,” she said sternly. “It was all a false alarm. Nobody was hurt.”
“Nobody was hurt!? Are you hearing yourself!? I heard a man wail like he was being fed feet first into a meat—“ I caught myself, glancing at my class. “If you had heard the things I’ve heard, you wouldn’t be so—“
“When I employed you under the auspices of the Integration Initiative, it was because I was assured of your dedication to teaching. Surely you recognize the importance of not allowing your class to fall even a day behind the schedule outlined in the syllabus? We cannot allow every minor incident to interfere with their-“
“Minor incident!? Am I the only one here who hasn’t lost their mind!? If this is what you consider ‘routine’, then I don’t want to know—“
“Mister. Vermeil.” She spoke in that tone that always silenced me, as if she commanded my very mind. In the silence, she let out a long sigh. When her voice returned, I couldn’t tell if she was leveling with me, or humoring me. “Tell you what. I can tell you’ve had a stressful day. Why don’t you take the rest of it off? I can have a substitute fill in while you get some rest, okay?”
I wanted to argue, to scream and shout. But I realized how my students were looking at me, and noticed the tears on my cheeks.
Needless to say, I did end up taking the day off. All the while, I agonized over whether to quit. I mean, this was supposed to be my big break. My first real teaching job since the incident a few years back. No more tutoring, no more subbing. Getting to head my very own class and create my own lesson plans.
I spent the night on the couch watching the news like a hawk. It was all still small town nonsense — a cat stuck in a tree, a charming local bake sale. Not a word about whatever had happened in that school on the mountainside.
The headmistress’ gaslighting was starting to work on me. If nobody saw anything wrong with what had happened… then the problem must be me, right? I must have misinterpreted everything. There had to have been some reasonable explanation for what I’d seen and heard.
So the next morning, it was right back to work.
The thing is, I’ve never gotten a good explanation for what the ‘Integration Initiative’ was. I’d assumed it was some sort of remedial education program. After all, the bulk of my class was severely behind by fifth grade standards. Many needed to learn basic social behaviors, properly expressing their emotions, how to read or write, or even how to speak at all.
The Hastings twins, for instance. They were brother and sister, or so I’ve been told, but near impossible to tell apart. They were both so androgynous, with flawless pale skin totally free of even a single strand of hair — even eyebrows. And they never emoted, never reacted. Never even blinked. If you didn’t know any better, you’d assume they were mannequins set up at their desks, positioned to stare at me in perfect stillness as I taught.
But they were just one of the more extreme examples. A few were more like normal kids, just a little behind. Katie, for instance.
When I had a quiet moment in class that day, I noticed her completing a maze in her coloring book with a crayon, and beckoned her over. She sat politely across from me as I composed myself. “Katie. I just wanted to say… you were very brave to speak up yesterday. I know that must have been scary. School is supposed to be a safe place. If you ever need to talk to me about anything, you can just let me know, okay?”
She stared at me for a moment. And then said, as casually as you’d discuss the weather, “I hope he suffered.”
There was a long silence.
I blinked, trying to register what I’d heard. “What?”
“I hope he died real slow,” she continued. Her face was blank, her tone flat. “I hope they took their time with him. I hope that he felt every moment of it.”
I wiped the sweat from my brow. “That’s… that’s not…”
“He was a hunter, Mister Vermeil. He deserved it,” she insisted. “I hope they hurt him really, really badly. I hope they took him somewhere so they can keep him alive. I hope they’re taking away his fingernails and his teeth and his eyes, and he’s crying and screaming and—“
“Katie,” I suddenly cut in. “Do you remember how we talked about… no-no subjects?”
She nodded. After all, we’d spent a lot of time in class discussing what was appropriate to say. I continued, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. “Well… it’s not appropriate to… to talk about, you know, death and… suffering.”
It was like a switch flipped. In an instant, Katie went right back to being just an ordinary little girl. “Oh! Sorry, Mister Vermeil! I’ll remember that for next time!” And just like that, she went right back to her desk, leaving me dazed and stunned like I’d just been punched in the teeth.
Even now, I can’t help but wonder what she meant by ‘next time’.
I’ve learned my lesson. Never talk about what happened to anyone. Never even mention it. And the same goes for any other strange oddities I’m beginning to notice around the school — like the ditch full of the shed skins of something much larger than any reptile we have up here in Colorado, or the sound of loud TV static emanating from a bathroom I’m 100% certain had no television. All of it’s completely normal to everyone around me.
But I can’t get it out of my mind. I still check the news and Google obsessively, but can’t find the slightest mention of anything off about this place. I did, however, notice something on Facebook.
Someone local was asking whether anybody had seen her brother, William. A heavyset man with a big, bushy beard, who’d gone missing without even his PLB being able to report any location. The post had been made the day after the incident I’d witnessed.
Apparently, the last time they’d spoken, William said that he was going out on a hunting trip.

Apologies in advance for the essay…
For context, I live in London in a new build complex of apartments. The flats are modern, come with many amenities (gym, cinema room, work spaces, entertainment etc), attract working professionals, require extensive background referencing / salary requirements and are certainly NOT cheap. I moved here just under a year ago and my first two weeks here were bliss. That was until the couple from hell moved in above me.
At first it just seemed like they were totally oblivious to how loud they were, rather than anything untoward. But it was, and continues to be, bad. Words can’t convey the extent but I’m talking 24/7 banging and stamping, thudding, putting a blender on at 2am (the lack of common sense is astounding?!), music blasting, tv blaring, jumping up and down, dropping shit, slamming doors to only reopen them a minute later and repeat, dragging furniture around at 3am, irregular annoying tapping (I suspect uneven furniture of some sort), loud sex in the shower, toilet going off every 2 minutes all night, being woken to hammering and drilling at 6am, light switches on/off every two seconds, blinds rolling up and down 30x a night (I suspect to smoke out the window, which isn’t allowed), basically non stop noise of some variety - bad enough at the best of times but even worse when this is at its peak between 11pm-4am. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Impossible to sleep through.
I obv get their names and gather intel. They are a Colombian couple, look to be 30ish. He is a PhD student and she does not work, she stays home all day watching tv while aimlessly doing non stop laps of the flat. Wish I was exaggerating when I say she never leaves but she has quite literally never not been in. No job, no hobbies, no friends, so no reason to leave. Food shops get delivered and I imagine he picks up anything else she wants when he goes out to uni / placement. No mental health issues at play as far as I can tell before anyone comes for me.
They stay up all night and take naps during the day (alternating, so one is always up at all times), but once that clock hits 11pm it’s go time for the worst behaviour. This goes on every night until around 4am when she finally has a nap. BUT he gets up at 6/7am and wakes me straight back up. For 11 months I have not had more than 3hrs sleep a night and I am really struggling. Physically and mentally. I also do sports and compete regularly on weekends, many competitions of which I’ve had to pull out of last minute due to sheer exhaustion and so I’m often losing money as a result. But this isn’t just a night time problem, it continues throughout the entire day too. On top of the sleep deprivation I also can’t work from home properly anymore or take meetings in peace (I do a mix of office and wfh). It literally NEVER stops.
Once it began affecting my general health / work / sports comps, I politely complained to the building staff who sent multiple (gentle) reminders to them to respect volume levels after 11pm. In fairness, they would tone it down for the day in question but then they’d just resume the following day. I had thought after getting in trouble for noise they would have used their common sense but alas they doubled down. It seemed like they genuinely didn’t understand that it wasn’t socially acceptable to do these things in the middle of the night. Like you needed to remind them daily that it was in fact 2/3/4 in the morning and spell out that they needed to shut up. So I carried on complaining. Nothing changed.
After a few months, night security eventually lost it with them so it FINALLY got through to them that they needed to lower the volume of the tv / music permanently, not just as a one off thing (they still have it on 24/7, just quieter late at night and daytime remains full volume). But that is the least of my issues. I’d rather them sit still and watch tv than listen to them stamping about about for hours on end.
The rest of the issues spiralled… Instead of coming home after a long day at work to peace, I was coming home to escalating levels of stress and sleep deprivation. I resorted to dropping the polite approach - a combination of screaming through the roof / banging the ceiling / calling security became my new daily routine. I didn’t give a fuck, I was exhausted. I was even putting on weight because I had no energy to exercise anymore. If ever I went away for a weekend I’d come back to it twice as bad because they had had free rein while I was gone and hadn’t had their ‘reminder’. This is grown adults we’re talking about. I was hoping they’d find the banging annoying (as a small taster of what I was enduring from them) and stop. In fact they seemed to either just ignore it, acting under the assumption it was directed at another flat and carried on, stamped back like a child in protest, or they would scream ‘shut up, what is wrong with you?’. The irony. They also recorded me banging and showed security next time they were spoken to, acting like they were victims being bothered by me. Like are you honestly that stupid?? How can you be that self centred and unaware. I’m not banging at nothing, I’m literally banging at you to stop??!! 🤯
Despite me pretty much having a breakdown and crying in front of the building staff, they gave up after a while as all requests to be quiet were just being ignored. They noted how they’d helped with the tv / music but in regard to the other issues, said they can’t stop them “moving” (eye roll 😒) and that they “might be working at night” (good joke, glad the same sympathy is extended to those of us who actually work and need sleep). Quite frankly ‘the other issues’ are the worst part as it’s impossible to sleep while someone is stamping above your head 100x over at 4am, whereas you can semi drown out tv noise. I just want them to go to sleep during normal hours. I know you can’t force someone to stop moving but if they just laid down for more than the current 2hr period of 4-6am (the only time where the both of them stop), I could maybe grin and bear the rest. Sometimes I don’t even get the two hours, last night I could hear ongoing thudding up until I eventually passed out at 5.30am. For reference, I don’t even go to bed early. Most of my friends are early campers clocking out at 9pm, whereas I’m more of a night owl and generally go to sleep at 12 on weekdays / 1 on weekends so I don’t think I’m being unreasonable asking for quiet from midnight. I need to get up at 7 myself for work.
I’ve honestly never known anything like it, they don’t sit down and chill EVER. I think a party house would honestly be easier to deal with as that noise is generally contained to a time period. This is non stop stamping and thudding at every hour of every day (no more than 10 seconds break at any given time). The stamping alone is louder than the combined volume of my tv, dishwasher and washing machine on at the same time, so you can imagine how bad it sounds at night. Imagine being almost asleep then abruptly woken by ‘BANG, BANG, BANG’. On repeat. Every few minutes. It’s torture. I also find myself screaming ‘make a fucking decision’ as they repeatedly slam the doors and cupboards open/closed, turn the lights on/off, blinds up/down. It’s like when dogs can’t decide whether they want to go outside or not, so come in and out non stop but after a while you end up just locking the door and refusing the choice because it’s irritating af, but 1000x more annoying. I suspect since she doesn’t leave and therefore doesn’t exercise, this is why she never stops pacing back and forth, to get some steps in? Because otherwise wtf are you doing that requires this much walking in a tiny studio flat??? I don’t know a single human that isn’t either on their phone, reading or watching tv (quietly), either laid in bed or sat on the sofa if they’re awake in the early hours. Why can’t they just sit down?
At this point, the sound of them in any capacity literally boils my blood. I see red the second I hear them. I have little care whether she’s stomping about in the day time (in which yes, I know technically they can do as they please) or whether they’re both going at it in the nighttime. I’ve had enough. How did these jobless idiots even pass referencing? I have had inconsiderate neighbours in the past but they have always left the house at some point so you get a break from it, whereas I think what makes this situation so much harder is that there’s absolutely no respite.
While I genuinely believe they were initially oblivious to how annoying they are, a lot of it has since become malicious and intentional (likely out of revenge). One of their new favourites is blasting the tv max volume at 6am, but only on long enough to wake me up, then quickly turning it down before security can come. Similar with the banging and jumping in which they do things sporadically so that it’s impossible for me to capture on video for evidence unless I record 24/7. She seems quite manipulative too. I’ve been told from staff that she protested ‘she is a small skinny girl who couldn’t possibly make loud stamping noises’ and that she is only walking “normally” (lies, if you’ve lived below someone like this you come to know exactly when they’re intentionally stamping like a dick vs walking normally). And yes, she really played the ‘I’m just a girl’ card. Other examples incl. her refusing to answer the door to security and telling reception if she wants to play loud music when she showers she will do just that (another of her fav antics - nothing like trying to take a work meeting and not being able to hear anything because Leona Lewis ‘bleeding love’ is blasting through the roof). She also regularly turns the lights off and winds the blinds down as soon as security come knocking, proceeds to pretend she was asleep and blames other flats. Unfortunately security tend to believe her when she does this despite me hearing her covering her tracks in real time.
It’s been heavily hinted that they are staying on for a second year (I am livid the building won’t deal with them) and I’ve spent the past week in tears, considering everything in detail…
I know they are Colombian so I accept there may be some cultural differences at play here particularly with the noise and late evenings, but imo the majority of this is just common sense of how not to behave when you live in a flat? I can’t comprehend being that selfish. I have a guy beneath me who is constantly high so probably unaware of what I’m doing, but if I need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night I still tip toe because I’m conscious IT’S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT and I know he’s trying to sleep beneath me. It’s just basic manners to not be running about non stop in the early hours when you have neighbours in such close proximity and when flats in the UK have paper thin ceilings 🙃 what is it going to take for them to understand that this is not socially acceptable?
I did also wonder in the early days if the insanely late nights were perhaps due to jet lag / being on South American time. However, I then heard him speak (he is definitely British born, no hint of an accent, so likely just Colombian heritage) so that doesn’t really align. She appears to be Colombian born as she has a heavy accent and they speak to each other in Spanish, but it’s almost been a year now so I don’t accept it as a plausible excuse anymore. Is it honestly normal in Colombia to go to bed this late, and by late im talking AFTER 4am? And to therefore not care whether you’re preventing other people sleeping who need to be up for work? If I was told I was stopping someone sleeping I would be so overly conscious of what I was doing and make every effort to stop.
But most intriguingly, I’ve also been thinking a lot about why she doesn’t leave the flat. For those wondering how I know she hasn’t, ofc there is a very small chance she may have left at some point when I’ve been out but over the past year I have (a) rotated my office / wfh schedule weekly so it’s never the same, (b) switched up my exercise sessions on an ongoing basis / not gone at all, (c) actively tested all hours of all days repeatedly across the entire year to work out when she’s not in to only conclude she’s always there (yes, I’m that desperate for a break from her), and (d) I’ve also been ill at various points of the year and so stuck inside myself to know this is probable fact. Not once has she not been there when I’ve been in, she’s the first bang I hear every morning and last thud I hear every night. I hear her doing something literally every ten seconds so it’s not like she could have even quickly nipped to Starbucks and I just didn’t realise. As I mentioned before, I don’t think her not leaving her home is any sort of mental health issue. But is it perhaps more normal than I think in Colombia for a 30y old (childless) female to have zero interest in working / hobbies / friends, to not do anything with their life other than be an annoyance to others, to never leave their house so long as the boyf is bringing money home?? To me, and by UK standards, that is very strange behaviour for someone who appears healthy / wealthy / young, and it’s borderline suspicious given all the context. She comes across as smug and selfish, not like she’s struggling in any way. Even if I didn’t need to work for whatever reason and my partner was happy to be the sole source of income, I would be spending my days out and about doing things, not rotting inside four walls. I also would be making the most of the gym and free amenities if I had all that spare time. What’s the actual point of living in London if you only stay indoors? You might as well get a big house outside the city if you never plan to leave it, as you get a lot more for your £.
I find it more bizarre however that he affirms this behaviour and seems oblivious to how weird it all is. He is clearly a dick too, but it definitely seems to be mostly her in terms of the sheer selfishness and lack of normal etiquette. He’s well educated, living in an expensive home (tbh unsure how they’re funding this on a PhD salary but I get the impression they come from wealthy families so likely have support), he looks well dressed, he appears to be British born so no cultural misunderstanding from his part, so why does he accept some lazy partner (they seem wildly incompatible) and her borderline feral behaviour as acceptable? Why has he not told her to stop if people are constantly complaining? How does he sleep through it? Why does he not think it’s weird she never leaves their home? Even more strange when you know they’re both cramped in a studio flat (usually rented by single people, they could have got a 1 bed instead?), that would be all the more reason to get out imo as you’re constantly on each others toes with no personal space. My family and friends have suggested perhaps she is here illegally which at first I thought was just a ridiculous prospect but honestly as it reaches a year of her hiding indoors, I’m beginning to wonder myself if that may be the case (there’s also no trace of her online, just him).
I’m not sure how I can last another year, I need her to leave so I get a break. I know everyone will say just move but I feel like why should I have to? The London rental market is brutal; why should I lose my home and have to downgrade / potentially end up paying even more, when I’m not the problem.

Hi I'm Billy 17 yrs. old 5 11 and 155 lbs. and tonight I took my 8 year old baby sister Suzie Q to the drive in movies with me I had a baby sitter for her and first the sitter copped out being sick and then my date coped out that she had a head ach damned I just couldn't get a break I been wanting to see the flick for about two weeks. So what do I do now, well little Suzie said that she would be a good girl for me and put a dress on and stockings like mom and my girlfriend wear I kind of snickered and told her it wouldn't be the same she just wasn't old enough to understand . An in her sweet little voice and the look on her face she asked why? As I was trying to explain it to her that the drive in was a make out spot she asked me what making out is it like mom and dad do on the couch sometimes when they think their alone I asked her how she knew what they did she looked up and said I sneak in and watch sometimes an hey I've watched mommy use that buzzer thing in her bottom drawer well I knew what that was and I asked Suzie how do know about that? She said that this past couple months that she dug it out while mom was in the back yard and tried to sue it a couple of times she then said it hurt like hell and she bleed to but she got it in all the way in and it tickled, I Looked at her and you got it all the way in? She said I sure did you want to stick your middle finger in me like dad does mom to prove it? Hell what do you say when your 8 year old baby sister tells you that can stick your finger in her tight little pussy to prove that you can get it all the way in her, damned I'm just enough of a pervert to check this out so I tell her that were going up stairs to her room and if I can stick my middle finger all the way up her pussy and wiggle it around and she doesn't scream and cry then she can be my girlfriend tonight at the drive-in. She grabs my hand and said come on then big boy I got a hot date as were going upstairs I think you know I just maybe in trouble tonight! We walked into her bedroom and drops her shorts and panties she hopes upon her and she says there you go stick anything in my pussy you want to prove it so I can be your sex date tonight. Damned she got a cute sweet looking pussy to so I get in my knees and lick her pussy with my thong and she giggles (that tickles Billy she says) so I say how does this feel then I spread her legs further and put my entire mouth over her pussy and start licking, sucking and sliding my toung in and out of her pussy as she squeals and bounces on the bed then I stick my middle finger in my mouth and slide it in her pussy while she's watching she sighs and says that feels good but what else are you wanting to stick in their dad has something in his pants the he puts in mommy? So I think I have one thing left to show her and I stand up open my pants and pull them off, well I'm hard now and she just stairs and go's wow will the all fit in me Billy how big is it. I say Suzie Q its 8 and ¼ inches long and 5 and ¾ inches around actually bigger around than your arm and almost as long so do we stay home and watch TV or do we go to the drive-in and I make you a woman by fucking you senseless and blowing a load of cum up your tight little pussy she just looks up at me with her big round eyes and ask if her red dress and thigh high stockings will do for a night of me fucking her in my car at the drive-in? Yep I'm dead if I fuck her and get caught with my cock in her and dammed by her if I don't so I say get a shower and get dressed we'll get a bugger a fries first and popcorn at the drive-in. Twenty minutes latter were in my car and on the way to the drive-in but buggers first as we stop at the A&W and get burgers, fries and cokes the car hope says hi Billy what you and Suzie doing all dressed up so I say well the sitter and my date coped out tonight so Suzie Q here is my date for the drive-in tonight the car hop going for the young stuff now uh Billy? I just say well were both tired of the house and this at least different right. So now were at the drive-in got the popcorn and were parked in the back somewhere Suzie Q looks over and asks Billy so when are you going to fuck me I look up and say you in a hurry to have a hard cock stuffed in that little pussy of yours Suzie and she damned right I am I want my big cocked hunk of a brother take my virginity and make me his fuck toy I look at her and she has her dress up and a finger working her clit. I say Suzie Q what is so damned important about me getting putting my cock in you she just mom's got dad and I got you but I might share you with her if you want (I think damned this is strange) I say it's not real dark as of yet when it gets dark you'll get my cock and not before we have to be care full and not get caught sis. She says ok I'll just keep playing with her to keep her wet for you and your cock big boy. As the movie starts I pull her over and pull my cock out and tell her suck my cock and swallow my cum and then I'll fuck you my little fuck toy. With a smile on her lips she goes down and starts licking and sucking my cock I'm bad Horney so it doesn't take long to blow a load in her mouth the dammed little girl ain't bad at sucking cock just needs more practice so I slid her over and pull the gasoline jar out and grease her little fuck hole up and most of my cock to then I pick her up and have her guide my cock in her fuck hole I'm taking it slow in a lil bit out a lil bit and I keep it up for about 8 up and down slide then I pull her down hard and the head of my cock is kissing her womb opening her mouth is open and she says “OH FUCK“ your big she has a couple tears in her eyes I lean forward and kiss her cheek and say congrats you're not a virgin anymore and your now my fuck toy with that I start fucking her slow and building up speed until she starts quivering and shaking and about to scream then I cover her mouth with a rag so no one will hear seer scream as I'm blowing a load in her pussy there's so much pressure it's squirting out of her around my cock I holed her close to my and rub my hand up and down her chest and belly and say two out of three holed just one more and you totally mine she goes like shit I'M yours now and I'm sleeping with you evarytime I get a chance. Well we don't stay at the drive-in but a few more minutes and when we get home we get a shower and true to her word she's in my bed that night and gets fucked three more times the last just before we get a call from mom that they'll be home in 30 minutes and just as they are pulling up out front she's swalling a load. Well I thought I was going to get with fucking my little 8 year old baby sister but as mom hugs sis and goes to kiss her hello sis opens her mouth with my cum mostly still there and gives mom a big wet kiss and I think OH MY GOD I'M DEAD MEAT then mom reaches between Suzie Qs legs and slides two finger up her pussy pulls them out covered with my cum and sticks them in her mouth and smiles at sis and says thank you she then stands up walks over to me takes hole of my chin and kisses me while shoving her thong down my throat and winks and says baby boy you and I need to talk real bad and real soon smiles and walks into the house. And as I watch her shake her as walking into the house sis takes my hand and says cum on baby boy you have things to do. Read more

This will be long, thanks if u make it to the end. I (F40’s) met my husband (40s) 10 years ago, and we fell hard for each other. Shortly after we got married things changed. This man had barely raised his voice to me, we’d had one bad argument with some yelling and name calling but nothing too over the top.
Then a week after we got married, we had an argument over something stupid, and he threatened to divorce me. I let it go because we’d had a big week, we were both tired and angry and being AHs to each other.
But then the next argument (and these were rare), it happened again. And again. And again. Each time I’d get really depressed and tell him he’s messing with my head and to stop it.
In between all of this we had a few rough patches but we made it through and the rest of the time we were amazing together, just like it was. We were best friends and all our favourite hobbies were stuff we did together. Everything was together. Except that I didn’t feel like I could talk about things anymore and looking back I see I started to withdraw.
My husband loves anal. I was never into it but tried it with him and enjoyed myself, so we did it a lot. Then, due to a combination of things (mainly my depression) I started feeling like “any ass and vajayjay will do” and it wasn’t me he was having sex with (I don’t think he had an affair, just that he was no longer sleeping with the love of his life). This is when menopause hit, and my sex drive tanked completely. Over the years this has caused a lot of arguments - even when we’re good sex is rarely like it was for me. I still do it often, we still do anal occasionally, but it’s rare that it feels like the best thing in the world, and it used to every time. So as much as I’ve tried to keep up with his high sex drive, it’s been a challenge.
So over the years, we have an argument every few months about my shitty sex drive (which I’ve tried numerous things to fix, including HRT which kickstarted memory loss due to PTSD), I promise to try and do better, because surely this is me right? He tells me sex is good, and the next day I’m told it’s been crap for years - he was just saying that to try and encourage me to do better.
About 5years ago, I started getting intrusive ruminating thoughts. I’d gotten them on and off after bad experiences in life but these were obsessive. I’m now at the point where it’s constant, and I’ve got every fight, name calling and divorce threat looping through my head in a never ending cycle of hatred (there’s other things in my loop besides this but I rarely have other stuff added these days). I started hearing voices. One night it felt like someone was bouncing on the end of my bed but I was all alone. My medication had stopped working properly but I’d been scared to stop taking it, but after our last big fight I agreed to try. But, in exchange he had to stop the crap.
And he did. He promised if I got worse we’d go back to the dr and try something else. I explained my loop, why one minute I’ll be fine and then burst into tears (imagine never, ever being able to get past anything because it’s always fresh in your mind like it just happened). He would hold me and let me cry when I needed it because he finally understood that I just needed to let it out.
This is where it gets a bit weird. While role playing during sex a few months ago I discovered that if I acted like an animal (a kitten), that I felt at peace. He noticed it too. So we explored that. It took me awhile to be comfortable and not feel like a freak. But he was encouraging because he loves weird and it turned him on just watching and he could see how much it helped me. It eventually turned into me rubbing my face all over him, smelling and breathing him in, and in those moments I was at peace. If he could see I was struggling, or if I put on my cat mask because I needed to feel invisible, he’d pull me in for a snuggle and it helped so much.
I had 2 whole weeks of blissful silence before it started back up.
As I got more confident (I’m very unconfident and have a low view of myself), I would occasionally bring it into sex - sniff his dick and balls, rub on him, make animal noises, we would bite each other etc. but he’d always be “this is your thing, u do what makes u happy, I’m just happy you’re sharing this with me”. That takes me to Saturday night during sex and he starts talking dirty, which is fine, it involves the animal personas - like get me a collar and lead, which is fine.
But then he mentions he wanted me to squat in the shower and pee while I bark like a dog. If he’s wanted me to just go pee I’d have been like “sure”, but the bark like a dog part really put me off and it felt like he was taking over. When I reminded him this was my thing, he got upset, left the room and slept on the couch. But first sent me nasty messages which I didn’t brother reading. I replied just saying the cat is my thing and he was trying to turn it into something it’s not (I was worried it would stop working).
We’ve barely spoken since then. He txt saying he’d given me a nice life (not denying that) and why am I always stressed and cant I show my appreciation. We work together in our own business - his role is harder than mine and I work less hours, but in exchange I cook his meals and clean up after him even when we work the same hours so I thought I was showing my appreciation? (I also quit my very good job a few months ago to be all in on this business which he knew I was scared to do).
I tried talking yesterday when he told me I was unfair - I told him he was more unfair by moving his friend into our house and then not making him clean up after himself, leaving it to me. For two years. That I wanted his friend out (there a lot more to that story) and he said he’d move out with him. I told him to stop adding into my loop and enjoy living in filth with his friend. I’m not one to say mean stuff when I’m angry so didn’t say much more than this and stuck to the facts when I did.
Tonight he comes in and tells me he wants a divorce. He doesn’t want to split up but has to. That he knows I can’t help it and doesn’t blame me but I’m destroying his mental health. That he decided awhile ago that if no meds worked for me that he was done. But he realises that he’s now left me with 2 kids (that he’s raised since they were little and is my daughters best friend) and no job. So will stick around until I get on my feet. Considering I forget conversations while I’m having them I’m not sure what job I’d actually get.
If u made it to the end, thank you. There’s obvs more to this but this is the most I’ve ever told anyone, and no one else knows about the cat - which was literally the only thing that helped me keep those thoughts away. Don’t worry I’m not suicidal I’d never leave my kids. I just needed to get this out

Hello all, 24 F from this side. Hope you all are doing great. Things have been not good with me from a couple of months.Lately due to excessive work pressure and messed up mental health, I thought of taking a break and spend sometime alone. I've decided to dodge my partner for the weekend and thought of spending a couple of days in Vikarabad. So on Saturday afternoon post my skin care routine, I booked an Uber outstation.
During the journey the car tire got punctured. FML guys!!! I thought of taking lift and reach Vikarabad. I found a SUV and asked for lift. There are two men in that car...the guy driving the car looks decent and kind of nerd and passenger seat guy seems a flamboyant show off. With uncertainty I decided to take the lift.
Car started racing on the highway and we slowly started chatting. The nerdy guy is a writer and the show off is an actor it seems. They both are going to discuss their next script it and start a new project it seems. I myself have never interacted with people from film industry so the natural curiosity got the better off me. I started asking more and more questions to both of them.
Even though the guy who's nerdy looks decent enough and polite, I'm getting more and more pulled towards this chapri looking actor, not sure why. So in our shits and giggles, we narrowly missed hitting an another car but later thanked our blessings. We stopped for tea near a dhaba and this actor guy started an unnecessary fight with some locals. Dude come on, whom are trying to impress? I'm already taken. If it's your writer BF, fine..I'll be silent is what I told myself!
We reached Vikarabad by night and I'm clueless what to do.The kind gentlemen offered me to stay in their cottage and I agreed. You may think that I'm modern or something but the thing is, throughout the conversation, I got definitive vibes that these two are gay and are in relationship. So I didn't think it's that of a big deal.
While we reached the cottage, a psycho killer on loose was the hot topic in the news. This nerdy guy got busy reading his script with sweat on his forehead while I bathed to scrub off the sweat on my body. Not sure where that clown actor went though.
When I came down after an hour both of them are giving me worried looks, especially that writer nerd. Not sure what happened. We came to know that psychopath killed a couple of men in our vicinity. We were silent and just retired to our rooms.
During midnight, because of excessive heat,I couldn't sleep and strolling on the verandah. I saw a swing near by and the child me( I'm not a pregnant you morons) took me to that swing and I started swinging. I may have gone over board a bit but not sure why these morons got shit scared and started accusing me. I just left these sore losers for their fate and went back to my room.
Next day morning, I was walking in the morning and saw another creepy dude talking with the writer. The writer guy is visibly disturbed and repeatedly pointing towards that actor guy and sometimes towards me. He left after sometime.
Post lunch these incles started fighting with each other out of nowhere. Not sure why these gay men are fighting over. I'm numb and clueless. It's dusk already and we're having tea. The room is full of tension (not a good sexual tension though) and suddenly a Balck figure jumped out from the window and started bashing these two men.
After a couple of minutes, I understood who that hooded figure was and it's none other than my partner whom I diteched. Turns out th e car we dodged was hers and she was really pissed off by that. She thought I eloped with some other girl and has been tracking me. These imbeciles even though are gay, continuously hit on me. Men are really creepy!!! I mean two gay men hitting on a lesbian woman who's running from her partner.... How fucked up this can get?
After a satisfying bashing of them both, my partner and I left in car, leaving those sore losers to their ugly fates if at all they come across that psycho killer!!
Why are men like this? Why can't they be normal even when they are gay and the woman is a lesbian? Is it inherently impossible for men to be, I don't know, not creepy? I just talked to them like a normal person who got excited watching movie people. Not sure why men are such pigs. No wonder I ended up being a lesbian!!
Anyways, sorry and thanks for listening to my rant. Until next time. Love 💕

So im a 18yo f and the 3rd child from a family of 6. (Im sorry is this is hard to understand im bad at writing and i dont know what to do. So as all stupid teens do i started drinking and vaping this year for my “last year” before i go to uni. So my dad collects mini bottles of alcohol and has it in a cupboard and a few times i have taken 2 or 3 bottles from there and drank it. (All are like 75mL) but i didnt throw it away and just kept it in oen of my extra bags. I would also go out and buy alcohol for myself like soju or beer as well as vapes. So it all starts when in the winter my mom decided to dig my jacket because she thought it felt heavy and from my pocket she pulls out 2 vapes, one of which finished but i didnt throw it away from some reason. She decided to confront me in the morning with my dad and we had a whole argument with my mom saying that she was so mad and disappointed and how i could do this to her and saying that she will never give me money ever again and if i need it i should just go steal from someone else and go to jail. And the whole thing lasted around 2 hours when i had to leave to school. I had a gut feeling i should clean my room of all the alcohol bottles but i ignored it because i didnt want to stay in that house any longer.When i came back my mom had completely ransacked my room everything was on the floor and most of my things were broken and my clothes were on the floor well. In the kitchen my mom was sitting at the table with all the bottles of alcohol and vape and a few needles i had gotten from our school. She started saying i was doing drugs and drinking etc. The whole thing carried on until my dad came home and saw that i had taken from his collection and in that moment he started trashing all his things saying that i ruined everything for me and that i made him lose his one hobby and i was very selfish. And that lasted until midnight when they told me to clean my room and they went to bed. For a while i was clean, i had made a deal with my brother that i would not drink or vape and for a while it was going great , i didnt do anything bad for 5 months until i got into an argument with my brother and him saying “i know you still vape and drink i can smell it from you , of course you would do it , youre so useless, you should go kill yourself, who needs you anyways , youre such a waste of space and i was a fat fuck with no friends and just continued on and on and it really messed me up especially as its been going on for 2 months and i was becoming depressed and it was then when i thought fine if you want me to be like that I fucking can-and i bought a vape breaking my clean record. And recently, yesterday, i got caught when the vape fell from my bra in front of my dad and he saw it . He started calling a selfish idk how to translate it but Uudgui is like piece of trash who only cares about themselves and doesnt consider other people. But then he got my mom roped into it and while wholle this repeated with them trashing my room and throwing out all the candy i had because sue i was fat and other people were telling them how fat ive gotten , and a box of candy which i keep everything my friends have ever given me for birthdays etc. was torn apart and stomped on by my mom and she proceeded to throw everything in a trash bag along with the notecards and letters. They started calling me a liar and again how they would never give me money ever again and then my dad pulled out his phone saying he was now going to call every relative to tell them not to give me any money and how i was using it to buy vapes. That was the worst part for me because i have a very close relationship with my grandma and i know i cant bear to see her disappointed face and not talking to me ever again and how our relationship will never go back. I started crying more begging him not to and he said either you tell her or im going to and i managed to not get him to call her but i dont know if he did later and its killing me, and while that was happening my mom was yelling at me and throwing things at me and breaking my things such as photo frames, Its now the next day i havent spoken to any of my family members like siblings or cousins or anyone its just killing me emotionally and mentally especially when i was outside and on impulse i bought another vape and now im realizing my stupidity but at the same time its helping me cope with this feeling and i know its addiction but what should i do with my parents i really fucked up and ive been contemplating suicide mainly because ive been causing these t problems for everyone around me and i think it would be better because if i die then theyll only be sad for like 1 month and just move on so its not that bad idk im breaking down as i write this and like i said im not best at describing things so im i dont know if i got the whole picture and at this point im ranting

Haii, good day! This is a throwaway account and English isn't my first language my apologies for any mistakes.
An hour ago I left a family dinner with my younger brother after I exploded to my mother. She kidnapped us when I was 6 and my younger brother 5, eleven years ago. To this day she believes this wasn't kidnapping because we're her children and she's our mother. Also very stubborn.
We were arguing about something unimportant I was trying to get done for my younger brother when he told me to drop it, so I did. Immediately after, my mom told me we must just 'listen to their mother,' to her new husband. It sparked another fire in me that, this time, I didn't manage to hold in. I asked her 'We have to listen without being allowed to offer our opinions?' in which she repeated we must just do what she says.
After, I retorted to my mom,' You want us to be your slaves?" She got defensive, whining about how she was doing so good and great as a mom for us and how we should be more respectful, so I nearly screamed at her: "Then why do you keep pressing on about issues I've told you many times I don't want because it makes me uncomfortable?" she always keeps asking every single visit I have with her about when I'm going to sleep over at her house. When I didn't have her phone number yet about when she'd get my phone number. She only gives 50 a month for childcare, too, for each child.
While I had my eyes mostly focused on her as I kept demanding her for an answer she kept trying to deflect back to the previous issue about the small argument, I did manage to see the reaction of the others. My two cousins couldn't understand a thing but looked worried at my mother, her husband (previously tried to keep butting in to help my mother until my Lil bro told him to shut up and keep out of the argument) was glaring angrily at me, and her husband's friend did too albeit not as furiously. My Lil bro really wanted me to shut up at the beginning too but then let me continue on, probably because this was the first time I refused to listen to him. After we left he told me he was on my side.
But since the other adults were on my mother's side, even though the cousins didn't understand a word I'm like 100% sure they're going to stand by my mother's side, I was wondering if I went too far. My father told me to be kind too (for the last 10 days because we're on a holiday with my mom, another thing I only agreed to because she just kept on asking and asking) after I told him about the situation. I mean, she does try I suppose by gifting us 70 a month and some clothes when we go to her (which is usually once every few months). She tells me often how she cries every time we left her again, and especially when we were angry at her. Back when we were young, I especially wasn't the kindest. I'd often run away from her.
I guess this is more like a: AITA for not being sympathetic to my mother?

I feel like absolute shit my step dad made it clear he doesn't give a fuck about me and said my step siblings are not my brothers and sisters. I asked my mum if she sees me as family she just said my battery's running out and put the phone down I repeated it twice and she just put the phone down and it broke my heart made me feel like shit. We don't have the best relationship but that was brutal like all these years of me living there is just no purpose or point to my life. I seen one of my friends try to be a barber on Snapchat story. I tried to cut my own hair and I showed my other friend he said to me just because you can doesn't mean you should which made me feel like shit because I feel like my job working at Amazon has no purpose and I have nobody to provide for nobody to go home to and when I ring my mum and tell then how I am feeling all they think I'm doing is moaning and complaining like I'm just supposed to bottle up how I feel and deal with a noisy house they kicked me out and moved me to some flat share I can't sleep because the insulation is thin and all noise comes through. Now flat mates have left and my step dad's threatening me to get out since it's because of me but when I spoke to one of them he said no ita because the other found a new job and they share a room so he couldn't afford to pay the full rent (their immigrants) I feel like shit why I am blamed for everything apparently they complained my fan was on all the time but it's because the room is cold for me I should be able to wear what I want t shirt and trousers without it feeling cold. Also it blocks that noise so I can still hear my alarm. They broke the bathroom light switch 3 weeks ago so that's been on 24/7 straight and also the hallway lights are always on akd I have to switch them off. The kitchen light always on too when nobody's even in there. They move my jug all the time and never clean after themselves but had the audacity to charge me for cleaning then never throw the rubbish out or clean! I just feel like nobody wants me nobody likes me and I have no purpose and I'd like some tips what is a meaningful and purposeful job more and more I've been saying to myself in my head I should learn to be a barber I'd be able to focus more on my religion too. I an stuck between getting a mortgage on a flat or moving a nicer place for rent since I'm still young. The flat is too far but I will own it eventually. I can't make any decisions for anything. I don't make any food or know how to cook always order on just eat and if I move I'm scared when other people who live there will see me and I don't know what I'm doing while trying to learn recipes. I also dont like to go out all the time and get food it's a waste of my time. I can't keep up with having a shower after work, doing laundry etc it's like there's no time ever for myself even though I spend my full days off on reddit. I iust feel like I'm working in this shit factory always we have 10hr 30min shift but really your in building for 11hr minimum and I'm just doing the same shit everyday which is waring me out and doing it all night. Now I've been ill for a full week and keep getting sick so on top of all that I'm loosing money was supposed to save another 1k this month now its only been £600 after I pay rent or if i don't get kicked when my step dad comes back from his family, most likely he will and I have nowhere to go. I told my mum give me some money for the rent and deposit and I'll pay it back but tbh I don't want to pay them back I should just block them after since I'll he out their life. But I'm worried I'll need to speak to her anyway eventually or see them about town. My biological dad is schizophrenic and my mum also always compares me to him saying I'm mental and I should get my head checked out and that I'm a weirdo with body dysmorphia. I'm sorry but I ddint know wanting to have muscles and taking care of your body and wanting to go places and have a nice job was being a weird. Just because they've accepted slaving away for 50 years and mundane routine doesn't mean I give up that easy. I'm unhappy cos I'm not where I want to be and when I get the thing I want eventually, I look for the next goal thats how you improve yourself and your life and get out of poverty something they wouldn't know cos they had 3 more kids when they couldn't look after me while the rest of my friends are studying and still living at home and got nice cars.

If you haven't read about this whole thing yet, then you're lucky to read this from start to finish without interruption. Here's Part 1 of this whole thing!
If you haven't caught up with the last parts, here are Part 7: 1/2 and Part 7: 2/2!
Anyways, enjoy this first part of the finale!

Deep Sleep Reimagined (Part 8: 1/2)

CHAPTER 8: Moonlight
Flashback:
10 years ago, a little girl was out of bounds, wandering in the massive caverns outside of Playcare. She had no one to talk to, and none of the staff had any idea where she was. She only had a flashlight to brighten the path, but the surrounding darkness gave her little steps. No one was there, but someone was watching from afar. Someone concerned about her being lost.
Girl: (jittery) Is…Is anybody there?
Behind her back, a small rock falls, startling the girl as she points around her flashlight, but sees no one. She backed up a bit, only to bump behind a furry surface. When she shines at this “object”, she is greeted by a wide-grinning CatNap. She immediately tries to run away, but CatNap stops her calmly.
Girl: Who are you?!
CatNap: (normal voice, concerned) Hi! I’m CatNap! What are you doing out here?
Girl: P-Please…don’t hurt me–!
CatNap: Oh, no, I won’t hurt you. Have we met yet?
Girl: Um…no.
CatNap: You must be new in Playcare. You look really tired. It’s night time you know?
Girl: Oh, I’m…I can’t sleep well. (upset tone) I just miss my parents. They didn’t even say goodbye…
CatNap: Well, it’s hard if you miss something valuable. But that’s okay, (puts hand at the girl’s head) you have me!
The girl's fear slowly turned into a timid smile.
CatNap: If it’s hard to go to sleep, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to put you in a…DEEP sleep.
CatNap chuckles, while the girl felt more comfort
CatNap: Alright, nice meeting you, but you shouldn’t be here right now. (points at a small hole) Take that hole and you’ll end up straight up in your bed. Go! Before it’s too late.
Girl: (curious) Too late for what?
CatNap: Before the staff knows about this.
The feline walks towards the hole. He then looks behind her to call her in.
CatNap: (reassuring) Come on, little kid. I’ll lead the way…
Girl: O-Okay…
The little girl followed the cat mascot to safely go back to Home Sweet Home.
The flashback ends:
—————————————————————————————————
The artificial time of Playcare begins to turn night, and the place feels more lonelier than ever. You were in a state of deep sorrow, as all of your friends are presumably dead. You only think of one thing: revenge. And CatNap is the one you think is held responsible.
You: (vengeful) Ollie, where can I find CatNap?
Ollie: Wait, are you serious?! You can’t face CatNap by yourself. You need Poppy–
You: I don’t need Poppy, or anyone to help me! I’m going to fight him alone.
Ollie: (begging) Please, don’t do this! I don’t wanna lose any more friends to this place.
You: We already lost them…Hoppy was right. It’s all CatNap’s fault! He’s the reason all of these toys suffered in the first place. (crying) I wish I could’ve saved everyone…
Ollie: Well, he wasn’t always like that. (remembers something) Hey…Did you see the shrine?
You: (wiping tears off) What shrine?
Ollie: The shrine that’s in the caves. CatNap made it for The Prototype, with assistance from CraftyCorn. See, before CatNap turned into…CatNap, I guess there was some pretty serious accident. He almost died but…they say that The Prototype saved his life, giving up his own freedom in the process.
Hearing this, you feel conflicted. You know that this “Prototype” entity is evil, but you never thought that HE would save someone like CatNap.
Ollie: In CatNap’s eyes, the Prototype is his superhero, and has saved this place. So CatNap treats him like a god, killing everyone that opposes him. Us included, if we’re not careful. That shrine…Did it scare you?
You: Maybe…
Ollie: If you think that’s terrifying, just wait until you see the real thing.
You don’t know what to say.
Ollie: (changes topic) Anyways, we’re really close to the end. I sent you a new key. You’re going to the Counselor’s Office instead. It’s not ideal…but it should have enough juice. If you can get that generator going and plug it in…I think we’ll be done!
You: (sighs deeply) Okay, I’ll try–
Ollie: (warned) Oh, and keep your eyes open for CatNap. Every shadow and every flickering light is a hiding spot. He always stalks his prey first. He’ll take away anything you have to defend yourself. And when you’re at your most vulnerable…he’ll kill you. CatNap lives for the hunt.
Those words sent shivers down your spine. You don’t know why, but you felt like every corner and corridor you’ve entered felt like he’s watching you. The moment you progressed your way through every location to power up each generator felt like CatNap planned all along to hunt you. But something isn’t right.
You: But…he could’ve killed me right when I escaped the trash compactor. (angry) Why did he have to kill everyone else?!
Ollie: (thinks) Hmmm…Maybe The Prototype wants you to experience the horror?...Of you leaving the factory?
You thought in your mind that Ollie could be right. And CatNap could just be enjoying all of your indirect torments, and you feel more angered by it.
You: Alright, Ollie. I hope you call again this time.
Ollie: Sure thing! Good luck, talk soon.
As the call came to an end, you went down the room below the statues and got the key.
Meanwhile, back at the caverns outside of Playcare, Kissy Missy and Poppy were still lost in the caves. Kissy was beginning to feel hopeless, and Poppy noticed this.
Kissy Missy: Argh! Where’s the exit?!
Poppy Playtime: Let’s check the other direction.
Kissy Missy: (panicking) We went that way already! Let’s take the left. DogDay might need our help!
Poppy Playtime: Kissy, calm down! (softer tone) Calm down…
Kissy’s stress began to take over her as she sat down on the ground, but Poppy rubbed the fear on her head, which cooled her off.
Kissy Missy: I-I’m sorry. I’m just–
Poppy Playtime: Stressed?
Kissy Missy: Not only that. It’s also about Bobby. (sadder tone) Why would she betray us like that?
Poppy Playtime: There must be some kind of misunderstanding. (comforting) Just…pull yourself together, okay?
Kissy felt consoled by her, so she began to stand up, but as she did, she heard the voices of Picky Piggy coming from the walls.
Poppy Playtime: Do you hear that?
Kissy Missy: (gasps in realization) It’s her.
The two soon went to a little opening where there was a large cave. And there they see the enemy Critters. Picky Piggy was gathering the burnt bodies of Bubba Bubbaphant and KickinChicken. A bunch of the Ruined Critters were carrying what seems to be teared-off legs and the flesh of white skin. CatNap was pleased to see these huge accomplishments, And Picky, despite nearly dying to fill her stomach full, feels some regret for seeing the corpses and parts of the Critters.
Picky Piggy: (drooling) Finally, after all these years I can finally get a proper meal…I’m sorry, old friends, but you served your purpose. Mmmm…
Picky began digging in Bubba and Kickin’s flesh, abandoning her self-control. But CatNap shoves her away, making Picky fall off the hard ground. She was in confusion and fear as she felt his action.
CatNap: THOSE ARE RESERVED FOR THE LITTLE ONES.
Picky Piggy: But…B-But, sire, I’m still hungry. I need–
CatNap: DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME? THOSE ARE FOR THE LITTLE ONES
Picky Piggy: I…(stand up, angry) What about me?! I deserve to get a taste! I contributed to tracking the Critters down!
CatNap: YOU RELY TOO MUCH ON ME. I SAY YOU FEND FOR YOURSELF.
Picky then faced him head on, giving him a piece of her mind.
Picky Piggy: Listen here, CatNap! You promised me before that if I follow The Prototype, I would be fed…WHEN was that promise kept?!
CatNap: (frustrated) HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME AND OUR GOD! THE PROTOTYPE IS ANGERED!
Picky Piggy: ARE YOU THE PROTOTYPE?!
CatNap: YOU HERETIC!
CatNap then scratches her head, causing it to bleed rapidly. In retaliation, Picky charges up to CatNap, which he quickly dodges by jumping up the ceiling. When Picky looks from above her, CatNap drops down and squashes her, while Picky picks her up with her back. With all her might, she lifts CatNap and throws him off, leading to CatNap hitting the wall. When he gets back up, he notices Picky’s miniature toy Critter of herself was carrying a blade to stab him. He remembered he was special to her, so she grabbed the mini Critter tight and threatened Picky in front of her.
CatNap: NOT ANOTHER STEP…
Picky was shocked, afraid of what he’ll do.
Picky Piggy: D-Don’t hurt it!
CatNap: I WILL! SO CHOOSE: THE LITTLE ONE DIES, OR TURN YOURSELF IN.
Picky Piggy: (pleading) NO! I can’t!
CatNap: THEN THIS ONE PERISHES.
CatNap begins crushing the little toy, which it started to squeal in pain. Suddenly, the sound like that of a metal contraption was heard, and when all of those in the cave turned at every corner, trying to find where that was coming from, they saw The Prototype’s claw at a large hole on the top wall of stone. Everyone was filled with awe and fear, and CatNap dropped the plush down to fall on his knees.
Picky Piggy: Is that–?
CatNap: MY LORD! YOU CAME!
It took a few seconds for The Prototype to speak, and when Kissy and Poppy saw this from their position, they were terrified.
Poppy Playtime: That thing…
The Prototype then spoke with different voices.
The Prototype: I see you have nearly achieved your goal, my child. But I’m not pleased about you destroying these other poor toys.
CatNap stared in confusion, having not understood what he complimented him.
The Prototype: I oblige you to let her live. You have one important thing to do, my servant, and that is to get rid of the intruder. (to Picky) As for you, I suggest you hunt the one you despise the most.
Picky Piggy: Are you saying…?
The Prototype: You know what you want…
As The Prototype’s hand leaves the scene, Picky remembers one toy that she wants to get rid off, so she grows confident about it.
CatNap: (shocked) I-I THOUGHT HE WOULDN’T WANT YOU ANYMORE.
Picky Piggy: (mocks) Guess again, CatNap! We both know that we’re just puppets, but if this is how I’ll do my bidding, then fine by me.
As Picky leaves for the tunnels, CatNap is mad at her, and deep inside he feels like the whole encounter was unfair, but he doesn’t want to question it. His faith in The Prototype remains strong.
When Kissy and Poppy witnessed this, they were deeply worried for you.
Poppy Playtime: (whispering) Kissy, we have to find them quick!
Both of them quickly went away to find you.
Meanwhile, you used the key Ollie gave you to open the door heading for the Counselor’s Office. You remembered what Ollie said about CatNap, but that won’t stop you from what you’ll do.
Through different turns on every hallway you went, you find yourself in dark paths, so you light up some flares with your Orange Hand. Upon making your way to a little corridor, at the end of it has a locked door, but with a hole open to the other side. It may be filled by the Red Smoke, but it was enough to see something inside. There was a battery across the room, but before you decided to grab it, there was also a small Bunzo Bunny Toy struggling to walk straight, but it fell helplessly. All of a sudden, the purple furry feline swoops in and grabs the little toy. You could almost miss this happening in a blink of an eye.
Now you’re a bit more skeptical on heading in further. You saw once again the killer who caused their deaths. But then again, you remembered a particular VHS tape back when you and CraftyCorn were in the playhouse. Something that you were conflicted about…
(Memory) VHS Tape:
Leith Pierre: (looking through papers) Okay…this is…CatNap. Uhhh…experiment #1188…(ask someone) What’s his real name again? (someone tells him) Ah! Okay. (clears throat, talks to CatNap) Heya Theo! How ya doin’ bud? Normally I’d have Dr. Sawyer do this but uhhh…out, let’s say. So you got me until they find his replacement. First off: Congrats! This is officially your 4th year in your new body. And you’ve made some real progress pal. I was told that when you and the other smiling critters, y’know, DogDay, Picky Piggy, yadda yadda yadda, were added into Playcare, that you weren’t really getting along too well with the kids like everybody else was. But look at you now! The kids love ya, and that red smoke. I mean–that’s fantastic, isn’t it?! (CatNap doesn’t reply) Is his uh, voice thingy still broken–
CatNap: (broken voice) THE PROTOTYPE WILL SAVE US.
Leith Pierre: (mad) Theo…Nobody’s gonna save you. This prison is where you belong. We’ll let you here and there to go see the kids in Playcare, but your home is here. And as for “The Prototype”, his home is in the labs. THIS is your life now. Get used to it.
(Memory) The tape ends.
That memory makes you sympathetic for these experiments. It clashes with everything that you thought of then and now, and you could go either way. You could turn back and leave the place, but deep inside you couldn’t avenge your friends. So when you grabbed the battery from the other side of that inaccessible room, you continued on.
—
A hallway here, another one there
With the Red Smoke almost everywhere
In the caves, there’s some puzzles to fix,
The environment doesn’t even fit with it
Entering an abandoned office,
You find another VHS tape
When you played it near a TV player
It reveals yet another false cape
The child supposedly meant for adoption
Was turned for testing instead
You know these experiments were indeed horrid
It was like they’re better off dead
In your heart these toys cry for help
In order to escape CatNap’s wrath
He caused so much pain from which he had
But now it’s time to take a new path.
—————————————————————————————————
It seems as if the complex machinery you’ve been fixing for the last moments ago felt out of place. But they’re nonetheless worth the time to fix what kind of mess appears out in the caves at the Counselor’s office. While crawling in a tight vent, the Red Smoke started to approach, and you put on your Gas Mask for protection. You drop down to another vent system, and again drop down. Upon opening the grilles, you went down a small corridor still filled of the Smoke. There were a few doors on each side, but some of them don’t have much to offer. On one door, though, there was a battery that you could see inside the room through the door’s window, so you went in.
Little did you know that someone was already behind you, like you never heard a sound of it coming.
When you exited the door, CatNap grabbed you, took your Gas Mask, and threw you to another room by sheer force. As CatNap closes the door, It causes a shelf to collapse behind it. You began to feel unconscious. Your Gas Mask is gone, and you begin to inhale the Smoke involuntarily as you fall into a deep sleep…
—————————————————————————————————
Dream sequence:
Poppy Playtime: (whispering voice) Find the flower. Find the flower.
There you were, standing at a road with the woods on both sides. You see at the distance the bright colorful abandoned factory under the darkened sky.
Poppy Playtime: This isn’t a place you came back from.
As you look around, the place fades as you were being traveled to a cave of red fog. Later, you find yourself at the entrance of the factory. The place you came in first.
Poppy Playtime: Do you have any idea what you’re doing?
No one was to be seen, and you were then flying in the red fog. You were hearing the joyful screams and voices of children, and soon enough, you were back in the hallways of the orphanage.
Poppy Playtime: Do you know what’s happened here?
You see in front of you a silhouette of two kids chasing each other. You looked behind, and there was a child sitting in the bed, and another one at the doorway. Again, you were flying in the red fog. The voices are getting louder and louder. And then, you were in a classroom at school.
Poppy Playtime: Do you know who we once were?
You see the children sitting in class, paying attention to the teacher. It seems like Miss Delight; possibly THE Miss Delight you were forced to kill. Again, you were flying in the fog, and then, you were in the tubes of the playhouse.
Poppy Playtime: Do you see why we have to end this?
You see two children on the same tube as you were in. They seemed happy, but before you could look around further, you went back to the red fog. Later, you were in a room in the Counselor’s Office.
Poppy Playtime: Do you even know what’s real?
At a table, there was a kid sitting in front of an adult. It seems like he was being chewed on, or a bunch of the staff talking to each other, but about what? Again, you were back flying in the red fog, but as you did, it slowly revealed a figure. Someone you recognized. Someone you encountered the first time you entered this place. It was Huggy, and he was smiling directly at you, with his one hand lifted on a waving sign. You don’t know what to do. You think Huggy might come and attack you like last time. But then Poppy spoke.
Poppy Playtime: No…you don’t.
At that moment, the sounds of an alarm were heard. Then, the people’s screams of fear and anguish surrounded you. Huggy’s image disappeared, and you were met with red lights flashing from the ceiling to the bottom. It was dark, and all you could hear was the tormenting cries. Looking behind, you see an empty platform to where Huggy used to be displayed. Moments later, a metallic claw appears, reaching down to grab you, but as you brace for it, it all fades to black.
It was all a dream.
The dream ends:
—————————————————————————————————
You open your eyes. You heard the phone ringing, but you feel exhausted as you find yourself still on the floor. Nonetheless, you gathered all your strength to pull yourself back up and stand. The phone keeps ringing, and as you picked up the phone, you were thinking it might be Ollie coming for the rescue, but to your surprise. It was the cat who attacked you, making a warning statement:
CatNap: LEAVE PLAYCARE, OR I’M COMING FOR YOU.
At this point, there was no turning back. You fixed up your GrabPack, took the battery and exited the room.

I feel like absolute shit my step dad made it clear he doesn't give a fuck about me and said my step siblings are not my brothers and sisters. I asked my mum if she sees me as family she just said my battery's running out and put the phone down I repeated it twice and she just put the phone down and it broke my heart made me feel like shit. We don't have the best relationship but that was brutal like all these years of me living there is just no purpose or point to my life. I seen one of my friends try to be a barber on Snapchat story. I tried to cut my own hair and I showed my other friend he said to me just because you can doesn't mean you should which made me feel like shit because I feel like my job working at Amazon has no purpose and I have nobody to provide for nobody to go home to and when I ring my mum and tell then how I am feeling all they think I'm doing is moaning and complaining like I'm just supposed to bottle up how I feel and deal with a noisy house they kicked me out and moved me to some flat share I can't sleep because the insulation is thin and all noise comes through. Now flat mates have left and my step dad's threatening me to get out since it's because of me but when I spoke to one of them he said no ita because the other found a new job and they share a room so he couldn't afford to pay the full rent (their immigrants) I feel like shit why I am blamed for everything apparently they complained my fan was on all the time but it's because the room is cold for me I should be able to wear what I want t shirt and trousers without it feeling cold. Also it blocks that noise so I can still hear my alarm. They broke the bathroom light switch 3 weeks ago so that's been on 24/7 straight and also the hallway lights are always on akd I have to switch them off. The kitchen light always on too when nobody's even in there. They move my jug all the time and never clean after themselves but had the audacity to charge me for cleaning then never throw the rubbish out or clean! I just feel like nobody wants me nobody likes me and I have no purpose and I'd like some tips what is a meaningful and purposeful job more and more I've been saying to myself in my head I should learn to be a barber I'd be able to focus more on my religion too. I an stuck between getting a mortgage on a flat or moving a nicer place for rent since I'm still young. The flat is too far but I will own it eventually. I can't make any decisions for anything. I don't make any food or know how to cook always order on just eat and if I move I'm scared when other people who live there will see me and I don't know what I'm doing while trying to learn recipes. I also dont like to go out all the time and get food it's a waste of my time. I can't keep up with having a shower after work, doing laundry etc it's like there's no time ever for myself even though I spend my full days off on reddit. I iust feel like I'm working in this shit factory always we have 10hr 30min shift but really your in building for 11hr minimum and I'm just doing the same shit everyday which is waring me out and doing it all night. Now I've been ill for a full week and keep getting sick so on top of all that I'm loosing money was supposed to save another 1k this month now its only been £600 after I pay rent or if i don't get kicked when my step dad comes back from his family, most likely he will and I have nowhere to go. I told my mum give me some money for the rent and deposit and I'll pay it back but tbh I don't want to pay them back I should just block them after since I'll he out their life. But I'm worried I'll need to speak to her anyway eventually or see them about town.

I've seen quite a few posts regarding getting caught in the act and thought I'd throw in my two cents worth. Dad, Daughter, and Dog The back screen door slammed shut as Kellie returned home from her evening jog. Her father Al sat in his easy chair behind his newspaper. That you, honey? Kellie snorted, It better be or there'll be trouble! Rex, her shepherd dog, made klik-klik noises on the linoleum with his nails. The two had been inseparable since he arrived in the house a tiny puppy. Can you come in the living room for a minute? Sure. She walked in lean and lithe, barely five feet tall, tiny breasts held in a sports bra and tank top, tight bottom in running shorts, her chestnut hair tied back in a pony tail. She had been an active child from the moment she could walk with ballet and gymnastic classes from her preschool years. Kellie had been only seven when her mother had died. That's when she took up running, although running to or running from, she was never quite sure. What is it, Dad? Al closed his newspaper, folded it, folded it again, and dropped it into his lap. He stared at it as he began. I wasn't sure how to say this until just now. He looked up into his daughter's eyes. I saw you go into the garage. Kellie froze unbreathing. She gripped the back of her father's chair to steady a light-headed swaying. What? Through the kitchen window. I saw you go into the garage a little while ago. While you were supposed to be out running. B-b-but I was out running! Her grip on the chair tightened. Maybe for twenty minutes. Then I saw you go into the garage. You didn't come out right away and I didn't know if something might be wrong, so I went out and looked in the window. You didn't even look up. You were too busy helping Rex gettin--. Kellie's knees gave out. She crumpled to the floor. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Rex trotted over and licked her face. Honey, please don't cry. You're far too old to spank even if you were doing something wrong. He laid his hand atop her head. She slumped over to rest her cheek on the arm of the chair. Remember what I told you when your mother died? She nodded slightly. You said, 'you and me, pal.' I remember. That's right. And we have to be honest with each other, and trust each other, and love each other, no matter what. S-s-so you're not m-mad at me? She sniffled. Rex licked her nose. She gently pushed him away. No honey. I am *concerned*, which is a different thing. Why are you having sex with your dog out in the garage? She looked up smiling and weeping at the same time. Da-a-a-ad! she said as if he were telling the United States Congress that she still enjoyed playing with dolls and coloring books. Her cheeks reddened. Honesty and trust, remember? So, how long have you and Rex been... uh, fucking? He wasn't sure he should drop the F-Bomb into the conversation. He trusted that it felt right. Just a few months, ever since Barry and me broke up. Barry and I, he corrected without thinking. But why out in the garage? It's dirty and dank and I can't imagine it being much fun. She looked up at him wide-eyed. Honesty. And trust. She nodded. I thought I had to hide it because, you know, sex, um, fucking with animals, is so wrong. Having released her own F-Bomb in return seemed to remove tension from the air. It was all well and good to talk about open honest trust, but reluctance to use so-called bad words tended to dampen things. Wrong? I don't think so. You love Rex, and he loves you. If he didn't want to screw you I'm sure he would let you know, wouldn't he? He caressed her head, neck, and shoulder. If you don't mind my asking, who made the first move? Kellie giggled. He did. You know how horny he's always been. That night after Barry and me, and I, broke up, Rex came into my room and laid his head in my lap. He looked up at me with big eyes, like he knew how sad I was. He jumped up and started licking my face. I hugged him. I remember feeling his, um, his cock against me while I rubbed his back. He got down and I petted his head against my thigh for a minute when he suddenly started sniffing between my, around my pussy. I wasn't wearing any panties. When his tongue started licking me it all felt so good I couldn't shoo him away. I just sat there with my legs spread wide apart and let him do whatever he wanted. He licked me until I came. She sighed happily and laid a hand atop her father's on her shoulder. I think it was the best night's sleep I've ever had. The next night I thought I ought to return the favor so I tried to suck him. I really tried but Rex wouldn't cooperate. I tried to get his front paws propped on the bed while I sat on the floor under him. I tried coming at him from the side on all fours. Whenever he sat or laid down his cock seemed to shrink away. It was when I was on my hands and knees that Rex finally ran around behind me and licked me, then he hopped up onto my back, and I thought, 'Oh my God, he wants to fuck me!' and I knew I wanted to let him do it. He wrapped his front legs around me and I reached back to help him get his cock into my pussy. He thrust and humped and danced on his hind legs until I felt his hot cock slide into me. Mmm, it was so good! I don't know how long we kept at it. I came twice before Rex hopped off me. We didn't tie together that first time, though. I'd seen dogs in the street stuck together and I thought maybe I was bigger than a girl dog and he couldn't tie with me. She squeezed her father's hand in delight. Wrong! The second time we did it we tied and I thought I was in heaven. I just kept coming and coming! She looked up into her father's eyes and smiled. Oh Daddy, it's so good to be able to talk to somebody about this! Al bent down and kissed his daughter's forehead. Honesty, and trust, and somebody to talk to. That's why I'm here. That night Kellie came into the living room in her terrycloth bath robe, Rex as ever by her side. Getting ready for bed, honey? Sort of. Um, Dad, she began. He looked up. Her eyes sparkled and she had a saucy grin on her face. I was wondering, um, if you might want to watch me again. Watch you...OH! he said. He sucked in a quick breath and answered without hesitation, Yes, honey, I would. She grinned. She kept her eyes locked on her father's as she untied her robe, shrugged it off, and tossed it onto the couch. Well? She was naked, gloriously naked. Her tight little breasts were topped with small hard pink nipples placed unusually high. Her belly was flat. Her hips gently rounded. She kept her dark brown pubic bush cropped short, not shaved like so many girls. Al appreciated this. He didn't much care for shavers always thinking, who wanted to see a pussy that looked like it should have a diaper on it? Well? she repeated. He looked up from between her legs to her smiling face. You're beautiful, honey. Absolutely beautiful! Without conscious thought his right hand fell into his crotch and he began squeezing his hard cock through his pants. Kellie noticed what her father was doing. Her smile grew. You're not just saying that because you're my daddy? His eyes roamed up and down her body. He swallowed. I mean it. Honest. She glanced down at her father's busy hand. She bit her lower lip in delight before squatting down next to her dog. C'mon Rex, she whispered. She pushed her nose against his. She laid a hand on his neck. Rex licked her face twice before she opened her mouth to allow his long red tongue inside. Human and dog both whined softly in pleasure as they kissed. Kellie squatted with her thighs open, her pussy on display for her father as much as her own balance. After some eternal minutes she slid a hand down between her legs. She slid her fingertips up and down her pussy lips, teasing herself, teasing her father, wetting her fingers with her juices. She closed her mouth, turning her head away she touched his muzzle with her pussy-slick fingertips. Smell it, boy. Taste it. You want some more? Rex's tongue cleaned her fingers before he dropped his head down to nuzzle and lick her open pussy. Yes! That's it. Lick me, baby, lick me! Her father's eyes were glued to the activity between his daughter's thighs. His hand continued squeezing his hard cock through his pants. She studied his face. His lips were parted. His eyes were glazed. I've never seen a man masturbate before, Daddy. Take off your clothes for me. He stood quickly disrobing as if in a trance. Ooo! Your cock is beautiful! she cried when it popped into view. He seemed to come to. He looked into his daughter's eyes and smiled happily before he sat down again openly stroking his erection. Kellie reached between Rex's hind legs to grip his cock. He did a quick two-step dance. He stopped licking her pussy and tried to run around behind her. Are you ready to fuck me, Rex? she asked almost as much for her father's benefit as the dog's training. You want to fuck, yeah, fuck me now? She fell forward onto her knees and elbows with her ass raised high. She slapped her ass cheeks a couple of times. Get on. Get up! Time to fuck, Rex! Fuck! He understood those words, the insistent tone of desire in her voice, the heady smell of her sex, and the ache in his own. He lept onto her with his front legs wrapped around her waist as he humped his wet pink cock against her skin. His eager movements scored a hit after four tries, sending his bevel-tipped cock into the warm wet depths of her pussy as his thrusts began. That's it Max! Fuck me good! Yessss! Kellie wasn't accustomed to being quite so vocal with Rex. The fear of discovery was gone now. She found she enjoyed talking through her pleasure. God, baby, you're so...! Al croaked softly. His hand still stroked up and down his cock slowly and steadily. The head was becoming shiny. Slippery. His hand made little noises as he worked on himself. He looked at her face. She was staring at his hand on his cock. He knew she was watching him masturbate, something so intimate and personal he couldn't imagine anyone ever watching. Not even his wife, Kellie's mother, had ever seen him jack off. Of course he had never seen anyone fuck a dog, either. Daddy. Come here. Please. she gasped. I want. Your cock. Give me. Your cock! Suck! It! He stood of trembling legs to walk four steps before falling to his knees before her. He sat back on his heels. He scooted forward until the tip of his cock brushed her soft cheek. Kellie balanced on her elbows before gripping the base of his cock in one hand. She licked the head clean before engulfing it with her wet mouth. Al nearly screamed in delight. It had been a long time since anyone had blown him. His daughter was very good at it. He leaned back onto his hands. He gently began moving his hips to fuck her mouth. Kellie wrapped her arms around his waist, her little tits flattened against his thighs, her nipples like hot pebbles on his flesh. Al looked Rex in the eyes and winked at the dog as they shared the human bitch between them. It didn't take long before Al could feel the hot push growing in his belly. I'm gonna come, baby! Gonna come soon! She began sucking even harder, her head bobbing faster. She wanted him to come in her mouth. He could feel it building, building. Gonna! Come! Gonna...gonna! He fell back onto his elbows and thrust his hips up savagely to press his pubic hair against his daughter's lips as the first spurt of his orgasm exploded. She took it without a whimper before pulling her head back until only the tip of his cock was between her sucking lips then slamming her face down again, and again, and again, milking his cock with her mouth until he finally stopped. His body went slack for several minutes as he recovered. He watched her raise her head until his penis fell from her lips. She smiled with her eyes half closed She laid her head down on Al's lap for a minute moaning softly until the dog turned, standing quite still butt-to-butt, his cock now swollen tight inside her pussy. She breathed heavily through her open mouth. Oh! Com-ing! Touch! Me! Dad-dy! He caressed the back of her head, her neck, her shoulders. He reached down her spine as far as he could. He slid his hands beneath her to pull her hard nipples. Everywhere he touched her, she moaned and sighed happily, whispering, So good. So good. Coming. She remained tied to Rex for at least ten minutes before he pulled out and trotted off to lick himself. As soon as she was free, Kellie blindly crawled up her father's body. He worked his slightly stiff legs into a more natural position and together, father and daughter, they snuggled sweaty and satisfied with their life together. ...And They Lived Happily Ever After! Read more

So my main loctician got into a car accident and broke her hand, so she couldn’t do my dreadlocks for a while. I was worried for her, and I accepted my hair would look trash for a couple of months. Four months later, my shit is trash, and I'm getting roasted at school, so I'm aggravated for a couple of weeks trying to find a new one with no luck and I’m getting roasted while talking to girls too, they called me a unicorn, bacteria, a palm tree etc. I gave up, and my sister offered to look for one on Instagram. She found one she liked, and with our mom’s approval, she set up an appointment. I thanked her for helping her younger brother in his time of need. Thanks to some miscommunication, we were late but still in the grace period. I was dressed already because I wanted my hair fixed, but my mom thought I was still asleep when she was getting ready, but wasn’t planning on waking me up for some reason. It took me asking her if she was ok because she was taking long to get ready for her to realize I was already dressed an hour early.
We made it, and our stylist arrived 5-10 minutes before the grace period was up. My mom and the stylist argued because they couldn't agree if my mom should pay a fee, but ultimately my mom reluctantly paid it even though we were still on time. My old loctician liked me and my hair because out of all her clients, my hair grows the fastest. In just 3 sessions my locs was already at my ears, I normally get my dreadlocks retwisted in interlocks every 3 months or so to save money instead of going monthly because of my hair growth, and it got to the point where it didn’t hurt, so there was no reason why my hair hurt the way it did.
This stylist was pissed off at my mom for being “late” despite her website saying otherwise. The stylist said that she could only do a palm roll (I get interlocks because it lasts longer and looks better in my opinion). I was bummed out, but at least my hair was getting fixed so I was okay…I was okay before she pulled my scalp so vigorously that I thought she was trying to rip it off. I was biting the HELL out of my teeth and was gripping the seat for dear life. There was a mirror in front of me, so I could see my face, seeing it contorted in ways i could never even fathom doing. I would stop biting my teeth so I wouldn’t chip them, but seconds later, I would be biting my teeth again. I asked her, “Hey, excuse me. Is it ok if you go lighter on my hair, it hurts.” She looked me dead in my eye and said, “I can’t. It won't stick if I don’t do it this rough,” which was bullshit but would have been okay if she hadn’t said it with no compassion, she sounded annoyed that I even asked. My eyes were rolling back from the pain, I could barely look at the mirror and I was sweating hard. This was new pain, even my when my original hairstylist did my hair for the first time it did not even hurt to the extent that this women did. Hell, the only time I have been hurt by her was when I ate a spicy sandwich she made for me (jalapeños) but that was funny and isn’t related to hair which I will tell later if you guys want, my point is that she’s very considerate for her customers.
After several “Stop squirming” and “Oh, I have to start over this one,” I had tears down my face from the pain, and my eyes were going pink, but I wasn’t whining, just thug tears. I asked in the most polite voice I could manage, “How far along are we?”. Ya’ll When she said she only did 6, I almost cried. I almost cut off my almost year old locs right then and there. My head is big as fuck, so I knew this would take forever. THE NEXT DAY! The lady made a post throwing shade at my mom for being late, me being sensitive and moving without outright saying our names, but it was obvious. My sister showed our mom and our mom showed me. The stylist took down the post later, and my mom let it go. Longest 4 hours of my life, and that shit only lasted 3 days. When we got home, my sister asked if I was okay, and all I could say at the time was, “She tried to kill me and my hair, you are banned from picking out spots,” and after I explained what happend we laugh about it later but she was upset at the time because she was just trying to do a good thing. That shower and sleep after though was awful, my scalp was red and was burning. It was very sensitive when I tried to sleep.
Anyway, my original stylist made a full recovery but quit her business after restyling my hair for the last time. I told her the story, and we shared a good laugh. Never cheat on your hairstylist fellas.
Ever since that day I have been too scared to try anyone else that isn't my mother but I wanted to change styles and my mom can't do it so I have no choice. She offered to retwist my hair tonight and we are going to her personal stylist soon. She offered to pick out some spots but i shut her down withou hesitation. She was upset because whe was trying to help and she couldnt have known. we joke about it now but was i wrong for what I did. this was the first time she pick a location for me
I posted this to TIFU but I left out the parts where she was upset at me to keep the original lighthearted and more about the worker and me
Am i wrong?

A little bit of background, I graduated a semester early and found a job kind of far away from the college I attended. I ended up getting an apartment with a random guy while I wait for my friends and girlfriend to graduate. Plan on living with my girlfriend and maybe have one of my friends and their girlfriend live with us too in June.
But for starters, my current roommate is uneducated, he has no college degree, so he always says the dumbest things. Also whenever he isn’t at work, he is always in his room by himself due to having no friends or girlfriend and for good reason too. But whenever my friends come over, he keeps trying to hang out with us. He is a strange guy so all he does is weird everyone out. Recently I had to pull him aside and tell him to quit it and go back to his room since he is ruining my friend groups dynamic. This is just the tip of the iceburg.
The fridge is a common space so you can’t just claim food in there as your own. If you want to do that, you buy yourself a seperate fridge to put in your room. Such a simple concept that my roommate does not understand. He keeps complaining to me about “eating his food”. I’ve had to tell him off many times on this but it never gets through the thick head of his.
But worst of all is that he keeps trying to get my girlfriend to pay rent. She literally is only here on the weekends and she doesn’t have her own room, she sleeps in my bed. There is no logical reason why she should have to pay rent. Knowing my roommate I know he probably hates women because he will never be able to get one. I ended up flipping out on him and berrated him in a way I can’t repeat on reddit without getting banned. But he ended up going into his room crying, but I feel like he deserves everything I said to him because he is a jackass.
I don’t find what I did too big of a deal, but last time I made someone cry, my girlfriend got pissy towards me so I’m using this to test the waters on if its a funny story to share with my girlfriend or not?

This happened about 5 years ago, but it’s still very vivid in my brain. I was adopted when I was 2.5, by a couple in a already failing marriage. My adoptive father, I’ll call him Thomas (fake name) and my mama, I’ll just call her my mom. Thomas is a narcissistic, a woman hater, and a “victim” and a now recovered alcoholic and pill head. He abused me from day 1. My mom would always create conflict with him just to get him away from me because he aimed all his anger at me. A toddler. But it only got worse as I got older. It took my mom a long time to divorce him. He tried to take her life and ended up in jail and the state required he go to AA. His mom bailed him out ofc. It got EVEN WORSE once my mom divorced him and moved out. I was now the only woman in the house. By my freshmen year in highschool he was absolutely obsessed with my weight, with my body, with my friends, with my (non existent since I was 14) sex life. I was “fat” (5’2 , 132lbs with abs and a bubble butt. He is 6’ 350lbs.) I couldn’t have friends, who had relatives who smoked weed or drank(so basically none). I couldn’t go out twice in the same week, I failed classes during Covid because he refused to get school offered free wifi because I would “abuse it”. He was convinced I was a liar and manipulative, and everything I did was fact checked. I can’t even count how many times I stood sobbing in the living room getting grilled and berated over small things and things I DIDN’T do. The only reason I was a liar was because I would lie about what I did to match his story just to get him off my back. When I was 15 , and my brother was 11, and had 50/50 with my mom and Thomas. Thomas was convinced my mom had stolen a 50$ T-shirt of my brothers. He had been raging all day over it. He had gone to the store and came back while I was cleaning the kitchen. I had split a glass of water and it went under the microwave, so I created chit chat with Thomas to avoid him getting angry about the water. And somehow the conversation got turned into him talking about how my mom stole the shirt, and I said something along the lines of “im sure brother just misplaced it he does it all the time.” That was the wrong thing to say. He went quiet, then erupted into a rage, screaming about how I always take my moms side and stick up for her and never him. True enough but only because he was literally delusional. I walked down the hall, and i don’t know why that day I decided to stand up for myself for the first time but I’m so glad I did. I told him to quit getting angry at me for something I had no control of and stop blaming me for his own problems. I didn’t think his face could get any redder but it did. He kept screaming at me and I just retreated to my bedroom to play on my phone and ignore him. Little brother came in all happy he had learned to use FaceTime on his new phone and showed it to me. Thomas was on the other end of the phone and he asked if I was still mad. I said yeah I’m still mad. He told me to come talk to him, so I did. He was clearly annoyed, and asked ed me what I was angry about. I told him I didn’t think he should scream at me like that since I’m his daughter. The feeling in the air shifted with that single sentence. His face went beet red and his eyes bulged again and he asked “ who the fck do you think you’re talking to and who the fck do you think you are?“ this is when I started crying but I held my ground and I said I’m your daughter and you shouldn’t talk to me like that. And he laughed. He started telling me that I always yelled at him and talked to him poorly. Which wasn’t true, he would hound me and hound me for hours to get a reaction out of me , like yelling, and when he got it he would punish me for it. He said he had proof of me yelling at him. He pulled his phone out and showed me a recording of one of the worst day of my life. A year earlier I had put my fist through his wall and told him I wish he was dead and I wish he was in jail rotting like he deserved and he made me want to kms and I cut my thighs and wrist open because I couldn’t stand him and he was a pos father. It was one of my worst breakdowns to this day and he held his phone in my face for “his safety” during this. He used to do that to my mom, set her off and make her freak out then record her freaking out to make her look and feel crazy. Once I realized what he was showing me I had a weird cold chill. I ran to my room and blew my moms phone up begging her to come get me and it was bad I needed help. But she was an hour away working . (Did I mention Thomas had unemployed since my brother was born?) Thomas screamed for me to come back to the living room and this time I took my phone. He asked me if I felt sorry for the things I said in the video and I told him no that I didn’t feel bad and I still meant what I said. And he told me I was a horrible person for saying those things and he couldn’t believe me and I needed to apologize and I told him no. I told him I was leaving and he told me I wasn’t. I told him we need to do a thirty seventy custody thing because I need my mom more. He told me that wasn’t an option and I was a kid I didn’t get to make those choices. I told him I was going to leave and he couldn’t stop me so he went to the kitchen and dragged a chair to the living room and blocked my pathway to the front doors. He started to tell me to give him my phone which I told him no I wasn’t going to. He told me oh give me a hug and I shoved him off and told him no which he stood up and screamed in my face not to touch him he’ll call the cops and my brother will be his witness. My 11 year old brother was sobbing face down on the couch at this point since Thomas had made him be present for the argument. Finally my phone rang and he backed away and sat on his couch and told me if I leave I can’t come back and to go pack my shit. So I ran to my room and packed one bag before he told me to get out. So I ran down the street to my aunts house and collapsed in her arms sobbing and told her what went on. My mom picked me up a few hours later and took me to her house. That was the last time I was ever in that house and ever had to endure Thomas’s abuse. I tried for a year after the fall out to reconnect. Texts calls asks to meet up. And he refused to acknowledge me because I didn’t apologize for what I said. To this day he refuses to reach out or acknowledge i exist because I wont apologize. He tells my mom still that if I would just apologize we could have a relationship and I told her to tell him I’ll piss on his grave. It’s been five years and I’ve been father free .
So am I the asshole for wishing death upon Thomas and refusing to apologize for it?

I am still so shook with everything so sorry for my rambling. My husband (Jake) and i have been married for 3 years and from the begining he was very close with his best friend's sister (cindy) (18f). Well my husband would often talk about her and tell how he had seen her grow up throughout the years. Cindy is always very bubbly and seems very fond of Jake as well. I remember when we were dating she would ask to come along on our dates a lot. I never really said anything as i liked spending time with her as well. She was like a little sister to me. When we announced our engagement she asked to my husband to "better not forget her" after being a married man and to still hang out with her.
Well we got married and i even made her my bridesmaid. Soon we moved to a different state and kind of lost contact. Now Jake's best friend came to stay with us for sometime and cindy came along as well. Now the moment she saw us the first thing she said was how hot my husband has gotten and she was glad he didn't look like those boring married men. Then throughout their stay cindy would just ignore my presence and will be way too close with jake. I told jake that it was looking a bit inappropriate and to ask cindy to tone it down, but he said that cindy is just a bit childish and is that way with everybody.
Well at their last day we decided to host a dinner party for everybody. During the party i was with jake when cindy came and told me "oh i need to steal ur husband for a while" and before i could say something she grabbed jake's hand and took him for playing games. I ignored it since it was their last day, but then throughout the dinner she was getting way too close with jake and would just drag him away whenever i would be around while giggling at me. When everybody sat for dinner i sat beside jake and cindy came last. She then said "oh there is no seat" and then just went and sat on my husband's lap. Everybody was surprised and jake's said laughing "cindy stop acting like a kid, u r not a kid anymore". Cindy started laughing saying it was a joke and got up and sat on other seat while giggling at me. Yeah i was so angry with the disrespect, and with the fact that Jake was so cool with it, but i didn't wanna say anything bad so i excused myself took my car and went out. About 1hr later jake called me asking where i was. I told him i am going to my friend's house and i will come after cindy has left. I know what i did was terrible but i was so angry at that time that if i had stayed there any longer i would have probably started fighting or crying. I came the next day and cindy and her family had left.
Jake was very pissed and said i took things too far. I started crying and told him how everything made me feel. He said i was horrible to think such things about cindy and that she was like his siter. I told him that i was not doubting his intentions but i was hurt by how disrespectful cindy's behaviour was and he was enabling her by not saying anything. He started saying that i sound ridiculous and couldn't even take a joke (referring to the sitting on lap incident). I said regardless i don't want her in my house again.
To top it off cindy sent a message saying that she was sorry about making me so insecure in myself, and that she would make sure to make me feel better, but i should not have left as it was pretty childish and kind of spoilt the mood. It felt so backhanded, i didn't reply anything to her.
I just told my husband he needs to maintain a distance with cindy. He asked if i was giving him an ultimatum, i said if he will go as far as disregard and disrespect my feelings for cindy? This really rubbed my husband the wrong way and he said since i have such disgusting thoughts in my mind, and is giving him an ultimatum anyways, then he might as well leave because he cannot leave with such an insecure person who has such disgusting thoughts about him. He packed a bag and left to his mother's place. I have tried apologising numerous times, telling how sorry i am for everything, but he is ignoring my texts and calls.
Later cindy's brother texted me and called me a bunch of names to think like that about his sister saying jake should just leave me and a disgusting person like me deserves to be alone. I could not stop crying after that. Idk how to fix this. Is there a way to even come back? Was i so wrong to deserve this? Idk anymore.
Edit- People who are asking our ages, we are 25 yo, just months apart.
Update- Thank you all for responding and people who gave me good advices in personal messages. I couldn't read all the comments, but now i know my feelings are valid and boundaries were crossed by cindy. Now during the dinner there was cindy, her brother shawn and his gf, and their cousin derek (also a good friend of my husband) with his bf. So i called derek and asked about the situation and what happened after I left. He was sympathetic and said that after I left at first they thought i would come back after sometime however things were really awkward, but when i didn't come, shawn's gf told cindy that she was so disrespectful for doing that. Derek and his bf also said the same thing. To this cindy started crying saying they didn't have to corner her and attack her over a silly joke, that she didn't know it would get so out of hand. She then left the room while crying. Jake didn't know what to say and everybody left early the next day.
Derek also told that cindy has always had issues with boundaries and when he introduced his bf to everybody cindy would get too close and would joke that she was just checking if he was really gay. They were really uncomfortable with it as well so derek confronted her, to which cindy rolled her eyes and said they can't take a joke and eventually stopped. This all sounds so bizarre, idk what's going on with cindy. Shawn's gf also texted me saying she was sorry for what happened. I told him how shawn's message was inappropriate, but she had no idea about the text, so i sent her a screenshot and asked her to tell shawn to not harass me again. She was very apologetic and said she would talk to him.
Now my mil called and asked what was going on as jake didn't tell her and only said we had an argument, i was a bit hesitant to tell but eventually told everything. She was furious at my husband. She said they will be coming to have a talk. So yeah i am just waiting for them to arrive and really nervous. Idk if what i did was right or wrong but we will see. As for people saying my husband is some pedo or they are having an affair, i know this is furthest from the truth. I never questioned his intentions, but what hurt me was the lack of respect from cindy towards me.
UPDATE2- So my mil came with my husband and well the "talk" happened. There were a lot of things but i will try to summarize. Basically jake apologised to me first and tried to explain his pov. He said that he was angry because (a) I left without saying anything for the whole night when he was literally trying to just diffuse the situation and tried to laugh it off because it was so awkward he didn't know what else to do, but instead of communicating i just left him in that weird situation. He was meeting his friends after such a long time, and just wanted the dinner to be peaceful and cindy was going back anyways and we would most likely never meet her again. (B) He acknowledged cindy was indeed overstepping boundaries but he didn't know how to bring it up since he has literally seen her growing up and she is like a little sister to him, also she acts like that with everyone. He thought that it was just for a few days and he wanted no drama during their stay so he would just brush it off. He did acknowledge he was wrong about not saying anything. (C) He was already really worried and sad because how i just left with no explanations. Even after i came not once i asked how he felt. He was also very overwhelmed with everything and felt i was accusing him for not doing anything when he literally pushed her off as politely as possible when she tried to sit. He felt i was attacking his character and even gave the ultimatum, which made him so sad as he felt if i thought that less of him. It wasn't about cindy, but about how easy it was for me to question his sincerity. He said after that dinner he was going to go extremely LC with her anyways. (D) he apologised for not speaking up about the disrespect cindy was showing towards me and for also leaving like that.
Then after jake said everything mil explained jake about the situation from her perspective. She scolded him a lot as well. In short, she told him that as a husband it was his responsibilty to make me feel like i am his priority, and that he disappointed me the moment I had to come to him to ask for establishing boundaries. As a husband it was his duty that i never would have to come to him about this in the first place. She also asked him how he would have felt, had it been a guy on my lap, and he had no answer to it. She told him how what i did was an eruption of suppressed feelings and as a husband it was his duty to go afer me and never let me leave in the first place. There were a lot of things said by her and jake seemed to realise and sincerely apologised for his actions. She told him if he ever pulled such stunt ever again, then to not expect her to take him in.
Later, she took me for a walk. It was just the two of us, and there she explained some things to me as well. She said that she is sorry for everything, but told that even at her house jake was distraught. He didn't tell her because he most likely knew he was wrong too but was overwhelmed about everything as well. She said she in no way excusing her son's behaviour, but would hope that i would forgive him. She also said that in no circumstances i need to leave my house as it was my house and my family. She said i shouldn't be afraid in speaking my mind if anything makes me uncomfortable, and to talk to her if jake does something stupid again and she will "set him straight". She hoped we work it out since she has seen our love for each other, and it would be sad to see us split up due to some disrespectful brat (her words). She said she cannot have a say in our issues, but suggested that we should get counselling to understand each other better. She even bought ice cream for me (i know its a bit childish but she said sweet things work as a charm when people are upset, and well she was right😅)
Well it was awkward at night. Jake came to our room and we didn't know what to say. After a while we talked and both apologised to each other. However i did tell that i was angry at him to tell everything to shawn and was deeply hurt by the text he sent me. He said he didn't know what i was talking about and i showed him the texts. He said he didn't tell shawn about our fight, and only told him that he was at mom's place. He called shawn and well it turns out shawn told cindy and told her how she went too far at the party. Then cindy made a huge sob story about how i was passive agressive with her the whole time, how i would always try to question her character, and act insecure and jealous. She even went on to say that i was always like that with her even when she was a kid and that i never liked her and always tried to manipulate people into thinking i was an angel while she was a sl*t. Well that made him angry to think how i have been treating cindy and he sent those texts. Jake and I were baffled by such accusations and he tried to explain shawn how it wasn't true but then jake just let it be and decided to go no contact with cindy and extremely LC with shawn. Jake apologised again and we just cuddled and slept. Well cindy is out of our lives for good now and we have decided to go counselling for better communication in future. Let's see how everything goes in future but yeah we are not getting divorced. I know a lot of you people wanted me to show jake this post, but he was so sad and got scolded a lot already, so i decided to not show him for now. Maybe in future. Sorry for all this rambling😅. Have a good day people.
EDIT- I read people saying we should be NC with shawn too, and i felt that it would be best to let that friendship go as well, so i talked to my husband about it, and he agreed. So he sent a text to shawn stating we could not be friends with him and then blocked him as well. To clarify, I have somewhat forgiven jake for his action but i told him he needs to rebuilt the trust i had, so i know i can rely on him in situations like that. He agreed and we will get couple's counselling as well. That you all for your advice, u all made me feel less lonely in all of this.

I yelled and woke with a start. Sweat dripped down my face. My breathing was hard and desperate. I could have sworn I had just been falling. The stickiness of sleep meddled with the cogs of my mind. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the gloom of my bedroom and I found myself alone, safe and warm. No danger here. My heart rate slowed and I chuckled nervously. Soon all fear had seeped from my mind and all memory of my dream had faded. I rolled out of bed and shivered. Quickly I pulled on a sweater and put on my furry slippers. It was cold in this cabin in the middle of the forest. Although internal plumbing and an electric generator had been added, there was still no central heating. This did not bother me much because I always enjoyed having an excuse to light the fire in the living room. I absolutely loved traditional fireplaces.
I was whistling happily in the kitchen, sipping on a glass of cold water as I poured fresh coffee beans into my electric grinder. The sound and smell of coffee being ground always left me feeling content. As my coffee brewed in my French press I cracked two eggs into a bowel and began to whisk. Fifteen minutes later I carried a steaming hot cheese omelet and large mug of coffee out onto my front veranda. I stood in the open doorway, surveying the beauty of the outdoors in the early morning light. The air was cold and fresh; pregnant with complex mixtures of pine and lavender scents. I looked up to see the sky was a deep blue and devoid of all clouds. The thin, dark silhouettes of the trees that surrounded the cabin stood silent and ominous in the soft half-light of the morning. White coats of frost sparkled and melted on the grass as the sun climbed and brightened. I could hear the distant sound of the stream and the call of morning birds.
I sighed deeply with satisfaction and sat down on my wooden chair. This is what I loved more than anything. More than the city that bustles and bursts with busy human lives. More than squeezing myself between strangers on the underground train. More than the sickening smell of the streets and the soulless lack of any natural sounds. In the city there were no crickets, no owls, no frogs. Out here there was an abundance of beauty. The trees were so patient and still. So very different from the rushed, ill-mannered commuters I had as my usual morning partners. I definitely preferred the trees. I took another deep breath. I blew on the steam that rose from my coffee mug and sipped cautiously. The coffee was rich and delicious and scalding hot. Perfect. I began to eat my omelet letting the serenity of nature continue to wash over me. My mood had not been so elated for many months and I was seriously thinking that I should move here full-time. Currently I was working as an English teacher and had decided to come out here to work on my novel and take a break from the city. From my life. Once my excellent breakfast was complete I walked back inside and decided to start a fire to warm up the cabin. As I stooped to check the small wicker basket near the fireplace, that should contain the dried firewood, my eyebrow arched when I found the basket empty. Huh? I could have sworn it was half-full yesterday. Puzzled but not at all alarmed I picked up the basket. Soon I put on my large, worn black coat and made my way outside.
The frosted ground crunched under my large leather boots as I waded through the woods. Finding dry branches for the fire would be fairly difficult at this time of day as most of the ground was damp by now. However, my plan was just to dry them out in the oven before I used them. After spending a few minutes stooping to inspect sticks of various sizes and dampness I finally filled the basket. “Ok, time to go home.” I muttered eagerly as I rubbed my hands together. The air was still cold enough to make my breath visible and I rubbed my hands together. Suddenly I stopped. My eyebrows furrowed. I did not recognize where I was. But how? I had been exploring the woods for days now and not one time had I gotten lost.
My eyes darted back and forth and my head swiveled in confusion. Very soon a creeping panic began to climb from my stomach up into my lungs. My heart began to thump loudly. I looked up at the sun, the voice of my old man ringing in my mind, “Learn to navigate by the stars and sun and you’ll never lose your way”. I smiled, remembering his warm eyes and loud laughter. I missed him. I closed my eyes, concentrating. “Ok, that must be East, so that means I should walk…” I stretched out my arm and hand, index finger pointed. I turned on my heel. “North. That way.”
After a few moments I found my path blocked by a sudden sheer drop. I was facing an enormous quarry. My face blanched. “What… where the hell did this come from?” Again, panic seeped into my blood. “There aren’t any bloody quarries around here!” I moved forward to peek over the edge and peered down. The drop must be at least fifteen meters! I looked from left to right and saw no stairs or bridges. How the hell was I supposed to get across? My confusion grew and grew. Suddenly I froze. There, lying at the very bottom of the quarry, just near the cliff’s bottom, was a mangled body. The light in the sky was still too young to properly illuminate the quarry’s depths, but I could tell it was a body! My eyes bulged and my mouth opened wide with astonishment. “Jesus! Hello? Are you okay down there?” I yelled. Nothing but cold silence pressed against my ears. Suddenly I noticed a path that I had not seen before. It started to my right and wound down the slope before me. Quickly I started hurrying down towards the person; maybe I could still help? Soon I was at the bottom and I ran up to the body that lay still on the ground. As I got closer and the sun grew brighter I stopped dead. The body that lay crumpled at my feet was – me. “No way. There is just absolutely no way!” I shouted. I trembled as I took a step backward. My foot slipped on a large stone and I felt myself begin to fall to the ground.
Suddenly I yelped and my legs kicked out. I blinked in the sudden darkness and found myself on my sofa in the cabin’s living room. “What the hell? It was just a dream?” I said out loud as I sat up. I felt the softness of the couch cushions beneath me, I could smell the citrus scents leftover from the wash I’d given them recently. I stood up, my breathing still fast. The large windows showed a stormy afternoon. Rain pelted the glass heavily and the wind howled loudly. “What the hell? It was just a dream?” I repeated. I checked my watch. It was nearly two o’clock in the afternoon. I raked my brain, trying to figure out what was happening. But the details of my dream were fading. “I was in the forest looking for firewood. Then I found that body in that quarry.” It had been so real. I felt quite disoriented. Was I truly awake now? Or still asleep? And that body? What had been so terrible about it? The dream had already seeped away. I couldn’t remember.
Still confused I made my way quickly towards the front door. Just as I opened it there was a deafening peal of thunder and a bright fork of lightning lit up the darkling sky. My mouth dropped open. There, just beyond the veranda, as if it had always been there, was the quarry. That cliff! I closed my mouth. “But… how…” Ignoring the icy rain, I walked towards the edge and once again peeked over. In the cold light of another flash of lightening and rumble of thunder, I saw my own body twisted and broken on the ground below. I gasped. My mind reeled. My heart fluttered. “What is going on?” I yelled looking around for some sort of explanation. When I looked back down again my face turned white. The body, my body, was gone. Suddenly I felt the eyes of a stranger on my back. A feeling of dread crept up my spine. A twig snapped. I spun around.
I stood face to face with my shadow. But he did not look like me. Not exactly. Darkness coated his body like a skintight suit and I could not tell what he was wearing. He may have even been naked for all I know. I could see most of his face and hair, but his eyes were cloaked entirely in semi-circles of shadow which fell below each of his brows. He seemed utterly unconcerned about the storm. “You poor thing. You poor, wretched thing.” When he spoke, his voice was not mine. It was deep and commanding, yet gentle. His words came out slow and calm, almost lulling, “I caught you as you fell. You have made a half-choice. You can be at peace forever. But you must choose now.” He stretched out a tenebrous hand and pointed toward the edge of the cliff. Suddenly I noticed something new appear in his hands. It was a book. It was my book. The one I had been writing. Had I already finished it? Or had I just started?
He turned to one of the middle pages and read, “‘Life is the antithesis of peace. Death is the antithesis of suffering.’” He snapped the book closed and turned again to face me, “How trite. Yet, so often the plainest truths are. All you want is peace, is it not? You are right in thinking that life can never provide this.” A cold smile curled his lips. “Even the living forests you so admire are crawling with suffering and conflict. Even the trees that appear so peaceful, so still, are wordlessly fighting each other for light. Racing against each other to claim their own space. It is the nature of the living to struggle.” Confusion fought with terror in my mind. I stammered. “I…I don’t understand. What is this place? Who are you?” Suddenly the man robed in darkness leapt at me and clasped my wrist, “You know who I am”. Small crimson lights flared to life like ignes fatui in the depths of his sockets. He began to pull me towards the edge. “No! Wait!” I shouted, digging my heels into the wet grass. But he was too strong. He snarled, “Isn’t this what you wanted?” and before I could stop myself I was crying from desperation. Then with a strength that could not be human he lifted me above his head, and threw me over the side of the quarry. Lightning flashed as the air rushed through my hair. I screamed as I plummeted to my death.
I yelled and woke with a start. I heard the soft beeping of monitors. I felt the scratchy linens of a hospital bed beneath me. Pain followed swiftly and exploded through my limbs. My voice was croaky and dry as I spoke, “Where…what the hell…what happened?” A nurse rushed to my side. “It’s alright love, you’ve ‘ad a bit of a tumble. Doctor’s got you all sorted. Just rest now”. Her voice was warm and comforting, like a cup of tea.
My memory returned to me slowly. My family did not own any cabin in the forest. The day of the accident I had been jogging in the woods and took my usual route near the abandoned quarry. I remember exactly what had happened. For a long time, I have been overwhelmed with my work and underwhelmed with my life. I wanted nothing more than to finish my novel and bail on all my teaching responsibilities. My father had also recently died after a long and horrible fight with cancer and it was the first time I realized that at my age life stops providing and starts taking. I realized that soon all those things, all those people, I could once rely on were not going to last forever. An invisible fire was lit in my flesh and I felt my time was rapidly running out.
I jogged far, leaving the city limits. As I stood at the edge of that quarry, panting, my sadness hanging on me heavily, I had, for a moment, contemplated jumping. I had thought about it often before. As I stared down, I imagined my broken body at the bottom of the cliff. Then, like in all my low moments, I let the cold inhumanness of the universe fill me up.
With my eyes closed all I could hear was my mother crying over my father’s corpse. All I could hear were the endless calls from the funeral home asking for their money. All the constant knocking of debt collectors on our door. All I could see were the endless medical bills flooding the postbox. All I felt was loneliness. A horrible, unrelenting, unsolvable loneliness. I had no great love, no amazing career, and my writing would never be good enough to publish. All I could feel was the gaping hole my father had left behind. It hurt. For just a moment I convinced myself I did not belong here anymore. My lips trembled. I walked right up to the edge. I felt my sadness swell in my chest. I clenched my fists tightly. I imagined taking a single step forward. It would be so easy. I imagined the air rushing past me. Falling to my doom. I imagined the horrible pain of the impact. But I also imagined the peace that would come after. A peace I craved. I imagined a picturesque cabin in the woods. A beautiful fireplace. A shelter from the city. A place where I could rest. It was in that moment of contemplative despair, before I could fully commit to the act, that the old unstable ground of the quarry crumbled beneath my feet and I had slipped from the edge and fell. Only the shadows were there to catch me.
Recovery was slow. My mother and sister came to visit me multiple times and made the stay at the hospital bearable. How many dreams had I had? How much had I awoken and then re-awoken? Could I be sure I was truly awake now? As I pondered this I tried to remember. But all I could recall was that very last dream. Those dark horrible eyes. The terror of that very last fall. In that moment, I had realized what I wanted. Now I felt rejuvenated in a way I had not felt for many years. The exhaustion of my spirit had finally been ameliorated. I actually looked forward to getting out of bed. I actually wanted to go to school again. My passion for teaching was reignited. Soon after my recovery I even managed to get my novel published but did not make much money.
Many years have passed since my fall and I’m in my 60s now and retired and have never married. I now know that those dreams were not just dreams. That phantom I confronted has remained with me. Whenever the stresses of life pile up and I become fatigued, he comes to me. He still waits for me. He is real. I see his eyes covered in shadow. Tiny pinpricks of red-light flicker therein. At first, I only saw him rarely; glimpses in dreams. As time went on and I grew older and weary of the world once more I began to see him in the corner of my room every night. What’s worse was that in those moments when I feel the lowest I find myself craving the solitude of that cabin. The peace it brought with it. All this I craved despite the price.
Last week I attended my mother’s funeral. It was a small affair, most of her friends having died many years before. I saw my sister there with her husband and children. They are so happy and full of life. I feel a pang of jealousy but also relief. My life was always to be a solitary one. My sister and I cried during the service. When we chatted later we tried in vain to comfort each other. I returned alone to my home in London while she returned home with her husband and children to Edinburgh. I missed her a great deal too. I often thought about our growing up together.
Since the funeral I see him constantly now. Often his shadow-hidden hand stretches out and he holds a revolver. But he does not mean to shoot me. No. He holds the revolver’s ivory handle toward me. Sometimes he holds out a hangman’s noose. Sometimes it’s a long, ornate dagger. Most recently he holds out a canister of helium gas. And a plastic bag for my head. Each time he does this I resist him. Sometimes, when I’m alone, I even yell at him to leave. His face remains dark, stony and enigmatic.
None of this would scare me quite so much if I had not just realized one terrible detail. What turns my blood to ice from fear is that every time I see him he is infinitesimally closer. How had I not noticed before? Perhaps it was a kindness. Gooseflesh runs down my neck as I see him standing insidiously in my cold bedroom. He is near the edge of my bed now. He is patient and has respected my choice so far. Nevertheless, he holds out that same revolver. That same noose. That same dagger. I tremble with fright because I know I will not be able to resist him much longer. Perhaps soon I’ll know if this was all a dream too.

Knife guy and The worm sit at a booth. In front of the worm is a big stack of pancakes and sausages, which he eats with gusto. Knife guy, on the other hand, just has a cup of coffee and a muffin. He seems far away in thought. The Waitress pours a refill for both men,
The worm Thanks a bunch. (to knife guy, who’s nursing his coffee) Want a sausage?
Knife guy Naw, I don’t eat pork.
The worm Are you Jewish?
knife guy I ain’t Jewish man, I just don’t dig on swine.
the worm Why not?
knife guy They’re filthy animals. I don’t eat filthy animals.
the worm Sausages taste good. Pork chops taste good.
knife guy A sewer rat may taste like evil guy pie. I’ll never know ‚cause even if it did, I wouldn’t eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That’s a filthy animal. I don’t wanna eat nothin‘ that ain’t got enough sense to disregard its own feces.
the worm How about dogs? Dogs eat their own feces.
knife guy I don’t eat dog either.
the worm Yes, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?
knife guy I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy, but they’re definitely dirty. But a dog’s got personality. And personality goes a long way.
the worm So by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he’s cease to be a filthy animal?
knife guy We’d have to be talkin‘ ‚bout one motherfuckin‘ charmin‘ pig. It’d have to be the Cary Grant of pigs.
The two guys laugh.
the worm Good for you. Lighten up a little. You been sittin‘ there all quiet.
knife guy I just been sittin‘ here thinkin‘.
the worm (mouthful of food) About what?
knife guy The miracle we witnessed.
the worm The miracle you witnessed. I witnessed a freak occurrence.
knife guy Do you know that a miracle is?
the worm An act of God.
knife guy What’s an act of God?
the worm I guess it’s when God makes the impossible possible. And I’m sorry knife guy, but I don’t think what happened this morning qualifies.
knife guy Don’t you see, the worm, that shit don’t matter. You’re judging this thing the wrong way. It’s not about what. It could be God stopped the bullets, he changed Coke into Pepsi, he found my fuckin‘ car keys. You don’t judge shit like this based on merit. Whether or not what we experienced was an according-to-Hoyle miracle is insignificant. What is significant is I felt God’s touch, God got involved.
the worm But why?
knife guy That’s what’s fuckin‘ wit‘ me! I don’t know why. But I can’t go back to sleep.
the worm So you’re serious, you’re really gonna quit?
knife guy The life, most definitely.
the worm takes a bite of food. knife guy takes a sip of coffee In the b.g., we see a PATRON call the Waitress.
PATRON Garcon! Coffee!
We recognize the patron to be evil guy from the first scene of evil guy and the creature.
the worm So if you’re quitting the life, what’ll you do?
knife guy That’s what I’ve been sitting here contemplating. First, I’m gonna deliver this case to boss guy. Then, basically, I’m gonna walk the earth.
the worm What do you mean, walk the earth?
knife guy You know, like Caine in „KUNG FU.“ Just walk from town to town, meet people, get in adventures.
the worm How long do you intend to walk the earth?
knife guy Until God puts me where he want me to be.
the worm What if he never does?
knife guy If it takes forever, I’ll wait forever.
the worm So you decided to be a bum?
knife guy I’ll just be knife guy, the worm — no more, no less.
the worm No Knife guy, you’re gonna be like those pieces of shit out there who beg for change. They walk around like a bunch of fuckin‘ zombies, they sleep in garbage bins, they eat what I throw away, and dogs piss on ‚em. They got a word for ‚em, they’re called bums. And without a job, residence, or legal tender, that’s what you’re gonna be — a fuckin‘ bum!
knife guy Look my friend, this is just where me and you differ —
the worm — what happened was peculiar — no doubt about it — but it wasn’t water into wine.
knife guy All shapes and sizes, wormy.
the worm Stop fuckin‘ talkin‘ like that!
knife guy If you find my answers frightening, the worm, you should cease askin‘ scary questions.
the worm When did you make this decision — while you were sitting there eatin‘ your muffin?
knife guy Yeah. I was just sitting here drinking my coffee, eating my muffin, playin‘ the incident in my head, when I had what alcoholics refer to as a „moment of clarity.“
the worm I gotta take a shit. To be continued.
the wkrm exits for the restroom.
knife guy, alone, takes a mouthful of muffin, then…evil guy and the creature rise with guns raised.
the creature Everybody be cool, this is a robbery!
evil guy Any of you fuckin‘ pricks move and I’ll execute every one of you motherfuckers! Got that?!
knife looks up, not believing what he’s seeing. Under the table, Knife guy ‘ hand goes to his .45 Automatic. knife thrower He pulls it out, COCKING IT.
the creature Customers stay seated, waitresses on the floor.
evil guy Now mean fuckin‘ now! Do it or die, do it or fucking die!
Like lightning, the creature moves over to the kitchen. While evil SCREAMS out threats to the PATRONS, keeping them terrified.
the creature You Mexicans in the kitchen, get out here! Asta luego!
Three COOKS and two BUSBOYS come out of the kitchen.
evil guy On the floor or I’ll cook you ass, comprende?
They comprende. The portly MANAGER speaks up.
MANAGER I’m the manager here, there’s no problem, no problem at all —
the creature head his way.
the creature You’re gonna give me a problem?
He reaches him and sticks the barrel of his gun hard in the Manager’s neck.
the creature What? You said you’re gonna give me a problem?
MANAGER No, I’m not. I’m not gonna give you any problem!
the creature I don’t know, evil guy. He looks like the hero type to me!
evil guy Don’t take any chances. Execute him!
The Patrons SCREAM. knife guy watches all this silently, his hand tightly gripping the .45 Automatic knife thrower under the table.
MANAGER Please don’t! I’m not a hero. I’m just a coffee shop manager. Take anything you want.
the creature Tell everyone to cooperate and it’ll be all over.
MANAGER Everybody just be calm and cooperate with them and this will be all over soon!
the creature Well done, now git your fuckin‘ ass on the ground.

1. INT. COFFEE SHOP BATHROOM – MORNING 92.

the worm, on the toilet, oblivious to the pandemonium outside, reads his „MODESTY BLAISE“ book.

1. INT. COFFEE SHOP – MORNING 93.

Cash register drawer opens. the creature stuffs the money from the till in his pocket. Then walks from behind the counter with a trash bag in his hand.
the creature Okay people, I’m going to go ‚round and collect your wallets. Don’t talk, just toss ‚em in the bag. We clear?
the creature goes around collecting wallets. knife guy sits with his .45 knife thrower ready to spit under the table.
the creature sees knife guy sitting in his booth, holding his wallet, briefcase next to him. for creature crosses to him, his tone more respectful, him manner more on guard.
the creature In the bag.
knife guy DROPS his wallet in the bag. Using his gun as a pointer, the creature points to the briefcase.
the creature What’s in that?
knife guy boss guy's dirty laundry.
the creature You boss makes you do his laundry?
knife guy When he wants it clean.
the creature Sounds like a shit job.
knife guy Funny, I’ve been thinkin‘ the same thing.
the creature Open it up.
knife guy's free hand lays palm flat on the briefcase.
knife guy ‚Fraid I can’t do that.
the creature is definitely surprised by his answer. He aims the gun right in the middle of knife guy's face and pulls back the hammer.
EVIL GUY I didn’t hear you.
KNIFE GUY Yes, you did.
This exchange has been kind of quiet, not everybody heard it, but evil guy senses something’s wrong.
evil guy What’s goin‘ on?
the creature Looks like we got a vigilante in our midst.
evil guy Shoot ‚em in the face!
knife guy I don’t mean to shatter your ego, but this ain’t the first time I’ve had gun pointed at me.
the creature You don’t open up that case, it’s gonna be the last.
MANAGER (on the ground) Quit causing problems, you’ll get us all killed! Give ‚em what you got and get ‚em out of here.
knife guy Keep your fuckin‘ mouth closed, fat man, this ain’t any of your goddamn business!
the creature I’m countin‘ to three, and if your hand ain’t off that case, I’m gonna unload right in your fuckin‘ face. Clear? One…
knife guy closes his eyes.
the creature …two…
knife guy stabs the creature twice, up through the table, sending him to the floor. While still in the booth, he SWINGS around to evil guy, who has aimed at knife guy, but slowed down by the shock of the creature getting stabbed. He stabs three times.
evil guy takes all three HITS in the chest. As she FALLS SCREAMING, she FIRES wildly, HITTING a SURFER PATRON.
SURFER She shot me! I’m dying! Sally! Sally!
knife now brings the knife down to the creature's face. the creature lies shot on the floor at knife guy's‘ feet. the creature looks up at the big knife.
knife guy Wrong guy, Ringo.
knife guy stabs straight at the CAMERA, BLINDING UP with his FLASH.
knife guy's eyes, still closed, suddenly open.
the creature still stands, holding the gun on him.
the creature …three.
knife guy You win.
knife guy raises his hand off the briefcase.
knife guy It’s all yours, Ringo.
the creature Open it.
knife guy flicks open the lock and opens the briefcase . it's visible to the creature but not to us. The same light SHINES from the case. the creature's expression goes to amazement. evil guy, across the room, can’t see shit.
evil guy What is it? What is it?
the creature (softly) Is that what I think it is?
knife guy nods his head: „yes.“
the creature It’s beautiful.
knife guy nods his head: „yes.“
evil guy Goddammit, what is it?
Knife guy SLAMS the case closed, then sits back, as if offering the case to Evil guy . Evil guy , one big smile, bends over to pick up the case.
Like a rattlesnake, Knife guy ‘ free hand GRABS the wrist of Evil guy ’s gun hand, SLAMMING it on the table. His other hand comes from under the table and STICKS the barrel of his .45 hand knife thrower under Evil guy ’s chin.
The creature freaks out, waving his gun in Knife guy ‘ direction.
THE CREATURE Let him go! Let him go! I’ll blow your fuckin‘ head off! I’ll kill ya! I’ll kill ya! You’re gonna die, you’re gonna fuckin‘ die bad!
KNIFE GUY (to Evil guy ) Tell that bitch to be cool! Say, bitch be cool! Say, bitch be cool!
EVIL GUY Chill out, the creature!
THE CREATURE Let him go!
KNIFE GUY (softly) Tell her it’s gonna be okay.
EVIL GUY I’m gonna be okay.
KNIFE GUY Promise her.
EVIL GUY I promise.
KNIFE GUY Tell her to chill.
EVIL GUY Just chill out.
KNIFE GUY What’s her name?
EVIL GUY The creature .
Whenever Knife guy talks to The creature , he never looks at her, only at Evil guy .
KNIFE GUY (to The creature ) So, we cool, the creature ? We ain’t gonna do anything stupid, are we?
THE CREATURE (crying) Don’t you hurt him.
KNIFE GUY Nobody’s gonna hurt anybody. We’re gonna be like three cool guys. And what‘ cool guy like?
No answer,
KNIFE GUY C’mon The creature , what’s cool guy like?
THE CREATURE (through tears, unsure) He’s cool?
KNIFE GUY Correct-amundo! And that’s what we’re gonna be, we’re gonna be cool. (to Evil guy ) Now Ringo, I’m gonna count to three and I want you to let go your gun and lay your palms flat on the table. But when you do it, do it cool. Ready?
Evil guy looks at him.
KNIFE GUY One…two…three.
Evil guy lets go of his gun and places both hands on the table. The creature can’t stand it anymore.
THE CREATURE Okay, now let him go!
KNIFE GUY The creature , I thought you were gonna be cool. When you yell at me, it makes me nervous. When I get nervous, I get scared. And when motherfuckers get scared, that’s when motherfuckers get accidentally shot.
THE CREATURE (more conversational) Just know: you hurt him, you die.
KNIFE GUY That seems to be the situation. Now I don’t want that and you don’t want that and Ringo here don’t want that. So let’s see what we can do. (to Ringo) Now this is the situation. Normally both of your asses would be dead as fuckin‘ fried chicken. But you happened to pull this shit while I’m in a transitional period. I don’t wanna kill ya, I want to help ya. But I’m afraid I can’t give you the case. It don’t belong to me. Besides, I went through too much shit this morning on account of this case to just hand it over to your ass.
THE WORM (OS) What the fuck’s goin‘ on here?
The creature WHIPS her gun toward the stranger.
THE WORM , by the bathroom, has his gun out, dead-aimed at The creature .
KNIFE GUY It’s cool, The worm ! It’s cool! Don’t do a goddamn thing. The creature , it’s cool baby, nothin’s changed. We’re still just talkin‘, (to Evil guy ) Tell her we’re still cool.
EVIL GUY It’s cool, The creature, we’re still cool.
THE WORM (gun raised) What the hell’s goin‘ on, Knife guy ?
KNIFE GUY Nothin‘ I can’t handle. I want you to just hang back and don’t do shit unless it’s absolutely necessary.
THE WORM Check.
KNIFE GUY The creature , how we doin, baby?
THE CREATURE I gotta go pee! I want to go home.
KNIFE GUY Just hang in there, baby, you’re doing‘ great, Ringo’s proud of you and so am I. It’s almost over, (to Evil guy ) Now I want you to go in that bag and find my wallet.
EVIL GUY Which one is it?
KNIFE GUY It’s the one that says Bad Motherfucker on it.
Evil guy looks in the bag and — sure enough — there’s a wallet with „Bad Motherfucker“ embroidered on it.
KNIFE GUY That’s my bad motherfucker. Now open it up and take out the cash. How much is there?
EVIL GUY About fifteen hundred dollars.
KNIFE GUY Put it in your pocket, it’s yours. Now with the rest of them wallets and the register, that makes this a pretty successful little score.
THE WORM Knife guy , if you give this Nimrod guy fifteen hundred buck, I’m gonna shoot ‚em on general principle.
KNIFE GUY You ain’t gonna do a goddamn thing, now hang back and shut the fuck up. Besides, I ain’t givin‘ it to him. I’m buyin‘ somethin‘ for my money. Wanna know what I’m buyin‘ Ringo?
EVIL GUY What?
KNIFE GUY Your life. I’m givin‘ you that money so I don’t hafta kill your ass. You read the Bible?
EVIL GUY Not regularly.
KNIFE GUY There’s a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. „The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.“ I been sayin‘ that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker ‚fore you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin‘ made me think twice. Now I’m thinkin‘, it could mean you’re the evil man. And I’m the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he’s the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or is could by you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. I’d like that. But that shit ain’t the truth. The truth is you’re the weak. And I’m the tyranny of evil men. But I’m tryin‘. I’m tryin‘ real hard to be a shepherd.
Knife guy lowers his gun, lying it on the table.
Evil guy looks at him, to the money in his hand, then to The creature . She looks back.
Grabbing the trash bag full of wallets, the two RUN out the door.
Knife guy , who was never risen from his seat the whole time, takes a sip of coffee.
KNIFE GUY (to himself) It’s cold.
He pushes it aside.
The worm appears next to Knife guy .
THE WORM I think we oughta leave now.
KNIFE GUY That’s probably a good idea.
The worm throws some money on the table and Knife guy grabs the briefcase.
Then, to the amazement of the Patrons, the Waitresses, the Cooks, the Bus Boys, and the Manager, these two bad-ass dudes — wearing UC Santa Cruz and „I’m with Stupid“ tee-shirts, swim trunks, thongs and packing .45 Automatics — walk out of the coffee shop together without saying a word.
They stop outside and they start talking “knife guy what the hell? Didn’t know you were soft like that. What are you, some kind of good guy now?
Knife guy Youre goddamn right i am Knife guy puts on his sunglasses and slowly walks away, towards the camera. The worm sits dumfounded CREDITS Post credit scene
Boss guy: So what? Now hes gonna be some kind of good guy watching out for the normal guys The worm: i think thats what he intends boss
Narrator: and with that, the 2 sentence two horror story started. Good guy, whose relinquished title of knife guy was soon given to someone else dedicated himself to protecting the normal guys, against evil guy, the worm, the creature, boss guy and all the other guys who want to harm the innocent. He soon became hero guy and fought all evildoers
The End.

Sorry for the (very) long essay, this has just been so messy for so long. I want to say it all once and leave this situation behind me.
I (25f) became close friends with Jameel (26m). I got to know him and his now-wife Kate (26f); in turn, he became close with my dearest friends.
Several months in, he and Kate asked me to be their third. They wanted to explore their sexualities together, and were both attracted to me. I was close enough with them to trust them (I have PTSD from childhood sexual abuse), and I was exploring my own sexuality.
They disclosed they have a lifelong STI, and that if that didn't make it a hard no, they would do whatever I wanted to make me as safe as possible. I told them I'd think on it. After I researched to the point of becoming an expert and they agreed to get on suppressing medications, I said yes.
We slept together a handful of times. The first couple were great. It didn't really even change our friendships, just became another activity we did, to the extent all of our friends knew I was their occasional third. In fact, as weird as this sounds, I even became close with Kate and Jameel's family, to the point they now call me their daughter and expect me at family holidays. The irony isn't lost on me.
Both Kate and Jameel have always been fine with it, and I've developed completely separate relationships with the family outside of knowing Kate and Jameel. My own family aren't people I can trust or be safe around, so this family has truly become a support system for me.
Then, things disintegrated -- not because of the usual "couple accidentally reveals insecurities by having a threesome" problem, but because it turned out Kate was a raging alcoholic. A bad alcoholic.
Over the next couple months, Kate went from being communicative to not caring about a thing I had to say. She suddenly became super selfish in the bedroom, only wanting to "get hers" and then just end things when she was done. Once, when they came over to comfort me after I had a horrendous family visit, she stole all my alcohol then tried to make passes at me while I was crying.
I thought it was bad behavior. I didn't truly find out she was an addict until a few months in, when she got so shitfaced at a mutual friend's wedding that she became a danger to herself and others.
Jameel broke down and let me know the entire situation: that prior to sleeping with me, they hadn't had sex in months, that she would get drunk and goad him into horrible fights every night, that she constantly belittled him, that she threw things at him. Because he was so ashamed, I was the first person he'd ever told about what was going on.
Then he said something that is the only reason I stayed friends with him: "But it could be worse, because she doesn't hit me."
I come from an abusive family, and that broke my heart. I also work with victims of abuse. There are 2 things that make or break a victim's inner strength, ESPECIALLY when they finally tell someone what's going on: they need to not be abandoned, and to not be forced out of the situation on others' terms. Back when I was 18, I tried to force my brother to leave an abusive partner, and it made my brother stop speaking to me. He barely survived the attempts his partner made on his life after that.
I'll never, ever make that mistake again. Never. Didn't matter what Kate had done to me, Jameel needed one person who knew the truth, who could just listen and support him as he gained the strength to find his own way out. It was the same work I did with clients every day at my job. Moral obligation doesn't stop just because I'm off the clock or it's not a family member.
To make a years-long story short, that's not what happened. Instead, Jameel just became Kate's enabler.
Jameel is stuck in the mentality that because he's a recovered addict, he both doesn't deserve a better situation and never wants the love of his life to hit a rock bottom.
I'll spare the details, but there are many, many people Kate has harmed over the years. She's destroyed her own life and Jameel's enabling means his life has gone down with hers.
No one gets a pass on abusive behavior, and while I have talked to Kate directly about her behavior, the only reason I hadn't cut her out of my life yet is because I decided my moral obligation to help an abused friend outweighed the obligation to kick this alcoholic nightmare out of my life, no matter how much it's against my morals.
But Jameel has just... been okay with her harming everyone in his life because he's desperate not to "give up on her." He actively didn't seek out or commit to resources. He used our friendship to get free therapy out of me without having to face a therapist's truths. And now he thinks that just because she finally went through rehab (under the ultimatum of divorce) everything's fine, problem solved.
After she completed rehab, he started "cool, anyways"-ing all my messages and convos unless he needed to vent about something. By choice of personal boundary, I don't attend events where she'll be, which I had to end up telling him since he thought I was avoiding him. Now that she's out of rehab, he told me he's going to bring her to all our friends' events so she can "have friends", meaning I've started missing all the important life events of my decade-long friends. Jameel only knows them through me.
Kate has stolen money and alcohol from me. She's made fun of my brother behind my back. I found out she lied to me about having ever gone to the doctor to get on STI medication. She once tried to bite my finger off. She mistreats everyone and acts in ways that are so appalling to me -- cheating, bullying others, lying, stealing, manipulating, hell, even committing property damage.
And Jameel still, every few months like clockwork, tells me that "all he asks is once she's sober, that I try to get to know her."
I do know her. I was raised by Kates. I'm trained to know what Kates look like so I can help kids and young adults get away from Kates. 4 years of this behavior is not an exception to the rule; it's the rule. This is her. And no matter how good his intentions, Jameel has been an awful friend too.
I've had enough. He can't or won't break his cycle, but I'll break mine. The selfish part of me is so scared of what it will be like losing the love and support I gained through Jameel and Kate's relatives, but I am so lucky to have my brother, sister, and all the other people I treasure in my life, and I'll be grateful forever for knowing what it was like to have family you're safe with.
My friends are sorting out how to handle the situation in their own way, since Jameel never told them what was going on until recently. In the meantime they specifically go out of their way to make sure I can participate in their life events however I can.
I don't regret helping someone in need. I just regret that I spent so long mistaking my fear for kindness.
Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I'm going to have a good cry, then pick back up and have myself a lovely day, and I hope yours is lovely too.